Dog Food: Vitamin & Mineral Supplements
Vitamin and mineral supplements are the most important components in any dog’s feeding especially when you solely feed your dog commercially processed dog food, and then using vitamin and mineral supplements is essential to ensure your dog receives all of the essential ingredients on a regular, preferably on a daily basis. Dogs are meat eating carnivores and these dog food diets must include – or supplemented, with all the essential vitamins, essential minerals and all the essential trace elements and the essential ingredients are deficient through the extreme heating process of processed dog food, the only dog food mix which is guaranteed to include all of the dog’s essential ingredients is the natural raw dog food mix which can be bought at online pet supplies stores and they are named as dehydrated dog food and is contained within acana dog food, organix dog food and castor and pollux dog food, which incidentally are all comprising of low calorie dog food. If there is a perfect balance in the vitamin and mineral supplements, then the animal will have a healthy life and hence, the immunity is not compromised in an unwanted way. This simply means that there the dog will be more disease resistance against various diseases.
Dog owners should know that vitamins A, D, E, and K are the fat-soluble vitamins and others are water-soluble vitamins. Vitamins like thiamine, pyridoxine and cyanocobalamin are important for the functions of nervous system. Deficiency of vitamin A leads to night blindness and skin lesions and deficiency of vitamin D leads to the softening and weakening of the bones.
These problems are many a time encountered by many dog owners who regularly feed their dog on the commercially processed dog foods, as unfortunately the heating process destroys not only the dog disease bacteria but also any natural forming essential ingredients that the pre-heated dog food mix may have contained so feeding your dog the commercially processed dog food mix instead of the more natural raw dog food – dehydrated dog food, then there is a critical necessity to give your dog vitamin and minerals supplements. Among these, vitamin A toxicities may occur if you feed them in excessive amounts, like vitamin D. Hence, give emphasis on this while you are using these vitamins in the dogs. Cod liver oil from selected fishes has more vitamin A in them and is universally good feed for dogs.
All dogs may not need supplements of minerals, vitamins or trace elements to live well for the moment as any damage from a deficiency of the essential ingredients will only likely to occur in the future – maybe a few years in the future, but it is important for their future health and wellbeing that if feeding processed dog food your dog will need essential ingredients supplements and these must be given on a regular basis. If they become sick or aged or are very young without proper feeding of a natural raw dog food diet, then vitamin, minerals and trace elements supplementations are required for the upkeep of healthy status in them. However, one has to follow the instructions of veterinarian in this regard.
If the dogs are fed with fish in frozen conditions, then they may be suffering constantly from vitamin B1 deficiency and hence, such dogs need to be given specifically vitamin B1. Careless supplementations of minerals may lead to diseases and hence, veterinarians always need to be consulted on the supplementation of minerals or vitamins.
Minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, iron, copper etc. are given more emphasis in addition to sodium and potassium. Zinc is related to skin health and potassium is related to the muscle health and calcium with phosphorus is related to the bone health.
However, if you feed the dog with chicken, mutton or beef dog food mix along with required vegetables, artificial supplementation of mineral or vitamin tablets may be highly reduced but supplements need to be thought of when you are not able to maintain a balanced nutrition especially if not feeding your dog the natural raw dog food, as this happens with most of the dogs, due to multifaceted causes.
Understanding the ingredients of your dog's dog food mix is a must for all dog lovers or dog owners. Whenever you feed the dog with different kinds of dog food items, you should always read the label and understand the contents about the dog food feeding types that are being used in such commercial preparations. You should understand the ingredients while buying dog food for your dog and also know what to look for.
Dog Food: Understanding Ingredients
Feed items include dry and fresh dog food. The fresh dog food that is prepared in homes generally consists of ingredients like freshly cut chicken pieces in addition to the cranberry juices, blue-green algae, etc.
If you come across any different kinds of preservatives and if the dog develops all of a sudden signs pertaining to the dog food allergy, suspect the unwanted ingredient in the dog food feed items given. Similarly, understand about the moisture status. If the dog food item is having more moisture, then the dog may prefer this as well.
Beet pulp, pasta, Soy bean oil, wheat middlings, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, copper sulphate, iron sulphate, zinc oxide, choline chloride, etc. are often the ingredients in case of vegetarian based diet items offered to the pet animals like dogs.
Raw egg, chicken, beef, mutton, fish, quail etc. are often the preferred ingredients in case of dog food diets that are prepared on the basis of the non-vegetarian items. Taurine is one of the essential ingredients for the dog’s nutrition. Likewise, in the case of dogs feed with frozen fish items, the vitamin called thiamine needs to be supplemented as an ingredient.
Many premium type of dog food preparations contain essential fatty acids, carbohydrates with adequate fiber contents, vitamins like A, D, E and B complex vitamins.
Furthermore, minerals like zinc, is an essential ingredient for skin health status and calcium, which is an essential ingredient for bone growth, tonicity of muscles. They should be enriched in these food items. However, the cost of those dog food preparations is comparatively more expensive than the dog food preparations with general ingredients. Though it may be better for your dog's health.
Dog Care: How often should I feed my dog?
This often becomes an important question asked by many dog lovers and dog owners. If it is a puppy within age of the first six weeks, the puppies need to be given milk at the rate of five to seven times per day. The puppy will make some sound if it wants to feed in general.
However, the feeding frequency may be reduced when the dog becomes six to eight weeks old. By the time the dog assumes the age of four weeks, it may start taking of some solid dog care. Hence, mix the solid dog food with water in majority and feed your puppy once or twice in the beginning and if the dog develops some diarrhoea, then delay the feeding.
Most of the times, it is due to trial and error but taking some basic steps in feeding, so you need to watch out. The feeding frequency may be changed to two to three times after the assumption of age of eight weeks. However, if the dog is seen hungry craving for dog food, then provide dog food once more than the estimated numbers. This varies with different breeds of dogs.
However, avoid feeding too many times in this age group of dogs. Around three months to six months of age, the puppy will be teething. Hence, restrict the feeding to two times a day only but the balanced type of nutrition dog food needs to be provided to the dogs of this age group to avoid the deficiency based symptoms in them.
From six months to one year, try using puppy dog food that is available commercially. However, from first year onwards, the adult dog food may be given gradually. However, when the dog becomes an elder dog, restrict the frequency of feeding since the movements of such adult dogs are highly reduced due to multiple reasons. However, the pregnant animal may be fed an extra time depending on the willingness of the animal and restrict the quantity of the food but without compromising on the quality of food.
Dog Care: Food Allergies
Dog Care allergies are something that is difficult to identify unless one is well aware of the baseline information with regard to this type of allergy. The main symptoms of dog food allergies in dogs include the facial itching, limb chewing, belly itching, recurrent ear infections or skin infections.
Since the dogs consume lot of prepared dog food materials including various kinds of proteins, fillers, coloring agents and more; in the commercial processed dog food materials, the incidences of dog food allergies are more than one can imagine. Allergic reactions mostly involve the skin or the gastro intestinal tract.
If you come across your dog itching after the provision of specific dog food materials, then suspect the food allergy in this animal. However, conditions like fungal infections need to be ruled out in general before the conclusion of itching as a sign of food allergy.
There are many recorded incidences of allergies of dogs to cereal corn or to wheat. However, the food allergies vary from dog to dog. Read the labels clearly before feeding your dogs with dog food materials, in such occasions. Too much colored food dog materials may be avoided since they may cause allergies to your dog.
Food allergies are often linked to the hyper active behavior noticed in the dogs. Added colors, preservatives, and high fat diet might cause such food allergies in the dogs and hence, one has to be careful in providing new kind of diet to their dogs and closely monitor the dog for any signs of allergy, if possible feeding your dog a natural raw dog food diet with no added coloring, preservatives or enhancers, then the risk of dog food allergies will diminish to zero.
There are many occasions that dog care allergies might be diagnosed in the dogs but the dog may have other problems like pancreatitis. To rule out the food allergies, observation of your dogs every time you feed them, look for reasons to link the signs of dog with food given, specific signs encountered, differential diagnosis etc. are the important features to be given emphasis.
Dog Care: Signs of Ill health
Signs of ill health are the most important signs of the health status in your dogs. For example, if the dog has continuous nasal discharge, it indicates the presence of nasal congestion and if the discharge is thick, most of the times, the dog may have pneumonia.
If the dog vomits one or two times occasionally, this may not be taken as a serious sign of ill health but if the dog continues this vomiting, then this is something significant to be looked into.
If the dog has continuous itching, then one needs to check up the dog first by closer observation and examination of skin by separating the hair material especially in case of long haired breeds. You may also come across a lot of ticks or lice on skin, which may look apparently normal at a distance.
If the dog passes loose stool for one or two times, this need not be given more emphasis but if there is continuous passing of loose stool, then the dog is understood to suffer from bowel disorders. If the dog does not pass stool for two to three days, the digestive upsets needs to be ruled out carefully.
Just patiently observe the dog’s walking movements and rule out any abnormal movements in the dog. If the dog is limping, the animal may have foot lesions. Similarly, if the aged dog has reluctant walking and less dog food intake along with repeated vomiting, then acute renal disorders like nephritis needs to be ruled out.
If there is whiteness in eyes, suspect the corneal opacity that may occur in diseases like trypanasomosis. When the dog becomes anemic, the mucous membrane of the eyes becomes paler and in severe cases, this may have wall white color. If the dog bites chain and owners or others, look for behavior disorders and rabies needs to be ruled out.
To Your Success
Desmo Boss
DogSiteWorld Store
Understanding the ingredients of your dog's dog food mix is a must for all dog lovers or dog owners. Whenever you feed the dog with different kinds of dog food items, you should always read the label and understand the contents about the dog food feeding types that are being used in such commercial preparations. You should understand the ingredients while buying dog food for your dog and also know what to look for.
Dog Food: Understanding Ingredients
Feed items include dry and fresh dog food. The fresh dog food that is prepared in homes generally consists of ingredients like freshly cut chicken pieces in addition to the cranberry juices, blue-green algae, etc. If you come across any different kinds of preservatives and if the dog develops all of a sudden signs pertaining to the dog food allergy, suspect the unwanted ingredient in the dog food feed items given. Similarly, understand about the moisture status. If the dog food item is having more moisture, then the dog may prefer this as well. Beet pulp, pasta, Soy bean oil, wheat middlings, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, copper sulphate, iron sulphate, zinc oxide, choline chloride, etc. are often the ingredients in case of vegetarian based diet items offered to the pet animals like dogs. Raw egg, chicken, beef, mutton, fish, quail etc. are often the preferred ingredients in case of dog food diets that are prepared on the basis of the non-vegetarian items. Taurine is one of the essential ingredients for the dog’s nutrition. Likewise, in the case of dogs feed with frozen fish items, the vitamin called thiamine needs to be supplemented as an ingredient. Many premium type of dog food preparations contain essential fatty acids, carbohydrates with adequate fiber contents, vitamins like A, D, E and B complex vitamins. Furthermore, minerals like zinc, is an essential ingredient for skin health status and calcium, which is an essential ingredient for bone growth, tonicity of muscles. They should be enriched in these food items. However, the cost of those dog food preparations is comparatively more expensive than the dog food preparations with general ingredients. Though it may be better for your dog's health.
Dog Food: How often should I feed my dog?
This often becomes an important question asked by many dog lovers and dog owners. If it is a puppy within age of the first six weeks, the puppies need to be given milk at the rate of five to seven times per day. The puppy will make some sound if it wants to feed in general. However, the feeding frequency may be reduced when the dog becomes six to eight weeks old. By the time the dog assumes the age of four weeks, it may start taking of some solid dog food. Hence, mix the solid dog food with water in majority and feed your puppy once or twice in the beginning and if the dog develops some diarrhoea, then delay the feeding. Most of the times, it is due to trial and error but taking some basic steps in feeding, so you need to watch out. The feeding frequency may be changed to two to three times after the assumption of age of eight weeks. However, if the dog is seen hungry craving for dog food, then provide dog food once more than the estimated numbers. This varies with different breeds of dogs. However, avoid feeding too many times in this age group of dogs. Around three months to six months of age, the puppy will be teething. Hence, restrict the feeding to two times a day only but the balanced type of nutrition dog food needs to be provided to the dogs of this age group to avoid the deficiency based symptoms in them. From six months to one year, try using puppy dog food that is available commercially. However, from first year onwards, the adult dog food may be given gradually. However, when the dog becomes an elder dog, restrict the frequency of feeding since the movements of such adult dogs are highly reduced due to multiple reasons. However, the pregnant animal may be fed an extra time depending on the willingness of the animal and restrict the quantity of the food but without compromising on the quality of food.
Dog Food: Food Allergies
Dog food allergies are something that is difficult to identify unless one is well aware of the baseline information with regard to this type of allergy. The main symptoms of dog food allergies in dogs include the facial itching, limb chewing, belly itching, recurrent ear infections or skin infections. Since the dogs consume lot of prepared dog food materials including various kinds of proteins, fillers, coloring agents and more; in the commercial processed dog food materials, the incidences of dog food allergies are more than one can imagine. Allergic reactions mostly involve the skin or the gastro intestinal tract. If you come across your dog itching after the provision of specific dog food materials, then suspect the food allergy in this animal. However, conditions like fungal infections need to be ruled out in general before the conclusion of itching as a sign of food allergy. There are many recorded incidences of allergies of dogs to cereal corn or to wheat. However, the food allergies vary from dog to dog. Read the labels clearly before feeding your dogs with dog food materials, in such occasions. Too much colored food dog materials may be avoided since they may cause allergies to your dog. Food allergies are often linked to the hyper active behavior noticed in the dogs. Added colors, preservatives, and high fat diet might cause such food allergies in the dogs and hence, one has to be careful in providing new kind of diet to their dogs and closely monitor the dog for any signs of allergy, if possible feeding your dog a natural raw dog food diet with no added coloring, preservatives or enhancers, then the risk of dog food allergies will diminish to zero. There are many occasions that dog food allergies might be diagnosed in the dogs but the dog may have other problems like pancreatitis. To rule out the food allergies, observation of your dogs every time you feed them, look for reasons to link the signs of dog with food given, specific signs encountered, differential diagnosis etc. are the important features to be given emphasis.
Dog Food: Signs of Ill health
Signs of ill health are the most important signs of the health status in your dogs. For example, if the dog has continuous nasal discharge, it indicates the presence of nasal congestion and if the discharge is thick, most of the times, the dog may have pneumonia. If the dog vomits one or two times occasionally, this may not be taken as a serious sign of ill health but if the dog continues this vomiting, then this is something significant to be looked into. If the dog has continuous itching, then one needs to check up the dog first by closer observation and examination of skin by separating the hair material especially in case of long haired breeds. You may also come across a lot of ticks or lice on skin, which may look apparently normal at a distance. If the dog passes loose stool for one or two times, this need not be given more emphasis but if there is continuous passing of loose stool, then the dog is understood to suffer from bowel disorders. If the dog does not pass stool for two to three days, the digestive upsets needs to be ruled out carefully. Just patiently observe the dog’s walking movements and rule out any abnormal movements in the dog. If the dog is limping, the animal may have foot lesions. Similarly, if the aged dog has reluctant walking and less dog food intake along with repeated vomiting, then acute renal disorders like nephritis needs to be ruled out. If there is whiteness in eyes, suspect the corneal opacity that may occur in diseases like trypanasomosis. When the dog becomes anemic, the mucous membrane of the eyes becomes paler and in severe cases, this may have wall white color. If the dog bites chain and owners or others, look for behavior disorders and rabies needs to be ruled out.
