Dog Dietary Needs

Different dog owners have various reasons for keeping a dog. If you bring home a puppy, you have to make sure you know what responsibility you are taking. Dog care can be even more difficult than taking care of a baby sometimes! However, you have to be very careful with the pup's eating, sleeping, hygiene, exercise, and many other habits. Like human babies, puppies also go through the growing up phases, and their personalities are developed with respect to the upbringing they have obtained. Therefore, you have to be as good as a parent to your dog, and they will in turn give you the love, affection, respect and loyalty beyond compare. The first thing you need to consider while raising a dog is dog health and diet. Since the dog completely depends on you, providing it with the right nutrients is your responsibility. Therefore, if you want to know what are the dog dietary needs, read on and find out.

Dietary Requirements in Dogs

If you don't take care of the dog dietary needs, there can be a number of dog illnesses which they suffer from. This will eventually lead to paying their medical bills, when you could have taken care of it! Thus, to avoid such diet problems in dogs, you should always make sure your little buddy is eating healthy dog foods and consuming all the required nutrients in the right amounts. Like us, dogs need the basic nutrients which are water, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, fiber, trace elements and vitamins for their growth, development and metabolism. However, if you can't find out how to determine dog's dietary needs, we have put together some information about the same in the coming up paragraphs. Take a look and make life easy!

Protein Dietary Needs
It is commonly known that proteins and amino acids are considered to be the building blocks of any living being. Thus, proteins are the most essential nutrients required by a dog's body to stay healthy and fit. The tissues, bones and muscles are all made up from different types of proteins and therefore if you want your dog to stay healthy, include a good amount of protein in its food. Proteins also help in a regulated metabolism which let the body function properly, like maintain the internal systems, blood flow and the excretion.

Proteins is said to have sources only in meats, but there are grains, beans and vegetables which are also rich sources for them. Thus, don't keep feeding your dog meat, but also include these main ingredients in the diet, as excess meat can cause dog health problems like indigestion, fermentation of undigested food and release of toxins, obesity, heart problems, arthritis, etc. Thus, you should go for a low protein dog food diet for a growing dog and increase the food as it grows older.

Vitamin Dietary Needs
Another major part of dog dietary needs is the requirement of vitamins which are fat soluble and water soluble. Even though their requirements are very small, vitamins are needed for a normal functioning healthy body. Excess of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) can lead to health problems of the bones and tissues. However, excess of water soluble vitamins (B, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin and choline), is not toxic as they are regularly flushed out of the body. For vitamins, you can feed your dog with citrus fruits, nuts, beans, etc., or give them vitamin supplements as well.

Mineral Dietary Needs
Dogs also require good amounts of about 20 minerals found in nature. They are also known to be trace elements and the body requires them for proper functioning even in less amounts. There are various roles which these minerals play and they can be formation of teeth, bones, cartilage, transportation of oxygen in blood, maintaining pH of blood, production of hormones as well as enzymes, and regulation of muscles and nerves. Therefore, make sure you either give your dog mineral rich foods like milk, grains, green vegetables or dietary supplements.

Fiber and Carbohydrate Dietary Needs
Fiber is known to be a carbohydrate which cannot be digested but it helps in various other body functions like stool formation. Such fibers required by a dog's body are cellulose, insulin, lignins, etc, which are found in many plants and whole grains. Fibers are also soluble and insoluble in nature and are not broken down by enzymes in dogs, unlike carbohydrates. Some of these are also found in fruits, but you need to consult a vet before including them in your dog's diet. Carbohydrates like starch are easily broken down in the digestive system of a dog and thus, they can prove to be good energy sources. Wheat grain, brown rice, pumpkin, corn, barley and others can be great sources of fiber and carbohydrates.

Along with all these nutrients and their functions in a dog's body, also make sure your pet drinks a lot of water and exercises, for staying healthy. With these dog dietary needs, your dog will never face health issues and will stay fit with a long and enjoyable life!