Dog Food Basics
Every dog owners know that most dogs love to eat, but often they see themselves trying to figure out which dog food to buy. It has been said for the longest time that dogs are our best friends, but reality now is that dogs have jump from the best friend category to the family member category. As another member of our family we want to give our pets the best care and that also includes the best food.
Many dogs over time get tired of eating the same food, and they become fussy. The food that one day they loved to eat, they don’t even want to smell now. It’s natural for dog owners to look for dog food alternatives when their dogs do not want to eat their regular food. This is when trouble can begin. This is when the dog owners might decide to start giving their pet’s table food, and by doing so they might compromise their dog’s nutrition.
When a dog owner is changing their dog’s diet they are vulnerable to giving their dogs extra treats and snacks. Doing this could cause the dog to become overweight. In addition, if the dog owner does not over compensate by giving his dog these treats or snacks, the dog will be forced to accept what is served to him at mealtimes. Do not give your dog any snacks or treats when your dog isn’t eating. This will just encourages his fussy eating and will perpetuate the fussiness.
Feeding the dog the best food will ensure that he remains happy and healthy, and it also keeps the dog’s coat shiny. Among the ingredients in about 99% of dog foods are sugar, corn, salt, phosphates, colorings and artificial flavors.
There is nothing wrong by feeding your dog homemade food but the dog owner has to be certain to feed the dog with food that will provide him with adequate nutrition. Many dog owners have even chosen to feed their dogs’ vegetarian food. This is even more challenging for many because cooking vegetarian food for your dog could be very time consuming.
When incorporating home cooked dog food to your dog, the dog owner might need to include corn, rice, wheat or oatmeal. These are all good carbohydrates sources.
An option that dog owners could consider is to add the home made food to a medium quality food. If you decide to go this route, you might need to add some kind of nutritional supplement or vitamins. In that way you can ensure good nutrition at all times.
Make certain that you read the labels of the dog food before you buy it. It is advisable that the food has as main ingredient chicken, turkey, or beef. Try to avoid vegetable protein as the main ingredient for the dog food. Vegetable protein, which includes wheat shorts and middling’s, soybean meal, peanut meal, peanut shells (same as cellulose), ground yellow corn and rice husks, is the mainstay of dry dog foods.
Dr. Alfonso
