Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Dog Food And Allergies - Symptoms and Diagnosis

A food allergy occurs when a dog's immune system mistakenly identifies a special food fixing as dangerous.

Allergies are related to your pet's own immune system and aren't due to some problem with the ingredients itself. Allergies are commonly noticed after 5 months of age and may also happen in a dog of 12 years.

The indications of food intolerance comprise largely digestive distress... gas, bloating, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Food allergic reactions tend to be more widespread than initially thought, and it is now understood that foods allergic reaction and atopy often occur collectively. Food allergy can strike at any age and allergic reactions can develop to any protein or carbohydrate in the food. Allergic reactions to wheat, pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, soy, corn and beef are pretty common

 Common symptoms of dog food allergy comprise itching of anal region, feet, sides of the body, legs and the face.  Some dogs with food allergy will even have raised bowel movements and soft fecal matter. Food allergies must not be mistaken with food intolerances which ordinarily cause more acute vomiting and diarrhea.

Cure from food allergic reaction entails feeding your dog a diet plan that does not comprise the allergen. A commercially produced hypo-allergenic diet plan fed or home made dog food is given for 8 to 12 weeks.

Your veterinarian can advise you on just how to continue, if your positive response is seen following this trial.


Dog food allergies are difficult to evaluate

There are things that the dog's veterinarian can perform to help your dog but before you strive with all that expensive evaluations make an effort to do it yourself. Even your dog's vet could have troubles to diagnose dog food allergies because symptoms can readily be symptoms of another sort of allergies, mostly inhalant allergies. Also dogs often endure from more than one issue so it'd be shrewd to eliminate all other causes, to cope with one difficulty at the time and when it's merely food allergies left, the food trial can start.

There is nothing you're able to do because what causes dog food allergies are unknown, even if you need to prevent such a allergy. It is the same kind of food which were causing the problems to people like steak, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy products that are mostly in charge of dog food allergies, at the same time. So you really have to test things out.

The treatment for dog food allergies is about eliminating the food your dog had formerly have. His meals should be replaced with a high carbohydrate and rich in proteins diet with water and nothing else for twelve weeks.

It is often easier to find the cause of allergy with homemade food as you can control the ingredients in it. 

New food should be something your dog has never had before like bunny, duck, salmon and if you see any development after that span it is possible to begin adding the old food but one per time, like chicken for example and, after two weeks, if nothing awful happens you'll be able to try another one. That is how you're going to locate the food he isn't sensitive to.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Dog Food Vs Homecooked Food - Which Is Better

Dog lovers around the world are beginning to prepare the food they serve their dogs rather than purchasing it. This home cooked dog food can conserve the owner cash too and helps their pet in several manners.

This tendency of preparing meals for the dog has grown substantially recently and an increasing number of sites are seeming regular with recipes and interesting tricks.

Are you still buying dog food? if yes, you have to know the truth.

Home Cooked Dog Food vs Commercial Brands


Purchasing dog food commercially is a comparatively recent phenomenon and up until about 1900 dogs were fed with meat and grain bits by their owners. The modern pet food sector started as a method for owners to conserve time with bagged and canned food to serve their pets. These commercial pet foods were not always better for their pets; they were faster and simply more economical than home cooked dog foods.

With the increasing cost of the recalls of tainted merchandises and modern commercial pet food, many pet owners are preparing meals at home because of their pets and have began taking issues into their own hands.

 This home cooked meal is truly better due to their dogs since they are using actual fixings and avoiding all preservatives and the chemical flavorings uncovered in commercial foods. They could even fix these meals to adapt for specific dietary limitations including allergies.

Are Home Cooked Meals Higher Priced?


If this is something that bothers you, dont worry at all. There are ways to lower the costs for homemade meals. while most folks believe commercial dog food is more economical than home cooked dog food. Purchase enough ingredients in bulk to make a couple of these meals, if you know a recipe that the dog enjoys, just make it and freeze it for later use.

You can just warm it later and give it to your dog. It will help in reducing both the expenses and time.

Another important point in favour of home cooked dog food is that one can cook the meals for your dog dog that better align with your own eating food habits. For instance, if you're a vegetarian you'll be able to find some recipes that don't use much chicken and meat when compared to a commercial brand and remain true to your food preferences.

You can be really flexible with the diet of your pet.

Simpler Control Over Your Dog's Diet


This home cooked dog food additionally lets you modify and change the diet according to the requirements. You reduce the calories in winter months when they can be more sedentary and might give them a higher caloric meal in the summertime months when they can be more active. This prevents obesity.

You can even add additions to these meals to help ensure they get all minerals and the vitamins every day.

Just make sure that you make this transition slowly so that your dog adapts to this new diet slowly.

Dog Food | Obesity Management and Prevention

Dog obesity continues to be on the rise for years but new research reveals that our best friends' weight issue is quickly reaching catastrophe stage.

The research, conducted by the PFMA (Pet Food Manufacturers Association), shows that nearly half the pets seen by vets are heavy. As a percentage of the absolute UK dog citizenry, that would equate to over 5 million British dogs which might be carrying an excessive amount of weight and living briefer lives because of this.

In reality, obesity can reduce a dogs life by up to two years with massively increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Overweight dogs are additionally much more likely to have problems with high blood pressure, combined problems and respiration difficulties.
Why are dogs becoming heavier?

Ironically, the largest cause of extra weight in dogs is our own kindness. We all desire our dogs to be joyful and a big part in their happiness comes from appreciating their food. The trouble is the foods they love the most tend to be the worst for them. Dogs, like people, find sugars and fats certainly irresistible. All of the most famous dog foods, treats, table- tidbits and scraps all around the world are high in fat and/or sugar.
Many people dont even know that they have an obese dog. Based on the studies, a fifth of owners of weighty dogs don't realise their pet is overly hefty and 9 out of 10 don't see creature obesity as a life-threatening danger. We Are all so used to seeing heavy dogs that their physique has become the conventional, while healthy, trim dogs are increasingly being reported to the RSPCA as malnourished.

The shape and size of a dog is largely dependent on the breed. Some breeds like Greyhounds, Afghan Hounds, Saluki and Whippet are so thin and skinny that they will seem malnourished to many people.

As a rough guide, have a look at the below scale to see if your dog might be heavy. Ideally, when looking down from above, there should be a clear waistline and the tummy should be tucked upward towards the hind legs, when looking from the side. You should be able to readily feel the last two ribs. You can consistently ask your vet, if in uncertainty.


Overweight dogs help!


 Hence, to stop weight gain, or achieve weight-loss, your dog has two choices: to eat fewer calories or to burn off more - or ideally, both.

Step one is to reduce treats and tidbits and to remove high fat treats in the diet completely. Any dietary additions should be compensated by a similar reduction at meal times. For example, if you give your dog a 50g chew each day and 30 grams of treat biscuits, the number fed during meal times should be reduced by around 80g to cancel the treats.

The easiest method to ensure your dog takes in less calories would be to simply feed less, after treats have been cut back. Begin away by cutting down the daily feeding number by 10%. If you are not seeing any weight loss after 2-3 weeks, reduce the number by an additional 10% and so on until a slow weight reduction is attained.

You could additionally consider altering to a lesser calorie diet. Some good research on dog food should help you.

Light diets feature fewer calories to help with weight loss. An option would be to feed a lower amount of a normal adult food and top up with home-cooked vegetables or good-cooked grains like brown rice or porridge oats.

 Exercise burns a lot of calories and also helps to keep your dog happy and healthy. All dogs benefit from exercise, needing at least 30-60 minutes per day, with high energy breeds requiring substantially more and younger dogs. To achieve healthy weight reduction, consistently strive to combine healthy eating with plenty of exercise. For dogs which are unused to a lot of exercise, take attention to build up their action slowly.

Consistently purpose for gradual weight reduction as too much overly quickly can lead to issues - about 1% of the dogs body weight per week is an excellent target.

Once your dog is back to his ideal weight, gradually raise the feeding numbers and/or re-introduce treats and table -bits until the weight levels out. The diet may need certainly to be always tweaked to keep the equilibrium but stick at it - your dog will probably be worth it!