Perky Tails

Be Canine Kind

The Five Welfare Needs – Diet

The Five Welfare Needs - Diet

By Perky Tails

Diet is a word that you can’t escape in today’s society. It’s all over the news, your facebook feed and often thrown around at the dinner table. Every week there is a new attempt to perfect the “perfect diet” and with many feeling very strongly about their personal choice, whether they are team Vegan or team Carnivore (I say team’s as that is the way it seems). At the end of the day no one knows for sure which diet is best, but one thing we can guarantee is that your diet is an essential part of your wellbeing and it is vital that you eat healthy if you want to live a long and prosperous life.

Which begs the question… 

 

Why do so many people neglect their dog’s diet?

 

Now, at this point you may be thinking “that isn’t true, most people feed their dogs well.” But how many people go out of their way to research what nutrients and minerals dogs need? How many people know the right portion sizes to give their dog depending on their breed, age and weight? How many people simply buy their dogs the exact same bag of generic “dog food”? 

 

The answer’s to all these questions would not be answers a veterinary nutritionist would want to hear. However, the majority of people don’t purposefully neglect their dog’s diet, purposefully. It is mostly the case that people just simply don’t know enough about a dog’s dietary needs to be able to feed their dogs correctly.

It is super important for people to become educated on the topic of their pet’s diet as it is so essential to the pet’s health. One of the biggest factors influencing your dog’s physical and psychological welfare is its diet. Without good food and sensible portions, dogs are at risk from obesity and obesity-related diseases. It is so important to be cautious of your dogs diet and ensure that they are getting the right food in the right portions for them!

If you are now wondering what changes you need to make to your dog’s diet. Let me point you in the right direction. ASPCA has a great article on a dog’s diet and gives you an in depth run down of all the different aspects you need to consider when forming your pet’s diet! I’ve linked the article below for you to learn more!

ASPCA Article:      https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/dog-nutrition-tips