What to Feed Your Dog？

Nowadays, more and more people feed dogs at home, how to make them healthy and strong? what to feed them?

Dog foods come in all shapes, sizes and flavors. Wet dog food is used primarily for those canines with particular taste palettes or as an intermittent treat. For the less discriminating, dog dry food varieties are available. It is not necessarily the delicate palette of a dog that determines what type of food it eats, but rather a combination of its dietary need, availability of the food brand in the area, owner preferences, and financial cost.

Consider the Dog’s Stage of Life
Just like humans, dogs require varying amounts of energy depending on their age. It is important to choose a dog food variety that reflects this. A puppy should be fed a food designed for puppies up until about a year of age. At this time they are developing muscle and bone and require a greater amount of protein and calcium. Most dog food lines have foods available for large breed puppies as well. Larger dogs, such as mastiffs or great danes, tend to grow very quickly which can put a lot of pressure on the growth plates leading to bone and joint problems. Foods designed for large breeds contain the right proportion of energy and protein so as to make sure they don’t grow fast, but grow properly.

Another important transition is going from an adult food to a senior food. Older animals require less energy because their metabolism is slowing and they usually are not as active. Their food should provide enough calories to maintain ideal body weight, but not too much that they become obese.

Regular, Holistic, and Organic Foods
Once those questions have been answered, the dog owner must decide which type of food is best: regular, holistic, or organic food. Those dog foods that are labeled as the “regular” dog food are those that may be readily found on any supermarket shelf. These products are usually made of a lower quality grade food and have less stringent quality controls. Holistic foods are predominantly labeled as such and have a high quality food grade, strict quality control measures on the production of their food, and are fortified with higher quantities of nutrients and minerals. Organic dog foods are comparable to human organic foods. They do not use preservatives or chemicals in their foods, and all ingredients are made locally within the country and are of an organic quality.

As each food has both positive and negative attributes to it, choosing a food is a very personal choice for each dog owner to make. However, there are some recommendations when deciding between these types of food. Dog owners will want to choose a dog food that:

Is appropriate for the age of the dog.
Has the highest nutrients and minerals needed for the dog.
Contains real meat (duck, fish, chicken, lamb) or “meal” within its first 2 ingredients.

Contains the proper protein and fat percentages for the dog’s breed and age. (Walk with your veterinarian for recommended guidelines.)
Does not have any “by-product” as listed as a main ingredient.
Provides easy-to-read feeding guidelines on the package.
Provides a company contact phone number on the package and is readily available to answer any questions or concerns dog owners may have about the product.
Once these questions are answered, you should have a better understanding of the quality of food that is best for your dog. This will help narrow the list to a few specific brands that can then be checked to make sure they meet any health concerns your dog may have.

The most popular choices of dog foods are:

Dry Dog Food. Feeding your dog with dry dog food, usually in small pieces of kibbles, is perhaps one of the most popular choices among dog owners. However, not all dog food brands use high quality natural ingredients. Ensure to read the label of ingredients listed before purchasing any brands of dog food. Here are some guidelines to help you to have some ideas of what the label actually tells you:No Preservative, Artificial Colors and Flavors. Generally, natural dog food contains no preservative, artificial colors and flavors. Consumption of these components may be harmful to your dog’s health if taken in a long run. Avoid those that labeled “chemical additives as a source of flavor”.

How to care a dog?

Dogs are human’s friends all long, people like feed dogs at home, and some of them are regarded as one of the family. A dog is not a person, it can not speak, and can not care itself, so we have to learn what to give dog for eating, how to help dog bath, how to play with dogs and make them comfortable…

What does a dog like to eat?
May be you would say:"bone". Yes, dogs like eating bone, this is a common sense. We often find a dog eating bone when watching TV or in a book. But beside the bone, dogs need other food to keep the nutrition of their bodies, it is just like human.

Dogs, especially young ones need a diet with high levels of proteins, fatty matters, vitamins and minerals to promote the development of bones and muscles. Dogs are meant to be carnivores and meat loaded with fat and protein is the best food but, you can make them omnivores /vegetarians by giving them a well balanced vegetarian meal complete with needed nutrients. Dry, canned and semi- moist foods are readily available from stores as dog food. Dry food which costs the least comes in chunks or nuggets which can be nibbled and may be served by itself or by moistening or mixing with milk, oil (1tsp corn oil with 1/ pound dry food) or with a whole cooked egg. Dogs need minimum 15% of protein a day and the average recommendation is between 22 and 25% and that of fat between 20 and 50 %.

Home made food must be well balanced. It can be boiled meat with rice, oats etc or a vegetarian option can be lentils cooked with vegetables like spinach or soya bean cooked and mixed with either rice or whole grain pasta. Food must be served warm or at room temperature and not straight out of the fridge. Fresh water for drinking should be made available at all times.

How to save money on dogs' food
The key to saving here is not to go cheap, but going big. Buy quality food, as recommended by your vet, in bulk.
For example, we found that an eight-pound bag of dog food costs about $15, while a 40-pound bag of the same food costs about $50. Buying the bigger bag saves you $25.
The same is true for cat food. The average price for a four-pound bag of food is $12, and for 20-pounds, it's $37. That's a savings of $23 when you buy in bulk.


Dogs'house
Dogs like we human, they should have their own “home”. In modern times, Dog having their own houses is a trend. How to build a house for dogs?
There are four steps:
1. Build the base.
2. Build and attach the wall framing.
3. Add the roof frame.
4. Add the walls.

You can also buy it in pet market, there are other things for dogs such as: Dog Bed, Dog Carrier, Dog Kennel etc.

Dress up your dog
Everyone who like dogs may dress up his/her dogs with beautiful dog clothes, Vest, Pajamas etc. Dog clothes is small and nice, dogs wearing clothes will keep them warm and looks beautiful.

Dog Bathing
Bathe them once in two - three weeks or even a month. Use mild soap or shampoo. Stop use if any redness or itching is noticed. Rinse thoroughly after shampooing. When washing your dog, keep the water out of his ears and eyes as much as possible. Use large pieces of cotton to block the ears and don't forget to remove them after bath.

Dog exercise
Exercise is a requirement as important as feeding for dogs. They are inherent energetic and piquant, so, if you leave them in the house all day, they may be sick and not lively, Or become bored and bad tempered. In fact, you only need release them to run and jump, they will keep health and lively.