4 Vital Tips on How to Feed Your Dog

I’ll just lay it right out. There are some very specific dos and don’ts about how you feed your dog, and I’m not just talking about nutrition for your dog or what to feed your dog. I referring to rules about how you feed your dog. Be sure to see our articles on Dog Health and Nutrition, Nutrition for Dogs, Dog and Puppy Nutrition, and More on Vitamins and Minerals.

Rule 1: A dog should be fed by the same person at every feeding. This rule is not nearly as important where a couple of house pets are being fed by several members of the same family, as it is where large numbers of dogs are being fed by numerous different kennel personnel. It is particularly important where dogs are in strange environments such as boarding kennels, veterinary hospitals, or show arenas. Dogs that have become accustomed to one feeder may exhibit all sorts of abnormal eating behavior if that person is changed.

Rule 2: Every dog should have its own food and water container. This precaution is not only sound behavioral psychology, it also is just plain good hygiene. It is especially wise to assign food bowls on an individual basis when your feeding containers are noticeably different from one another. Besides improved feeding technique, certain practical benefits are to be gained from following this rule. In racing stables, for example, where maintenance of body weight is so important, feeding instructions can be written on the bottom or the side of each dog’s feeding container, right next to its name or number.

Rule 3: Feed your dog in the same place every time it is fed. Whether it be the corner of the kitchen, beside the back-door steps, at the rear of a kennel run, or along the left-side wall of a cage, the site where the food container is placed should remain the same every day. In fact, everything that’s done with the food container should be identical at each feeding. lf you use a push cart or wagon to carry the tub of food to the dogs, always use the same cart and tub. lf you pre-fill food bowls in your kitchen and carry them on the cart, don’t decide one day to carry the tub of food on the cart and fill each bowl as you reach the dog. It may have become boring to you, but to your dog it has become the way of life. A change only serves as a disruption and may create insecurity.

Rule 4: No dog should ever have its food changed without a good reason. Contrary to what you might think, dogs do not need a change in food from time to time. Believe it or not, dogs to not grow tired of the same food day in and day out. Many dogs live normal, healthy lives by eating the same food throughout their entire lifetimes. In many cases where a dog owner thinks a dog has gotten sick and tired of a food, the dog has just gotten sick from the food. Not so sick that is became visible ill, but sick enough to stop eating. When a dog food is deficient, it is not unusual for a dog to lose its appetite. Of course, nutritional deficiencies are not the only thing that will cause a dog to lose its appetite.

When feeding your dog, keep in mind as well the 4 rules of thumb to use to evaluate worth of a dog food:

1. A food should contain sufficient energy for daily activity.
2. A food should contain adequate nutrients, in proper relationship to each other.
3. A food should contain ingredients that are usable by a dog.
4. A food should be acceptable in a sufficient quantity to fully supply items 1 and items 2 above.

Find out all you need to know about dog health and nutrition for dogs. Education is power!

 

 

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