What are the newest trends in dog nutrition? And what is the opinion of experts and dog owners themselves? I have made a summary for you about what hot topics have been discussed in pet nutrition recently, both at home and abroad.
Business related to pets grows every year. We spend really a lot of money on our pets sometimes. And we are also subject to the newest trends very often. It is true in the field of nutrition as well, and the good old statement “a dog is a beast and needs meat” gradually ceases to apply. However, is that really true? Should we obey the newest fashionable fads even in dog nutrition and force our dogs to adjust to various diets?
Firstly, let’s have a look at what trends are dominant in dog nutrition.
Vegan dogs and raw diets
One of the trends the popularity of which has been growing prominence recently is dog veganism. Many people decide for being vegan also in order to reduce their ecological footprint and have the least impact on the environment. And then, they have the same approach with the same underlying opinion to their furry friend nutrition. Although, a sustainable approach towards the environment is close to my heart, I do not identify myself with purely plant-based diet for dogs. Vets are also against this trend. They say that vegan or raw diet may even cause allergies in dogs. Therefore, raw treats shouldn’t be overused.
Grain-free dog food
Another trend popular in dog nutrition is the so-called grain-free (or gluten-free) dog food I have already written something about. Grain-free (GF) is the concept of nutrition which rejects gains. The supporters of this philosophy base it on the assumption that the dog is unable to digest grains and some of grains might even cause adverse reactions, intolerance and allergies in healthy dogs. Contrary to dog veganism, this is a healthy trend.
BARFing
Return to the natural roots. This is how you could describe the new way of nutrition called barfing. The abbreviation B.A.R.F. can be explained in several ways. The most common explanation is “Bones and Raw Food”. To put it simply, it is feeding our beasts in the most natural way for them, i.e. using raw meat. Noone can probably make any objections against. For barfing, a general rule 80-10-10 (80 % meat, 10 % bones and 10 % organs) is recommended. The last trend is to reduce the amount of pure meat and add various organs, up to 25 %.
Good old classics
As you can see, there’s always a lot going on with regard to dog food. I could definitely continue with other trends in dog nutrition. Enhanced contents as well as new packages promoting what’s inside constantly appear. It probably doesn’t mind if you go for holistic dry dog food or prefer quality meat cans – whether classic such as cans from Brit Fresh line, or mono-protein for example, which are recommended in the cases of food intolerance.
The important thing you should take care of is if the food provides complete and balanced nutrition for the animal. It means that it contains all important proteins. And you’ll make no mistake if you pick some food containing Omega-3 and Omega-6 fat acids which have beneficial effects not only on the dog's fur which is shiny but also for its immune system.
Whatever your decision will be, be sure to consult your vet or use the services of dog nutrition experts before you start experimenting with your dog’s nutrition. After all, health is the most important and we shouldn’t treat their nutrition lightly.
tradiční dárky pro psy .jpg/30x20/FIT)
tradiční dárky pro psy .jpg/600x400/FIT)
Christmas is coming and it’s the time we are thinking of how we can please our loved ones. Besides family and friends, we should also not forget about our loyal companions that have stood by our side through our highs and lows during the whole year....
In this article, we’ll introduce you to another discipline of Disc Dog – our focus will be on Parallel Time Trial. The most important thing in it is the time within which a dog catches a flying disc. What does this discipline look like, in what...
Coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on the lives of most people. Our travelling has been limited, we started spending most of our time at home – with our furry friends in many cases. However, it has also been a change for them. They suddenly had...
Most of us dream about having a long and happy life, and ways to ensure it have been sought for centuries. Recent scientific studies, however, suggest that the answer has been right before us all along: Our cats, in addition to being nice companions,...
Defence Training is a process in which we try to encourage and develop the predatory instinct. We differentiate between practical and sports defence. In the case of sports defence, the dog is controllable and it isn’t headless stimulation of...
This animal is a wild predator that also likes to just relax on the couch. We are, of course, talking about the American shorthair cat, which can be considered similar to its European counterpart, just on the American continent. What makes this breed...
Wolves belong to the Carnivora order, and the thought of meeting them in the wild scares many of us. It is therefore quite surprising that wolves are very shy and wary animals that will try to avoid human contact at all costs. All the more if the...
Like humans, our pets may experience adverse reactions to some food or ingredients. Whether we give them dry food or raw meat, there is always a risk that the food will not suit our pets, perhaps simply because they cannot digest it. How to recognize...
On our blog, we have already written about dogfrisbee, a sport where dogs catch flying discs. Its advantage is that both the dog and the owner play sports together. Dogfrisbee is also a great sport for its diversity – it includes various disciplines...
Sport cynology is sometimes also called the royal discipline. It is mainly because of its difficulty – very versatile skills are needed for it both from the dog handler as well as the dog. What aspects are the most difficult and what is its...
The Vizsla comes from Hungary where it arrived with nomadic tribes. The written references about this breed can be traced back to 14th century, but it started to be more significant in 18th and 19th centuries, mainly in association with races just...
As well as people, dogs are unique living beings which differ in their nature and in what they like and don’t like. A significant part of it depends on upbringing of course, but owners need to accept some characteristic features of a dog and learn...
