Dog Food: Simple But Complete Guide

Are you struggling to give your dog healthy nutritious food? It is indeed the most frequently asked question from the veterinarian by the dog owners. It is extremely important for its well-being and good health to give ‘ Pure balance dog food’ to your dog.

Most of the time people do not even realize what these processed dog foods contain or are they healthy and safe enough to feed your dog? You must need to know all the nutritional requirements of your pet dog in order to give them the right food at the right time.

Domesticated And Wild Dogs

Domesticated dogs have a bit different eating habits than wild dogs. Domestic dogs can also eat some of the plant-based foods along with meat. On the other hand, wild dogs used to eat raw meat, bones, and organs by preying animals in the wild.

What To Feed?

There is no clear cut answer to this question because it depends upon what suits your dog the best. There are various kinds of dogs, for example, some dogs are quick and active and they used to run faster than others while some are a little bit slow and lazy beings. Also, some dogs used to jump a lot so you have to feed them based on their needs for different nutrients.

Your dog might have a reaction to some standard diet or he may have particular dietary needs. In that case, you should consult a veterinarian to get the best food for your dog. Dog feed must be a well-balanced commercial and high-quality diet depending upon their life stages like senior, pregnant, adult, adolescent, or puppy and on their health conditions.

You cannot give raw bones if your dog is older and have jaws or dental disease. Always check the label before purchasing processed or canned dog food.

Home-Made Dog Food

If you are not sure about canned food then you can also make dog food at home. Just imagine having the same food every day in every single meal. Your dog might also get bored with this eating routine. Also, it is a lot cheaper than you think in comparison to store-bought food.

The necessary ingredients that you need to include in your home-made dog food are given below:

· Kidney beans

· Carrots

· Ground chicken

· Sweet Potato

· Butternut squash

· Green beans

· Peas

· White rice

· Turkey

The Right Amount To Feed

Now that you have chosen the right food, the next thing that you need to consider is to feed the right amount. One must consider the following tips before feeding.

· For medium dogs, 1-2 cups of dry food in a day is enough to maintain an appropriate weight.

· For younger dogs and puppies, it is better to give food in intervals as they are involved in some kind of activity throughout the day.

· For older dogs, you can give one meal daily rather than dividing it into smaller portions.

· Dogs of smaller breeds that weigh less than 10 pounds require almost ¼ or ¾ cup of dry food daily.

· For dogs of weight between 10-25 pounds, ¾ to 1 cup of dry food is required.

· For dogs of 25 to 50 pounds, 1-2 cups per day are enough.

· If your dog weighs from 50-75 pounds, then you have to feed them 2 ½ cups every day.

· If you want to feed wet food along with dry food then divide the dry food into half and replace the half with an equal amount of wet food.

What To Avoid?

Following is a list of foods that you MUST NOT feed your dog as they are toxic for them:

· Alcohol

· Garlic

· Onions/onion powder,

· Chocolate / coffee / caffeine products,

· Spoiled and Moldy foods/compost,

· Bread and yeast dough,

· Grapes, mushrooms, and Avocado

· Sultanas (including in Christmas cakes etc.) and raisins

· Fruit stones, fruit seeds or ‘pits’ (e.g. apricot stones, mango seeds, avocado stones)

· Nuts (including macadamia nuts) and Currants,

· Corncobs

· Unripe green tomatoes

· Fatty trimmings / fatty foods, salt

· Cooked bones

Storing The Dog Food

In order to keep the dog food fresh and healthy, you need to store them properly. Once you take food out of cans and containers, its nutritious value starts decreasing. So it is extremely important to put the dog feed in an airtight box or container. This is indeed the best way to preserve it and keep it fresh.

These are easily available from a pet shop. You have to store dry food in a cool and dry place to avoid germination of bacteria and fungi that can ultimately affect your dog’s health. Wet dog food should be kept in refrigerators to keep them fresh. Try to defrost frozen food just before feeding your dog to avoid contamination in the open air.