The Right Nutrition At The Right Time

How did you decide which dog food to use?  Did the person you got the dog from tell you what he/she was using?  Or did you see a cute commercial on TV? Or did you have a coupon for a certain brand?  

Many people make a choice to use a certain product and don’t know there is a strong connection to the food they are feeding their dog and its activity level, weight, coat and brain function (e.g. attention span).   You hope you are feeding them the best food and will get the best result, right? Because I see so many dogs who are not living their best life because of the food they are eating I am going to share a few important dog food facts to help you.

My top five dog food facts are:

1. Puppies typically can be taken off of puppy food around 4 months old.  Puppy food generally has a high protein content and high fat content. Feeding puppy food for too long can promote growth that is too fast for the joints and can actually make your young dog uncomfortable.
2. When you get your puppy at 8 weeks old, the puppy will be eating 3 times per day.  You will need to be honest with yourself as to when the puppy is ready to go to two feedings per day and then when to go to one feeding per day.
3. As your dog reaches approximately 6-8 months old, if they are being fed appropriate food that is nourishing the body sufficiently, your dog should be “telling” you that they are ready to go to one feeding per day.
4. Your dog should be active with a bright clear, shiny coat, bright eyes and clean ears.  If this is not the case, you should consider that the food you are feeding is not working for your dog.
5. Dogs can process grain!  No matter what you see or hear on TV, in ads or from your friends your dog’s brain and body need grain to function optimally unless there is a TRUE grain intolerance. A true grain intolerance is not as common as the media would have you believe.  Actually to start a puppy out on grain free food, you are depriving the puppy of nutrients the pup needs to grow up healthy, strong and balanced.

After you chew on these facts a bit I hope you will consider trying Purina’s ProPlan Sport 30/20 dog food.  I am not being paid to say this, I believe it is the best all around food, and it’s not the most expensive! Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Happy Dog = Happy You!

Julie