WHAT PET FOOD TO CHOOSE?

When you provide high quality, balanced nutrition for your pet, you help your pet maintain health on the inside that shows on the outside. Just by looking at your pet you will be able to see if he has a shiny coat, clear eyes, strong bones and teeth that should signal health and vitality!

It is indeed time to look at pets differently and provide them the balanced nutrition that they crave. They depend on us for their very survival, but then the joys they bring is incomparable.

Below please note chart on the disadvantages of excessive nutrients in your pets' diets:

Amino acids and fats are important in our pets' diets. Fats are necessary in the diet for absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K. They also make the food more palatable and are a source of essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids help to improve skin and hair coat texture, thus there will be less hair loss for your pet. Without adequate levels of fatty acids, a dry lusterless hair coat and scaly skin can result. Poor skin and hair coat contributes to excessive shedding or hair loss. Fat deficiencies can bring about skin infections, lack of energy, poor growth, poor reproduction and so on.

By feeding a strictly meat diet eg. mutton or beef you are increasing your pet's chances of getting heart disease, obesity and so on at an early age. Just as we humans need to eat a balanced diet, it is the same for our pets also.

For example, recently I heard that a rottweiler which was only 2 years old died of gastrointestinal problems. What was his diet and had the dog ever visited the veterinarian in its lifetime? The poor dog was not taken for a check-up even once. He was fed steamed chicken for two whole years without any other type of balanced nutrition. They found out he had suffered from kidney failure too, which shows that chicken alone as a diet does more harm than good for a dog. Nevertheless, its sad because it happened to a friend's dog. He was also not very sociable because of being caged all the time.

Crying when a pet is gone is a wee bit too late but we can certainly learn a valuable lesson from such mishaps and become more responsible for our pets' sakes and for our peace of mind. After all he guards the house throughout the day and night, he romps with the children and displays outstanding tricks when we need some entertainment.

As a caring and responsible pet owner, the following guidelines should be adhered to, in choosing the right stuff to feed your pet

• The age and weight of your pet
  A pet's nutritional needs' in its growing years differ greatly from that of an adult pet and the older pet. The weight too should be taken into consideration to avoid over-feeding.
• Breed of your dog
  Nutrition for small and toy breeds such as Shih Tzu, Pug, and Poodle differ from that of the medium breeds such as the Bulldog, and Boxer. The active and large breeds eg. German Shepherd, Retriever, Doberman, Rottweiler, Bullmastiff and so on have different appetite levels.
• A health maintenance programme
  Consult your veterinarian for a thorough physical examination and check your pet for external and internal parasites. Make sure the appropriate vaccinations have been administered and your vet will be able to tell you if your pet is undernourished or overweight simply by weighing and examining him.
  The dog/cat should be at the optimal body weight as obese dogs and cats tend to look unhealthy and less pleasing in appearance and studies have shown obesity leads to diminished levels of physical activity and general responsiveness.
• Wellness nutritious diet
  A healthy well-balanced diet is very important as puppies/kittens need correct levels of nutrients as too much or too little can be harmful. It should be nutritionally balanced with protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals for good bone, muscle and tooth development. Diets can vary from the premium high quality types which are specially sold for each and every 'lifestage', available only through veterinary clinics and pet stores such as Hill's Science Diet and those cheaper brands which rarely meet the 'lifestage' requirements and lastly 'table scraps' i.e. chicken bones, meat, rice etc. that are most commonly fed by pet owners to their pets-do not have the balanced nutritional requirements greatly needed by pets!
  Pregnant and nursing cats/dogs require higher levels of nutrients, for the proper skeletal growth and development of their litter thus the growth formulas are best during this time. The demands of gestation and particularly lactation drastically changes a female's nutritional needs' and they need four times more calories of nutrients during this important period.
• Suitable Pet Milk
  Dogs and cats should not be fed milk high in lactose that is for human consumption as their digestive capabilities are not the same as ours. There are special pet milk replacers such as Aristopet's Nutrilac Pet Milk for pets that are available in the market through your local vet or pet stores able to keep them completely healthy throughout life and even during nursing!
• Allergic reactions in some pets
  Some pets are susceptible to adverse reactions to food, i.e. allergic to protein such as beef, chicken and symptoms such as itchy skin, rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, red ears, hair loss etc. should be noted and the regular food must be switched to diets with novel protein i.e. lamb, if the problems persist.
  When switching pet food always switch gradually by introducing small amounts of new diet together with the old diet for the first nine days or so. It is also best to check with your local veterinarian if you aren't sure. Feeding too much will cause obesity in pets and this in turn can be detrimental to their health.
• Therapeutic diets are special diets that meet the needs of a sick or chronically ailing animal
  Therapeutic diets are special diets manufactured and prescribed through veterinarians to support the lives of very sick animals eg. cats and dogs with failing organic problems, eg. heart disease, kidney failure, liver disease, obesity, diabetic and recuperating patients after surgery. These animals need special restricted nutrients in their diets to support and sustain their lives for as long as possible.
  However, for long term chronic sufferers, unique formulations are available. We know that most food allergies are caused by proteins. Intact proteins can trigger an immune response, causing allergy symptoms to appear.
  A new line of pet food has been developed using a process called hydrolyzation. The same process is also being used to manufacture formula for human babies who are allergic to milk protein. Hydrolyzation breaks intact proteins into pieces that are so small they escape detection by the body's immune system, and there won't be any allergic reactions shown by your pet. Moreover, the pet gets all the nutrition its body deservedly needs. These formulations are only prescribed by veterinarians under our Prescription Diet called z/d.

Time and again, the long line of Hill's special preventive, nutritional and therapeutic formulations have successfully proven themselves and helped maintain good health in pets all over the world. Why not let it work for your pets?

With your help, pets can live to a ripe old age. Pet owners must gather as much information they can possibly get to ensure excellent health and longevity of their pets.

So, take care of your pets always.