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Dog Nutrition

What Are The Ingredients For Good Dog Nutrition?

Good Dog Nutrition Begins With A Good Dog Food

Major dog food companies make every effort to not only balance ingredients, but also provide the ingredients in usable form to provide balanced proportions of vitamins and minerals for maximum benefit. Dogs need combinations of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water in a balanced diet that provides sufficient calories to meet their daily needs for growth, repair, and activity. Good dog nutrition should contain vitamin and mineral supplements in balanced concentrations. Learn how to read the ingedients label of any premium dog food and what you can look for and avoid when purchasing your puppy's or dog's food. What are the basic dog food choices available?

Premium Dog Food

Dogs will do quite well on any of several premium dry dog foods (also known as dry kibble), depending on their level of activity, their metabolism, and individual body chemistry. If your puppy or dog is doing well on the food you are feeding him, don't switch. However, if you notice your dog's skin has problems and is not traced to fleas, you may want to consider dog foods with a higher fatty acid content or any of the hypoallergenic dog foods. You may want to consider giving your dog an Omega-3 supplement to combat the problems. Always check with your veternarian to diagnose the problem correctly.

Canned Dog Food

Canned foods, as much as they are convenient, contain as much as 75 percent water and include color enhancers such as sodium nitrate and, iron oxide which make them poor choices for a total diet. Canned dog food is not a good source for good dog nutrition alone, but can be used to "top dress" dry food for those finicky eaters.

Supplements

Supplements are great for those dogs with dry skin, or arthritis problems, however, most dog foods can meet a balanced diet and meet the requirements for good nutrients. For dogs with skin or coat issues, including those caused by allergies, Omega-3 essential fatty acids make a noticeable improvement in the coat of any dog, no matter its age. We recommend Only Natural Pet Store for supplements, holistic remedies and organic foods.

BARF Diet

For those of you that haven't heard of this term, the BARF stands for 'bones and raw food diet". Ingredients in these raw food diets include whole or parts of chicken and fish carcases, including the bones. Other ingredients include raw eggs, yogurt, fruits and vegetables. No grains.

We are not promoters of BARF. We are only giving you an explanation of what it is and offer links for more information on the pros and cons of this particular diet. Honestly, we wouldn't put our dog on a BARF diet. The following link will educate you more on this subject. Always use your own judgement.

http://www.barfworld.com

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Please Note:  Always consult your dog's veterinarian before making any dog health care decisions. Your veternarian will be able to help you decide the best course of action when it comes to caring for your dog.

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