Diet Types
There are many types of diets you can feed you dog. If you wish, a home cooked diet, or a commercial pet food such as canned food, moist food, or dry food, or even a combination of all three. A meal prepared at home can be time consuming, and you need to know the dogs nutritional requirements and what foods provide the necessary proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins to satisfy those requirements.
Your dog may reject a meal you have prepared at home because it is not palatable, or it may select the meats only and leave the rest. Commercial dog foods are palatable, readily available and reasonably priced. Most provide a balanced diet but others need to be supplemented for the dog to obtain all of the nutritional requirements. When buying a commercial pet food, read the label carefully to check if the food is complete or incomplete.
Canned Foods
There are numerous kinds of canned foods that are palatable, attractive, nutritious, economical, and convenient. They consist of a mixture of meats and cereals with all essential vitamins and minerals added. Remember to read the label to make sure it is complete. If the food is incomplete, it will require additional supplements.
Dry Foods
Dry foods comes in a variety of shapes, and sizes to suit large and small dogs. Check the label to ensure that it is a complete dry food. If it is, the dog can live a healthy life on dry food only. The dogs requirement for water increases with a dry food diet. Be sure to always provide fresh water. Dry food also contains salt, which increases the voluntary water intake. If your dog is drinking little water, the dry food can be moistened with water before feeding.
Moist Dog Food
This food usually comes in the form of cubes, mince, or chunks. These foods are made with a variety of ingredients that includes meat, meat by products, vegetable protein concentrates, cereals, sugars, and fats. Check the label to ensure it is complete.