What Every Pet Owner Should Know About Dog Food Ingredients!Best Dog Food Ingredients For The Cocker Spaniel Diet The correct Cocker Spaniel diet should contain fresh, good quality ingredients to help him develop strong teeth and bones, a glossy coat, unblemished skin, and clear, shining eyes.
A healthy diet can also help your Cocker Spaniel to live a longer, happier, life! As caring dog owners, we like to understand exactly what ingredients go into dog food to ensure that our pets' diet is nutritious and healthy. Some of us prefer to feed our dogs human-grade food such as natural dog food or organic dog food, either homemade or bought from reputable pet stores or a local vet, but do we really understand what goes into commercial dog food? Whether we choose to prepare our dog's food at home, from scratch, or we buy commercial dog food, do we understand what our dog should eat to ensure he recieves the right amount of nutrition he needs to develop into a happy, healthy, alert Cocker Spaniel? Generally, a typical dog diet would consist of the following; proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, - we've listed below the types of foods that will provide this nutirtion. Dog Food Ingredients - Proteins Your Cocker Spaniel will need protein in his diet. Fish and high quality meats such as lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, pork, are all excellent sources of protein, although beef is less digestible than other proteins and is sometimes responsible for causing dog food allergies. If the protein in dog food is listed as bone meal or poultry by-products, don't be fooled - these are not high quality proteins. Lamb in particular is a good source of protein and is often used in hypoallergenic dog food. Lamb is also rich in calcium and zinc. Eggs are an excellent source of protein - they're also easily digestible and will provide extra vitamins and minerals for your Cocker Spaniel. When Max was recovering from an operation our vet suggested we feed him a light meal of boiled rice mixed with a scrambled egg for a day or two. The food wasn't in his bowl for long - he really enjoyed it and I'm sure if he could speak, he'd confirm this! Dog Food Ingredients - Carbohydrates Fresh fruit and vegetables such as blueberries, apples, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, spinach, broccoli, and whole grains such as rice or barley, are excellent foods that slowly release carbohydrates during the day, giving your dog the energy he needs.
Rice, barley, and oatmeal are excellent sources of carbohydrate for your dog - they're sometimes listed under 'cereals' on dog food ingredients literature. If the 'cereal' has not been named, ie rice or barley, it could be disguising the fact that a mixture of cheap fillers or bulking agents (ingredients used make your dog feel full) such as corn have been used, all of which can be difficult for dogs to digest. Wheat is also a carbohydrate often used in dog foods; however it's no-longer used in hypoallergenic dog foods as it's often associated with causing dog food allergies. Personally, we prefer to give our Cocker Spaniel rice or oatmeal. Rice is easily digested and very often used in hypoallergenic dog foods - it's low in fat too! Where dogs are allergic to rice, potato is often used. When checking dog food ingredients on the manufacturers' packaging, and you see any sign of processed carbohydrates such as powdered potato or refined flours, avoid it - the less food has been processed, the better. Dog Food Ingredients - Vegetables It's a well-known fact that vegetables are good for humans, but they're also good for dogs too! As we mentioned above, vegetables are a good source of carbohydrates but some also contain protein such as lentils, garden peas, or spinach. Vegetables are also an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, for example, carrots contain beta-carotene, which is essential for the production of Vitamin A and healthy eyesight! Dog Food Ingredients - Fats And Oils Only choose natural dog foods that contain fats and oils that are specifically named; fish oils (the fish should be named, for example, salmon, cod) animal fats (the animal should be listed, for example, lamb, beef, chicken) and vegetable oils such as olive or sunflower oil. These are all excellent sources of fats. Manufacturers' Dog Food Ingredients A good Cocker Spaniel diet should be made up of fresh, human-grade food, without artificial preservatives or colourings, but how can you be sure that what you're buying off the shelf is the equivalent of a nutritious dog diet?
All dog food ingredients are usually listed on the manufacturers' packaging - if you've never checked this list before, we recommend you do now. Compare the manufacturer's recommendations with your vet's. If you are in any doubt about any of the ingredients, it's best to check this out with your vet or puppy nutritionalist. Mose manufacturers list the percentage of each food included, for example, 20% lamb. However, if they don't show the percentages, ingredients are normally listed in order of the highest quantity of content. For example, if the dog food contains mostly rice, followed by beef, rice would be placed before beef on the ingredients list. Avoid artificial preservatives such as BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) or BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) - these are added to foods to prevent fats from spoiling. Only natural preservatives, such as vitamin E, are acceptable in natural dog foods. (Vitamin E does a similar job to BHA/BHT). Rosemary is also a natural preservative and, as an added bonus, it can make your dog's food taste better too! Similarly, it's best to have natural colourings in dog food; artificial colourings are not acceptable - and let's face it, your dog doesn't care what colour his food is! You may also see fibre listed. Dogs need fibre to help their digestive systems work properly. If they don't have sufficient fibre in their diet it could result in digestive and excretory problems. Too much fibre and they may have problems getting enough nutrition from their food. The dog food ingredients list will probably display more information about what the food contains, for example, vitamins and minerals - zinc or ash. If you'd like to learn about what goes into your dog's food, this great website explains dog food ingredients in much more detail. Before deciding which dog diet is best for your pet, we strongly recommend that you speak to your vet. He'll be able to give you advise about which nutrients your dog needs and in what quantities - he may even have a list of acceptable dog food ingredients and, if you plan to make your dog's food from scratch, a few dog food recipes. He may also suggest vitamin and minerals to supplement your dog's diet. If your dog has specific health problems, your vet may recommend a prescription dog food diet to help bring your pet back to full health.
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