Nutrition - The Role Of Protein In Your Dog's Health

How does protein work in a dog's body? Picture a string of beads and each string is needed to produce a complete picture or an artwork. The job of protein in your dog can be compared to this strings of beads. Each protein is similar to individual strings of beads. Just as these strings are put together in the right order to create a picture, different types of proteins have to go together to be able to produce a dog.

Each string is made up of different numbers of colored beads that are lined up in an exact pattern to produce certain body parts such as the hair, the nose, or the ear of the picture. The colored beads can be compared to amino acids, or substances that are connected to the strings to produce different proteins.

There are 23 amino acids that are the molecular building blocks of protein. A dog can produce 13 amino acids inside his body while the other 10 amino acids must come from an outside source and has to be consumed. A puppy will not grow unless he is supplied with the remaining 10 essential amino acids. Without them he will become sick and will eventually die. Similarly, if an adult dog is not getting the proper amount of these 10 amino acids, he will become weak and suffer nutritional deficiencies.

These 10 essential amino acids can be acquired from meat and plants, which offer the best sources because they contain the largest number of essential amino acids.

Not all proteins are the same, as some are better for your dog than others. The amount of protein a dog needs depends on how much of the essential amino acids are supplied by that protein. The protein's ability to provide the dog's Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) of the 10 essential amino acids is referred to as its "biological value."

Here are a few additional facts about the importance of protein for your dog's health:

1. Proteins are the building blocks of your dog's body.

2. Proteins are necessary for all aspects of growth and development and are very important in structural makeup and the immune system. In addition, they are burned as calories and can be converted to and stored as fat if needed.

3. They are required for healthy nails, skin, and coat.

4. They are necessary for the production of hormones in the bloodstream.

5. They provide a healthy immune system.

Pet Food Recall: Knowledge Is Power When It Comes To Pet Food

Due to the recent pet food recall, millions of pet owners are left feeling daunted and bewildered as to why this incident happened. So many dogs and cats were left sick and worse yet, many more died. And since most pet owners depend on commercial pet food to feed their dogs, they are now skeptical about which brand of food to buy and what type of food is safe for their dogs.

Who Can The Consumers Count On?

Commercial pet foods have been contaminated with harmful chemicals, including mycotoxins (toxins produced by fungi). The FDA and food manufacturers have authorized several recalls after a defective food is found. The FDA and the food company join together to find out the main cause of the problem and prevent it from happening again.

Knowledge Is Power

When it comes to getting the best dog food possible, you need to know what to look for and what to avoid. Below are some ways to monitor the food you are giving your dog to ensure its safety:

1. Check the expiration date on all foods and treats before feeding them to your dog. Doing so will help you avoid any items that are scheduled to go bad. While this is a wise consumer action on your part, ironically enough the food could still be poisonous to your animals because of preservatives and other chemicals that are added for taste, longevity, and texture. Try shopping organic if possible.

2. If the food or treat is not yet expired but appears to be stale or has a foul odor, do not feed it to your dog and contact the company/manufacturer. There probably isn't much you can do in terms of getting your money back, but by contacting the producer of the food themselves, you may be a small part of a larger action to have a recall initiated. Remember, if nobody complains that nothing gets done.

3. Consult with your vet if your dog shows any symptoms of abnormal or unusual behavior. Early treatment will result in a better chance of full recovery. It's safe to say that some of the dogs and cats that were killed by tainted pet food may have survived had the owners' brought them to the veterinarian at the first signs of illness. Take the situation seriously if you sense that you are dog is having a reaction. Remember, the threat is real and many pets have died.

4. To ensure the safety of the food that your pet is eating, keep informed of the latest news on pet food recalls. The best way to do this is to go online and type in "pet food recall." Read through as many articles as possible.

Try to avoid information that is put out by pet food manufacturers themselves. It's not that the information is not reliable, but consider the fact that these companies are going to sugarcoat the dangers of pet food is best possible. It is their livelihood after all. They are in the business of selling pet food!

To meet the continual nutritional demand of your puppy's growing body, he must have food available to him all day long. There are 3 common techniques to feed your new puppy. These are: Meal feeding, portion-control feeding, and free feeding.

Meal Feeding: This method of feeding is usually done with mixing solid food and canned food and is ideal for puppies that are being trained to housebreak. With this technique, your puppy gets his meals at different times during the day. Many owners prefer the three meal a day program while others are more comfortable with giving their puppies four meals a day.

Whether you're feeding your puppy three or four meals per day, the important thing to remember is to divide the meals equally within a 24-hour period and without having to get up at night.

With three meals a day, you have to feed your puppy every eight hours. Four meals a day, food is given to your puppy every six hours. Keep in mind, however, that you shouldn't give your puppy two meals a day until he is at least five or six months old.

Portion Control Feeding: This method of feeding is probably the most common way that puppies are fed today, especially for owners who work during the day and have to leave their puppies alone. It is done by measuring the exact amount of food that he requires (depending on his age and type of breed). This amount of food should be modified as a puppy gets older. The portion is then placed in his food bowl once a day, preferably the same time everyday. This way your puppy will be able to nibble on his food throughout the day.

Most puppies ration out their meals throughout the day and eat only a small portion at a time, while some puppies will empty their bowl in one sitting. Studies have shown that puppies that are brought up with this feeding method will not over eat when they turn into adult dogs. However, if you are having a difficult time housebreaking your puppy, then this method of feeding will probably not work for you.

Free Feeding: With this feeding technique, you have to make sure that there is food in his bowl and let him nibble on it throughout the day. Although this is the simplest way to feed your puppy, this method is also the least recommended by most vets and breeders. Feeding your puppy will make it more difficult to house train him because you do not know exactly when he eats. In addition, it is also difficult to know how much he eats on a daily basis.

Most dogs love avocados. They taste good, and they are an excellent source of fat. Fat is responsible for providing dogs with extra amount of energy and gives them healthy skin as well as an extra glow in their coat.

Strangely enough, it was the dogs themselves who led us to the idea of using the avocado as a supplement to the canine diet. It seems that avocado growers' pet dogs were competing with the growers for any fallen fruit. The growers became curious and decided to compare the nutrients that this amazing fruit contained with those needed by canines.

According to a Veterinary professor at Iowa State University, this fruit enhances hair quality as well as skin tone, with which avocado growers have reported in their dogs is most likely due to the amount of linoleic acid of the fruit when added to the dog's diet.

Of course, this fruit alone could not be recommended as the only nutrient source for dogs. But an avocado, in small quantities as a supplement, might be helpful if adequate amount of fat were not available from other sources.

A dog's requirement of fat depends mostly on the amount of activity he engages in. For instance, an active working dog needs up to twenty percent fat in his diet, while the average household dog that walks a few blocks everyday needs only five to eight percent of fat in his diet. The very thin dog should get a diet rich in fat until his weight and health improve. The pregnant and nursing female dog also needs greater amounts of fat in her diet.

The majority of canine canned foods contain adequate fat to satisfy the need of an average household dog. However, if the dog is fed a diet strictly of dry meal, it might be moistened with additional sources of fat.

Avocados are an excellent source of fat for this purpose. And for canines that get most of their fat from canned foods, this tasty fruit also serves as an occasional treat. Avocados might be alternated with other occasional food supplements to add variety to the dog's regular diet. Simply put, dogs love avocados and they are good for them!

Word Of Warning: Documented evidence suggests that some dogs, as well as other domestic animals like cats and cattle, can be severely harmed and prove fatal when they eat the avocado pit, skin, leaves, and bark of the avocado tree. Therefore, when supplementing your dog's diet with avocados, make sure to only give him the meat of the fruit.

Nutrition - The Roles Of Carbohydrates, Vitamins, And Minerals In Your Dog's Diet

Carbohydrates

The main source of carbohydrates are acquired in plants. There is also one source of carbohydrate that comes from meat called glycogen, but it is only found in small amounts in the liver and muscles. If your dog is not getting enough carbohydrates in his diet, the liver has to do extra work to make glucose from proteins. On the other hand, when your dog is getting enough carbohydrates in his diet, his body will not have to use proteins to get its required amount of glucose, therefore, saving these precious proteins to be used to for other jobs that they are required to do.

Vitamins

Vitamins are not considered to be building blocks, and they are not necessarily required for the production of energy. However, they are important in your dog's health in a number of ways described below.

1. Dogs need vitamin A for healthy skin and coat. Skin conditions and poor coats have been associated with lack of vitamin A and/or vitamin B.
2. Vitamin B is responsible for a healthy immune system.
3. Studies have concluded that vitamin C prevents dogs from getting hip dysplasia.
4. Dogs need vitamin D for healthy teeth and bones. Deficiency in this vitamin produces weak teeth and brittle bones.
5. Vitamin E is an excellent source of antioxidants. Deficiency in vitamin E can lead to heart problems and several types of cancers.
6. Vitamin K is used for blood clotting.

Minerals

Unlike other nutrients, minerals are used by the body in a more comprehensive way. Below are examples of some of the ways minerals benefit your dog:

1. Minerals such as calcium and phosphorous are required for strong bones and cartilage.
2. Minerals are needed for the nervous system to function properly.
3. They help promote muscle metabolism.
4. They are used in the production of hormones.
5. Minerals transport oxygen in the blood.

It is important to know that too much or too little of a certain mineral can affect the functions of other minerals in your dog's body. In addition, there are also cases where the action of one mineral depends upon the action of another mineral. For example, the minerals iron and copper work hand-in-hand to produce hemoglobin. Iron is necessary to produce hemoglobin in red blood cells while copper is equally important for hemoglobin formation. One will not be able to function properly without the help of the other.

If you feed your pet dog a diet consisting of only cuts of lean meat, chances are he would have severe nutritional problems.

While a dog is a carnivore - meat eater - he cannot live on protein alone. Just like his owner, a dog needs a balanced diet including fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

Few of us could afford a predominantly steak diet for our pets, but even if we could, our dogs would be a lot healthier with a cheaper cut of meat. Less expensive meats are better for dogs because they have a higher fat content.

Fats provide dogs with energy and heat and help keep his skin healthy. Not enough fat in a dog's diet can cause scaly, dry skin. His coat may become coarse and lifeless. A diet low in fat may also cause a dog to become highly nervous and more susceptible to many types of illness.

There are three fatty acids in fats which a dog needs. These are: linolenic, linoleic, and arachidonic. Linoleic acid can be found in meat products, suet, butter, and corn oil. It can also be found in avocados.

The Avocado

Avocados are one of the few fruits that most dogs love. One reason for this is that these fruits add palatability and texture to food, especially dry meal. It is also a nutritious supplement of fats to the canine diet. This pear-shaped fruit contains sixteen percent of rare oil seldom found in fruits as well as an unusual amount of protein for fruits.

One medium avocado contains about 35 grams of fat, mostly monounsaturated. This fruit also has more potassium than bananas. Avocados are also rich in vitamin E, vitamin K, and the B vitamins.

When the nutritional requirements of adult dogs were compared with the composition of avocados, particularly California avocados, this fruit also proved to be a good source of vitamins and minerals. One half of a medium avocado provides a mature dog with all his daily requirements for magnesium, potassium, and niacin. About half of his requirements for thiamin, manganese, and vitamin A, are also provided with this awesome fruit.

Compare what the avocado offers a dog nutritionally to some of the other foods often added to a dog's diet to improve his skin tone and coat. A half of avocado supplies thirteen grams of fat. There is one gram of linoleic acid in half of the fruit.

An egg has half the amount of fat grams and only a trace of linoleic acid. One half cup of cottage cheese only offers five grams of fat and a trace of linoleic acid, while one tablespoon of corn oil has fourteen grams of fat and seven grams of linoleic acid but none of the vitamins and minerals that the avocado offers.

Dog Food & Supplements: An In Depth Look At Nutrition For Your Pet Ƒ)

Big cans, little cans, heavy bags and cute packs, soft foods, dry food, semi-moist, candies, biscuits, chewies, people-like crackers and gourmet bon-bons...

Today's dog owner is confronted with a bewildering array of food for his pet.

Years ago, when such a variety wasn't available, dogs were fed foods that were most plentiful in the region. In the arctic, dogs were fed mostly fish and whale blubber; in the southern United States, a dog's diet consisted mainly of cornbread; in Europe, potatoes were the main fare. These diets led to diseases such as black tongue (pelegra in humans), rickets, and other less commonly known ailments, many of them fatal.

In the wild, the canine did not just restrict himself to eating just the meat of his prey. He ate the entire animal, including the contents of the stomach. Wild dogs were known to kill each other while fighting over the stomach contents of their prey. Thus, nature provided the wild animal with a diet considered nutritionally complete.

Domesticated dogs were not allowed that luxury, and usually were fed table scraps. These poor diets resulted in serious nutritional imbalances and severe nutritional deficiencies.

After years of study, it was determined that even though the canine is considered a carnivorous animal, he requires certain carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals to satisfy nutritional requirements just as humans do.

In 1953, the National Research Council compiled and published nutritional requirements for dogs. The NRC is a federally established scientific body whose basic function is gathering research data.

After World War II, the pet food industry in the United States began an enormous expansion. Already a highly competitive business, pet food manufacturers quickly found themselves in neck to neck competition for a piece of this multi-million dollar a year business.

In order to survive and successfully compete in the market, pet food manufacturers knew that they must provide a dog food which was:

A) Nutritionally complete containing all 26 nutrients that the National Research Council said that does need.

B) Palatable so that the dog would enjoy eating the food.

C) Easy and convenient for the customer to handle.

D) Economically competitive in the market.

Pet food manufacturers have established laboratories and hired nutritionists and food technicians to select those ingredients, which, when combined, will provide the sufficient nutrition to meet NRC standards.