Posts Tagged ‘Vitamins And Minerals’

What you put in your dog’s food bowl has a direct correlation to dog health and happiness.

There are several similarities between humans and dogs concerning nutrients and proper feeding. Dogs, like humans, are omnivores.

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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”

Dog Food Secrets

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This means that we need both meat and vegetables in order to be healthy. Our diet should include the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals that is necessary to acquire optimum health.

We also need an unlimited supply of water to keep our body functioning and alive.

Similar to humans, dogs need to be fed according to their age, size, shape, and lifestyle for optimal dog health.

For example, a sheep dog that is working in a field will have a different diet then a spoiled Chihuahua that is living in a small house.

Similarly, a pregnant female dog will have a different diet than that of an average male dog, and her puppies will require a higher amount of nutrients in order for them to grow healthy and strong.

The aging dog will require different levels of nutrition than that of a growing puppy for good dog health.

Therefore, it is crucial to know what type of food to give your pet, as well as the type of food to avoid. It is also important that you do not overfeed your dog.

Although you may think that you are being a good owner by giving him big meals and lots of tasty snacks, what you are actually doing is harming the animal.

By giving your dog more food than what his body requires, you are encouraging obesity and paving the way for illnesses such as diabetes.

There are many different kinds of dog food on the market today. The majority of these foods contain the right amount of nutrients that your dog needs for a well-balanced diet.

The three types of food that you can choose for your dog are canned foods, semi-moist foods, and dry foods.

In addition to his regular meals, there are also a wide selection of snacks and treats that you can give him for those times that he is well-behaved and during training sessions that are not damaging to dog health.

Dog Health and Supplements

The nutritional guideline standards for dog health, as set forth by the NRC (National Research Council), state that pet food manufacturers must have the minimum amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals.

They include meat, meat by-products, corn, wheat middlings, barley, oats, rice, brewer’s yeast, vegetable and/or animal fats, fish meal, poultry, bone meal, cereals, soybean meal – all of which are rich in the required nutrients for optimal dog health.

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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”

Dog Food Secrets

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To meet the palatability requirement so that dogs would enjoy eating this food, manufacturers can add tomato puree, bacon, salt, onion powder, garlic and other ingredients to make the food smell and taste good.

The required ease in consumer handling is accomplished by packing the product in bags with graduated poundage from one to fifty pounds, in twelve to sixteen ounce cans, and in see-through cellophane packs or cans for individual serving.

After the manufacturers have packed their product in a can, bag or box, they have the added the burden of getting the dog owner’s attention to the pet food shelves. They know the family dog isn’t standing there looking over the product – a human is.

To get the human to reach out and select one of the many different brands available, the product must please the eye of the consumer, while dog health is a secondary concern. The dog doesn’t give one care in the world what the product looks like. The animal is only interested in how it tastes and smells.

Manufacturers today will exhibit their product to look like fresh ground hamburger, choice steaks, chunks of lean beef, even breakfast cereals. Although dog food comes in a variety of styles, it really comes in only three types:

1) The complete/balanced food (everything the dog needs in one container). This pet food type will list the product as containing all of the proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals that a canine should have for good health.

2) The supplementary food (to be added to the complete food to increase palatability). Such food items for pets are made to get the dog’s appetite stimulated enough to eat all of his main/complete food.

3) Treats and snacks (for training rewards or just plain pampering) which can range from beef jerky for dogs to small cereal biscuits.

If a dog’s diet consisted solely of a supplementary food, he would be deprived of the vitamins and nutrients he needs. The supplementary food and treats and snacks were not intended to be the sole diet of the dog. Most manufacturers concerned with dog health will indicate this point on the label.

Proper dog health can be confusing with shelves full of big cans, little cans, heavy bags and cute packs, soft foods, dry food, semi-moist, candies, biscuits, chewies, people-like crackers and gourmet bon-bons…

Today’s dog owner is confronted with a bewildering array of food for his pet.

Years ago, when such a variety wasn’t available, dogs were fed foods that were most plentiful in the region. In the arctic, dogs were fed mostly fish and whale blubber; in the southern United States, a dog’s diet consisted mainly of cornbread; in Europe, potatoes were the main fare. These diets led to diseases such as black tongue (pelegra in humans), rickets, and other less commonly known ailments, many of them fatal.

In the wild, the canine did not just restrict himself to eating just the meat of his prey. He ate the entire animal, including the contents of the stomach. Wild dogs were known to kill each other while fighting over the stomach contents of their prey. Thus, nature provided the wild animal with a diet considered nutritionally complete.

Domesticated dogs were not allowed that luxury, and usually were fed table scraps. These poor diets resulted in serious nutritional imbalances and severe nutritional deficiencies.

After years of study, it was determined that even though the canine is considered a carnivorous animal, he requires certain carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals to satisfy nutritional requirements just as humans do.

In 1953, the National Research Council compiled and published nutritional requirements for dogs. The NRC is a federally established scientific body whose basic function is gathering research data.

After World War II, the pet food industry in the United States began an enormous expansion. Already a highly competitive business, pet food manufacturers quickly found themselves in neck to neck competition for a piece of this multi-million dollar a year business.

In order to survive and successfully compete in the market, pet food manufacturers knew that they must provide a dog food which was:

A) Nutritionally complete; containing all 26 nutrients that the National Research Council said that does need.

B) Palatable so that the dog would enjoy eating the food.

C) Easy and convenient for the customer to handle.

D) Economically competitive in the market.

To ensure good dog health, pet food manufacturers have established laboratories and hired nutritionists and food technicians to select those ingredients, which, when combined, will provide the sufficient nutrition to meet NRC standards.

When dealing with dog health, feeding your pet dog a diet consisting of only cuts of lean meat, chances are he would have severe nutritional problems.

While a dog is a carnivore – meat eater – he cannot live on protein alone. Just like his owner, a dog needs a balanced diet including fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

Few of us could afford a predominantly steak diet for our pets, but even if we could, our dogs would be a lot healthier with a cheaper cut of meat. Less expensive meats are better for dog health because they have a higher fat content.

Fats provide dogs with energy and heat and help keep his skin healthy. Not enough fat in a dog’s diet can cause scaly, dry skin. His coat may become coarse and lifeless. A diet low in fat may also cause a dog to become highly nervous and more susceptible to many types of illness.

There are three fatty acids in fats which a dog needs. These are: linolenic, linoleic, and arachidonic. Linoleic acid can be found in meat products, suet, butter, and corn oil. It can also be found in avocados.

The Avocado

Avocados are one of the few fruits that most dogs love. One reason for this is that these fruits add palatability and texture to food, especially dry meal. It is also a nutritious supplement of fats to the canine diet. This pear-shaped fruit contains sixteen percent of rare oil seldom found in fruits as well as an unusual amount of protein for fruits.

One medium avocado contains about 35 grams of fat, mostly monounsaturated. This fruit also has more potassium than bananas. Avocados are also rich in vitamin E, vitamin K, and the B vitamins.

When the nutritional requirements of adult dogs were compared with the composition of avocados, particularly California avocados, this fruit also proved to be a good source of vitamins and minerals. One half of a medium avocado provides a mature dog with all his daily requirements for magnesium, potassium, and niacin. About half of his requirements for thiamin, manganese, and vitamin A, are also provided with this awesome fruit.

Compare what the avocado offers a dog nutritionally to some of the other foods often added to a dog’s diet to improve his skin tone and coat. A half of avocado supplies thirteen grams of fat. There is one gram of linoleic acid in half of the fruit.

An egg has half the amount of fat grams and only a trace of linoleic acid. One half cup of cottage cheese only offers five grams of fat and a trace of linoleic acid, while one tablespoon of corn oil has fourteen grams of fat and seven grams of linoleic acid but none of the vitamins and minerals that the avocado offers.

So, avocados are an important source in dog health.

Obesity is the most common nutritional disease in American dogs today. It is the result of simply eating more calories than are burned. Dogs have a built-in protection against this disease, a control mechanism in their brains that satisfies their hunger after they have eaten enough calories to meet their daily energy needs. However, it is possible to upset this control mechanism.

By feeding the dog a food that is highly palatable, he will eat to satisfy his appetite and not his hunger. The only way to remove the excessive fat from a dog’s body is by reversing the way it was put on, which is feeding the dog fewer calories than he will burn for energy. When this is done, the dog’s body will burn up energy stored in his body to obtain what he needs.

Fat is the most efficient source of energy and will be used in the greatest amount whenever energy is needed. A reduction in caloric intake cannot be achieved by just cutting down the quantity of food you feed your dog. Drastic cuts in the quantity of food fed will only lead to deficiencies that pose an even greater threat to the dog than the obesity does which are deficiencies of proteins, vitamins and minerals.

It will also make your dog ravenously hungry! Fats and carbohydrates that contain the most calories should be replaced by ingredients that are less digestible and lower in calories.

The diet of an overweight dog should not contain more than 1400 calories per pound of dry matter. This is approximately 1250 to 1300 calories per pound of dry food or 330 to 350 calories per pound of canned food. A more accurate and convenient way of obtaining a reducing diet is to use a dietary animal food specifically designed for that purpose.

This food can be obtained from a vet. It contains 330 calories per pound and is balanced to provide the correct amount of other nutrients for the dog when fed at that caloric density. Whatever the food used, the quantity of it that should be fed has to be estimated.

Portion control is the only method of feeding that can be used during a weight reducing program. Treat or supplement should not be given during the reduction program. If a dog is more than 10 pounds overweight, (over his ideal body weight) begin your weight reducing program by feeding him only 2/3 the quantity calculated to maintain his desired weight.

The full amount of food should be given once a reduction in weight begins to occur. For dogs that are less than 10 lb overweight, begin with the full amount calculated. In dogs weighing less than 10 pounds, use the two-thirds guide for any dog that is more than 33% of his desired weight overweight.

It may require several months or longer before a dog reaches his optimum weight. Do not expect your dog to lose the weight in just a few days. Taking off weight too fast can be dangerous to a fat dog. Once optimum weight has been attained, most dogs will have to be kept on portion control feeding. Dogs that tend to get fat need to have their intake closely regulated to prevent them from gaining back the lost weight.