Pet Emergency Preparedness: Tips for Ensuring Your Pets' Safety in a Crisis
As a pet owner, you understand that your furry, feathered, or scaly friends depend entirely on you for their safety a
As a pet owner, you understand that your furry, feathered, or scaly friends depend entirely on you for their safety a
Typically, if a dog has ingested something toxic, they may start vomiting, have diarrhea, heavily salivate, or appear dizzy, confused, or out of it. The exact symptoms can depend on the toxin. Things that should be avoided in dogs include chocolate, grapes, raisins, avocados, onions, garlic, chives, anything high in fat, and any bones that could splinter and cause choking.
An elimination diet involves feeding your dog a specific food that eliminates all potential allergens. These diets usually involve hydrolyzed protein or amino acid level foods and are prescription made by a company. After feeding this diet for eight to 12 weeks, you reevaluate the dog's condition. If symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, or itchiness have cleared up, then you know the food trial was a success. After that, you start to reintroduce one ingredient at a time to see if your dog reacts to it.
Changing a dog's diet too quickly can certainly cause some gastrointestinal upset, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea, or a decreased appetite. Therefore, whenever you change your dog's food, you should transition it slowly over a period of about five to seven days.
If a food is making a dog sick, you may see symptoms like increased vomiting, softer stool than usual, or allergies that manifest as licking or chewing their feet, and unusually itchy, smelly skin. If you notice these signs, the food may not be agreeing with your dog.
Human food can be a challenging thing to know what can be good or bad for your dog. All human food should be given in moderation if you're going to feed it. You need to consider the size of your dog and their calorie needs compared to ours. What you think may be a small amount of human food is actually a large amount that can cause a lot of issues. There are also certain human foods that need to be avoided at all costs.
The choice between dry, wet, or a combination of both depends on what works best for you and your dog. Typically, a dog's diet is mostly made up of hard kibble, with wet food occasionally added as a treat or to encourage eating. Dogs don't require wet food to survive, as a balanced kibble will provide all they need.
To ensure your dog is getting a balanced diet, it is best to buy commercial dog food from a reputable company as they have done the necessary research and testing to guarantee all the dog's needs are met. If you're cooking at home, you'll need to do more research to ensure the food provides all necessary supplements.
Dogs require fats, proteins, carbohydrates, water, vitamins, and minerals. Commercially made dog food ensures that these are present in the correct amounts and ratios for different life stages.