Posts Tagged ‘Adult Dogs’
Dog Food & Supplements: An In Depth Look At Nutrition For Your Pet (5)
Dog Food & Supplements
Of the twenty six nutrients needed by dogs in their dog food, none can be left out of the ration, or added at inadequate levels, if optimum growth and performance are expected.
Because the nutrients interact with each other, they must be included in precise ratios. If a large excess in the dog food of one nutrient occurs, then the quantities of other nutrients in the ration must be increased accordingly. Otherwise, a deficiency of certain nutrients exists.
This can be a dangerous situation.
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Dog Food Secrets You Need To Know!
“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”
————————————————————–
A good example of this is the relationship between calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D. All effects are interrelated.
The ratio of calcium to phosphorus must be maintained at 1.2 or 1. If additional calcium is added to the dog food, creating an imbalance, there would be an inefficient assimilation of these minerals.
The result could cause a disease known as rickets.
Considering that vitamin D acts as transportation for calcium, one can begin to see how these three elements are connected and their importance in dog food. While a deficiency of calcium predisposes to rickets, an excess of calcium will do likewise.
In adult dogs, the condition would be referred to as “paper bones”.
A more common example is an excess of fat in the diet. If fat increased to high levels in the dog food, then fat will satisfy the energy requirements of the dog before the requirements for other nutrients are met. The result would be a nutritional imbalance. An increase of fat requires a corresponding increase in vitamin B12.
Of particular concern are those professional breeders who attempt to bred over-sized, large boned “super dogs”. Nutritional experts state that certain supplements such as oils, enzymes, and minerals should be used only under a veterinarian’s supervision or recommendation. This is especially true of calcium and cod liver oil (vitamin D), both of which are frequently used by breeders during growth. In excess, they can cause serious problems, particularly with bone development.
In this regard, it should be added that excess vitamin and mineral supplements may be the aggravating cause of heart problems, hip problems, and lower the all-around health of a dog.
With the hip dysplasia problem being so rampant, and no longer confined to just one or two breeds, professional breeders must become more aware of the dangers up upsetting intricate balances with their “home treatments” and super “bone builders” (genetic inheritance notwithstanding).
Drugs have a very definite place in our society. It is the misuse and abuse of drugs that creates a problem. Likewise, vitamin and mineral supplementation has an important place in the dog world, but misuse and abuse outside their dog foodcreates a dangerous problem.
Dog Health – 3 Ways To Feed Your Puppy
To meet the continual nutritional demand of your puppy’s growing body, he must have food available to him all day long sustaining proper dog health.
There are 3 common techniques to feed your new puppy that affect dog health.
These are: Meal feeding, portion-control feeding, and free feeding.
Meal Feeding For Optimal Dog Health
This method of feeding is usually done with mixing solid food and canned food and is ideal for puppies that are being trained to housebreak.
With this technique, your puppy gets his meals at different times during the day.
Many owners prefer for optimal dog health the three meal a day program while others are more comfortable with giving their puppies four meals a day.
Whether you’re feeding your puppy three or four meals per day, the important thing to remember is to divide the meals equally within a 24-hour period and without having to get up at night.
With three meals a day, you have to feed your puppy every eight hours. Four meals a day, food is given to your puppy every six hours. Keep in mind, however, that you shouldn’t give your puppy two meals a day until he is at least five or six months old.
Portion Control Feeding Affects Dog Health
This method of feeding is probably the most common way puppies are fed today, especially for owners who work during the day and have to leave their puppies alone.
It is done by measuring the exact amount of food he requires (depending on his age and type of breed). This amount of food should be modified as a puppy gets older to ensure proper dog health.
The portion is then placed in his food bowl once a day, preferably the same time everyday. This way your puppy will be able to nibble on his food throughout the day.
Most puppies ration out their meals throughout the day and eat only a small portion at a time, while some puppies will empty their bowl in one sitting.
Studies have shown that puppies that are brought up with this feeding method will not over eat when they turn into adult dogs.
However, if you are having a difficult time housebreaking your puppy, then this method of feeding will probably not work for you.
Dog Health And Free Feeding
With this feeding technique, you have to make sure that there is food in his bowl and let him nibble on it throughout the day. Although this is the simplest way to feed your puppy, this method is also the least recommended by most vets and breeders because of it’s possible affect on dog health..
Feeding your puppy will make it more difficult to house train him because you do not know exactly when he eats.
In addition, it is also difficult to know how much he eats on a daily basis, so becoming consciously aware of this will promote good dog health.
Dog Health – Good Food & Bad Food
How do you know whether or not the food you are feeding your dog contains all of the necessary nutrients he needs for optimal dog health and energy?
For Optimal Dog Health, Learn What The Labels Mean
Foods labeled “completely balanced” or “nutritionally complete” meet the nutritional requirements for either maintenance (adult dogs) or growth and reproduction (puppies and pregnant or lactating mothers), set aside by the Association of American Feed Control Officials.
The label must indicate the group for which it is intended.
————————————————————–
Dog Food Secrets You Need To Know!
“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”
————————————————————–
Dry food is the cheapest commercially available dog food. It’s bulky and takes longer to eat than other foods, so it’s more filling when eaten. And the crunchiness of non-moistened dry food helps keep a dog’s teeth healthy by reducing the accumulation of plaque. It also massages the gums.
You will find that canned foods cost more than dry foods, but if you own a small dog then this price difference should not be a major concern. However, when you are feeding a Rottweiler or Great Dane, then the difference could be phenomenal. Canned foods are a great choice for any canines that are underweight or those recovering from surgery or illness.
Then you have frozen pet food. Frozen foods have the same advantages of canned food products, however, frozen typically costs a bit more than the canned variety. What I like is that you can find both cooked and raw forms of frozen dog food.
Watch Out For Human Foods When Considering Dog Health
There are common foods that are in just about every household that can make your dog or puppy very sick, or worse, cause death. For your dog health, make sure they are stored where your pal can’t get to them.
1) Chocolate: Chocolate contains theobromine (a substance related to caffeine), which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, muscle tremors, seizures and abnormal heartbeat in dogs.
Different types of chocolate contain different amounts of theobromine.
2) Macadamia Nuts: While delicious to eat, these nuts can cause weakness in dogs, vomiting, depression, and other signs. The agent that causes it is unknown. Amounts as small as 2 teaspoons per pound of bodyweight have caused toxic signs.
3) Onions: Both raw or cooked onions contain a substance that causes rupture of the red blood cells, which can lead to severe anemia. Garlic can also produce similar signs, though not as severe.
A toxic dose is about 1 to 5 ounces of raw onions.
4) Raisins and Grapes: These foods can cause kidney failure in some dogs. The toxic agent has not been identified. According to the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center, toxicity has occurred following ingestion of amounts ranging from a single serving of raisins to more than a pound of grapes.
Dog health is very important and by taking a few precautions, you prevent veterinary bills, and even more important, the death of your dog.
Dog Food & Supplements: An In Depth Look At Nutrition And Dog Health (6)
Pet food manufacturers have made it quite easy for the average dog owner to feed their pets and positively effect dog health without having to be an expert nutritionist.
All of the work has been done by the modern manufacturer for easy and effective measures to ensure proper dog health.
Since it isn’t possible for manufacturers to list all of the nutrients and their required percentages as published by the NRC (National Research Council) on their labels, the terms “complete diet”, “nutritionally complete”, “balanced”, and “balanced diet” are used.
————————————————————–
Dog Health Secrets You Need To Know!
“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”
————————————————————–
This tells the consumer that the product inside the can, bag or box, contains all the essential vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats the average dog needs to satisfy his daily requirements.
The nutritional requirement for good dog health puppies, however, is somewhat different than that required for adult dogs. The diet of the adult dog is usually referred to as a “maintenance diet” where a puppy diet is referred to as a “growth diet”.
In 1974 a regulation went into effect that required all dog food manufacturers to specify on their labels whether the product is complete and balanced for the adult dog (maintenance), complete and balanced for puppies (growth), or complete and balanced for growth and maintenance both. Since all manufactures comply with this regulation, the only thing left to the consumers is to read the label.
Among the varieties of canned, bagged, or semi-moist dog foods, there are certain drawbacks, as well as advantages. This is true even though they are nutritionally identical if advertised as “complete” and/or “balanced”.
Because canned dog food may contain up to 78% moisture, a dog necessarily has to eat a larger quantity of a canned product to get the same volume of food that he would get if fed a dry product. It takes three pounds of commercially prepared canned dog food to be equivalent to one pound of dry food.
But manufactures do not fill a can two-thirds of the way with water, then top it off with a little dab of dog food. The moisture content inside the can is there by the very nature of the ingredients. For example, when a human buys a thick juicy steak, he’s buying well over fifty percent moisture. The butcher didn’t inject that moisture into the steak with a hypodermic needle.
The moisture content in canned dog food serves a definite and useful purpose toward dog health, both in processing and in the dog’s digestive system. The drawback to the consumer insofar as canned dog food is concerned, is usually one of economics. It can be very expensive due to the large quantities of canned food most normal to large sized dogs will need to eat to get in their daily caloric and nutritional needs. Keep in mind, proper dog health can be very expensive, but well worth the love and affection!
Dog Food & Supplements: An In Depth Look At Nutrition And Dog Health (5)
Of the twenty six nutrients needed for proper dog health, none can be left out of the ration, or added at inadequate levels, if optimum growth and performance are expected.
Because the nutrients interact with each other, they must be included in precise ratios. If a large excess of one nutrient occurs, then the quantities of other nutrients in the ration must be increased accordingly. Otherwise, a deficiency of certain nutrients exists.
————————————————————–
Dog Health Secrets You Need To Know!
“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”
————————————————————–
This can be a dangerous situation regarding dog health.
A good example of this is the relationship between calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D. All effects are interrelated. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus must be maintained at 1.2 or 1. If additional calcium is added, creating an imbalance, there would be an inefficient assimilation of these minerals.
The result could cause a disease known as rickets.
Considering that vitamin D acts as transportation for calcium, one can begin to see how these three elements are connected. While a deficiency of calcium predisposes to rickets, an excess of calcium will do likewise.
In adult dogs, the condition would be referred to as “paper bones”.
A more common example is an excess of fat in the diet. If fat increased to high levels, then fat will satisfy the energy requirements of the dog before the requirements for other nutrients are met. The result would be a nutritional imbalance. An increase of fat requires a corresponding increase in vitamin B12.
Of particular concern are those professional breeders who attempt to bred over-sized, large boned “super dogs”. Nutritional experts state that certain supplements such as oils, enzymes, and minerals should be used only under a veterinarian’s supervision or recommendation. This is especially true of calcium and cod liver oil (vitamin D), both of which are frequently used by breeders during growth. In excess, they can cause serious problems, particularly with bone development.
In this regard toward dog health, it should be added that excess vitamin and mineral supplements may be the aggravating cause of heart problems, hip problems, and lower the all-around health of a dog.
With the hip dysplasia problem being so rampant, and no longer confined to just one or two breeds, professional breeders must become more aware of the dangers up upsetting intricate balances with their “home treatments” and super “bone builders” (genetic inheritance notwithstanding).
Drugs have a very definite place in our society. It is the misuse and abuse of drugs that creates a problem. Likewise, vitamin and mineral supplementation has an important place in the dog world, but misuse and abuse creates a dangerous problem in dog health.