Establishing a proper pet diet
Pets make great companions and it’s not just dogs that are “man’s best friend.” In addition to being great companions, it has been shown that pets help lower blood pressure and improve a person’s sense of well being. Pet owners want the same for their furry friends as they do for themselves, a healthy life. Making the right food choices, taking time for daily exercise, and regular vet visits can make a huge difference in the health and longevity of your pet.
Most pets go through life seemingly happy with their routine and their food. However, just as a healthy mixture of nutritious fruits and vegetables, plenty of proteins, grains and foods rich in vitamins and minerals are beneficial to we humans, the same applies when it comes to making diet choices for your pet .A proper pet diet is the optimum choice for your pet to be healthy and happy.
Once pets are spade or neutered they don’t need to eat as much and their body doesn’t use as many calories, so if a pet owner gives them the same amount of food they tend to gain weight.
Also pets should have three major diet changes in their life times. They should be fed food conducive to being young , as much as they want ; until they are six months old, and then they should graduate to an adult food diet and should only be fed once day. When they reach six or seven years of age, pets should transition to food for seniors.
Special diets are available for pets with kidney problems, diabetes and allergies.
You generally know if pets are allergic to their pet food, if they’re scratching their face, or rubbing their face with their paws.
Pets should be fed MOST people food with great caution. If the pet just has people food, the pet will not have a totally nutritious diet scheme.
Typically, a pet needs more fat for energy and a healthy skin and coat, and less fiber for good intestinal health than humans would require. Good fat sources for pets include chicken fat and fish oil. A combination of carbohydrates, like barley and other whole grains offer optimum digestibility and helps maintain energy levels. Antioxidants from fruits and vegetables can help boost pets immunities. Be sure to review and compare the nutritional analysis on the label of your pets food.
Mix It Up: How to Easily Change Your Pets Food
If your pet is a finicky eater or shows signs of a reduced appetite, consult your veterinarian and discuss the possible need for a change in their diet. A successful transition for new diets may include introducing the new food gradually. Start by mixing 25 percent of the new food with 75 percent of the old food, and gradually adjusting the proportions over the course of a few days until the pet is eating 100 percent of the new food. Pets love routine, so feeding them at the same time and place every day will help the transition. Also keep in mind premium pet foods often contain more nutrients, therefore, smaller portions are usually recommended.
Leading experts avow that trim pets that eat well and enjoy plenty of physical activity can live, on average, 15 percent longer than overweight pets.
When some pets have lack of exercise,it can result in behavior problems or even lead to physical ailments. Bad-pet behavior such as biting, chewing, digging and house-soiling is significantly lower when pets get enough exercise. An exercised pet rests more calmly at home and is less nervous when left alone. • The best exercise provides both physical and mental stimulation.
•. Most pets will rarely exercise alone, but wait for “their people” to play with them.
• Let your pet play with other pets to help them learn to enjoy other pets and people.
• Retrieving is easy exercise. Tossing a toy or ball , playing tug games is a great substitute for walking if exercise space is limited.
The Look of a Healthy Pet
is reflective of their diet, feeding your pet the right balance of nutrients is often the best way to achieve the over all glow of health.
BH
Ocean Omega Promoting Good Health In ALL Pets!
www.oceanomega.com
I am happy to see the diet of animals being addressed. Most of us have dogs/cats and so we have carnivores in our midst. The dog by your side be it lap dog or guardian is a Wolf. DNA will prove that if you have any doubt.
So consider what type of food would this animal consume. Lets back up a minute to the recent food recall. Most of our dog/cat foods are manufactured out of this country with ingredients not grown or made here. Example, there is only one company in the US that manufacturers Vitamin C. 80% of this vitamin comes from ????. What???
The high priced ready to drop in the bowl kibble you are feeding is probably not a good diet for your dog. The bag it comes in may be pleasing to the eye but the food inside is what counts and most of it is not very nutritious. You can read the label but how many of us really do and if so do we understand the daily needs of our pet. Usually they tell you to feed by weight. A certain size dog should get 8-12 cups of food and one can per day. Wrong!!!! Dry dog foods are fillers. If you have good nutrition the amounts should be much smaller. Dog foods were developed to make our lives easier. It must be lucrative as there are many of them. Most are not very nutrition and very few are manufactured in the US hence our dogs and cats dieing from pool cleaner and anti-freeze in their foods. Yet we continue to buy and the higher price does not mean it is better.
This is a long drawn out debate and I am not here to do that but there is an abundance of documented information on the internet. While you are at it look up vaccinations. You can e- mail me privately and I will direct you to some of the information.
You have to consider what kind of pet you have and then find the best diet for this animal. The fact that it survives does not necessarily mean that it has reached its potential. It is correct that food affects not only the physical condition but also the behavior and mental condition. If you want the most from your dog then you have to give it the best. There is no free ride.
I raise large game hunting dogs and keeping them in top condition for the type of dog I have requires that I do a lot of research. I want them to be healthy and happy and as Spock says: "live long and prosper". I do not lean to the idea that big dogs have short lives. Not true!! Any dog in good condition can live a long time. Perhaps not in human years which is what we use to judge them, but in dog years. We humans would live a lot longer if we had better nutrition also. It is true that you are what you eat.
I have my dogs on a natural diet most of the time and I supplement with a few items that I feel are necessary. I do not live near the ocean so I have to buy Kelp (Norweigan Kelp, shark cartilege, as their restrictions for sea foods in Norway are much stricter than ours) to add to the food. I also find that pure Ocean Omega 3 fish oil (never pills) is an important additive to my foods. The fish oil is extracted and bottled. It smells fishy hmmm.....dogs in the wild eat what they kill, stomach contents and fermented meat. They also fish, bet you didn't know that.
I do not want to take up too much space on this blog or bore you but this is a subject I have spent many years hands on and I have achieved good results and expect more to come. I am a layman however anyone can take the time to learn. My dogs are worth it. I will not allow my lack of knowledge to interfere with the strong healthy lives of my dogs. I owe them and myself good long healthy lives.
It is a joy to behold a big tail wagging healthy dog coming at you with eyes that speak of happiness in sharing your human life.
Posted by
BarbaraAugust 14, 2007 07:37 AM
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