Canines’ diet
Canines were meat eaters, originally. However, their eating habits have changed over time. Dogs are able to digest both plant and meat food, but animal origin food still takes up the most of their menu. Nowadays, they are omnivores and they need varied diet. However, there are many viands dogs should never eat, despite of popular belief they eat everything, like hummus. Unfortunately, there are many irresponsible owners who feed their pets snacks, sweets and leftovers. Remember, dogs are not humans and their bellies are unable to process various types of food people eat.Their diet should consist of right proportions of different compounds. It should be rich in proteins, important for dogs’ muscles and other tissues; it should also contain some carbs, vitamins and minerals, as well. Unlike cats, dogs’ bodies could utilize more material from plant food, but it should never replace their typical meals. The best option is to choose some good dog food products, based on your dog’s individual nutritional needs. Your dog needs a diet plan that would suit its age, gender, size, health condition and other individual characteristics.According to some researches, a well-balanced canines’ diet plan should include about 75% of meat food, including both bone meat and boneless parts and about 25% of plant food. Dog food products represent a great mixture of all of the essential ingredients a dog needs. Some home cooked food is welcome, as well. Choose only high quality and certified viands, in order to avoid food poisoning risk and other possible health issues.
Dogs and meat
As we’ve mentioned before, meat is a natural food for dogs. In nature, dogs are hunters, so they would eat prey animals and raw meat.However, if you want to feed your dog some meat, it is best to serve it well cooked. Raw meat you buy may contain dangerous parasites and bacteria, so it could be a great danger for your pet’s health. Always choose only high quality and certified meat. Prepare it with no additions, because salt, fat and spices we use to make food are harmful to dogs.If you wonder what kind of meat to prepare for your dog, there are several good options. The best matches are beef, lamb and turkey. It is true your dog would much benefit from eating raw meat, but it is a demanding diet plan and raw meat diet has many risks.Exclusive (cooked) meat diet, meaning using meat as a basic food, could be great in terms of nutrition, but it is practically unachievable in long term. It requires a lot of time, patience and a lot of money. It is a good option to use both commercial food and meat meals on occasions.
Benefits from fish
You’ve certainly heard fish is one of the healthiest types of meat. The truth is, fish is extremely nutritional and generally healthier than other types of meat. It contains valuable omega 3 fatty acids, which are known to benefit human health in many ways.Due to its nutritional content, fish meat is known to help prevent risk from cancer, diabetes and other serious diseases. You may wonder whether fish meat could also be helpful to your pet or not.Dogs are generally more used to meat from land animals, rather than fish. However, your pet could experience great benefits from eating some. Amino acids from fish meat may work the same way for dogs, as they would for us. Including fish in your dog’s diet plan is a good choice, but you have to prepare it properly and don’t use it to replace your dog’s regular meals. The good way to get fish included in your dog’s nutritional plan is to choose some commercial food products containing fish.You could give your dog some plane fish on occasions, of course. However, you need to take up certain precautions. Never feed your dog raw fish meat, because it could make it feel sick and cause it severe health problems. Raw fish meat, salmon in particular, may contain deadly parasites.So, always serve your dog well-cooked fish. Avoid additions of all sorts, the same way you would do with other types of meat. In general, fish is a great source of energy and a metabolism booster. It is a good choice to feed active dogs.If you wonder which fish types to choose, there are various types to choose from. Salmon is good for essential proteins and sardines for calcium boost. Other types of fish are also welcome, even crab meat on rare occasions. The secret is to cook fish well and try to remove all those small and sharp bones, which might harm your friend.You have to limit fish servings to a couple times a week. Choose some high quality commercial dog food containing fish. Dogs love to eat fish, generally, so it could be a great choice to enrich your pet’s diet and make it more nutritional. Next up: read if dogs can consume another seafood, which is crabs.
If you want to know about allowable food to feed your dogs, here are some related pages to read:
- Can you feed watermelon to your dogs?
- Can you feed tuna to your dog?
- Can you feed shrimp to your dogs?