Dog Food & Supplements - An in Depth Look at Nutrition For Your Pet - Part 1
Nowadays the dog owner finds that the market is flooded with different types of dog food and he is expected to choose the best food from them for his pet.
These foods come in varied forms - soft foods, dry food, semi-moist food, candies, biscuits, chewy crackers and gourmet bonbons and in a variety of packages, from various size tin cans, boxes and packages.
The dog owner must evaluate the various claims made by the different manufacturers to determine which best matches his pet's needs.
There was a time when a variety of processed commercial dog foods were not available in the market; during this period dogs were fed with foods that were available locally in abundance in that region.
Fish and whale blubber were the main food in the arctic region; in the southern United States cornbread is used to the maximum as dog food; potatoes were the item of main consumption in Europe.
These were not balanced diets and caused numerous pet diseases, such as black tongue (pellagra in humans), rickets and other less commonly known ailments.
Some of these ailments were fatal to the pet.
In the wild environment, dogs ate the complete animal, meat, stomach contents, etc.
Wild dogs often fought over the stomach contents of their kills and in that process killed each other.
Thus, the wild animals got a nutritionally complete diet provided by nature.
The domesticated dogs are not blessed with such a luxury and they normally are fed by leftovers at home.
Because these diets were poor in nutritious contents the dogs suffered from nutritional imbalances and nutritional deficiencies of high order.
Canine is considered as a carnivorous animal since it preys on other animals; Studies conducted over a period of time found that the flesh eaten by the canine is also not fully nutritious and has to be supplemented by certain carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals in order to complete the nutritional requirements of the canines just like that of humans.
The National Research Council (NSC) is a government sponsored scientific body meant for gathering and researching data.
In 1953, it compiled and published data on nutritional requirements for dogs.
After World War II, the pet food industry in the United States witnessed a sudden spurt in demand and there were considerable growth in this industry.
This business has always been highly competitive and this growth resulted in cut-throat competition between pet food manufacturers for a part of this multi-million dollar a year business.
The industry found that only fittest can survive; in order to compete successfully in the market, pet food manufacturers had to manufacture and supply dog food taking into consideration the following things.
* NSC has listed 26 nutrients needed for dogs which fulfill dogs' nutritional requirements.
* Palatability of the dog food which the dogs will enjoy eating * Must provide ease of use and convenient for the customer to handle.
* Low Price/ performance ratio.
Pet food manufacturers established testing laboratories to test all the dog foods they manufacture and also have recruited nutritionists and food technicians to prepare nutritious food to meet NRC standards.
These foods come in varied forms - soft foods, dry food, semi-moist food, candies, biscuits, chewy crackers and gourmet bonbons and in a variety of packages, from various size tin cans, boxes and packages.
The dog owner must evaluate the various claims made by the different manufacturers to determine which best matches his pet's needs.
There was a time when a variety of processed commercial dog foods were not available in the market; during this period dogs were fed with foods that were available locally in abundance in that region.
Fish and whale blubber were the main food in the arctic region; in the southern United States cornbread is used to the maximum as dog food; potatoes were the item of main consumption in Europe.
These were not balanced diets and caused numerous pet diseases, such as black tongue (pellagra in humans), rickets and other less commonly known ailments.
Some of these ailments were fatal to the pet.
In the wild environment, dogs ate the complete animal, meat, stomach contents, etc.
Wild dogs often fought over the stomach contents of their kills and in that process killed each other.
Thus, the wild animals got a nutritionally complete diet provided by nature.
The domesticated dogs are not blessed with such a luxury and they normally are fed by leftovers at home.
Because these diets were poor in nutritious contents the dogs suffered from nutritional imbalances and nutritional deficiencies of high order.
Canine is considered as a carnivorous animal since it preys on other animals; Studies conducted over a period of time found that the flesh eaten by the canine is also not fully nutritious and has to be supplemented by certain carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals in order to complete the nutritional requirements of the canines just like that of humans.
The National Research Council (NSC) is a government sponsored scientific body meant for gathering and researching data.
In 1953, it compiled and published data on nutritional requirements for dogs.
After World War II, the pet food industry in the United States witnessed a sudden spurt in demand and there were considerable growth in this industry.
This business has always been highly competitive and this growth resulted in cut-throat competition between pet food manufacturers for a part of this multi-million dollar a year business.
The industry found that only fittest can survive; in order to compete successfully in the market, pet food manufacturers had to manufacture and supply dog food taking into consideration the following things.
* NSC has listed 26 nutrients needed for dogs which fulfill dogs' nutritional requirements.
* Palatability of the dog food which the dogs will enjoy eating * Must provide ease of use and convenient for the customer to handle.
* Low Price/ performance ratio.
Pet food manufacturers established testing laboratories to test all the dog foods they manufacture and also have recruited nutritionists and food technicians to prepare nutritious food to meet NRC standards.
