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.

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.

Dog Food - 3 Types Of Standard Commercial Dog Food Sold In Stores

There are 3 types of commercially prepared dog foods that are available in the market today: Canned foods, Semi-moist foods, and Dry foods.

Canned Foods

This type of food comes in several varieties which ranges in quality as well as price. They consist of about 75% water and is mixed with assorted meat, fish, and cereal products. They are easy to prepare and dogs love them! However, canned foods produce low-energy nutrients, which means that you would need to give your dog a big serving in order to provide him with the required energy he needs.

If you have a large dog, you would have to double the amount of servings, which makes canned food a bit unpractical and on the pricey side. To solve this problem, consider mixing canned foods with dried food. The mixture will provide more energy for your dog and will also add volume to the food, thereby saving you money.

There is another kind of canned food that only contains meat, hence called "all meat canned foods." Similar to regular canned food, all meat canned food does not provide your dog with the proper amount of energy that his body needs. In order to get enough energy, you would need to give him large quantities of the food, although this will only produce an unbalanced diet. Therefore, all meat canned foods should also be mixed in with dried foods or even semi-moist food.

Semi-Moist Foods

This type of food has high concentration and only contains 15 to 30% water content, which provides more energy for your dog in less amount of volume than canned foods. Their ingredients consist of meat, cereals, vegetables, sugar, and fats. They are easy for your dog to digest and he will surely love the taste. They come in a wide variety, do not need to be refrigerated, and many owners find them to be the most convenient way to feed their dogs.

Semi-moist foods are expensive and is loaded with sugar and corn syrup and therefore, should not be given to dogs with diabetes. In addition, these foods are also loaded with colorings and artificial flavors. It is best to give your dog this type of food only on an occasional basis rather than his main source of diet.

Dry Foods

Dry foods contain about 10% water, providing high energy value to your dog. They are the least expensive of all the dog foods, they can be stored in bulk quantities, and they do not need to be refrigerated. This is why most pet owners prefer this to have a food for their dog and considerate it to be the most economical way to feed their pets.

On the other hand, the majority of commercially prepared dried foods contain mostly cereal and is very limited in the amount of protein that the dog requires. Consider mixing dry food with canned foods to give your dog a well-balanced diet. Another alternative is to choose a brand that contain meat as its main ingredient.

Commercial Dog Food - Is The Recent Pet Food Recall Finally Smartening People Up?

Commercial pet food is a multi-billion-dollar industry that seems to grow in sales each year that goes by. What is happening here, are more animals being adopted or are more pet owners being sold on the idea that dogs absolutely must eat dog food in order to be healthy?

Surprisingly, the answer is the latter of the two possibilities. Dog owners seem to sheepishly think that their dogs will be healthier and have more energy by consuming processed commercial dog food.

There was an article written in the New York Times by a woman named Laura Cunningham. The year was 1981 and back then Laura reported that $4 billion dollars was spent yearly on pet food. Recently, when the pet food recall took place, the media reported in March of 2007 that people are now spending over $16 billion annually on pet food.

To further add an interesting statistic to the conversation, back in 1988 the American Pet Products Association ran their very first pet ownership research study and came back with their poll report which claimed that approximately 56% of every household in America had a pet, either a cat or a dog. The most current poll conducted states that approximately 63% of today's US households maintains a pet in the family.

Not all statistics are accurate, but this only shows a 7% increase of household pets. Surely this 7% increase cannot be consuming the extra $12 billion per year in pet food that was eaten in 1981. In other words, less people bought pet food for their dogs and cats than they do today. With so many people buying commercial dog food and other pet foods, why then were they so surprised about the alarming pet food recall?

People Are Smartening Up

There are many dog and cat owners who can see through the advertising and myths of feeding a cat "cat food" and a dog "dog food." However, most people seem to just fly through their lives, being busier than ever, and due to convenience, believe everything that corporations are telling them - or should we say "selling" them. However, the recent pet food recall has started to wake up many dog owners, and other pet owners, to the fact that these products may not be as healthy as the commercials claim.

Although many dog and pet owners neglect thorough research on nutrition and continue to believe that processed pet food is the best thing to feed their animals, it doesn't mean that they do not care. We all want our pets to be healthy and have the best possible food that is good for them. And unfortunately, many of these pet owners truly believed they were doing the right things by their pets. Luckily, with tainted food causing many pets to get ill, as well as a few deaths, more and more people are starting to ask questions and find out the truth behind proper nutrition for their pets.

Special Diets For Dogs: Your Veterinarian Has Something Very Important To Tell You

Special diets for dogs are not only prescribed by veterinarians for the obese animal, but also for various health reasons.

For example, if your dog suffers from congestive heart failure, due to heartworm or other heart diseases, your veterinarian may want to put him on a low-sodium diet, along with the proper medications, which combined, may literally save your pet's life. There used to be an old saying: "You are what you eat," but your dog has no choice, "He is what you feed him" and his welfare is always in your hands.

A veterinarian once told me that over half of mature dogs alive have kidney disease. Your pet's doctor may suggest that he be given a special diet that will not put a strain on his kidneys. This will often correct many problems and keep an animal from becoming seriously ill. All of the prescribed dietary foods must be given according to your veterinarian's strict instructions.

What About The Puppy & The Pregnant Dog, Do They Need Diet Food?

This too is a question which must be left up to your veterinarian. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't, depending upon the physical condition of the animal. Physical and mental stress is sometimes a determining factor in the prescribing of a diet program for puppies or the mother dog.

Diarrhea & Loose Stools

If your dog has diarrhea, he may need a bland diet. The intestinal tract of a dog is similar to that of a human and when it is irritated, a change of food can sometimes correct the problem.

Allergies & Skin Problems

Does your dog have an allergy or dermatosis? It may be that he is being fed the wrong food. Many times the well-meaning dog owner will spray, bathe, or put ointments on their pet, when what the dog really needs is a special diet food. Your veterinarian is the person who can determine the cause of your dog's itch, so don't try to diagnose it yourself.

Take Responsibility For Your Dog

Animal nutrition has made giant strides during the past 30 years. Today it is said that most dogs who are fed regular commercial dog food have a better diet than an American child. However, I'm sure this is a debatable statement and a hot topic. But the day is long past when we threw the family dog a bone from the table and expected him to grow just fine on any scraps left over.

Whenever your dog is not eating properly or is overweight, consult your veterinarian. He may suggest that you put your dog on a diet and if he does, be sure to stick with it. Try not to overfeed your pet. If he gets more calories than his body size needs, based on how much he weighs and physical activity, you may become a fat pup. Our pets have a way of becoming part of the family circle, but we must remember that their dietary needs are not the same as that of the rest of the family.

Commercial Dog Food - You Might Not Like What Is REALLY In Your Dog's Food

With the recent pet food recall causing all sorts of discussions between dog owners about the quality of the food they feed their dogs, it seems that very little of these conversations are actually asking the important question about whether or not pet food is nutritious enough for their animals.

Most people seem to be unhappy with the fact that the food was tainted, yet has anyone considered going deeper into the situation and really finding out what is in the food to begin with? Do you really want to know what you are feeding your dog or cat?

Peaking Into Pet Food Ingredients

The first question you should be asking yourself is whether or not the ingredients in your pet food is actually quality material. For those of you that have believed for years that the dog and cat food you have been feeding your pets are top-notch products, you may be disappointed to know that the foodstuffs which make up the base of these pet foods is extremely low grade, hardly edible, animal by-products.

These products come from the remains of whatever animals are not deemed suitable for human consumption. There are no special chicken farms, grass fed beef pastures, or anything of the sort, that is specifically utilized for pet food. These companies use whatever they can get their hands on: blood, ligaments, lungs, bones, beaks, heads, feet, etc. All of these items are converted over for several purposes, such as livestock feed, fertilizers, poultry, and of course - ingredients for pet food.

As a consumer, you cannot find this information when you read the labels. You have no idea whether or not the quality of the "beef" or "chicken" which is printed on many pet food packages is actually healthy, nutritious meat. And most people do not know the difference between whole meat and meat meal or meat byproducts.

Advertising At It's Best

Years ago, it was common practice to feed our cats and dogs whatever food we were eating. Table scraps were considered everyday food for these animals. Somewhere along the line we have been convinced that dog and cat food produced by corporations are the best nutritional products we can feed our pets.

Our thinking today is that "my dog will not get a balanced diet if he just eats what we eat." Once you think about it, that notion really doesn't make any sense. How can a human get all of the nutrition they need yet a dog will become nutritionally deficient by eating the same food? Ask yourself the same question and you might just think twice before grabbing process that food and feeding it to your cat or dog.

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