Do you have a dog? And is it healthy? Then you are very lucky – you know how to feed it…
Dogs, like people, love to eat… And they love – almost the same. Only they are not given. They themselves want – something tasty. But no one will take away the bones – legal! And they are sometimes given these bones – countless…
But seriously, the problem of feeding, both for humans and animals, is somewhere in the top ten world problems. I say feeding deliberately, because what else can you call what many people do so hard, stuffing themselves with everything they can, just so they like it? And how much has been written about it, how many diets and weight loss methods have been invented…
Well, let nutritionists and massage therapists with trainers take care of people. I want to share my experience – bitter in the past, how to properly feed a pet. I say – a pet, because service dogs rarely get fat, working in the “sweat of their brow”, and get sick much less often than domestic pets.
Dogs are the same as children, and few people know that in terms of mental development, the best representatives of the dog breed rarely reach the level of a three- or four-year-old child. But how much delight we hear from the owners of such dogs! And how smart he is, and how quick-witted… But the dog will remain at the level of half-instincts, half-intellect. That is why he cannot control himself in food.
And if almost all parents know how to feed their babies correctly – or think they know how – then people usually start thinking about the correct nutrition of their pets after they have gotten a dog or a cat… I'm not even talking about exotic animals. And, having listened to Uncle Vanya and Aunt Masha, they convince themselves that there is nothing easier than making up a diet (there is no word “irrational”, what a pity!) for feeding. And if you listen to the advertising, your head should not hurt from worries: buy “Pedigripal” or “Chappie” and pour handfuls. And they pour…
When my Jessie died at night, without me, alone – I was at work, I didn't immediately understand why. I had no time for that – enough worries and tears. But later, when I was getting ready to get a new dog, I thought hard about what I did wrong, and why my Jessica left after all… And she was only 6 years old at that time…
And I had to shovel through a bunch of smart books until I came across that notorious diet in an old edition of a course on training service dogs… Probably, heaven and earth are closer to each other than the contents of these books: newfangled and old, proven by many years of experience methods and techniques of feeding. There was no dry food back then, just as people did not have biological supplements. And the food was ecologically clean, as they say now. But even now, many owners prefer to feed their animals natural food. What is the difference?
After I got the puppy, it occurred to me to call the veterinary pharmacy, where a young, but already experienced and smart, in my opinion, veterinarian was consulting. And when I told him what I was going to feed the puppy, I heard such a response that at first I was almost offended. It's good that I realized that the doctor was not choosing his words out of rudeness, but out of my hopeless stupidity…
I won't tell you how I fed my pets before, I'll say what the doctor advised. True, cooking according to his recommendations is quite a troublesome task, but the result was not long in coming. The puppy grew up healthy and strong.
Porridges of buckwheat and rice, in equal proportions, various vegetables – carrots, cabbage, beets, cucumbers, finely chopped and added to the boiled porridge… And most importantly, you can't add meat to the brew to cook together with the porridge . None. Not even lean beef, because meat broths are contraindicated for dogs . Their liver cannot withstand even a small amount of animal fat. And beef, although lean, has quite a lot of it. We are not talking about pork and lamb at all. Lean beef just needs to be doused with boiling water, cut into small pieces and added to the already prepared porridge.
The amount of food eaten by a dog at a time varies depending on the dog's weight. Of course, you can calculate the caloric content of the diet, energy expenditure during the day… In short, everything is like for a person. But only a few people will do this. Therefore, I advise feeding the dog 2 times a day and giving it enough so that it leaves a little hungry, licking the bowl dry. And do not pity it, poor and hungry. Most often, dogs do not know the sense of proportion and cannot control their appetite and hunger. If it does not walk for very long and runs little, then it needs less food. This is obvious. How much, where and how to walk a dog – can be found in numerous recommendations. Someone writes about walks of at least an hour, someone suggests walking at least two hours a day…
Unfortunately, there is usually not enough time for ourselves, our beloved ones, to say nothing of the dog. So the dogs get fat and sick, unable to complain… They start having problems with the liver, joints, frequent colds, digestion problems… I repeat once again: do not pity your pets, do not overfeed them – this pity will not benefit either you or them.
Try to use natural products, not dry food, although the latter is more convenient. But if you have to, out of necessity, switch to dry food, do not buy cheap ones . In any case, remember this. In addition, if you fed your dog natural products, but had to switch to dry food, keep in mind that this transition should not be earlier than 12 hours after eating natural food . It is not so easy and simple for a dog's body to adapt.
And most importantly, God forbid you mix natural food and dry food ! Problems will arise too quickly, and you may not immediately understand what the problem is.
So, after all: to feed or to walk? The answer is simple: feed less, walk more. Just like with people…
