What To Know About Your Dog and His Food

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     Dog food should always be nutritious so that it can help strengthen his bones and immune system and help him to grow. There are many different types of dog food available at any of the stores specializing in dog supplies.

The first and foremost thing to understand about feeding dogs is that whenever you introduce a new variety of food you need to do it slowly so that your dog can get accustomed to it gradually. If you feed your dog extra food then he might end up having an upset stomach, diarrhea in severe cases, vomiting, constipation, and excess gas.

Dogs have a type of bacteria in their intestine that helps them to digest food. Any sudden changes in their food can bring different and definite changes in the type of bacteria and this might disrupt their ability to digest dog food and as a result upsets their intestine. Hence when you feed your dog a new food or a diet ensure that it is given to him on gradual basis. Let your dog grow fond of his food!

It is hence recommended that you should switch to any new food only over a gradual period of 7-10 days. For example: you can make a food mixture that will contain 75% of the old food and 25% of the new food and then you can feed the mixture to your dog for at least 3 days so that he can get used to it. After the initial 3 days, you can feed him a mixture having 50% old food and 50% new food for another 3 days and then finally make it a 25% old food and 75% new food ratio. Dogs will be more comfortable with this kind of a progression. Nutritious food for dogs is a part of dog supplies and you can find it in a pet store.

While buying dog supplies from a Pet food store, always check the label as it will contain important information. In order to find quality dog food, you need to look for the following:

1. Brand Name and Manufacturer: One of the important facts to be considered is the reputation of a pet food manufacturer. Reputable dog food manufacturers will follow the high quality standards and other norms. The overall quality of dog food is based on the research and scientific experiments that have been conducted to get the particular quality of dog food.

2. Nutrient Guarantees: There are certain nutrient guarantees that are required by all manufacturers and has to be displayed on the dog food label. This is that section of a label, which will offer a minimum guarantee for fat and protein as well as maximum guarantee for fiber and moisture.

3. Nutritional Adequacy Statement: This is a statement that will tell you if the dog food product will offer a balanced and complete nutrition or not. It will also indicate if the dog food is for a particular life stage or can be taken by dogs of all ages.

Listing of Ingredients: Most of the ingredients in a particular dog food will be listed in the descending order according to weight. Ingredients will include some of the most important nutrients like protein, fat, vitamins as well as minerals.