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Good Nutrition For Optimal Health
A high quality diet is the foundation of good health and will provide your poodle with the right balance of essential nutrients she needs. If this balance is upset, from lack of food or the wrong food, heath problems can arise.
If you want to achieve optimal health for your poodle, feed her the highest quality food you can - learn about nutrition and weigh the various options carefully.
Essential Nutrients
- Protein For Energy
- The most important nutrients found in protein are amino acids. The higher the quality of protein source, the more amino acids it offers. High quality proteins for dogs come from animal sources: meat, eggs and cheese. Grains are a less expensive source of protein, but they're not as easy for your poodle to digest. If your dog can't digest the protein source well, her body doesn't get as many nutrients from it.
- Essential Fats
- Fats, like protein, provide energy. They also allow your poodle to absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). Essential fatty acids known as Omega 6 and Omega 3 are necessary for a healthy brain and eyes and also help keep the coat and skin in good condition. Young dogs, very active dogs, pregnant dogs, and nursing mothers, dogs recovering from a serious illess or injury or coping with cancer require extra fat in their diet.
- Carbohydrates
- Carbohydrates do provide a source of energy, but since dogs don't have an absolute need for them, there is some debate about whether carbohydrates should be included in a dogs diet. Although most dogs seem to tolerate the high amounts of carbohydrates (grains) found in dry dog food, these grains (wheat, corn, etc.) can cause itchy skin, ear problems, as well as gastrointestinal problems.
- Clean Water
- Fresh clean water should be available at all times, it is essential to your poodles health and very survival. If you feed your poodle dry dog food, she'll need to drink even more water. If you drink filtered or bottled water because your tap water smells funny or the quality is not that good, don't give your poodle the tap water. Allow her to drink the same high quality water you do.
- Vitamins and Minerals
- Essential to your poodles health, vitamins and minerals are more beneficial when derived from food. Most vitamins are water-soluble, so any excesses are flush out with the urine. An overabundance of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are stored in the liver and can be toxic. Do some research and/or consult your veterinarian before adding vitamins or supplements to your dogs diet.
Commercial Food Or Home Prepared Diet?
What type of diet should you feed your poodle? While there is a growing trend toward fresh foods, the majority of people buy commercial food for their dog. The decision you make will depend on your lifestyle, budget and amount of time you can spend researching the subject.
- Dry Foods
- Generally made out of protein from meat and plant sources, extra vitamins and minerals and sometimes dairy products. The source and quality of what goes into commercial pet food has become a concern for many dog owners. Look for manufacturers that use human-grade ingredients.
- Canned Foods
- Canned pet food has a higher moisture content and a higher proportion of meat to grains than dry foods. Dogs tend to prefer canned food to dry. The meat sources vary in quality from brand to brand.
- Semimoist Food
- Semimoist food is not a great option as far as nutrition is concerned. These foods are kept semimoist with preservatives and sugars that you should avoid feeding your poodle.
- Commercially Prepared Raw Food
- Raw diets are becoming more popular for their health benefits, but shopping for and preparing your dogs food is less convenient. A number of companies have made raw, frozen food available. Feeding is as simple as thawing and serving. Freeze-dried, a dehydrated version of a raw meat, bone and vegetable diet, doesn't need refrigeration and is handy when traveling.
- Home-Prepared Diets
- Holistic minded owners feel a fresh food diet using raw meat, bone, and vegetables is the healthiest way to feed their poodle. Some owners, who are uncomfortable with the bacteria in a raw diet, prefer to cook their dogs food. Cooking destroys many of the beneficial enzymes in raw food, but done properly it's still a healthy alternative to dry kibble or canned. If you choose to feed a home-prepared diet, you must do some research to make sure you're meeting your dogs dietary needs. A poodle with liver disease should not eat raw meat, which can contain liver-harmful pathogens.
- Healthy Treats
- Food treats are an important component of training but they don't have to be unhealthy. These healthy treats are easy to prepare: small pieces of cheese, raw fruits or vegetables, and strips of liver, chicken, or turkey dehydrated in a low oven. Avoid chocolate, onions, raisins, and grapes, which are potentially toxic for dogs.
No matter whether you choose to feed kibble, canned or fresh food, it's important to give your dog a variety. Conventional advice was dogs should eat the same food without variation but feeding your poodle the same food year after year is a great way to develop a food allergy.
Have You Made The Right Choice?
If your Poodle is alert, happy, has bright eyes and a healthy coat, with no diarrhea and she likes and eats the food, most likely, the diet is the right choice.
The best way to evaluate how a specific food agrees with your Poodle is to check her feces. Feces consistency indicate how well an animal absorbs nutrients from their food. Firm well-formed feces usually mean the dog is receiving a high quality diet formulated to enable the dogs system to absorb as much nutrients as possible.
Is your poodle maintaining the correct body weight? Being underweight or overweight could mean your poodles not eating the right food or the right amount of food, not getting the right amount of exercise, or it could be a sign of a health problem. Consult your veterinarian to determine the cause and what course of action to take.
If a diet change is needed, be sure to do it gradually, over a period of several days. Otherwise the dog may develop diarrhea or other digestive upset. Begin by adding a small amount of new food to the old food. Increase the amount of new food daily, phasing out the old food.
