Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Nutrition Tips for Dogs & Cats



Photo Source : http://petnutritioninfo.com

A balanced, healthy nutrition plan is an important part of your pet’s health. Your pet requires a balanced diet that will help to keep him healthy. Pets are unlike humans – the food they eat is the same day to day, as humans are able to choose a variety of different foods day to day. For this reason alone your pet needs to meet his nutritional requirements for proteins, vitamins and minerals all in one daily diet.

Practicing a good, healthy diet is not only good for your pets overall health it will also help his skin, hair coat and more. A healthy nutrition plan will help his internal workings to assure your pet’s optimal health and long life here with you!

Let’s take a look at some of the crucial nutritional values your dog‘s diet should contain on an average:

Vitamins and minerals in small amounts are essential to your pets overall health and well being. Calcium and phosphorus (parts of the bone) sodium (essential part of the of the enzymes system) and iron (component of hemoglobin) are just a few of the many essential vitamins and minerals needed for your pets optimal health and nutrition. Taking the time to assure your pet is getting proper nutrition will lead to him having a happier, healthier, longer life!

Protein is another vitamin that is crucial for your pet’s heath. Protein is his source of amino acids which are required for the manufacturing of bones, muscles, hair coat, skin and everything else inside his body. Protein is an essential part of your pets nutritional and diet nutritional needs. Roughly the amount of protein needed in his diet, is 20% in dog food and 30% in cat foods.

Cats are a carnivore which means they require meat protein and also have a higher need of protein intake in general than dogs. Dogs are omnivores like humans, which makes them able to use both meat and vegetables to balance their nutritional intake. In fact, dogs can do well on a properly balanced vegetarian diet whereas a cat might not due as well since they require more overall protein intake.

Fiber (derived from plants) is also an essential part to a balanced diet. Fiber is the indigestible substance found in food. Minimal amounts of fiber are essential for proper food digestion. Without proper fiber intake in your pet’s diet, he would suffer from diarrhea which could then result in more potential health problems and risks.

Many of the poor quality pet foods include a higher amount of fiber than most pet foods because it’s cheaper for the company to manufacture. T

Dietary fat supplies are most of the body’s caloric requirements as well as essential fatty acids. In fact “fat” is the most expensive of ingredients that are found in pet foods. It is for this reason that that some of the lower pried dog food companies skimp on the quality and quantity of fats contained within the pet foods. Inadequate, poor quality fats will result in your pet having poor skin and coat health which could possible lead to more serious health concerns. There are some dog food manufacturers that add extra essential fatty acids to their food to promote healthy skin and coat – this is the food you should try and feed to your dog!

And there you have it, the basics to helping your pet avoid long term health problems and risks that may arise due to poor nutrition and eating habits. We hope these basic pet food nutrition tips will encourage you to do your research when picking which pet food is best for your bet. In the end, it will help assure your pets overall health and well being.

Source : http://www.indulgeyourpet.com

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