Ask Dr.Linh
D: Introduction ...
D: How important is a dog's nutrition?
L: Nutrients are the components found in foods that are essential for the body's metabolism. There are nutrients the body can synthesize and not synthesize itself. For example, dogs can synthesize vitamin C in their liver by themselves, so there's no need to add vitamin C to their diet. However, many other minerals and proteins cannot be synthesized and added to food. Thus, a reasonable diet is a diet with balanced nutrition, sufficient, no excess, and no shortage.
There are 6 main types of nutrients: water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins. Each class has a different function in the body.
Water is an essential component of your dog's body, which promotes healthy digestion and metabolism, in addition to helping regulate body temperature. Maintaining the right amount of water the puppy needs is mandatory.
Protein is a crucial component in the process of forming, regenerating, and nourishing cells and forming muscle mass in the body. Dogs cannot store protein, so they need a source of protein from their daily diet. Dogs cannot produce essential amino acids on their own, so food supplements are necessary. Proteins provide energy for the body to function when there is not enough carbohydrate and fat. It helps to support the growth of tissue, muscle, ligaments, cartilage, skin, and hair. Participate in the process of making hormones, neurotransmitters, antibodies, and enzymes for the daily activities of the body.
Fat provides the dog with the most energy with twice as many calories as protein and carbohydrates. Fatty acids are essential: omega-3, omega-6 helps to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, promoting a healthy nervous system.
Vitamins help the dog's body grow and function normally. Dogs can store fat-soluble vitamins and use them gradually, but they need to continuously supplied with vitamins in the water through the diet.
Essential minerals help support the growth and maintenance of dog organs (life support). Several crucial minerals, including calcium and phosphorus, help with bone growth, blood clotting, and muscle development as well as nerve functions.
Dogs can synthesize glucose from fat and protein in their diet, and carbohydrates are the only nutrient not necessary for dogs.
Nutrition is an essential factor in the development of a pet. A wrong diet will lead to various diseases like malnutrition and obesity. Providing inadequate food for pets, especially in the early stages, will significantly affect the development of the skeletal muscle system as well as development. In the opposite direction, providing too much nutrition leads to obesity causing many types of cardiovascular disease, cough due to organ compression ... This is especially serious for older pets. Therefore, a balanced diet will bring the best health for your baby.
D: What is a sensible diet for dogs?
L: A reasonable diet means ensuring adequate nutrition for animals at that time, without excess and deficiency. To do that, we have to build a diet based on the following points:
Firstly, depending on the variety, we have different diet choices. For example, there are tiny body breeds like the Phot squirrel, the diet, the amount of food that can not be as much as the big breeds like Golden Dog or Beagle.
Second, Depending on the stage of development, we have different diets such as 8-week-old puppies need to eat 4 meals per day. When it is 3 months of age should eat 3 meals per day, 6 months of age eat 2 meals per day. Diet and diet for puppies aged 3 to 7 months are the most important because this is a period of rapid bone and puppy growth. Until 1 year of age, just give him a light breakfast and a full meal in the afternoon.
From 1 to 3 months of age: This stage, puppies are not yet fully developed, so you need to pay attention to the food lines that are good for the digestive system such as calcium, protein, vitamins, eggs, milk, meat…
The period after 6 months of age: At this stage, you need to supplement foods rich in calcium and protein to enhance the growth of muscles and bones. As well as promoting weight growth, height as the dog begins to enter the adult segment.
Pregnancy stage. This period is when the dog needs the most nutrients to be able to develop and nurture the fetus.
Postpartum period: This is the period when a dog recuperates and breastfeed. Then the mother dog needs to be provided with foods rich in phosphorus, iron or vitamins, calcium ...
Thus, depending on the specific characteristics of each animal, we have a sensible diet that provides adequate nutrition for each animal. Besides, we should see the puppies as friends, then we will understand what their body is like, what they want, and from that, we can take better care of it.
D: What are some nutritious dog food?
L: Currently, there are many foods to compliment the well-developed dog. In particular, they are sub-divided into 2 types of food. That is:
Dry food for dogs: Dry food contains full of nutritional ingredients such as cereals, meat, vitamins, and other meat products (eggs, milk) ... This type of food is not highly commended for its quality and quantity. It also saves you time, no need to prepare your dog food. This food line is usually produced and processed according to the stage and age of the dog. Therefore, you absolutely can choose the right product.
Fresh dog food includes fresh foods such as pork, beef, chicken, fish, vegetables, fruits, etc., which are processed appropriately. These are all nutritious, fresh foods, so when properly prepared will be very good with the comprehensive development of dogs.
Each type of food will have different advantages and disadvantages. E.g.:
Dog dishes made from fresh food will be diverse, nutritious, safe, easy to absorb, and digest better. However, for each age and physical condition of each dog, you must have a diet suitable for them. And if you are a busy person, it will take time to prepare a meal for your pet. To adjust the diet appropriately, you should give the dog a try first for the first few weeks, then track the development, weight gain, body condition of your dog. From there, we can give a balanced diet for them.
For dry food, the most outstanding advantage is time-saving. Besides, a unique feature that many people prefer to use dry food because it helps the waste of the dogs to be moulded, very easy to clean. However, the use of dry food also has some unavoidable disadvantages. Firstly, because it is dry food, the nutrient content is relatively limited in fibre, making it difficult for the dog to have indigestion, affecting development. Therefore, you should supplement fibre by feeding dogs more vegetables, tubers, fruits, ... to ensure the best health for dogs. At the same time, the cost of some high-class foods is relatively high, to provide enough daily food for dogs, the money is relatively expensive.
Thus, if you can harmonize these two foods, taking care of your pet will be more comfortable and your dog will be happier.
D: What foods are bad for dogs?
L: Some people think that dogs can eat all the things we can eat. This is not true. Some of the things we love to eat but can be dangerous for your pet. E.g.:
Chocolate, coffee, and caffeine are dangerous foods that dogs should not eat. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has shown that chocolate, coffee, and caffeine contain methylxanthines, which is a dangerous compound for pet health.
According to them, immediately after eating the above foods, the methylxanthines in it will cause pets to vomit, diarrhoea along with some other symptoms such as panting, thirst and continuous urination, hyperactivity, Abnormal heart rhythms, tremors, convulsions, and even death. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the higher the methylxanthines.
Raw meat is also bad for pets. Although dogs are wild animals, they are not food for dogs. Raw meat and eggs often contain many types of bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli that can be harmful to both pets and humans. Besides, raw eggs also contain an enzyme called avidin that reduces the absorption of vitamin B, which can lead to skin and hair problems, causing skin and hair to become tangled and no longer shiny as healthy.
Bones, especially chicken bones, can also be hazardous for domesticated animals. A bone can cause a choking or choking dog, or if the bone is broken into small pieces, it could get stuck in your throat or puncture your pet's stomach. Currently, many companies have also produced chew bones from natural materials to have more options for dog owners to replace animal bones.
If you feed your dog foods that contain too much salt, such as chips and cookies, it can lead to the dog being always thirsty and urinating too much. If the salt content in food is too high and accumulates over a long period, sodium ion poisoning in pets can result.
Never give your pet any alcohol in any case. Alcohol has the same effect on the dog's liver and brain, but of course, the dog's stamina is much less. Dog bodies do not exist enzymes to break down alcohol like humans. So, even a small amount of alcohol can be dangerous to the dog.
There are also some dangerous dog foods: grapes, onions, garlic, chives, confectionery containing xylitol, human milk products, and nuts such as almonds, walnuts, nuts. Shift.
D: What to do when the dog refuses to eat?
L: Every dog ​​can have anorexia regardless of age. However, a dog's refusal to eat often has two leading causes: pathological or psychological. To solve the problem of dog refusal to eat, you need to identify the cause.
As for psychological anorexia, the reason is that you have been pampering your dog. You often change their diet, give them a lot of tasty meals, and then suddenly return to their daily routine, causing the dog to stop eating. Or it is still possible that they will even eat, but eat less. And gradually will form an anorexic habit.
To overcome this problem, you can apply the following:
Make a good habit for your dog by letting a meal last only about 10-20p, if the dog eats after that time, but all the food away. Doing so will help the dog understand they are only allowed to eat during that time. Since then, help increase eating efficiency.
Provide a quiet space for the dog to avoid being disturbed by other animals while eating. Besides, you should feed your dog on time and in the right place.
You also should not change the dog's food suddenly. For example, from wet to dry food, one company to another ... If you want to change because the dog's current food is not good and does not meet the nutritional requirements, you should change slowly. Add new bits of food to your diet daily until your dog has wholly eaten the new food.
In addition to the psychological cause, the dog refuses to eat also has a pathological reason. Typically, diseases related to helminths and teeth. In this case, you need to bring to the veterinary to be consulted and appropriately handled.
D: In the case of dogs suffering from kidney failure, what should be the diet?
L: As cats and dogs get older, they begin to face degenerative dysfunction. The intestinal, circulatory, or excretion activities, including the kidneys, also gradually weaken. From there, it will lead to the situation of kidney failure, extremely dangerous kidney stones. When your dog is diagnosed with kidney disease, it is best to have a veterinary-guided diet that is different for each animal. However, there are a few general considerations about nutrition for dogs with renal impairment. e.g.:
A diet that is low in quantity but quality assurance should be followed, especially a high protein diet that can help improve the kidney condition of sick dogs.
-To increase appetite, you can divide it into several small meals a day, combined with additives such as cheese, dog milk, or chopped vegetables; Warming food moderately may also increase appetite.
-The body weight should also be checked every week to ensure enough calories are consumed to maintain weight and control dehydration.
- About electrolytes, vitamins, and fatty acids: electrolyte levels need to be maintained at normal levels. Besides, it is necessary to supplement calcium, monitor the salt content, and Cali concentration to adjust accordingly. Most important is to limit the amount of salt you eat. This helps prevent edema and high blood pressure.
D: end of the interview