How Often Should You Change Dog Food?
Dogs are amazing creatures. They are the most adopted pets in most households in the USA. Apart from serving as man’s best friend, dogs provide security in a home. They are quite easy to train on behaviors and new tricks. Dogs can also be quite fun to play around with in the park or in a playground where they have adequate grounds to run. We cannot claim that dogs can match the cat’s intelligence, but dogs are incredibly obedient and loyal to the owner, unlike cats. Dogs are the earliest animals to be domesticated by human beings millenniums ago and used for hunting wild animals.
We find dogs easy and stress-free to adopt because they are amongst the easiest pets to feed. While most pets require special diets and exotic meals even, a dog can eat almost any variety of food, from meat products to plant-based foods. However, as your dog makes you happy, you should also make him happy. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach as they say. The same applies to his best friend, the dog.
You might think every meal you cook up or every can you grab from the shelves of the grocery store is okay for your dog as he seems to be doing just fine. However, just like a human being, dogs also require different diets at different times in their lives. It could be transitioning in different life stages or situations such as health that may result in a dietary change. How do you know its time to change your canine’s meal? You might need to consult your vet about it, especially if you are a newbie pet parent. However, if you don’t have those extra coins to see a vet or simply the time to make an appointment, we got you. We have taken the time and keenly put together a few tips that will be life changing and eye-opening for you and your furry friend.
When should you change your dog’s food?
A nutritious, balanced diet is an engine that drives your dog to wake up every day and go about its day happy and healthy.
Life Stages
As your dog transitions in its life, it is a requirement that you change its meals. When your dog is a puppy, it requires a high level of nutrients to grow as their cells are rapidly dividing, and their body organs are developing. They, therefore, need high-quality proteins and vitamins in their diet. If you go to a pet shop, you will find foods that are specially made to provide all the nutrients that are needed by puppies and kittens at this stage, labeled growth. Failure to provide your pups with the required nutrients your little furry friend may suffer from stunted growth or malnutrition, which may lead to fatal illness.
Adults, however, require minimal proteins and mainly bodybuilding meals which enable them to stay active and healthy. If you continue feeding an adult a pup’s diet, it may result in an overweight dog that suffers from nutritional deficiencies. A pet owner with a sedentary dog should go for a diet with lots of vitamins and minerals to keep his dog fit for the tracks. The label on adult food bags is clearly labeled “adult maintenance” as it provides a proportional blend of all the nutrients needed.
As your dog ages, they do not have a special diet formulated for them. Your vet will advise you to choose foods that have high levels of glucosamine to cater to their painful joints and hips. Glucosamine promotes the regeneration of worn out cartilage and revitalizes dos bones and joints. It also builds up the energy levels of your aging canine so that he will play like a pup.
Health
An unhealthy dog is easy to detect for a caring and keen pet parent. It might not be so apparent for a pet owner who is starting out, but still, it’s not rocket science. One might confuse overweight from a healthy, well-fed dog. However, that is not the case. An overweight dog is an indication of a wrong diet, although it might be genetic or result from lack of exercise. Apart from that, a dog that is on the improper diet may suffer from malnutrition that results from low-quality food. The visible indication is a lazy dog who can barely move around but instead prefers to lay around.
If you notice that your dog is always under the weather, or suffering from minor illnesses that sweep through the neighborhood, you might need to check the diet you have put him on. The food that you feed your dog on is responsible for the immune system reinforcement. Diarrhea and vomiting in a human being are alarming. The same applies to your best friend. It’s uncomfortable and can be fatal if it goes on for a long time. It can result from improper digestion as a consequence of a diet that is not working. Also, the stool your dogs remove after eating can be the sign you are looking for to change his diet. Is it firm, watery or loose? In case the fecal waste is abnormal, it could be fixed with something as simple as a diet swap.
Habitat
The place you set up for your dog will influence his dietary needs. An outside dog will require more calories than a dog who lives in the family house. These calories are essential to produce body warmth to keep him warm. If your pet goes around groping for leftovers and crumbs after you have served him, he is desperately trying to communicate to you that its time to try a new meal.
Sounds easy, right? Not really. Changing your dog’s diet requires style too. When its time to change his meals, It’s advisable you go slow on him. Transitioning is not easy. Your pup will not adapt to adult food as a fish takes to water. Even his digestive system might not take it kindly and you might observe thin loose stool as it tries to adapt to new nutrients.
You should strategize and plan yourself too. In case your dog does not appreciate the change, you might decide to start introducing small amounts of the new diet to its diet. With time you will reduce the amounts of the old diet and finally eliminate it. Change is not easy, even for your pocket. Before you go ahead with the change, prepare yourself. Buy everything you need in advance and be prepared to make the necessary vet visits.
The process of changing your dog’s food is not easy for you or your dog. It requires patience and tolerance, as well as love. Leaving your dog on the same diet over long periods is not recommended.
