You should understand by now that the digestive tract is a vital system for your dog’s overall health. Keeping your dog’s digestive system healthy is YOUR responsibility.
Now, the health of both your dog and his system are affected by the quality of food that is introduced to it. If your dog has to process bad food, which doesn’t contain the necessary amount of nutrients suitable for him, his digestive system works super hard while it can’t absorb sufficient nutrients.
So, next time you buy food for your dog, have a closer look at the label and investigate what it’s made of. The food should be made from real animal meat in combination with natural products.
I highly recommend to ONLY buy food from your veterinary office or from a reputable pet supply shop.
Without pointing fingers to any brands, I want you to be aware of cheap dog food. It is often made of the leftovers (read “waste”) from slaughterhouses. This slaughter waste is then dried and crushed into a powder. This powder is then mixed with artificial flavoring and pressed into kibble.
Hopefully understand why this is not good!
Compare it to humans
Let’s put it this way: Imagine eating fast food twice a day for the rest of your life.
What kind of effect would that have on your overall health? You’d sign up for all kinds of nasty diseases and disorders because the food doesn’t contain the vital nutrients for your body to protect itself.
Well, the same goes for dog, and any other living being. Although dogs process their food differently from us, the basic principles are the same. Depending on their age, gender and breed, they need sufficient vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates and proteins.
All those elements are needed to increase your dog’s immune system, boost energy levels, create stronger muscles, stronger bones and create good overall physical and mental health.
As you know by now, high quality food is important. But, WHAT makes food high quality?
The main ingredient in Premium foods should be REAL meat and products suitable for human consumption. There is often a good source of carbohydrates and fatty acids such as Omega 3 and Omega 6. In other words, premium dog food contains nutrients which are easily absorbable.
Here is what you SHOULD avoid:
Food with meal as a main ingredient
Artificial flavoring
Artificial preservatives
These elements are often the source of food allergies.
Now, like I mentioned before, bad quality dog food often contains a lot of waste from slaughterhouses. This may include chicken beaks, hair, cow hooves and so on. Although these are considered proteins, the dog’s body has a hard time absorbing those.
There are often added sugars and artificial flavors as well, so it tastes extra good for the dog.
Another thing you should keep in mind is that dogs are meat eaters and their body is made for that. In nature, they wouldn’t consume an excessive amount of corn, wheat or soy.
Nutritional needs for different dogs
There is no “one brand fits all”, not even for high quality brands. Young working dogs obviously require a different diet than old dogs who just sleep all day. The nutritional requirements depend on the age, gender, breed and the amount of physical activity the dog has.
Ask advice from your local veterinarian!
He or she can recommend which diet is most suitable for your dog.
Thank you for staying with me, I hope you've learned some useful information.
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