Stop! Your Dog Can’t Eat That!
The lure of supplementing your dog’s chow with fruits and vegetables from your table is strong. After all, these foods are considered healthy for human consumption, so why not also for your dog? In the alternative, you are serious about feeding your dog a nutritious chow that is formulated for its dietary needs. Yet you have noticed that he has been getting into your pantry. Should you move some of the groceries?
List of Foods That Are Bad for Your Dog
In fact, there is a list of inappropriate and dangerous foods that Doctors Foster and Smith have put together. Examples include:
- Caffeine. Whether it is in your chocolate stash, your coffee grounds or the tea leaves, caffeine has proven to have a toxic effect on the canine’s nervous system as well as on the heart.
Cat food. If you are feeding your pets together, it is not unusual for the dog to also gobble up the cat’s food. The problem here is that food for feline consumption is usually formulated with elevated levels of protein and fat. This will lead to obesity in dogs. Separate the food bowls and do not give cat food to your dog in a pinch when you run out of regular chow.- Raisins. It may be funny to watch your dog catch a raisin out of the air, but consider that grapes and raisins contain a toxin that adversely affects the pet’s kidneys.
- Onions. Famous for containing sulfoxides, onions have been connected to anemia in dogs as well as cats. Extremely light-colored gums are a sign of possible anemia.
- Rawhide. Dog’s Best Life Magazine warns that rawhide is a common culprit in cases of digestive tract obstructions. In many of these cases, speedy veterinary care is of the utmost importance to avoid death.
It is imperative to bar access to any of these foods.
What’s the Best Dog Food?
So, what should you feed your dog? The ideal chow is natural and does not contain any of the fillers that are so common in grocery store dog food. The protein should be of the highest quality, which means that your dog absorbs more of the nutrients. As a result, you will be able to feed less than you have been accustomed to when using store-bought chow. Therefore, you actually save money when switching to high-quality food.
We recommend Life’s Abundance. The standard all-life-stage dry dog food contains 26 percent of crude protein and 16 percent of fat. Fiber is present to the tune of 3.5 percent. If the pet requires a weight loss formula, choose the specially formulated diet mix. With 28.5 percent of protein but only 11.5 percent of fat, the dog receives the necessary nutrients but without a lot of the fat. This will assist your companion canine with weight loss. Of course, a second part of this equation is regular exercise for the pet, play time and also off-leash run time at a dog park.
The latter is only possible when your dog is properly trained. If you are worried about your pet’s behavior toward other dogs or their owners, contact Sit Means Sit for our popular Lunch and Learn program. We work with businesses that would like to see a demonstration of what proper training could achieve in the average dog. We even bring pizza for lunch or bagels for breakfast! So, do not feed your dog inappropriate foods. Eliminate opportunities for the pet to sneak into your trash or pantry. Exercise it more, and ensure that its behavior is up to par for a visit to the dog park.
