Some Helpful Dog Feeding Tips

When it comes to feeding your dog, there can be a bewildering number of considerations to keep in mind and what will work for one dog may not necessarily work for another.

Because of this, it can be hard to put together a feeding guide that will work for all types of dogs.

Nevertheless, we have managed to put together a collection of general tips that owners of most any type of dog will be able to follow safely, and here they are!

Train your dog not to be possessive of its food. There will be times when you will have to intervene when your dog eats something that may cause him harm or discomfort. You need to be able to step in at such times without any danger of your dog lashing out at you.

Feed dogs of different ages at different times. Dogs have a very specific hierarchy or “pecking order” which stems from their early years in the wild and they will expect to be fed accordingly. Feeding the puppies separate from the older dogs will preserve this relationship and ensure less conflict.

Give your dog time to digest his food. We have all been accustomed to walking our dogs right after their meal, but as it turns out, it would be best to wait for 15 to 30 minutes afterwards to allow them sufficient time to digest their food.

All dogs will benefit from this practice but it is particularly important in dogs that are prone to bloating such as German Shepherds, Boxers, Great Danes, and Dachshunds.

Don’t feed your dog food meant for humans. This is another common practice that most of us have been guilty of at one time or another, but the fact is, dogs will react a lot differently to common human foods than we would. Some foods such as chocolates, onions and certain fruits can even be poisonous under the wrong circumstances. It can be hard to tell how any dog will react to a particular food, so it would be best just to avoid feeding them anything off the table.

Stick to dog food.You may be tempted to prepare your own blend of dog food that you feel is appropriate for your pet, either out of a sense of obligation or as a means to save some money. Dogs have very particular dietary needs however, and commercial dog food–having been developed specifically to address these needs–is really the only healthy choice for them.