Dog Nutrition
Jul 13th, 2007 by Teri
Dog Nutrition
Recently, since March, 2007, we have all been subjected to the chilling effect of learning that dog food contained poisons, that killed a lot of our pets. Besides the devastating deaths we learned that dog and cat food is tainted and also contain many useless additives that offer little nutritional value. To this date in July, 2007 it is still a growing concern, with many pet owners, changing their dog’s diet completely. It has left the Pet Food industry to scramble to improve and clean up their pet food ingredients and it was a long time in coming to this point.
Some pet owners are opting for organic foods, some are trying raw diets for dogs, and some vow to never use national brand dog foods again. Another alternative is to buy from locally produced pet foods, sometimes found in smaller specialty stores. Buying from local food producers seems to also help global warming, and supports local farms. There are even those that are calling for a ban of Chinese food and other products entirely.
However, there is more alarming news that the origin of the ingredients are not printed on pet food labels and thereby hidden dangers are also still evident.
Dietary needs are of even more importance in older dogs, as their needs increase to also stave off or reverse the aging process.
Therefore the need for supplementation is increased today by incorporating into their diet some of the basics to keep our dogs healthy and living a longer life.
Research is ongoing and has indicated natural health products for our dogs health that are helpful to human life can also benefit our pets. Many pets and animals have the same illness and aging effects that we do, since we are of similar molecular and organic structure. The natural way to better dog health of course is 3 parts prevention and one part supplements. When we find the sources of our dog’s ill health, we can then maintain better health and prevent future disease.
As our awareness level’s have been heightened to the tainted food problems of modern pets today, we are frustrated with the options, due to limited selection found in various geographic regions of the world.
The adjustment that dogs and pets in general, experience during dietary changes, causes great anxiety, fear, and emotional discomfort. Pet anxiety can be exhibited by biting, destroying furniture, urinating in the wrong places, refusing to eat, and barking or howling as the pet expresses its displeasure in changes of diet that has been necessary due to tainted pet foods and lack of regulations in this industry.
Pet owners often cannot make choices, due to lack of information and that is where supplements can be of great value especially during transitional diets.
Dogs need basic nutrients for a quality of life, for example: Proteins, Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acid, Fatty Acids and water are the basics.
Nutritional factors also vary according to the dog’s : Breed, Size, Age, amount of activity and other factors. When you know their needs you can better determine the right diet to chose for a healthy dog and a long life.
The energy needs of your particular dog changes from the Puppy stage to the Adult Dog, Older Dogs, and Pregnant Dogs. A severe illness or traumatic experience such as the loss of a companion pet, or an accident can also increase your dog’s energy needs. Whenever this occurs you must consult with your Veterinarian or a Dog Nutritionist who can assess your dog’s changing food and nutritional requirements.
Puppies burn up a lot of fuel as they grow needing twice the number of calories as a an adult dog, therefore their need of vitamins and minerals is higher because their mother’s milk no longer gives enough nutrients for that spurt of great growth in puppies. Good puppy nutrition of high quality food is necessary for puppies as well as frequent meals as their digestive tracts are very small and can only hold a little food at a time.
Older Dogs need less calories due to decreased exercise and activity as an adult dog or younger dogs. The tendency to become overweight in this age group can lead to other degenerative diseases such as diabetes. Digestion can also be slower but can be helped by using enzymes to help older dogs digest food better. Older dogs nutritional needs change as they grow older.
Dog nutrition is of even greater importance now than ever before, and will continue to be so, as pet owners continue to become a more educated consumers regarding pet food and supplements.
In all cases of nutritional needs consult with your veterinarian on your dog’s requirements.
A very valuable but scary article. It is a sad state of affairs that in a day and age when knowledge and access to knowledge is so available and yet we are so often guessing what is in the food our pets eat. Thank you for bringing this information to us.
Thank you Vasail, and you are so right, we should know exactly what is in our dog’s food supply, and we do not as was evident even before March 2007. That is why using natural foods made in North America are the best choices for optimum health.