Puppies are lots of fun, but their nutritional needs aren’t as easy as you’d expect.
Here are some of my top recommendations as a veterinarian when considering their unique nutritional needs.
Complete and Balanced
Dogs can’t grow on meat alone. They need an appropriate combination of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and more.
Most commercially available puppy foods have been formulated to be nutritionally complete and balanced for puppy growth and will include a statement that such foods have met requirements of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Nutritionally complete means that all the required nutrients are present in a particular food and are included in quantities that suffice a puppy’s energetic needs.
Although nutritional completeness and balance according to AAFCO is important, there are many foods available to dog owners that meet such requirements but use poor-quality ingredients, some of which don’t even exist in nature, are deemed inedible for human consumption (feed-grade), and are vastly different from the manner by which canines are biologically intended to eat.
Read the rest of the article by clicking here: Understanding the Nutritional Needs of Puppies
Thank you for reading this article. Your questions and comments are completely welcome (I’ll respond).
Please feel free to communicate with me through Twitter (@PatrickMahaney) and follow my adventures in veterinary medicine by liking Patrick Mahaney: Veterinarian Acupuncture Pain Management for Your Pets on Facebook.
Copyright of this article (2015) is owned by Dr Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist. Republishing any portion of this article must first be authorized by Dr Patrick Mahaney. Requests for republishing must be approved by Dr Patrick Mahaney and received in written format.
Puppies are lots of fun, but their nutritional needs aren’t as easy as you’d expect.
Here are some of my top recommendations as a veterinarian when considering their unique nutritional needs.
Complete and Balanced
Dogs can’t grow on meat alone. They need an appropriate combination of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and more.
Most commercially available puppy foods have been formulated to be nutritionally complete and balanced for puppy growth and will include a statement that such foods have met requirements of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Nutritionally complete means that all the required nutrients are present in a particular food and are included in quantities that suffice a puppy’s energetic needs.
Although nutritional completeness and balance according to AAFCO is important, there are many foods available to dog owners that meet such requirements but use poor-quality ingredients, some of which don’t even exist in nature, are deemed inedible for human consumption (feed-grade), and are vastly different from the manner by which canines are biologically intended to eat.
Read the rest of the article by clicking here: Understanding the Nutritional Needs of Puppies
Thank you for reading this article. Your questions and comments are completely welcome (I’ll respond).
Please feel free to communicate with me through Twitter (@PatrickMahaney) and follow my adventures in veterinary medicine by liking Patrick Mahaney: Veterinarian Acupuncture Pain Management for Your Pets on Facebook.
Copyright of this article (2015) is owned by Dr Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist. Republishing any portion of this article must first be authorized by Dr Patrick Mahaney. Requests for republishing must be approved by Dr Patrick Mahaney and received in written format.