Having a pet dog and cuddling with him all day is an easy task. But deciding the right food and right nutrients for your dog may be a confusing task especially if you are a newbie. Dog food play a very important role in the development of your dog. You must be fully aware of the likes and dislikes of your dog and what is good for him. Every nutrient is equally important.
Many people think that dogs are carnivores but they are more like omnivores. An ‘all day meat’ diet is not appropriate for them. Since meat is not an easily digestive diet, feeding your dog on meat alone may prove to be harmful for him. Also relying blindly on the dog food brands to give your dog the best nutrition is not good. Many dog food brands claim to provide a balanced and high protein diet to the dogs but just labelling the packet is not enough. You must go through a deep study of the ingredients contained and their nutritious value. Even the famous brands can turn out to be the culprits. Many dog owners witness the problems like hair loss, weakness, metabolic imbalance, hormonal changes etc. in spite of giving them the best quality food. Doing a quality check is important but knowing about the level of proteins, carbs and other nutrients is more important. It is recommended that you should always buy a trial pack and test its quality and ingredients. It is possible that the food which suited your neighbor’s dog may not suit your dog. This is because the suitability of every type of dog food differs from dog to dog. The breed, age, immunity, size of the dog matters a lot. A cheap dog food may contain some coarse grains and other low quality ingredients. They just aim to meet the basic standards and provide what is profitable to them under the low market price kept by them to attract more consumers. The meat based diet containing lamb, fish etc. as the main ingredients is generally more expensive than the vegetable based one. But you should not just compare the price and make a price-biased decision. The meat based diet would fill up your dog’s stomach and nutrition requirements faster than the cheaper one.
To sum up, here are some key points you must keep in mind to help your dog get the best nutrition-
- Select the type of dog food wisely. Choose the one which contains proper amount of nutrients and not the one which is more popular or cheap.
- Make sure that the type of diet you chose for your dog suits him the best.
- Do not rely blindly and solely on the dog food. You can add extra foods and supplements for best results.
- Check the ingredients whether they are appropriate and make sure the dog food meets the food and health standards.
