Feeding the adult dog

In adulthood, as well as the stage of weaning, the right dog food can not be separated from the correct assessment of his state of health and lifestyle. In fact, people who mainly live in a temperate climate, confined to the home, have - for obvious reasons - lower nutritional needs than dogs who spend most of their time in the courtyards outside the home.


An examination of the daily requirement of energy and nutrients will be addressed in the second part of the article. Here we will only give some simple tips on proper habits to be taken with regard to canine nutrition.

INDUSTRIAL POWER OF THE DOG


In recent years there has been a clear trend to move away from so-called power home, in favor of junk food specifically designed to meet the nutritional needs of the dog.

Those who choose the power industry considers important advantages such as convenience, ease of use and storage, cost, convenience when traveling or displacements, velocities of meal preparation and ability to use food formulated according to the nutritional needs of your dog (breed , state of health, life style, etc..). From the point of view of nutrition, the pet food (English name of the feed dogs and cats) may be subdivided into:

    complete food capable of satisfying by itself the whole daily nutritional needs;

    food supplement, which provides a narrow range of nutrients to meet only part of the needs of the animal;

    dietetic foods, important in the diet therapy of pathological disorders of different nature (diabetes, obesity, gallbladder etc..), for which a correct diet is an effective support in the treatment of the same pathological situation.

From the practical point of view, instead, the dog food is traditionally divided into:

    dry food, if its moisture content is less than 10-12%, belong to this category croquettes, puffed rice and other cereal mix to integrate the flesh;

    wet food, if the moisture content is between 68 and 78%, belong to this category based products morsels of meat or pate, classically presented in boxes of metal;

    semi-wet food, if the moisture content is between 15 and 30%.

The low humidity of dry dog ​​food reduces the cost and problems of transport, packaging and storage, with significant savings for the consumer (up to 70% and more than chunks). The croquettes are also more hygienic and their quality, once opened, does not change, thanks to chew - with continuous massaging of the gums and teeth, and cleaned themselves by rubbing - are also better for the health of the dog's teeth. However, if they are already in a bad state, the animal obviously tends to prefer softer food.

The palatability of the dog food is not comparable to that of meat pieces, which are increasingly being administered as a simple "sop", a sort of extra treat from time to time to put on top of the kibble.

Especially in the use of bulky products such as puffed rice and cereals, we must remember that nutrition is always depending on the weight and volume, therefore, for determining the junk food is a good idea to help with the balance.

Before analyzing power solid home-style list of the most important factors to consider when purchasing a pet food for dogs:

    Price: upon this element certainly affect the quality of the raw materials used, but also the costs of transport and possible import, find a formula optimal nutrient and coverage of marketing (advertising, colors and forms of packaging and food). As is the case for products intended for human consumption, high price is not always synonymous with quality, and vice versa.

    amount per serving: represents the actual yield, ie the amount of food recommended by the manufacturer as necessary to cover the nutritional needs of the dog at each meal. It is a relevant parameter in the choice of a feed for dogs, to be taken into consideration absolute whenever comparing the prices of two products. For example, a hypothetical product A (1 kg net weight, cost 5 euro), indicating a dose of 250 grams per serving, it is less convenient than a product B (1 kg net weight, cost 7 euro), indicating a dose per serving of only 150 grams.

    quality of raw materials and analytical levels: as said, the only way to assess the quality of a food industry for dogs is to read the label carefully and patiently with analytical contents and ingredients of the product. In fact, if the facade is pure marketing, the information on the back are the identity card of the product. Unfortunately, reading and compression of the label can be difficult, especially for non-experts. Let us therefore draw up a short list of the most important criteria for identifying the quality of a product.

    Please note that the list of ingredients the individual raw materials are listed in descending order quantity. This means that the first ingredient on the list is predominant compared to the second, which in turn is compared to the third and so on. Since cereals much lower cost of meat, a food that includes this ingredient on the list should cost much less than a richer meat. Note, however, the widespread tendency to "chop" the cereal in its parts (bran, starch, flour, gluten etc.), So as to spalmarne the quantities of more ingredients and then allow the first place to the meat. Which meat? In general, it is preferable that the label is clearly marked "meat ..." rather than "meat and meat products." Animal proteins, also, are more digestible nutrients and those of plant, for example wheat or soy. These protein sources, however, complete the nutritional profile of the food making the correct doses of essential fatty acids. Another trick (in addition to splitting (or division) of cereals), adopted to bring up the flesh at the top of the ingredients, is to indicate it under the heading "fresh meat". The latter, unlike that dehydrated, is in fact very rich in water; for obvious reasons, this feature has a significant effect on the weight of the ingredient in comparison to that of the vegetable flours. The following guidelines, which regulate the terms printed on the label, they can still protect the consumer in choosing the product that best suits the needs of your dog:
    "Food-flavored lamb" or "aroma lamb" = meat contained less than 4%;
    "Food lamb" or "lamb" or "contains lamb" = meat contained not less than 4%;
    "Food rich in lamb" or "extra lamb" = meat contained 14 to 25% of lamb;
    "Lamb" = meat contained more than 26% of lamb;
    "All lamb" = meat contained 100% lamb.

    If the caloric intake per 100 grams is not present on the label, this can be easily calculated using the following mathematical formula (grams protein x 3.5) + (grams of carbohydrates x 3.5) + (grams of fat x 8.5).

    The carbohydrate, is not always present on the label, can be calculated as 100 minus the amount of fat, protein, fiber and ash (or individual minerals listed by quantity).

    The digestibility and the biological value of a protein source are greater, the higher the proportion of muscle contained, while decrease with increasing concentration of tendons, cartilage, bone and collagen (all food industry waste human generally absorbed by that of products for dogs).