What Can I Add To My Dogs Food

Store Dry Food Properly

There is a lot to be said for buying dry food in bulk or in large bags, as this almost always works out more economical than buying lots of smaller bags. But as with any other foodstuff, once opened, a bag of dry kibble will go stale, and once this has happened, it will lose a lot of the taste and aroma that makes it appealing to your dog. None of us enjoy eating stale food either, after all!

If you do buy large bags of dog food, it is important that once they are opened, you store them in airtight containers, and use a range of smaller containers to hold the food so that the bulk of the bag, which you might not use for some time, remains fresh.

How Long Will My Dog Need To Be On A Diet

Most dogs will achieve their ideal weight within six to eight months. If the process is taking longer than this, something needs to be changed. A healthy weight loss is between one to five pounds per month based on your dog’s size and current condition. Some dogs may need to go slower while others may shed the pounds more quickly.

For most dogs, the secret to weight loss is a dedicated, committed, and concerned family. Dogs do not understand that their excess weight is causing them harm. It is up to us as good stewards to protect them from harm and not inadvertently contribute to their premature death or development of debilitating diseases. Together, you and your veterinary healthcare team can help your dog achieve a healthy body weight and condition safely and successfully.

How Can I Get My Dog To Lose More Weight Through Exercise

The first thing you can do to help your dog lose weight is to increase the intensity and length of your daily walk. Few dogs will naturally walk at a pace that generates the elevated heart rates needed for sustained aerobic activity and weight loss. Based on observations of people walking with their dogs, the average pace is 20 to 25 minutes per mile , which is actually a stroll. They make frequent pauses to allow their dog to smell an interesting object or mark territory. Walking for weight loss is very different than walking for pleasure. You should aim for a daily brisk 30-minute walk. With this sort of walking, you should break into a slight sweat within a few minutes. For details on developing a healthy walking program for your dog, see handout “Walking Your Dog for Weight Loss”.

“Increase the intensity and length of your daily walk.”

Some additional simple tips for getting your dog to exercise more are:

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Feed A High Quality Food

Just because your dog does not seem overly keen on one particular type or brand of dry food doesnt mean that they will feel that way about all of them, so you may have to try a few different brands before you find one that your dog will stick with. High quality, complete dry foods are much richer in tasty proteins than their lower quality alternatives, which are often bulked out with grains and may be high in sugar or salts.

Feed a good quality food, and make any changes between brands gradually, to allow your dog to get used to the taste and texture of the new food.

Ways To Improve Your Dogs Kibble

A diet of fresh, unprocessed meats, organs, bones, and vegetable matter is closest to the evolutionary diet of our pets wild canine and feline ancestors. A mostly fresh food diet, whether raw or lightly cooked, yields outstanding results, with beautiful coats, clear eyes, sweet breath, great teeth, calm dispositions, and dogs and cats who are rarely sick.

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How Much Should I Feed My Dog

Dog obesity is a growing concern in the veterinary community and has been linked to many health problems in dogs. Luckily for our pets, we are usually more disciplined about controlling their diets than we are about controlling our own. Knowing how much to feed your dog and what healthy dog weight looks like can be tricky. Many owners accidentally overfeed their pets, which is why it is important to take your dog in for regular checkups and to talk with your vet about appropriate portions. The guidelines on the back of the bag are just that guidelines. Some dogs may require more than the recommended amount, whereas others require much less. Activity level, time of year, nursing, illness, and more factors can all impact how much a dog needs to eat. Dog people will often advise that you should feed the dog thats in front of you instead of strictly adhering to dog food serving size guidelines that may or may not be exactly what your dog needs.

What Is My Take

Choosing a high-quality food from the hundreds of available brands and formulas can be challenging. The pet nutrition industry is very competitive, and most commercially available foods are very good balanced diets. Ask your veterinary health care team to help you select a diet that is backed by scientific principles and research and that meets your dog’s individual needs. If you have any questions about a particular food, your best source for help is your veterinary health care team.

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How Quickly Should I Introduce The New Reducing Diet To My Dog

When you are introducing a new diet to your dog, you should allow about a week to make the transition. To minimize digestive upsets, mix the new diet in with the old diet in gradually increasing proportions. Start by feeding ¼ of the new diet mixed with ¾ of the old diet for one to two days, then increase to half-and-half for another two days, then ¾ new food and ¼ old food for a final two to three days before completely switching to the new diet.

“To minimize digestive upsets, mix the old and new diets together in gradually increasing proportions.”

To enhance the palatability of the diet food, try warming the food, adding a flavoring such as a small amount of salmon juice, low-fat chicken or beef broth, or an omega-3 fatty acid supplement.

How To Add Fiber To A Dog’s Diet

This article was co-authored by Brian Bourquin, DVM. Brian Bourquin, better known as Dr. B to his clients, is a Veterinarian and the Owner of Boston Veterinary Clinic, a pet health care and veterinary clinic with three locations, South End/Bay Village, the Seaport, and Brookline, Massachusetts. Boston Veterinary Clinic specializes in primary veterinary care, including wellness and preventative care, sick and emergency care, soft-tissue surgery, dentistry. The clinic also provides specialty services in behavior, nutrition, and alternative pain management therapies using acupuncture, and therapeutic laser treatments. Boston Veterinary Clinic is an AAHA accredited hospital and Bostons first Fear Free Certified Clinic. Brian has over 19 years of veterinary experience and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 12 testimonials and 89% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 657,752 times.

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What Are The Healthiest Oils For Dogs

Fish oil: Fish oil contains EPA and DHA, omega-3 fatty acids that help arthritis, and also has some anti-cancer effects, says Nancy Scanlan, DVM, CVA, MSFP, and executive director of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Foundation. Fish oil can also improve your dogs memory.

The primary reason I recommend fish-oil based omega-3 fatty aids is to yield a natural anti-inflammatory effect that can help reduce overall inflammation in the body and potentially decrease my patients reliance on medications aimed at reducing inflammation and pain, says Dr. Patrick Mahaney, VMD, CVA, CVJ, and a certified veterinary acupuncturist with California Pet Acupuncture and Wellness .

Krill oil: While fish oil usually comes from fish higher on the food chain, like salmon, krill oil hails from tiny shrimp-like organisms that rank a little lower. This makes krill oil less likely to be contaminated with mercury, Dr. Scanlan says. It also contains EPA and DHA, and will help give your pet healthier joints and skin, in addition to other benefits.

All dogs are omnivores that lean towards the carnivorous side, so they best absorb non-vegetarian-based oils like fish and krill, explains Dr. Mahaney.

Flaxseed oil: This oil is high in alpha linolenic omega-3s, which puts it in the same ballpark as wild fish when it comes to boosting heart health. Like many of the other healthy oils, flaxseed oil also helps with mobility for arthritic dogs, and can aid in blood pressure and kidney function.

Don’t Be Afraid To Try Many Options

You may have to experiment a little bit to find just the right combination of superfoods and dog food to appeal to your dog’s taste buds, just be careful of food allergies. Most dogs enjoy eating a few different superfoods, so the experiments shouldn’t take too long.You also may want to read through the list of ingredients on your dog food bag. Once you know which nutrients the dog food provides to your pet, you can pick a superfood that will supplement the dog food’s nutrients, giving your dog the entire range of vitamins and minerals it needs!Can’t get enough superfoods in your pet’s diet? You can read more about superfoods for pets in the article below!

See more:

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Storing Your Dog Food

From the moment any ingredient is harvested, its nutritional levels start to drop and the rate at which the nutrients degrade is entirely dependant on how the food is stored. To get the most out of any food, an airtight container is best. There are plenty of options in all sorts of shapes and sizes available from pet shops or you could simply use a normal dustbin or other similar container. A good, sturdy container will also help to fend off any unauthorised raids while you’re out. Dry foods should be kept in a cool, dry place while moist foods should be refrigerated after opening and frozen foods should only be thawed just before being fed.

A Cooked Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency Diet For Dogs

I start with 1/2 pound of cooked meat, rotating between chicken, pork, beef, venison, rabbit, turkey, and fish . Ive recently begun using chicken and beef heart along with muscle meat. I usually feed one protein for a week, then switch to another, with canned fish fed once a week. I grind the cooked meat in a food processor for easier digestibility because of Annies EPI.

I add 3/4 cup of starchy carbohydrates, rotating between brown rice, sweet potato, quinoa, spelt, and whole-grain pasta. I overcook the grains for better digestibility. Sweet potatoes are baked and fed with the skins. I also include 1/8 cup of fresh, raw veggies, herbs, and fruits, such as celery, spinach, parsley, cilantro, carrots, green beans, other dark leafy greens, and berries. These are pureed in a food processor. Occasionally I include nuts , or canned clams or oysters.

I add 1 teaspoon of oil, rotating among fish oil, olive oil, safflower oil, and butter, with the emphasis on fish oil. I feed about half a pound of raw, organic liver a week, spread out over multiple meals, as too much at one time leads to loose stools. Annie doesnt do well with eggs or cottage cheese, so I leave those out of her diet, but I often add some plain, low-fat yogurt to meals. I also give her appropriate human leftovers. Each meal is mixed with a cup of warm, filtered water, along with Annies prescription digestive enzymes.

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Adding Superfoods For Your Dog

Dogs will enjoy a variety of foods as add-ins, including those that will be good for them. The superfoods listed in the accompanying infographic can provide both a great add-in to the dog’s regular food as well as desirable vitamins and minerals that will contribute to your dog’s good health. Some superfoods are better as a standalone food, while others are great to add to the kibble. The following list includes the five best superfoods to add to a dogs regular kibble!

Heat Up Your Dogs Food

Heating up your dogs food increases its smell and palatability. Sick dogs will have a hindered sense of smell and taste. Food that has been warmed up may smell more fragrant and can help entice your dog to eat it. This will also help with taste which will encourage your dog to continue eating after that first bite.

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What Makes Veterinary Weight Loss Diets Special

There are a number of weight control diets available at pet stores that work well for a dog who only needs to lose a small amount of weight. However, these diets are often not as effective as veterinary weight loss diets if a dog needs to lose a significant amount of weight or if your dog has other medical conditions.

Not all weight loss strategies work for every dog, so there are many different diets to address this. Some weight loss diets, such as Purina Proplan OM® and Royal Canin® Calorie Control, are high protein, low carbohydrate, others such as Royal Canin® Satiety and Hills® Prescription Diet w/d have high fiber content to help your dog feel more full and stop begging for food. Some newer weight loss diets, such as Hills® Prescription Diet Metabolic, use specific nutrients that can promote increased metabolism, helping dogs burn calories more quickly. Your veterinarian will be able to advise the best weight loss diet for your dog’s particular situation.

Are Fresh Vegetables Good For Dogs

Some fresh veggies are good: yes. If your dog enjoys a crunchy vegetable such as carrot or celery consider yourself lucky! Dogs can be given the occasional raw, fresh vegetable such as a carrot, celery stalk or cucumber. Carrots and celery, in particular, can help clean the gum line of dogs who enjoy chewing their vegetables.

Other vegetables such as squash and brussel sprouts should not be given to your dog for raw eating because they are too hard to digest. But you can definitely blanch or roast them for an extra special dog treat.

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you would eat the vegetable raw. If not, dont give it to your dog raw.

Broccoli, beans and cauliflower can be eaten raw, but digest better when blanched or cooked.

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Preparing Meals For A Dog With Kidney Disease

Whatever you and your veterinarian decide to go with, whether canned or dry dog food, or fresh and cooked meats, the hardest thing about having a dog with kidney disease is often not what to fix but to make sure your dog is eating regularly, Dr. Bailey says.

“Dogs with kidney disease tend to have trouble keeping weight on,” Dr. Bailey says “They tend to not have a great appetite, so I would lean towards feeding your dog a few times a day.”

She adds that you’ll also want to make sure your dog has easy access to water. That’s vital for all dogs, of course, not to mention all living creatures, but especially so if your dog has kidney disease.

If your dog has not been diagnosed with it, it may be hard for you to know for sure whether your dog has kidney disease. But at least at feeding times and every time you fill the water bowl you can feel good knowing that you’re making a difference in your dogs quality of life and possibly extending his or her lifetime by years.

“As a general statement, a lot of what you do at home has a very good chance of extending your dog’s life,” Dr. Bailey says.

“We can only make the recommendations. What you do at home definitely matters in this case. It’s kind of like going to your cardiologist. They tell you to go on certain medications, and it’s your decision whether you do it or not,” she says. “Your pet’s health is to some extent in your hands, so you want to make sure you make good choices.”

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