Nutrition

It’s important to feed your dog a balanced diet appropriate for her age and lifestyle. Dogs are omnivores, and can live on both vegetable and meat-based diets. Meat alone is not balanced in nutrients, roughage, vitamins or minerals.

The most affordable and convenient way to ensure your dog receives the correct nutrition is to feed her complete-balanced products appropriate for her life stage and health status. Make sure you choose high-quality, commercial food prepared by good pet food manufacturers. You can also offer her some natural foods occasionally to provide some variety. This may include:

• fresh, raw meat
• raw, meaty bones
• vegetables

Choose human-grade raw meat and raw, meaty bones, as bone products, pet meat, pet mince and pet rolls can contain preservatives that are detrimental to a dog’s health e.g., sulphite preservative-induced thiamine deficiency, which can be fatal. Make sure to avoid sausages, sausage meat and cooked manufactured meats, as they can contain sulphites.

Most brands have a range of ‘lifestyle foods’, which have nutrition levels aimed at the specific age or activity of the dog, with feeding guides on the packaging.

Generally, younger and very active dogs should be fed at least twice daily. Aged dogs often benefit from smaller, more frequent, feeds.

You can prepare a home-cooked diets for your dog, but this should only be done in consultation with your veterinarian or a pet nutrition guide. This will ensure her diet is completely balanced and provides everything she needs in the correct ratios.

If a puppy or dog is in ideal condition, you should be able to easily feel her ribs, but not see them.

Many human foods cause illness, so avoid giving your dog:

• avocado
• chives
• chocolate
• citrus fruits
• coconut and coconut oil
• coffee
• cooked bones
• cooked manufactured meat
• garlic
• grapes
• milk
• nuts
• onions
• raw yeast dough
• salt
• sausages and sausage meat
• tomatoes