Diets for dogs: types and how to plant in different situations

Diet, that is, a certain diet, is required not only by a person, but also by our four-legged friends. After all, the dog’s health, its appearance and well-being depend on nutrition. There are many diets designed to get rid of excess weight, normalize the condition, improve some indicators of the animal. The main thing is the correct diet for the dog and compliance with a number of rules when switching to a new diet.

Veterinary diet for dogs

It is worth noting that diet food is not intended for all dogs, but only for those who have certain health problems. Moreover, the diet is prescribed exclusively by the veterinarian for a number of indications, and he also exercises control over its results, and adjusts if necessary. In most situations, regular tests, weighing, examinations and other diagnostic procedures are required, which can not be performed at home and without certain knowledge.

There are many diseases that require nutritional changes. Among the most common in dogs are the following:

• Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, bowel disease, etc.).
• Diseases of the liver, gall bladder.
• Allergic reactions to food, etc.

If there is a tendency to the aforementioned ailments or body weight slightly above the norm, the doctor may prescribe a preventive veterinary diet that improves the well-being of the animal and prevents the development of pathological conditions. It enhances the immune system, which protects the dog from disease, and makes her life long and active.

Diet for dogs with diseases

There is no universal diet food that can solve all problems in one fell swoop. Even existing diets by numbers (table 3, 4, 5, etc.) are subject to adjustment for a particular patient and his needs. Therefore, not knowing all the intricacies, you should not independently assign your pet a “correct” diet.

It is worth considering the available veterinary rations and their purpose, which are developed by specialists and meet all the requirements:

• Proper nutrition for overweight and castration (read about castration dogs ). The most important rule in this case is to reduce the amount of food by an average of 20%. And most often this is enough to solve the problem, since a slow metabolism needs to reduce the calories received by the body. If the obesity is significant, it is possible to transfer the pet to a diet containing a low amount of protein. However, this is done very carefully, since the dog is a predator and needs a source of animal protein - meat, and a protein deficiency can cause irreparable harm to the body of the animal.
• Hippo-allergenic diet food . It includes a sample of various products that may have caused an allergy, but only one at a time in 2-3 days, and the results of their assimilation are recorded. Having identified food that gives an allergic reaction, it is excluded from the further menu of the dog. If the pet has an allergic reaction to a lot of products, feeding the dog with natural food becomes problematic. In this case, you can transfer the pet to feeding with special dry diets for allergy sufferers, or pass a special laboratory analysis sample, including 24 points. The latter will allow you to find out exactly what the dog can eat and what not.
• Diet for gastritis . With this common disease, it is important to give the dog food in small portions, for this it will be necessary to increase the number of feedings. Moreover, the intervals between them should be equal. If the dog ate dry food, then it is advisable to transfer it to canned food of the same brand. In this case, the stress when changing the diet will be minimal. But it is better to refuse dry granules. With natural feeding during an exacerbation, you can give the dog rice broth, low-fat meat broth, low-fat cottage cheese. Then you can include boiled rice with beef in the diet. All foods high in fat and foods that could harm even a healthy pet should be excluded.
• Dietary nutrition for liver diseases . This therapeutic diet involves the saturation of the dog's body with components that contribute to the restoration of liver cells. On the first day, it is recommended that the dog starve, drinking plenty of fluids. At this time, you can offer herbal decoctions to the pet, if the dog refuses such a drink, you can limit yourself to water. To exit the fasting was comfortable, you should initially give the dog a low-fat broth from sea fish or beef. The next 2-4 days involve feeding the animal with cereals - from oatmeal, oatmeal, rice, semolina. You can add a little boiled minced beef or poultry. Fractional nutrition - 5-6-tyrazovoy is welcome. Gradually, the menu becomes more diverse, it includes dairy products, vegetables and more. With some changes in the organ, the veterinarian may prescribe a special therapeutic dry diet.

As you can see, with each ailment a special approach is required, therefore it is not recommended to experiment with the diet of a sick animal on its own.

See also: pancreatitis in dogs - symptoms and treatment .

Protein diet for dogs

Protein is an important component necessary for renewing tissue cells in a dog’s body, enhancing lactation, synthesizing hormonal elements, strengthening immune forces and other processes.

Given the carnivores of dogs, they need to regularly receive animal protein. But not all owners pay attention to this nuance, making up the dog’s diet. Eating cheap feeds with a low meat content, switching the dog to a vegetarian menu for any reason, etc., leads to a deficiency of this important component, and, consequently, health problems.

According to veterinary data, a puppy should receive 9 g of protein per kilogram of weight, an adult animal - 4.5. Moreover, at least 1/3 of this substance must be of animal origin. To replenish the body with the missing substances, the doctor reviews the existing diet and corrects it. On average, a dog should receive 70% of meat and meat offal, the rest are other components - vegetables and cereals.

When feeding industrial feeds, the veterinarian may recommend a special feed with a low fat content and a balanced amount of vegetable and animal proteins.

It is worth a look: what cereals to give to dogs and how to learn how to give medicine to a dog .

How to put a dog on a diet

When the animal is in critical condition, an exacerbation of the disease proceeds, the transition from normal nutrition to dietary and even starvation proceeds quickly. It’s just that the animal stops receiving food and that's it. Stress? Yes! But the disease will not wait until the dog gets used to not eating what she consumed daily.

If we are talking about a diet for weight loss, then you should not be so categorical. Serving size reduction can be done gradually. If you need to switch to another feed, then the standard 7-day system is used, when a new dish is included in the usual diet, step by step replacing the usual diet.

The appointment of any dietary nutrition requires a preliminary diagnostic examination. In addition, the specialist should give a number of useful recommendations that must be followed in order for the dog to get rid of health problems. In some cases, the diet prescribed to the pet has to be adhered to throughout life.