You are what you eat; the healing power of high quality dog food

When you bring your puppy or rescue dog home there’s so many things you need to think about. Where will they sleep? What collar or lead should I buy? What toys will they like?

Often, the type of food you feed them will be one of the last things you think of. Let’s face it, it’s not as exciting as picking out your pet’s new bed! Having said that, what your dog eats is one of the most important things you need to consider when becoming a new pet parent.

Whether you bring home a puppy or a rescue dog, it’s likely that they will come to you already on a specific diet. Breeders often have a set brand that they like to feed the dogs or rescue centres will work with certain brands that provide donations on a regular basis. However, once your new fur baby is settled into their new home, health issues may appear that can be linked to their diet.

What is the best food to feed my dog?

It is important to remember that all dogs are individuals, much like humans, and what works for one may not work for all. Nevertheless, ensuring your dog has a well-balanced diet is crucial as it has a huge impact on their overall health and wellbeing. The most important factor when considering what food to feed your dog, is finding the brand that suits them.

As a rule of thumb and if your dog doesn’t have any particular issues that need to be considered, your dog’s core diet should include high quality dog food and any ‘treats’ should be kept to a minimum, using them predominately for training.

When purchasing food for your dog, you should also consider the health benefits of natural dog food.. Natural food, like human food, contains no artificial nasties and only 100% natural ingredients are included in the recipe.

As a first port-of-call, you should always speak with your vet and if your pet appears unwell in any way. They will be able to confirm what may be causing the symptoms and even have to run some tests in order to confirm the best treatment. 

Once you have the all clear that there isn’t something more sinister going on and medications have been ruled out, you can then start to look at your dog’s diet as a way of promoting your dog’s health.

Itchy dogs – 

If your furry friend starts scratching more than normal, your first thought is likely to be fleas.Once this is ruled out, you then need to think about their skin.

Check for any redness or dry patches and speak to your vet about potentially using antihistamines to treat any suspected allergies.

For dogs with itchy skin, fish based diets are often recommended. Fish is both a novel protein diet (a food or ingredient the animal has not eaten previously) and contains high levels of fish oil that help with the natural oils in the body, meaning it is likely to help with skin problems.

Meatiful Salmon Sausages are a good option for dogs with skin irritations. They contain 80% Salmon, meaning no other meat or fish are included in the recipe, unlike many other pet foods on the market. Not only will the salmon oil help soothe the itching sensation, omega-3 also has several other  health benefits including; a healthy immune system, heart health, cognitive function and anti-inflammatory properties.

Sensitive Tummies – 

As we have already mentioned, if your pooch is experiencing stomach sensitives and this becomes a regular occurrence, it is important to liaise with your vet over the causes.

If it is determined that the issue is due to allergens in foods then the first thing to look out for is a hypoallergenic food.

There could be a number of different ingredients in your dog’s usual foods that could be the root of the problem, so it’s best to rule these out one-by-one. A good way of doing this is by using a food that contains only minimal ingredients. 

All Meatiful sausages contain only single source proteins, so you can easily rule out each type of meat and/or fish. You can try one of our mixed variety cases which contains each variety to help rule the specific allergen out.

The rest of the ingredients in our sausages are made up of rice and vegetables and include all the vitamins and minerals needed to keep your dog in tip-top shape. So you can be assured that when your pooch is eating their Meatiful sausages, there are no other carbohydrates or soya in their food.

If you do need to change your dog’s diet for any reason, do this slowly and carefully. Sudden changes in diet can cause stomach upsets and if your dog already has sensitivities, you do not want to aggravate these any further. Gradually introduce the new food to your fur baby and phase out the old food.

Weight Issues –

If you’ve been told by your vet that your dog is overweight, there are a number of things that need to be reviewed:

• How much exercise they’re getting
• How often they are getting treats and tidbits or too much food
• If they have any underlying health conditions

As well as all of these, the type of food they are given is something else you should review.

Dogs that are fed dry food as their main diet are consuming a high number of carbohydrates and a low level of protein. When trying to slim down your dog it is worthwhile considering a food that contains a high meat content.  If you want to slim down your dog, feed them food that has a higher percentage of meat, which will help them feel full for longer.

Buy foods that have meat as the first ingredient such as chicken, duck or even fish like salmon. If meat is listed as the first ingredient in pet foods it means that this is the main ingredient, so always check the ingredients list when purchasing your dog’s food.

How can I manage my dog’s allergies?

Common allergens with dogs include beef, dairy, wheat, egg, chicken, lamb, soy, pork, rabbit, and fish, many of which are often found in the vast majority of pet foods. So be sure to check the full ingredients list before selecting foods for your pet with allergies.

If your pet suffers from a wheat or soy allergy it is important to opt for a specific hypoallergenic dog food or gluten free dog foods.

For those dogs that may suffer from a certain type of protein allergy or a specific meat, look out for foods that contain only single source proteins, as these will only have one kind of meat included in the recipe, allowing you to avoid any allergens.

Meatiful Sausages are bursting with added vitamins and minerals and contain only single source proteins, guaranteeing our vet-approved recipes are perfect for sensitive stomachs and growing pups, you can find out more about our different varieties here.