Balanced diet is a must for your furry family member to stay healthy. That includes a mix of:
- Proteins (main sources are: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu)
- Fats (
- Carbohydrates (main sources are: white rice, quinoa, oat)
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Water
If you feed your dog dry or canned food labelled as “complete and balanced nutrition” it doesn’t mean that your dog will receive all necessary nutritions for healthy and happy life.
Just like with us, humans, every dog has its own individual needs for nutritions. So, there is no ideally balanced food for dogs, same as for humans.
“Complete and balanced nutrition” food does include all necessary nutritions, but it is the same as eating paper with addition of vitamins. 90% of fillers (something to make the dog feel full), 5% of some parts of the animals (mainly by parts from chicken, as we know chicken allergy is very common among dogs and humans too) and 5% of supplement (vitamins, oils and toppings).
As you can see, dry food for dogs will make your dog full, but it will shorten a lifespan of your fury family member and will cause such conditions like dental problems, kidney and/or liver problems and cancers.
Essential Nutrients
Proteins: Body tissues are made of proteins. Your dog’s body make only 13 of the 23 amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins. The other 10 have to come from food.
Fats: Fats give your dog energy. They also help keep your dog’s skin and hair healthy. Some important fatty acids for your dog are:
- Linoleum acid
- Omega-6
- Omega-3
Your dog’s body can’t make enough essential fatty acids on its own, so they need to eat food that has them.
Carbohydrates: Carbs Coe from plants. When your dog eats grains and vegetables, they get:
- Sugar
- Starches
- Fiber
Carbs power the tissues in your dog’s body. They also help keep your dog’s intestines healthy.
Vitamins & Minerals: These are needed for many of the chemical reactions in your dog’s body, such as building bones and keeping them strong.
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- B-Complex vitamins
- Calcium
- Phosphorous
Dogs don’t need to have an addition of vitamin C in their food because their bodies make it.
By feeding your dog a homemade or raw food (BARF), you provide your furry family member with all of the necessary nutritions.
Water: Even if dogs lose all of their body fat and half their protein, they can survive. But water is so important that they could die if they lose only 10% of the water in their body. Water makes up more than half of an adult dog’s body weight.
Just like us, humans, pets and any living creatures need fresh water every day. Make sure to change water bowl of your pet family members (dogs, cats, birds, rats, mice’s, rabbits or any of your pet family members). They must habe access to a fresh water.
Remember, they cannot take care of themselves. Since we adopted them, we are in charge of their feeding and daily needs.
Always observe your pet family member and do not neglect their needs.
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