TYPES OF DOG FOOD & FEEDING MANAGEMENT OF DOG
By Dr Prem Shanker, Director,ALL FOR DOGS , Hospital,Patna
Like us the foods are essential parts of pets life also for its growth, development and holistic health maintenance. Our pets owner has lots of queries related to feeding management of their pets .Lets have a brief note on it.
• Prepared foods are some times fed to companion animals. The prepared food can be classified on the basis of its moisture percent. They are
o Dry food (5-12%),
o Semi-moist food (15-30%) and
o Canned food (70-85%).
Dry food-————–
• Different dry foods for different physiological status are available. Available as biscuits, mixtures and meal or flakes.
• May be complete food or complementary food, formulated as mixers intended for feeding as part of the diet with protein rich foods such as fish meats, fish. They are generally rich in carbohydrates.
• Crude fat is 5-10% on dry basis. Mixtures are generally cereal based with very little protein concentrates may or may not be supplemented with minerals / vitamins.
• The loss of vitamin during processing may be minimal since the temperature is not very high while processing. They have long shelf- life provided properly stored. The concentration of nutrients is high and feed intake is less.
• Digestibility is acceptable but less than semi-moist or canned foods. The main disadvantage of the dry food is that they are much less palatable than moist foods. Cats may accept extruded biscuit forms but not meals or flakes.
Semi-moist food————————-
• Has good digestibility (80-85%). Meat and vegetable protein are included. It is protected from spoilage with addition of glycerol or propylene glycol.
• Most acceptable to dogs and cats. Moisture content is generally 15 to 30%, can be stored for several months with reduced water activity.
• The low water activity is achieved by the inclusion in the recipes of humectants such as sugar, salt, propylene glycol or glucose which ‘tie-up’ the water.
• Meat, meat by-products, soya, vegetable protein concentrates, cereals, fats and sugars are used in these type of products.
Canned food————————
• Most convenient to use, highly attractive for dogs and cat. Canned products are primarily meat or fish based product or meat, fish and cereal products. These food are reliable, safe and convenient to serve.
• They are highly palatable, particularly when carbohydrate is less. Separate foods for dog and cat are available. Cat foods can be given to dogs but not vice-versa.
• Most canned foods are balanced foods. Digestibility is good. Nutrient density is low because of high moisture content. Generally not given as a sole food but given mixed with biscuits or mixtures.
• Safe, long shelf life. Meat, meat by-product, vegetable protein, cereals, are the main ingredients.
Home made foods-———————————–
• In developing countries like ours, feeding of companion animals with commercial foods are not popular for economic reasons.
• Pets are fed with home made foods or left overs of food consumed in a family. It is therefore essential to ensure that the dietary nutrient requirements are met through such feeding practice.
• Judicious inclusion of appropriate food items to supplement deficit nutrients in the home made or left over food can over come nutritional deficiency disorders and support healthier life.
The following is an example of home made food for dogs.——-
Example of home made food for dog
Food item Body diet
20kg 25kg 30 kg
Egg 2 2 2
Milk (ml) 200 250 300
Beef (g) 200 300 400
Rice (g) 150 200 200
Vitamin A, D + + +
B complex + + +
Salt iodized (g) 2.5 2.5 2.5
Home made dog food vegeterian
A 100 % vegetarian dog food may be prepared provided it satisfies all the essential nutrient requirement for the dog.
Example
Food item Quantity
Soy protein meal / pulses (g) 200
Milk (ml) 200
Rice (g) 200
Vitamin A, D +
B complex +
Salt iodized (g) 2.5
Classification of pet food based on the nutrient content—–
• Complete food: Complete food is a food that provides all the nutrients required by the animal for 24 hours.
• Complementary food: Complementary food is a food that provides only a part of the nutrients required by the animal for 24 hours and the rest is met from additional supplement.
• Mixer biscuit: Mixer biscuit provides only essential nutrients.
• Snack / treat: Snack / treat are foods to entertain / reward pet animals.
FEEDING SCHEDULE OF DOGS—————–
Puppy feeding schedule
• Puppies may get enough nutrients from milk during the first 3 or 4 weeks of life.
• Cows milk is not a substitute as the composition varies. In the event of feeding orphan puppy or kitten, feeding puppy or kitten under insufficient mother’s milk, cow milk can be used with appropriate modification to simulate mother’s milk.
• Young puppies should be fed four or six times daily at equal time intervals, as nearly as possible.
Age in days Frequency of feeding Milk g / day as per body weight (Kg)
0.5 1 2 3 4 5
1-7 Once in 2 hours 45 90 180 270 360 450
7-14 Once in 3 hours 60 120 240 330 480 570
14-21 Once in 3 hours till evening 75 150 300 450 600 750
21 and above Once in 3 hours omit evening feeding 75 150 300 450 600 750
Milk substitute
Cow milk 800 ml
Cream 200 ml
Egg yolk 1 no.
Steamed bone meal 6 gram
Vitamin A 2000 IU
Vitamin D 500 IU
Citric acid 4 gram
Calculating the volume of milk to feed an orphan pup
Age Volume to feed per 100g of body weight Body Weight Volume / day No of feedings /day Volume per feeding
10 days 15 ml/100 g X 200 g = 30 ml 5 = 6 ml
20 days 20 ml/100 g X 300 g = 60 ml 5 = 12 ml
Feeding of dogs
Weight of Dogs Frequency of Feeding/day Feed offered
2-5 kg Twice a day 100 gm cereals (cooked)
100 gm meat (cooked)
100 ml milk + biscuits
5-10 kg Twice a day 200 gm cereals (cooked)
200 gm meat (cooked)
150 ml milk + biscuits
10-20 kg Twice a day 500 gm cereals (cooked)
500 gm meat (cooked)
300 ml milk + biscuits
Puppies
After weaning 3-4 ½ Adult feed
Older pups 2 ½ Adult feed (gradually increase frequency of feeding)
Cereals: Cooked rice, bread, chapathi
Meat: Beef, mutton, chicken, fish or egg
Pregnant, lactating bitches: Increase cereals 100-200 gm/ day
Feeding frequency
3 weeks to 3 months – 4-5 times feeding/day
3-5 months – 3 times a day
5-10 months – 2 times a day
Adult dogs – Once a day for maintenance
Lactating animal – Increased energy, protein, etc.
Old dogs – Digestion is poor, improve the quality of feed, decreased quantity
• Most pet animal live indoors, generally not pregnant or lactating, not involved in heavy work or excessive exercise.
• Generally adults will be having enough appetite to eat all they require in one meal per day. Advantages of offering single meal are that it will be large enough to give a feeling of fullness.
• Easily controllable, minimum chances of error. Under or over feeding is less likely. Can choose a most convenient time to feed the animals.
• There is no disadvantage in feeding more frequently than once a day provided the intake is limited to daily needs.
• Feeding two or three times at the same time as family meals lead the animals to over fed and resulting in obesity. Avoid late evening meals since dogs need to excrete urine or faces within few hours of feeding.
Average daily consumption of food
Body weight Dry matter
2.5–5 kg 3–3.5 %
5– 10 kg 2.5–3%
10 kg and above 2–2.5%
FEEDING MANAGEMENT OF DOGS-————————-
• Make sure that puppies consume colostrum within the first 36 to 48 hours after birth.
• Feed at same place, by same person at same time.
• Left over should be removed after half an hour.
• Water should be available through out the feeding time.
• No snack is to be fed. Young and lactating should be fed separately.
• Avoid sudden changes in food.
• Feeding and watering vessels should be clean.
• Make sure that the label in commercially manufactured foods has the guarantee of any regulating agency.
• Be certain that the food has an expiration date.
• Store food in a sealed container in a cool, dry place.
• If the dog has a special dietary requirement that cannot be met by commercial foods, consider feeding homemade diets.
• Feed the dog according to correct body weight and condition, and consider factors such as growth, adult maintenance, level of activity, gestation, lactation, and age.
• When changing foods, mix 1/4 of the new food to 3/4 of the old food, and increase gradually to prevent gastric upsets.
• Watch the dog’s stool, weight, and coat while changing foods.
• Allow approximately 20 minutes for the dog to clean the bowl.
Nutrient-Requirement-and-Feeding-of-Dogs-Cats
Reference:On request
