Best low fat dog food
by Adam Conrad
Low-fat dog food can be extremely helpful for dogs with pancreatic problems or dogs struggling with obesity. It is easy to find low-fat brands, but it can be difficult to find low-fat brands that still have all the necessities for your dog. Many companies cut fat out of their dog food by cutting meat out of the food. Cutting some meat can be helpful, but if you cut too much meat out of the food you are eliminating a valuable protein and energy source for your dog.
So how do you find the best low-fat dog food? Just like when buying regular dog food, you must pay close attention to the ingredients. It is easy to cut out protein and add carbs as fillers when making a low-fat dog food, but carbs are the things to avoid for your dog because they are not very beneficial and do not provide very much energy for you dog.
They make your dog feel full, but other than that carbs do not have great nutritional value. Unfortunately, carbs are often used to replace nutritious, protein packed meat that will provide your dog with lots of natural energy. But because meat can have a high fat content, it can often be the first ingredient but in low-fat dog foods.
The top ingredients to eliminate for the bets low-fat diets and dog foods are preservatives, like BHA, artificial flavorings and dyes, animal fat, vegetable oil, fat trimmings, and overall, anything that is processed or unnatural. Instead of these ingredients it is important to have natural fibers and proteins. Brown rice is an example of a healthy grain ingredient with fiber.
Unprocessed lamb or chicken are great meat choices that provide protein. Carrots are also a key ingredient that will provide vitamin A in your dog’s diet. And oatmeal is a great ingredient that will give your dog more vitamin E. In general, you want to look for low-fat dog foods that are filled with fruits, omega 3 and omega 6, L-carnitine, and amino acids.
All these ingredients enhance you dogs fiber and protein, which are necessary for energy, and help strengthen bones and provide lots of healthy vitamins. Stay away from carb heavy ingredients, processed meats, and unnatural hormones.
It is important to keep your dog on a low-fat diet if your dog has specific health problems like pancreatitis, diabetes, or obesity. In general, though, keeping your dog on a low-fat diet will prevent future problems for your dog.
If you want your dog to avoid health problems as they age, then find them low-fat brands that feed them protein, vitamins, fruits and vegetables, and don’t use processed ingredients and hormones. Fat in dog foods is not all bad, but too much of it can create serious health problems, and it is simply not the best thing for your dog’s health and longevity.
Adam Conrad is a passionate writer and a dad of 5 Shih Tzu pups. He loves to write about dog grooming, best food for dogs and CDV (Canine Distemper Virus). His guides are aimed at pet parents to help them look after their pups. He writes for the blog The Shih Tzu Expert.
Paw’s Corner
By Sam Mazzotta
More Ways to Foil High-Flying Felines
Dear Paw’s Corner: I read with interest the recent column where a reader put aluminum pie plates on surfaces, like the stove, where cats weren’t allowed. That sounds like a good solution to stopping cats from jumping onto the countertops.
Our cats, when they were young, would jump 5 feet straight up to the tops of kitchen cabinets. Needless to say, this was annoying and more than a little concerning.
My wife got some plastic rug runners that had knubby things on the bottom to keep the runners from moving on a carpet. She cut pieces and laid them on top of the cabinets with the knubby side up. It took only a few times for the cats to realize the cabinet tops were not comfortable. The knubby things could not hurt the cats, but they certainly didn’t feel good. — Bob R.
Dear Bob: Thank you for the suggestion! Readers, if you try this solution, be sure to use rug runners with nylon or softer plastic nubs. Essentially, discouraging cats from jumping onto surfaces where you don’t want them requires you to put something on those surfaces that they don’t like, but which won’t hurt them. An unfamiliar texture will keep them from hanging around on those surfaces.
High-pitched noises can send them away, such as the rattle of an aluminum pie plate. Some cat owners keep a shaker can handy — a small can with a lid, like a potato chip can, filled with pennies or other objects that make a jangling, high-pitched noise when shaken.
Keep in mind that these are all forms of negative reinforcement, so try to limit their use to stopping very specific behaviors that might endanger your cat.
(c) 2018 King Features Synd., Inc.
