Discover the benefits of proper dog nutrition: 4 tips to ensure your puppy is eating right – Read on
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Choosing the proper diet for your dog or any pet under your care is a decision that should not be taken lightly. The food you feed is a critical factor contributing to a pet’s overall well-being. Therefore, feeding your dog a healthy diet is an important decision. This article highlights essential tips to improve your dog’s diet.
Incorporate Fresh Whole Foods Into Dog’s Diet
- Introducing fresh whole foods, such as vegetables and fruit, can significantly improve your dog’s health. These foods are abundant in live enzymes that provide numerous health benefits. Additionally, whole foods are rich in fiber, which aids digestion, stimulates bowel movement, and enhances stool quality. Unfortunately, many vital nutrients in shelf-stable foods are lost during cooking. So, manufacturers add synthetic nutrients to their products.
However, these synthetic nutrients are not as beneficial as the natural nutrients found in whole foods. Unlike processed foods, whole foods contain nutritional co-factors that function synergistically to help the body absorb, assimilate, and utilize nutrients. Conduct thorough research on safe whole foods for your dog to ensure that you provide them with the best possible nutrition.
Substitute Rice With Organic Green Lentils
- Consider substituting rice with organic green lentils to give your dog optimal nutrition. Unlike grains, which often cause allergies, green lentils are a protein-rich food source. In addition, green lentils can serve as an excellent substitute for rice, as they require a similar boiling process for preparation.
Before cooking, it’s best to soak and rinse the lentils, then rinse them again. Lentils are among the most nutritionally valuable legumes, contain high protein levels, and are rich in fiber, iron, magnesium, and lysine. Lysine is an essential amino acid that boosts immune health and aids in treating and preventing cold sores, herpes, etc.
Do Not Feed Shelf-Stable Food as Staple Diet
- Marketing tactics can overshadow the concerning reasons why processed food has a prolonged shelf life of 12 to 24 months. We often believe these foods are sufficient to sustain our pets’ well-being. While there may be a few exceptions, the reality is quite the opposite. Therefore, it’s important to avoid relying on shelf-stable foods as the primary diet for your furry friend.
Industrial cooking processes producing shelf-stable products strip them of live enzymes, leaving lifeless foods that require synthetic supplementation to meet the nutritional standards established by AAFCO. Although shelf-stable food such as biscuits, kibble, and canned foods are handy in certain situations, such as in shelters, charities, long trips, or when time is limited, they should not be fed as they are a primary source of food.
Feed Appropriately and Limit Treats
It is crucial to feed your dog appropriately based on their weight, whether they need to gain or lose weight. For example, if your dog is overweight, it’s advisable to feed earlier in the day so they have more time to burn off the calories. On the other hand, if they need to gain weight, feeding them more regularly, especially before bedtime, can help prevent the burning of those extra calories.
In addition, treats can be harmful if overfed and may cause obesity in dogs. However, making fresh and healthy treats at home can be a better alternative. For instance, dried coconut flakes can be an excellent option for a healthy dog treat. Marketing strategies may have convinced dog owners that feeding treats are normal, but limiting them is essential to avoid compromising your dog’s health.
At Autumn Trails and Veterinary Center, we provide comprehensive pet care. We have the experience and technology to handle your pets’ healthcare needs. We are located in Charlottesville, VA. Appointments are conveniently available. Call us at 434-971-9800.
