The health of your dog is decisively influenced by a species-appropriate diet. However, there are a few things to bear in mind when feeding your dog on a daily basis. We will show you tips on how to feed your dog correctly.
How much food does my dog need?
A dog's energy requirements depend, among other things, on its age, size, housing (indoors/outdoors) and activity level . An agile dog has a higher energy requirement than a calmer dog. To determine the correct amount of food, it is best to follow the feeding recommendations on the dog food packaging. However, the feeding recommendation is only an average value. Each dog must be assessed individually with regard to its living conditions.
How often should dogs be fed?
Everyone has certainly experienced how you feel after a particularly sumptuous meal - namely full and sluggish. Dogs are no different, which is why feeding them once a day is not recommended. It is better to feed your dog two or three meals throughout the day. This allows the food to be digested in the best possible way.
In large dogs, there is a risk of gastric torsion if the food rations are too large . After feeding, the dog should have a rest period of one to two hours.
When should feeding take place?
Some dogs are quite relaxed when it comes to feeding times. Accordingly, you can be a little more generous here and the food does not have to be in the bowl exactly to the minute. However, there are also dogs that can hardly wait to be fed. One reason for this can be irregular feeding times. For impatient dogs, it can therefore make sense to always feed them at the same time in the early morning and late afternoon, for example. This allows the dog to adjust to these times. You should disturb your dog as little as possible while it is eating. Several dogs should be fed at different feeding stations.
Getting used to new food
Some illnesses require a change to a special diet. The best way to get your dog used to a new food is to do so as gently and carefully as possible: a small amount of the new food is mixed well with the previous food. The proportion is gradually increased until finally only the new food is left in the bowl.
My dog is always hungry. Am I feeding too little?
Excessive hunger can certainly be caused by feeding errors, such as food with poor digestibility. The dog then tries to compensate for the deficiencies in the ration by eating more food. High-quality dog food is balanced and contains easily digestible raw materials to ensure that the dog is adequately supplied with nutrients.
Apart from this, however, there are illnesses that can lead to ravenous appetite. Diseases of the pancreas, for example, can prevent the food from being sufficiently broken down and digested. If feeding your dog a high-quality complete food - including all wet and dry food from animonda, for example - does not bring any improvement, you should take your dog to the vet.
Dangers of feeding fresh meat (barfing)
Feeding raw animal products poses health risks for dogs and humans. In 2018, Dutch researchers carried out a study on frozen barf products, which led to alarming results: 40 percent of the samples were found to contain coliform bacteria that had exceeded the permitted limit for food. In 23 percent of the products, a particular variant of coliform bacteria was even detected, which can lead to severe food poisoning in humans. Deep-freezing renders the pathogens inactive, but anyone who buys raw meat from a butcher and feeds it to their dog should be aware of this risk.
Transmission can occur during processing, when cleaning the food bowl or through intensive contact with the dog, e.g. by licking. Small children in particular are very naïve and at risk. But older or sick people also have an increased risk of infection due to a weaker immune system.
In addition, a number of mistakes can be made when barking, which can lead to deficiency symptoms and/or an oversupply of nutrients in the dog. It is safer to use a high-quality complete dog food.
Can I feed leftovers from lunch?
Better not. Human food is usually unsuitable for dogs as it is too salty, too spicy and too unbalanced. For optimum nutrition for dogs, high-quality complete food from the animonda range is ideal, as it contains all the essential nutrients in a balanced composition and thus provides the dog with optimum care.
