Healthy dog food is a growing concern amongst pet owners as the often well known brands that were considered dependable have been revealed to produce unhealthy foods with poor quality ingredients. Finding healthy dog food brands can be quite a challenge so it is important to understand what dogs should and should not be eating.
Many brands of pet food supply highly processed options which are incredibly unhealthy for an animal, especially dogs that require a diet that consists of 40% protein, 30% starch and 30% fiber. When perusing through the ingredients on the labels of dog food you must make sure that the first ingredient is protein enriched and does not contain meat byproducts. Items like cornmeal have no value to a dog and are often used as mere filler.
A vegetarian diet is much better than the cheap commercial brands on sale. Dogs need protein but it can be derived from sources other than animals. Holistic dog foods are also a healthy option as they contain human grade ingredients and are entirely natural. Preservatives may be needed to keep the food fresh but they do not have to be artificial or unhealthy.
Raw food diets are also popular options as healthy dog food as they are considered to be the most natural options for a dog. Probably the best way to ensure that your dog is eating healthy dog food is to create it yourself based on the nutritional requirement advice given to you by your vet upon examination of your dog.
NEWS FLASH - 2012-02-10Dog Kidney Failure
The last thing that any dog owner wants to hear is that their dog has kidney failure. Most people don't even want to think about the possibility that it can happen to them, but the truth of the matter is that nine out of 1,000 dogs suffer from this unfortunate chronic renal disease.
Types of Terriers Safe For Small Children
A lot of children these days have quite the affinity for pet dogs. They would like to play around with them, hold them and generally pet them around. To little ones, these are their first best friends. Yet, it isn't all the time that the feeling is returned. At times, what would be a kind gesture or show of affection for us can be taken in a different way by our dogs. At worst, this would result in tragic results. Needless to say, any dog can be trained and raised to become your most devoted companion, but you have to understand that not all dog breeds are actually safe for youngsters.
Golden Retriever Puppies: What You Need to Know Before Adding a Golden Retriever Puppy to the Family
Golden Retriever puppies are commonly looked for because of their friendly personality. Besides being well-tempered, Golden Retriever puppies are also extremely intelligent and make amazing hunting dogs. In the mid-eighteen hundreds, a Tweed Water Spaniel (a now extinct dog breed) and a yellow Retriever were bred together to create the Golden Retriever as we know it today.
Switching to Healthy Dog Food
Pet owners who feed their dogs cheap and processed brands of food may notice that their animals do not have as much energy as other dogs, have dull coats and are often sick, with many visits to the vet having stemmed from food allergy problems. The best and quickest solution to this is to switch to healthy dog food, either a better quality brand or diet.
A well balanced and nutrition enriched diet will clear up a lot of afore mentioned side effects of a poor diet. Switching to healthy dog food should be done slowly however as the dog needs to get used to a different type of diet and a total detox from their previous diet can be a shock to the system.
The dog may even turn his nose up at healthy dog food at first but gradually it will become his first choice. It is advisable to add the healthier food to the diet slowly in addition to the old food. Splitting the portions will ease the dog into the new diet. Steadily add more healthy food and offer less of the cheaper stuff until the dogĄ¯s diet consists solely of healthy dog food. The long-term benefits provide a multitude of reasons to do this.
