If you’ve ever owned a dog and recognised its ability to eat just about anything – whether its good for them or not – you’ll know that getting them to eat is easy, but getting them to eat well is a little bit harder. Unlike cats, dogs don’t require a solely meat-based diet (although still require a good amount of meat), and can extract nutrients from just about anything. For a healthy dog, a balanced diet will include protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. What foods give a dog these all-important nutrients, though? In this article, we take a look at the kinds of foods dogs should have in their diet to make them as healthy as possible.
Getting started with a healthy dog diet
In order to not run out and get a pet insurance quote as soon as your dog starts looking a bit sluggish, ensuring your furry friend has the right diet can prevent a lot of health issues from the outset. The first of these should be obvious: water! As with humans, dogs are made of 70% water and require high quality, fresh and clean water to remain as healthy as possible. Also as with humans, providing extra water for your dog is extra important when it’s hot outside or when they have diarrhea or even when they’re just sick in general. So, before you get all caught up in gourmet pet foods, ensure you’re constantly providing fresh water for your dog – if you’re required to drink filtered water due to low quality water in your area, your dog should be drinking exactly what you’re drinking. With that out of the way, lets take a look at dog food – with so many dog food products on the market, becoming overwhelmed is not uncommon for pet owners. A good place to start when looking for your dog’s favourite new food is to consider the following four elements: taste, digestibility, energy content, and cost.
Finding the right balance
It is the balance of these four elements that is often the most important. Of these, taste is often the most obvious – it’s not too difficult to tell when a dog enjoy a bowl of food, after all! But just because your dog enjoys some food, doesn’t mean that its good for your dog nutritionally, and similarly, buying the most nutrient-dense and healthy food on the market doesn’t mean your dog will actually enjoy it. Its also quite easy to see when a dog food is not very digestible – you can very easily tell from a glance at your dog’s stool how digestible a particular food is, and if you’re dog is particularly gassy, it might also be a tell of food that is hard to digest. When you’re factoring in the energy content of food, it’s often the age of your dog that counts the most. When they’re puppies, dogs typically need food that is very dense in nutrients, but the same diet when they’re adults will quickly cause them to gain a lot of weight. Finally, cost is all about your budget – how much can you afford to spend to regularly feed your furry friend?
Giving your dog the best
Making sure that your dog gets all of the nutrients it deserves is extremely important – not only will it be able to live a fuller, healthier life, but you’ll be able to enjoy each other’s company considerably more. Giving your dog the best possible food with what your budget permits is crucial, as your furry friend deserves the best you can afford!
