Pet owners are responsible for managing the gastrointestinal health of their dogs. Normally, when the dog reaches adulthood, the growth rate of various tissues and organs in the body changes from the rapid growth of puppies to gradually slowing down and then stopping. The nutritional needs of dogs include maintenance nutritional needs and specific physiological needs. If you feed your dog improperly, it can easily cause indigestion in the dog’s stomach. So, what methods can be used to avoid gastrointestinal indigestion in dogs?
Most dogs are gluttonous. If you only focus on satisfying the dog's appetite and provide food without restriction, and the dog's nutritional intake exceeds its maintenance needs, the dog will suffer from obesity and many other diseases. Therefore, the amount of food fed to an adult dog should depend on the dog's size and daily energy expenditure.
Adult dogs in a special physiological stage will also have corresponding changes in their food digestion and absorption and nutritional needs.
(1) Pregnant female dogs: Due to the needs of embryonic development, the feeding amount and nutritional level of food can be appropriately increased. Moreover, the female dog’s stomach cannot relax normally because the uterus takes up a lot of space in the abdomen. Therefore, it is best to eat smaller meals more frequently to improve the palatability of food.
(2) Lactating female dogs: Not only must they meet their own nutritional needs, but they must also ensure lactation needs. The demand for nutrients and energy will suddenly increase. Therefore, during this period, it is necessary to provide the female dog with high-energy, nutritious and delicious food, and increase the amount of food.
(3) Aging dogs: When dogs get older, due to the reduction in activity, some physiological changes occur in the body that affect the metabolic rate. The demand for energy naturally decreases, and the ability of the digestive organs to digest and absorb food weakens. Feeding to aging dogs The food should be of good quality, nutritious, and easy to chew. It is best to make the food semi-liquid.
(4) Sick dogs: Due to illness and reduced appetite, they should eat less and more often, and provide them with food that has a special fragrance, good palatability, and is easy to digest and absorb.
