Diet is vital when it comes to our health. A health-conscious person will pay attention to their diet as well as their exercise routine and mental health. As your dog has very little say in deciding what they eat, it’s crucial that you take that extra time to come up with a wholesome and healthy diet for them.
The breed and age of your dog as well as the weather, immunity, and environment all affects a dog’s diet. Here are a few ways you can improve your pet’s:
1. Label Test Everything
Check the ingredients on the label and decide whether they’re the best for your pup’s diet. Google can get you all the information you need. Don’t rely on commercials because they tend to exaggerate things, if you haven’t noticed already. The labels on the packaging are organized according to the ingredients present in the food. You can get this list checked by a vet to be 100% certain about the impact it may have on your dog’s health.
2. No Processed Food Should Be Their Staple Diet
There is a balanced nutritional standard set out by AAFCO which is the rule of thumb you can follow when buying your dog’s food. The shelf-life of processed food indicates that there aren’t any live enzymes left in the food – and that’s not good news. This means that, sure you can use this but using them as a staple food for your dog is not the most inspired idea. They have their own occasions like a camping trip
3. Incorporate Whole Food
After minimizing the use of store-bought and canned dog-food, you should include fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains and cooked protein in your dog’s diet. Picking the right food can be tricky, especially with store-bought food.
Adding vegetables can be a little tricky as dogs aren’t very interested in that kind of food. But by being a little clever, you can add them to their existing meals. This will ensure that your dog is getting enough nutrients and their digestion will also be much better. You just need to check for certain allergies or preference for your specific breed – and then you are good to go!
4. Add Anti Inflammatory Components to the Diet
Depending on your dog’s breed, inflammation might be a major issue, hence you need to do plenty of research before working out /’your dog’s diet.
If you want to use commercial food, you should add some anti-inflammatory components to offset some of the effects. Inflammation causes premature aging so if you want your pooch around for a long time, you’ll need to put some serious thought into this.
5. Avoid Gluten
If your dog is having smelly farts and poop, it’s probably due to the gluten in their diet. Dry pet food usually contains gluten and is processed with corn powder to make the fat stable. These can strain your dog’s kidney so try avoiding gluten as much as you can.
6. Don’t OverFeed
Lean dogs are healthier dogs. If you feel that your dog is gaining weight fast, consider giving them heavier food in the mornings so that they have more time to burn it off. If the opposite is the case, try feeding them before bedtime.
Younger dogs are usually leaner due to their active nature. Older dogs can gain weight very easily and as their caregiver, you need to be careful to feed them enough.
7. Teeth and Gums Need Special Care
It can be difficult to separate food and treats that are good for your dog’s oral hygiene. Even when there is a claim that it’s the healthy alternative, the cooking process and preservatives can make them extremely damaging. Brushing is not only for human beings, it’s for dogs too.
But this is a daunting task indeed. To get similar results, getting your dog to gnaw on bones is a good idea. Carrots and cucumbers work wonders too! This is certainly a very messy way of removing plague as there’ll likely be a lot of pieces of vegetables everywhere. You can also use coconut oil as an antibacterial and antifungal ingredient to clean your dog’s teeth. Licking on hardened coconut oil will definitely help with bad breath.
9. Rethink Your Water
Water is such an important element that we usually tend to overlook it. It’s full of chemicals and those usually don’t show any effect immediately but can be dangerous if consumed over a long period of time.
Very harsh chemicals are used in water treatment plants and there are residues in the water we drink. They can have a terrible impact on your dog’s health, especially depending on where you live and what your dog’s breed is. You definitely need to test your water for harsh chemicals.
10. Vinegar is a Great Cleanser
You can use vinegar to cleanse pretty much anything. Ready-made chemicals can prove to be quite harsh on your dog’s skin. You can also use vinegar to clean fresh fruits to get rid of any leftover chemicals. Washing dishes with vinegar might sound a bit weird at first, but trusonce you get into the habit of doing it, it’s going to feel very natural.
We’ll end with the most important note of all. DO NOT change your dog’s habit within a short span of time, as it can have a very negative impact on their health. You need to incorporate small changes slowly over a period of time. You also need to give it some time to see whether the diet causes any negative effects.