Did
you recently add a dog to your family, or are you concerned about your
current dog’s eating habits? Dog nutrition can seem complex, but we’ve
made it easy with this roundup of tips, tricks, essential info, and
solutions to common feeding problems. Read on, and your dog might just
eat better than you.
Take
a look at the ingredient list on your dog’s current bag of food. Look
for recognizable ingredients, a minimum of starches, and essential
vitamins and minerals. If you don’t have a bag on hand, you can use a
site like Dog Food Advisor to
see what’s in popular brands and compare ingredients. Make sure
there’s a whole protein source as the first ingredient, and check
that your dog’s food meets AAFCO nutritional adequacy standards, which
you can see on the label.
Pro
tip: supplementing your dog’s food with a vitamin or human-grade food
you prepare yourself is an affordable way to improve the quality.
If
you have multiple pets, your dog can become anxious about food. For
example, your dog may be gulping to avoid competition, or otherwise
become territorial about their meal. Consider keeping your pets
separated during mealtime. You can feed them in their crate or in
different rooms, for instance. Then, you can easily tell who is eating
how much of what and how fast!
