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Do you need to check the calorie intake of your dog?
Dogs, just like human beings should be fed on a wholesome and nourishing diet for a prolonged healthy life. Not just that, the pet canine also needs to do some exercise to shell out the extra pound of weight and remain fit and disease free. Most of the dog owners are not aware of the calorie consumption or the diet pattern of their pet. They just keep feeding their pet unaware of the repercussions of an unhealthy diet on the dog’s system.
It is better to give the pet a calculated amount of healthy food, take him for exercise daily, monitor the diet plan weekly and take periodic weights in order to save extra time and money lost in visiting a veterinary doctor. The dog cannot sense the amount of food that is required by its body and hence it the onus lies on the owners to do a careful study on the amount and type of food required for the pet based on the breed, age, weight and level of activity. You can get all these information from a veterinary doctor or even from the fellow members from canine club and forum.
Some of the dog like the Greyhound does not have an inbuilt system to say a yes or no to food and have exactly the amount of served to it. Consequently, the dog may be underweight or starved or even obese and can lead to body ailments. The obese dog quickly falls ill and the excessive fat deposit pits strain on the canine’s joint and heart. Apart from controlling the food intake, the canine should undergo regular exercise schedule. This helps an overweight dog to sweat out the excess fat deposit and incase of an under weight dog, the training and work out increases the appetite naturally, increase the lean muscle and improve the joint strength.
Feeding a balanced food and right type of exercise helps to check the calorie consumption and weight of the canine. Make sure that dog bowl is provided with lot of fresh water especially when the canine is put on an exercise; the water aids in maintaining the temperature of the body after work out. Most important of all, do not give treats to the dog frequently. Take a look into the constituents of the treat because at times they do not have any nutrients and are just stuffed with some high calorie food.
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