Taking care of your pampered pet will always be a top priority, and deciding what to feed them and helping them maintain a healthy diet can help lengthen and improve your furry friend’s life!
As a pet parent, you are in charge of your companion’s life, the things they play with, where they sleep, their house rules, and the food that they eat. Ensuring that you understand the best things to feed your pet is just as important as walking them regularly and entertaining them. Pets deserve to live the best life they can, and their diet contributes to their overall wellbeing.
Having lean and healthy pets means that they will be happier! You don’t need to throw out all of your current dog food if you are satisfied with your pet’s health, but by following some of these hints and tips, you really can guarantee your pet is feeling fit and healthy!
Don’t rely on marketing
Remember, marketers, although good at what they do – do not make the food. Their job is to promote the food and convince you to buy it for your pets – meaning even the foods you find on the shelves that are fundamentally bad for your pets will appear in advertising to be the holy grail of pet food.
Whether you have a pampered pooch who loves dog carriers for travel or a fancy feline with a desire for hunting, marketing will be able to focus on all types of pets and their owners too.
Make sure you do your research, read the labels to ensure the ingredients within the foods you opt to feed your pet are healthy, nutrition-filled, and don’t cause any other health problems.
Marketing is also a huge reason why so many pet owners believe that the pet food on the local grocery stores’ shelves is the best and healthiest option for their beloved companions. However, this isn’t true. These foods do not contain all of the nutrients our pets need to live a healthy, fulfilled life, no matter how convincing the advertising campaign may seem.
Due to the cooking process, they do not contain any live enzyme, and they often rely on synthetic supplementation to meet what the AAFCO quotes to be the nutritional standards pet food should meet. When you think about it, you cannot get all of your nutrients out of a can of food, so why is it any different for your pet?
Introduce fresh foods to your pet
People often think that pets don’t need to eat fresh foods, as we humans do, but this is a misconception. Fresh fruits and vegetables provide nutrients to your pets that aren’t in store-bought tinned foods. Fresh foods are high in live enzymes – introducing them to your pet’s diet can welcome a whole new dimension to the health of your pet.
Fresh, whole foods are filled with healthy nutrients like fiber in quality dog bowls. Fiber contributes to healthy digestion in your pet – improving their poop health, making for an easier cleanup process for you! Store-bought canned foods often do not contain natural nutrients. They usually get destroyed during the cooking process, and manufacturers add synthetic, unnatural replicas of the original nutrients, which do not have the same health benefits as the real deal.
Make sure you incorporate whole foods that are rich in antioxidants into your furry friend’s diet too. These foods will promote healthy joints in your pets, helping to decrease inflammation, which can cause several health issues.
Meat is a source of fresh food for your pets – but when possible, give it to them raw. Only humans opt to cook their meat, and it is not necessary for our pets – instead, it simply decreases the nutritional value. Of course, there is a bacteria risk with raw meat, so if you prefer, lightly sear the meat – removing any potential bacteria.
Rethink routines
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When it comes to our pampered pets, it can be tempting to feed them often, reward them with treats and merely rinse their bowls with a splash of water and washing up liquid- but there are many simple routine switches you can make to improve the overall well being and health of your pets.
Decipher how much food your pet needs. You can do this by identifying whether your pet needs to gain, lose or maintain weight. By doing this, you can ensure you are feeding your pet the correct amount to optimize health.
Be educated and alert when you are deciding the treats to reward your pet. Many treats are bad for pets and can often lead to obesity and other health problems when not monitored correctly. Instead of these treats, why not opt to make your pet some homemade, healthy treats. They’ll be just as tasty but, instead of being detrimental to your pets’ health, they’ll be beneficial.
When cleaning your pet’s bowls, washing liquids can cause sensitivities in our pets. Opt for vinegar instead. It cleans any bacteria, and being a natural source won’t harm your pet’s tum.
The bottom line
You are in charge of your pet’s diet – they rely on you to help them live a healthy and happy life. Carry out research, understand your pet needs, what is best for them, and don’t become a sucker for the ploys of marketing campaigns!
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