Posts Tagged ‘Vegetables’
Many people might not know this, but the German Shepherd actually has 2 layers of fur to protect its body. And it is surprisingly easier to take care of than expected. The first layer of the covering which is close to the body is close-knit and soft. It provides the German Shepherd with protection, acting as a thermal coat to maintain warmth during colder months and protects it from the harmful rays of the sun during the warm seasons. The second coat of the German Shepherd, the outer coat is rougher and of a medium length.
The best way to take care of your German Shepherd is to make sure that he is getting the right nutrition he needs. The German Shepherd is, after all, a strong carnivore and you need to make sure that the food he is getting is high in protein and vitamins. The dog requires a high-protein, high-fat diet. Chicken, lamb or beef are excellent choices. If you decide to make your own dog food, be sure that it has the right balance and all of the components the dog needs to stay as healthy as possible.
Vegetables are more difficult for dogs to eat. Rather than the curved stomach like a human, dogs have a straight stomach. This can cause them to have problems while digesting their vegetables. Wheat, corn and other plant-like materials can be tough for the animal and they should only make up a small portion of the dog’s overall digestive diet. Once you are sure that the dog is getting an excellent diet, you can move on to the grooming needs.
It is usually advised that you brush your dog’s fur at least 2 times per week. You want to be sure that the oil in the fur is evenly distributed to prevent matting and tangles. You can also be sure to remove the dead skin cells and loose hair clogging the coat. A standard metal brush or slicker will work well if it is used properly. You must take care not to cause a lesion or scrape the dog’s skin while brushing.
When you start to brush, take the brush in the same direction as the coat hair. To ensure you tackle all parts of the dog’s fur, do use a combination of different brushes with various sizes of brush heads.
Based on the dog’s normal schedule, you wold probably have to bath your dog at least once or twice a month. The bathing will depend on where you live and what your dog loves to do. For instance, if your dog should love the great outdoors, it is almost certain he will necessitate a bath more often compared to dogs that prefer to stay in the house. If the dog is an indoor dog, taking a bath every few months will be sufficient.
If you stroke your dog and dust you can see dust waft up, that’s a clear signal it’s time for a bath. In addition, if he is starting to smell odorous, a bath will be a solution to that and make him far more appealing during your bonding periods. If the coat is oily, it can be a signal that it is time for a bath.
The correct shampoo is essential to the dog’s coat and condition. German Shepherds can be very sensitive to wheat and other allergic reactions, so the right shampoo can be important. For instance, oatmeal shampoo can be calming for your dog but they also cause material to collect on the coat far more easily, so you might have to bathe your dog more often. An aloe shampoo might be a good solution if you are not worried about fleas. In any case, with constant grooming, your German Shepherd is sure to look well-groomed all the time.
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Moses Wright loves to help fellow dog lovers with their pet dog training problems whenever he is free. You can find more free German Shepherd facts and training problems resources on his site.
Choice cuts of beef, juicy chunks of chicken, whole grains and fresh vegetables, all covered in thick creamy gravy, sounds appetizing does it not? What about rotten meat, mouldy grains, pieces of plastic, bones, and euthanatized pets all in a blood and pus sauce, does that sound like something anyone should eat? Of course not!
For millions of pets this is exactly what their masters feed them and they have no choice but to eat it. We are making our pets eat filth that it’s making them sick, and often times killing them and we don’t even know it.
We blindly trust the slick advertising of the pet food companies and believe that the government wouldn’t allow for our dead pets to later be served to our new pets. We are trusting them with our pet’s lives and they are lying to us.
What do we do? How do we protect man’s best friend? How many years do you want to have your beloved dog, 3 years, 5years or 15 years? If you want your dog to have a long healthy life than the answer is simple we must give them quality homemade dog food, the kind of food they deserve. We can add years to their lives by giving them good wholesome food.
You may be thinking that I am exaggerating things to scare you. I’m not, there’s no need to. The colorful bags on the store shelves that picture quality food and happy pets are a ploy. As consumers it is easy for us to believe what we are told, but as the old saying goes don’t judge a book by it’s cover, don’t judge a product by it’s label.
Haven’t you ever wondered why your hand is shiny and covered in a greasy substance after you put your hand in a bag of dog food? Well I will tell you why. Dog food companies cover their product in grease to make it more palatable to your pet.
Most dogs are too smart to eat the garbage used to make their food, so they cover it to mask what it truly is. Oh, this grease they use is restaurant grease, the kind that sits in big vats in the back of restaurants for weeks if not months. Can you imagine what type of bacteria is in those vats? You know what too much grease in a diet does to a human? It is the same for dogs, it eventually kills them.
To protect your dog you need to be feeding it wholesome nourishing food. After all, that’s what you want for yourself, so why should you treat your dog any different? Making home cooked dog food for your pet can be quick and easy and will prolong your dog’s life.
If you’re still not convinced then let me continue. I’m sure you’ve driven down the road and seen the carcass of an animal that was hit by a car. Do you remember what that looked like? Would you ever consider stopping to pick up that rotting road kill to bring home and feed your Fido? Well when you buy a bag of commercial dog food from your local market that is exactly what you are doing.
Unbelievable, but it is true. In addition to the rotten beef, bits and pieces of chicken bones and beaks, and dead pet parts you are also feeding your pet road kill. You can keep these disgusting things out of your pet and prolong his life by giving him homemade dog food.
We are poisoning our pets and making them sick by feeding them this mass produced dog food. Their bodies can’t process all these bacteria and chemicals without it putting a strain on their systems. They weren’t made to digest the garbage put into the commercial dog food we feed them. This food is causing them to get numerous types of cancers, causing their kidneys to fail, and shutting down their organs.
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Please, if you do one thing for your pet today, find out how to protect him! You can increase his lifespan by 134% just go to www.dog-food-secrets.org to discover the secret to prolonging your dog’s life…
The basic principle to be understood in the feeding of dogs is that, with only minor variations, they have the same nutritive requirements as man. A dog apparently has less need for starches, and its digestive juices do not handle fatty foods well. Thus, the dog’s meat should always be quite lean, otherwise it will commonly cause a stomach upset with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.
The best foods for the dog are milk, meat, and vegetables. Most dogs will enjoy milk and digest it readily. Some breeds, however, such as the Boston Terrier, often do not seem to be able to handle milk and will vomit it. Where this occurs, milk should naturally be avoided.
But with most breeds this difficulty will not be encountered. With a little experience the individual dog owner can determine what the situation is with his particular animal.
In regard to meat: beef, lamb, or horsemeat are generally considered best, while pork is usually not recommended. Lamb or horsemeat are best served cooked, while beef may be fed either cooked or raw.
Whether meat is fed cooked or raw depends both on convenience to the owner and on the preference of the animal. It will make no difference, however, to the health of the dog which way the food is fed.
As far as vegetables are concerned, most dogs generally handle them quite well. However, as with milk, the owner will have to determine on the basis of actual experience which vegetables the animal prefers or which it can properly digest.
In most cases, diced lettuce and tomatoes will be found to be the most readily accepted.
Dog owners often raise the question of the egg requirements for their dogs, mentioning that they have heard somewhere that the feeding of eggs will encourage a glossy coat.
This belief is incorrect. Vigorous dogs that are properly cleaned and groomed will have glossy coats whether or not they have ever been fed eggs. Unhealthy dogs, or those that are improperly cleaned or groomed, will not have a good, shiny coat no matter how often eggs are fed.
Eggs, however, are a perfectly wholesome food for dogs and are an excellent source of protein. But, since meat and milk are equally rich in this nutrient and are generally cheaper, eggs are usually considered to be a good, though uneconomical, supplementary food for dogs.
As for the tremendous variety of dry or canned commercial dog foods, most animals will get along perfectly well on them, though it is often suggested by the most competent authorities that the best results will be obtained if dog foods are fed only in combination with fresh foods.
Great strides have been made in the improvement of commercial dog foods in recent years. Their formulae are specially prepared by trained scientists to meet all of the dog’s needs, and all nationally known brands are guaranteed by the federal government, on the basis of careful experiment, to furnish normal maintenance diets.
This means that the dog can live its entire life without eating anything but dog food. For those owners within the low income brackets, or those with the very large breeds, the feeding of dog food exclusively would certainly be the most economical method and, as far as the dog is concerned, such a diet is quite adequate.
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Feeding your pet a high-quality dog or cat food is the best way to assure a long and healthy life. This article will help you make some of the choices involved in deciding on a dog food or cat food
How do you know what dog/cat food is right? For many the choice is a homemade diet. If you have the time and the resources, I agree that this is the preferred way to go. This is usually the best, and occasionally the only choice for animals with multiple food allergies. The choice is yours whether to go cooked or raw, with bones or without.
Basically, a homemade diet should consist of 40-60% meat for dogs, 60%-90% for cats, 20-50% vegetables (dogs, or 10%-40% for cats), and the rest, optionally, grains. The choice within each category is vast, and depends on your budget, availability, and what the dog or cat prefers. Often allergies to certain foods will determine the diet.
Each dog and cat is unique and what is best for one may not work well for another. Feeding a variety of foods is the best way to provide all or most of the nutrients that your pet needs.
A good quality multi-vitamin and calcium supplements will help make sure the diet is complete. Because it can be tricky to get the right balance of calcium and phosphorus when making your own pet food, you will need to add a calcium supplement.
If you like the idea of homemade pet food, but lack the time, there are pre-mixes available, or complete ready-to-serve meals. Pre-mixes come freeze-dried, dehydrated or frozen. Usually they are grain and vegetable mixes, along with some supplements such as calcium, to which you add the meat. Ground meats, sometimes with bone, are also available where pet foods are sold. You can then add your own vegetables and/or grains if you so desire.
Complete raw-foods diets are also sold as frozen, dry or freeze-dried. Some areas may have local entrepreneurs who make and sell these diets fresh. They may also custom make meals to your pets specifications.
If you prefer to feed a commercial product, choose one of the many premium dog foods now available. though the cost may be higher than grocery store brands, what you save in vet bills will more than make up for the difference.
Whether to feed canned or dry pet food will depend on you and your dog or cat. Canned food is usually more expensive, kibble is more convenient. Pets usually prefer canned foods and some need the softer, wetter consistency. Canned pet foods generally contain higher quality proteins than dry pet food, and a higher percentage of protein and fat. The higher moisture content of canned foods can be beneficial to dogs and cats with kidney or urinary tract problems. Dry pet foods contain more preservatives. Some people choose to use both.
The most important criteria in choosing a pet food is the list of ingredients. Whole meats are always better then meat meals, and meat meals are preferable to by-products. Single source meals, such as “beef meal” or “chicken meal” are more wholesome than those marked simple “meat” or “poultry” meals. Single source meals contain the muscle meat from that animal, along with accompanying tissues, such as nerves, blood vessels and skin. Generic meals may contain other organ tissues and fatty tissue. By-product meal is a catch-all term for anything that doesn’t fit the other meal definitions – avoid these at all costs!
Look for the meat source (or sources) to be listed first on the label. If grains are included (which they always are in kibbles), they should be whole grains, rather than fractions, such as wheat bran, brewer’s rice, etc. Watch out for multiple listings of grains, they may add up to be more than the meat portion!
Avoid artificial flavors, colors and preservatives. Colors are added for your benefit, not to appeal to dogs. Artificial flavors are added to enhance palatability or cover up off tastes of poorer quality ingredients. Most natural foods stores and holistic pet supply stores will carry premium brands of pet food. If you are unable to find a satisfactory dog food in stores near you, many of them can be found on the internet.
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Elyse Grau founded The Original Dog Biscuit Company, a natural dog biscuit producer. She is a herbalist, preferring to treat her animals holistically. She has made it a point to learn as much about animal nutrition as possible. You can read more of her articles at: www.pethealthresource.com
If your pet dog has large, smelly stool, is gaseous, burps often, sheds constantly, is prone to ear and skin infections, has either no energy or is hyperactive and if his immune system is weak, something may be wrong with your pet’s diet. Although any or a combination of these symptoms may occur occasionally, having them recur often is a cause for concern and reviewing your pet’s diet is one of the first things you should look into.
First of all, your dog needs 45 nutrients to function properly. Major groups for these nutrients are protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals, as well as water. These nutrients have to be in the right amounts so that they are properly digested and absorbed by the body.
Remember that your dog, or any dog for that matter, is a carnivore, meaning his body mainly uses meat. That also means that vegetables and grains are not supposed to have a major contribution to your pet’s diet.
On dog food packages how much protein is in the food is indicated. But finding out how much protein is in the food is not as important as knowing what source the protein came from.
Dog food makers have a wide choice of protein sources to choose from. Aside from meats (beef, chicken, lamb, etc.), plants and grains like corn, wheat and soy are used as sources.
To find out what sources have been used most in the package you’re buying, look at the ingredients list. By law, the largest amount of ingredient used is listed first and others follow in decreasing amounts. You should see 3 meat sources on the first 5 items mentioned. Any less than that and you may not be giving your dog the proper protein for his diet.
Your dog will also need carbohydrates primarily for energy. But unlike their masters, dogs do not need a lot of carbohydrates to be healthy. A diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates is ideal for your pet.
Since dogs are meat-eaters, diets high in carbohydrates will take a long time for your pet to digest, not to mention resulting to large and smelly stool and gas. The gums can also grow sore due to excessive chewing and his breath can develop a bad smell. So only use a small amount of a carbohydrate source (such as grains) in your pet’s diet.
Two kinds of fat exist. One is saturated (animal fat) and the other is polyunsaturated (vegetable fat). Your dog will need both and taken together supply essential fatty acids (EFA) needed to maintain good health.
Not enough fat in the diet can cause low energy levels, heart problems and dry skin. However, too much fat can cause obesity. Tumors and cancers can also develop. In reading the label, look for a product that has a good balance between animal and vegetable fat in it.
Vitamins are necessary to release nutrients from the food that the body can use. There are two types of vitamins: water-soluble vitamins and fat-soluble vitamins. Both types are needed by your dog. Vitamins B and C are water-soluble. Too much of these will not harm the body much since it is urinated out in 4 to 8 hours. This is the reason they need to be in each meal. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble. They are stored in fatty tissues of the body and the liver.
It is important to remember that vitamins are easily lost in the making of manufactured dog food. And they break down as soon as you open the package and expose the food to light and air. Vitamins B and C are particularly sensitive.
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Information on beagle training can be found at the About Beagles site.