What Is Natural Nutrition Like In Dogs?
Natural nutrition in dogs is nothing more than the home preparation of their food. It consists of using fresh ingredients, combining them and cooking them according to the nutritional needs of the animal.
Contrary to popular belief, a dog used to eating processed food can change its eating habit.
The first step for a natural nutrition in dogs is to go to the specialist. Based on an evaluation, the veterinarian will be able to formulate a suitable diet for the animal, according to its current condition and needs.
After starting natural nutrition, the dog must be weighed once a month to see the behavior of the body. In this way, a monitoring of the evolution and the effects of this type of nutrition will be carried out.
If the animal has lost weight, it is possible that it is ingesting fewer calories than indicated for its size or size. However, if you gained a lot of weight, you are getting more calories than normal.
What are the benefits of natural nutrition in dogs
- Helps control the dog’s weight. Because it is a directed diet, you can take care of the dog’s diet.
The important thing in this aspect is to respect the quantities of food. Overfeeding could lead to obesity in the dog. In addition to leading to other health problems such as diabetes or kidney problems.
The same can happen if the animal receives less than the amount of food that it requires for its development.
- Improve your physical and emotional condition. When natural nutrition is started in dogs, the changes are seen immediately.
On the second or third day, the animal may feel more active and lively. Also, their fur becomes shinier and smoother.
This type of diet improves the dog’s digestion. It can be seen in the breath. In addition, your stools will be less odorous and smaller, because more nutrients are used. Also your body odor will be less pungent.
- Food without additives or preservatives. Because it is fresh products, the food lacks additives or preservatives common in processed foods.
However, it must be ensured that there is the correct balance between meals. In this way, the nutritional load required by the dog is guaranteed.
- There are no additional costs. Unlike what is believed, natural food is not more expensive than processed food and, in addition, it has benefits for the dog’s life.
The BARF diet
For its acronym in English, the BARF diet translates as Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. The ACBA or BARF diet consists of feeding the dog according to a percentage of its current weight. That is, if it is a sedentary animal, it should receive 2% of its weight in food, while if it is an active dog it will eat 3%.
According to natural nutrition in dogs, proteins must come from meat, be it beef, poultry or fish. In addition, they can be supplied with viscera such as liver, kidney, heart, among others.
For their part, vegetables are the source of minerals and vitamins, as well as oil is the supplier of fatty acids.
The BARF diet makes some recommendations that should be considered when cooking food:
- To avoid contamination, the meat should be frozen for a minimum of three days. In addition, it must be cooked very well to eliminate any existing parasites.
- The bones should not be cooked. These should always be given to the animal raw. It should be noted that we must only supply those allowed by specialists.
- In case of constipation, the intake of vegetables should be increased. If the condition worsens, it is advisable to attend the vet.
- Natural food should not be combined with processed food. It can be alternated, but not mixed.
Each species and breed is different, so they require nutritional values according to their characteristics. Hence the importance of requesting an evaluation by the specialist, before introducing natural nutrition.
Today there are many businesses and brands that are concerned with preparing natural food for dogs. This helps the owners in the process of cooking each meal.
Each meal is properly packaged and refrigerated. In this way, the benefit is the possibility of storage for as long as necessary.
Finally, it should be noted that these products must have the recognition of nutritional values, essential in this type of diet.
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Main image source: Armin Rodler
