Ensuring proper nutrition for your dog is crucial for their overall health and well-being. Here are some tips to help you provide the best nutrition for your furry friend:

1. Balanced Diet

• Complete and Balanced:
  Look for commercial dog foods labelled “complete and balanced” by PFAC (Pet Food Association of Canada). This ensures the food meets nutritional standards.
• Variety:
  Incorporate a variety of proteins (chicken, beef, fish), vegetables, and grains in your dog’s diet to provide a range of nutrients.

2. High-Quality Ingredients

• Whole Foods: Choose foods with whole, natural ingredients rather than those with fillers, by-products, and artificial additives.
• Protein Sources: Ensure that the primary ingredient is a high-quality protein source like chicken, beef, or fish.

3. Portion Control

• Follow Guidelines:
  Feed your dog according to the guidelines on the food packaging, adjusting for their age, weight, and activity level.
• Avoid Overfeeding:
  Overfeeding can lead to obesity and related health issues. Measure out food portions and avoid free-feeding.

4. Fresh Water

• Constant Supply:
  Ensure your dog always has access to fresh, clean water.
• Hydration:
  Monitor your dog’s water intake, especially during hot weather or after exercise.

5. Avoid Harmful Foods

• Toxic Foods:
  Avoid feeding your dog chocolate, grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, xylitol (found in some peanut butters and sweets), alcohol, and caffeine.
• Human Food:
  Be cautious with table scraps and human food, as many can harm dogs.

6. Treats and Snacks

• Healthy Treats:
  Choose healthy, low-calorie treats. Treats should not exceed 10% of your dog’s daily caloric intake.
• Natural Options:
  Consider natural treats like carrots, apple slices (without seeds), and green beans.

7. Special Dietary Needs

• Life Stages:
  Adjust your dog’s diet based on their life stage (puppy, adult, senior) to meet their specific nutritional needs.
• Health Conditions:
  If your dog has specific health issues (allergies, kidney disease, diabetes), consult your vet for a specialised diet.

8. Regular Vet Visits

• Check-Ups:
  Schedule regular vet check-ups to monitor your dog’s health and get professional dietary advice.
• Weight Management:
  Discuss your dog’s weight and diet with your vet to ensure they maintain a healthy weight.

9. Homemade Meals

• Balanced Recipes:
  If you prefer cooking for your dog, use balanced recipes that provide all the necessary nutrients.
• Vet Consultation:
  Consult with a veterinarian or a pet nutritionist to ensure homemade meals meet your dog’s nutritional needs.

10. Gradual Changes

• Slow Transition:
  When switching foods, do so gradually over a week to avoid digestive upset. Mix increasing amounts of the new food with the old food each day.

11. Supplements

• Vet Approval:
  Only use supplements as recommended by your vet, since unnecessary supplementation can cause health issues.
• Common Supplements:
  Omega-3 fatty acids for skin and coat health, glucosamine for joint health, and probiotics for digestive health are commonly recommended.

12. Monitor Your Dog’s Condition

• Coat and Skin:
  A healthy, shiny coat and clear skin usually indicate good nutrition.
• Energy Levels:
  Consistent energy levels and overall vitality are good indicators of proper nutrition.
• Stool Quality:
  Regular, firm stools indicate a balanced diet and good digestive health.

By following these tips, you can help ensure your dog maintains a healthy and balanced diet, leading to a long, happy, and active life.Top of Form

As a pet owner, you want to make sure your furry friend gets the best nutrition for their health and happiness.

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) created the Global Nutrition Guidelines to help you make smart choices about your pet’s diet. Pairing these guidelines with your veterinarian’s advice is a winning combo for pet nutrition.

Why this matters!

Good nutrition is key to keeping your pet healthy. Balanced diets prevent diseases, improve digestion, and boost energy, while poor diets can cause issues like obesity, skin problems, and digestive disorders. Understanding your pet’s nutritional needs helps you make better dietary decisions.

WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines

The WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines are a handy framework for figuring out what dogs and cats need nutritionally. They highlight the importance of feeding a balanced and complete diet, rather than relying on supplements or fad foods. The guidelines also emphasize consulting with a veterinarian to find the best diet for your pet, as they can give personalized advice based on age, health, and lifestyle.

Veterinary Advice: The Key to Unlocking Optimal Nutrition

While the WSAVA guidelines are a great starting point, receiving advice from your veterinarian is crucial for getting your pet’s nutrition on point as they are trained in nutrition and have a full medical history of your pet.

This will ensure that your pet receives the best diet and overall nutritional recommendation based on their specific needs.

They can help you:

• Determine the best diet for your pet based on their age, health, and lifestyle
• Identify potential food allergies or sensitivities
• Develop a feeding plan that meets your pet’s nutritional needs
• Monitor your pet’s health and adjust their diet as needed

Putting it all Together

Good nutrition is key to keeping your pet healthy and happy. By following the WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines and consulting with your veterinarian, you can make sure your pet gets the nutrients they need to thrive. Remember, nutrition isn’t one-size-fits-all, and what works for one pet might not work for another. By working with your veterinarian, you can create a personalized nutrition plan that fits your pet’s unique needs.

Last word

Although there are many other steps you could take, by following a healthy pet nutrition plan, you’ll be promoting longevity and avoiding long-term wellness risks. Remember, our four-pawed friends rely on us, so lets all take proactive steps to ensure their health and vitality.

Because we want our companion pooches to be in the best possible condition, we make sure to give them plenty of exercise, the best nutrition available, and keep them off sweets and other unhealthy treats.

These are all essential to every dog’s well-being but most of us don’t know whether all the expensive dog food and nutritious snacks are being optimally digested. That’s because very few of us know how much the canine digestive system differs from that of humans.

How these systems are constructed and function gives us several clues but the chemistries that process foodstuffs are invisible and extremely unalike. The mouth parts, including the teeth, jaws, and their controlling musculatures allow food to be ripped and chewed. Dogs have forty-two pearly whites on average compared to our thirty-two and while the teeth have similar basic functions, there are obvious differences in shape and strength. Remember also that our hands allow the plate-to-mouth food interactions to be managed much more precisely than a dog can. They make up for this with powerful jaws and a rough but flexible tongue that allows it to bolt its food instead of chewing it fine.

While the physical process of mashing food into a mass that can be swallowed takes place in both the canine and human mouths, in humans the chemical digestive process begins with the amylase enzyme converting carbohydrates into sugars that can be easily absorbed and metabolized. Since dogs have no amylase in their saliva, the chemical conversion of carbs to sugars happens much later during digestion. Dogs gulp their food for it to reach the stomach rapidly where the gastric acid (+/- 10 times more potent than in humans) and protease enzymes (chymotrypsin, trypsin, and pepsinogen) begin digesting proteins into absorbable amino acids. The consumed food stays in the dog’s stomach for up to eight hours compared to the 30 minutes it remains in the human stomach.

Only once it passes to the much shorter small intestine does the dog’s system begin breaking down the carb and fat content of the food. This is a critically important stage and diverges dramatically from the human process. Remember that canines cannot produce the enzyme amylase in their saliva, but a small amount is produced from the pancreas. This means they can digest foods with minimal starchy content like grasses, seeds, and plant materials most of which they would have consumed when eating their natural wild prey’s gut contents. Because amylase is lacking, processed foods heavy with carbohydrates over-taxes the digestive system and could lead to complicated health problems like obesity, diabetes, and even cancer. That’s why it’s sensible to feed them a species-appropriate diet with the nutritional content they naturally evolved to eat. Of course, this would seem to place an extra burden on already stressed-out doggy parents. The good news is that not all carbs are equally bad for our canine companions. Refined starches like white flour and sugars, and even honey should not make it onto your pet’s menu, even as treats. But the complex carbs found in unprocessed whole foods such as raw or lightly cooked veggies and millet supply slow-release energy, aid digestion, maintain the nervous system, boost immunity, and regulate the metabolism. These are cheap and easily provided supplements to the quality kibble they normally get but should not exceed about a quarter of their daily food intake. Feeding your dog raw foods can be a healthy, nutrient-rich diet but because these can be easily contaminated freshness is the keyword.

We have discussed the digestive system and the basic requirements of a healthy eating scheme for your dog, but to complete the picture we must mention the role of probiotics. These are healthy microbes that live in the gut and help convert the carbohydrate and fibre-based sugars into the vitamins and fatty acids that naturally boost your pet’s biochemistry. By improving the immune system, they help stave off infections throughout the body. A great and cheap source of probiotics is unsweetened natural yogurt used as a light topping on a normal helping of quality kibble.

A happy dog in good health is all the reward we as loving pet owners need in return for the care lavished on our most loyal and deserving animal companions.

“Crude ash content 5%, moisture content 12%, fibre content 3%, steak flavoured meal”; Such statistics and this type of wording are all found on pet food packaging but a straw poll among pet owners will quickly reveal that few know what these values and claims mean.

Pet food labels contain essential information but sometimes it is difficult to understand all the details. Everyone knows that balanced diets include proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals but we still commonly buy pet foods without considering the contents, mostly because it is convenient, well-packaged, and attractively advertised.

As caring pet parents, we should know whether and how our pet’s nutritional needs are being met. Below is a breakdown of the key information to glean from pet food labels.

UNDERSTANDING PET FOOD LABELS

• Front-of-bag statements by reputable brands are usually very accurate but it’s important to understand what these claims mean because certain label-wording is regulated:
  
  
  • A label that highlights the contents as, e.g., “chicken dog food” or “beef dog food” must contain a minimum of 65% of the named ingredient.
  • When in combination with words such as “formula”, “dinner”, or “entrée” at least 26% of the mass should be the named ingredient.
  • Advertising that the product is “dog food rich in chicken” means that at least 14% of the content should be chicken.
  • Using the word “with” in the description e.g., “dog food with lamb” could mean a main ingredient content as low as 4%.
    
    
• The guaranteed analysis that specifies the nutrient quantities in the product is not a legal requirement, but must be accurate if present. Remember that labels stating “max”, or “min” reflect ranges, not actual values.
  
  
• The required daily allowance (RDA) on human food packaging tells us what percentages of the recommended intake of vitamins etc., the contents provide. This is not found on pet food labels because of the extreme size differences, particularly among dog breeds. The serving guides somewhat fulfil that purpose.
  
  
• All ingredients should be listed by weight, from the highest to the lowest content. Protein in grams/kg is usually followed by moisture, fat, fibre, carbohydrates, and crude ash. The latter sounds odd but is a measure of the trace minerals essential for pet health. This is not an additive but the remnants when all the other contents such as protein, fibre, etc., are incinerated. Normally, crude ash should not exceed 8% or be less than 2%.
  
  
• The energy content is expressed as “kilocalories per kilogram”. This lets owners calculate the optimal calorie count per serving for their pet’s energy needs.
  
  
• All additives such as colourants, flavourings, and preservatives should also be listed. This is especially important for managing allergies.

The manufacturer’s information, such as a consumer support number and the company address, should always be included.

WHAT ABOUT TREATS AND SNACKS?

Experts recommend healthy, low-sodium, low-fat snacks for senior dogs. You can try offering your dog carrots and apples, but never feed any dog grapes or raisins.

PLEASE NOTE: Snacks should form part of your dog’s daily calorie allowance.

IS YOUR DOG’S DIET AGE-APPROPRIATE?

If you have a senior dog, especially one with a health condition, talk to your veterinarian about a diet that’s breed, size and age-appropriate.

When you think senior dog food, think about the following:

• Quality
• Enough Fibre
• Highly digestible
• Nutritious
• Well-balanced
• Lower in calories
• Less, but quality protein and adequate fats

Kibble, in a nutshell, is ground up ingredients shaped into pellets.

COMMERCIAL DOG FOOD

Commercial kibble (and other pet foods) might be regulated by law to meet nutritional needs, but as pet owners we should still be cautious when buying dog food.

HOW IS KIBBLE MADE?

Dry ingredients are mixed with raw, wet ingredients before being pulverised.
The dough is cooked and formed through extrusion.
Extrusion entails pushing dough through specially sized and shaped holes.
Pieces are cut and dried before being sprayed with fats, minerals, oils and vitamins.
Finally, food is packed and sealed.

Contents of Kibble

Typical ingredients include:

• Grains
• Cereals
• Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
• Protein sources such as beef, poultry, fish and eggs
• Preservatives

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT PET FOOD LABELS

Protein

Protein(s) should be listed first and ideally be of single/novel source.

Grains

While dogs can benefit from the energy grains provide, some may be sensitive to certain grains. Other dogs may need a completely grain-free diet.

Preservatives

Some owners avoid foods containing controversial preservatives (more information below). Natural preservatives include tocopherols (vitamin E), citric acid (vitamin C) and rosemary extract.

PET FOOD INGREDIENTS THAT ARE CONSIDERED UNHEALTHY

If you see any of these on the label, you may want to think twice before buying.

Carcinogens

• Aflatoxins, produced by certain fungi, are found in grains, nuts and legumes
• The chemical acrylamide can form in some foods (typically starchy foods) during high-temperature cooking processes.

Preservatives

• Ethoxyquin: Banned in human food
• Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA): Listed as a known carcinogen
• Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT): Associated with liver and kidney problems in studies performed on rats

Protein Extenders

• Blood meal: Dried and powdered blood

Heavy Metals

• More than the maximum level of mercury, cadmium and lead

Excessive Amounts of Nutrients

• Vitamin D
• Vitamin A

TIPS

Remember to always check the ‘best before’ date before buying and serving food.

If you’re struggling to figure out which foods to feed your dog, ask your veterinarian for advice.