Today, I’m going to list my top 5 ways to tell if you are feeding your dog the wrong food.
1) Gas. Call it what you will (breaking wind, cutting the cheese, a heinie hiccup), odds are if you either hear or smell your dog making those involuntary acts of nature on a daily basis, you are probably feeding your dog the wrong food. There are some other possible reasons for this, but by far it is most likely that the food isn’t sitting well with your pup
2) Coat Condition. Does your dog have a dry coat? Lots of little flakes in the fur? It might not be that your dog needs a bath (ok, it could be that too) – it could also be that your dog’s food may not be providing the exact right mix of nutrients needed to promote ideal fur health.
3) Stools. This one is for the poop pickers at home. Are you noticing that your dog seems to have to go number 2 more often than you think they should? Are the stools themselves not as well formed as you think they should be? Next time you are picking up after them, take a (slightly) closer look – normal adult dogs should defecate once or twice a day, and the stools should be well formed and solid.
4) Not willing to eat. It’s happened to a lot of us – we get that fancy new dog food, bring it home and put a bowl down for our pup. Your dog looks at the food, then looks at us, giving a look like we are trying to pull a fast one on them! While some dogs are just plain picky, other dogs have a learned response to not eat foods that give them indigestion. If your dog would normally eat just about anything, but skips that fancy new food, odds are it just isn’t the right food for them.
5) Itching!! While there are plenty of reasons a dog can get skin or ear infections, if you feel like you’ve tried everything and you still can’t stop your itchy dog from breaking out, it’s time to consider a new food. Keep and eye on what types of meat you have fed your dog – a simple tip is to try is feed them a diet with a single meat source that they have never eaten before. However, keep in mind that the cause of nearly all allergies in dogs isn’t their food! If we diagnose your pet with a non-food based allergy, check out the new prescription food called Derm Defense.
We are going to cover how to pick out the RIGHT pet food soon on the blog, but if you need help now please Book an Appointment, or call the office at 480-585-3512.
