Winter is a difficult time of year for our pets. A lot of stress awaits them at every turn: New Year's fireworks, cold, the need to wear clothes that many ponytails hate. During the cold season, the mule-nosed organism's immunity is weakened, resistance to various diseases decreases, and chronic diseases may worsen.
That’s why it’s important to carefully monitor your furry friend’s diet as the weather gets colder. It is important to know how to properly feed your dog in winter.
What to feed your dog in winter
So, what should you feed your dog in winter? We will talk about natural feeding of dogs.
During the cold season, dogs require much more energy to maintain normal body temperature. You should start adjusting the diet in the fall, when the four-legged animal begins to naturally shed. To make the undercoat thicker and denser, it is necessary to choose the most high-calorie foods. Your furry friend's diet should contain more vitamins and animal fat.
Of course, the main thing in the diet should be muscle meat. Vary this composition. Include beef trimmings, meat cheeks, and pickle meat in your diet. By-products play an important role. Their percentage in the diet can also be increased slightly. In the winter season, daylight hours are shorter, so not only animals, but also you and I need to make up for the lack of vitamin D.
Liver, kidneys, spleen - these by-products are rich in protein, iron, amino acids, vitamins A and D.
Be sure to include sea fish in your diet: trout, salmon, mackerel, cod. Fatty fish meat is also a good source of vitamins A and D, a source of Omega-3 and fatty acids.
If your watchdog does not respect fish too much, you can add various oils to food: salmon oil, herring oil. And in general any vegetable oils: olive, sunflower, flaxseed.
But one important point! Don't get too carried away with adding oils like salmon or herring to your food. An excess of vitamins is no less, and even more dangerous, than their deficiency.
The percentage of daily food consumed should be slightly higher than in the summer. But it is better not to increase the volume of a single serving, but to increase the number of feedings to 2-4 times a day. This will allow the animal to receive more calories per day, without affecting the volume of the stomach in any way.
The food offered should be at a comfortable temperature. In winter it may even be a little warmer than room temperature.
Natural vitamins are found in various vegetables, fruits, and thawed berries. A little sauerkraut will be a very useful addition to your diet. It contains much more vitamin C than oranges.
Fermented milk products: cottage cheese, kefir, fermented baked milk are needed for the good functioning of the gastrointestinal tract of your four-legged friend. After all, in winter, as a rule, walks are shorter and the dog leads a less active lifestyle.
Dry food Club 4 Paws for dogs Scout. Compound
Club 4 Paws Scout food is designed for active working dogs of medium and large breeds that are subjected to increased stress and intensive training. But the increased calorie content (410 kcal per 100g) and the presence of special additives make it a good choice for winter nutrition.
The food contains 32% protein and 21% fat. Main components:
- chicken flour is the main ingredient, it contains 32%;
- corn;
- chicken fat preserved with tocopherols;
- corn gluten;
- rice.
Chicken, grains and corn gluten are valuable sources of easily digestible proteins. Cereals provide the need for carbohydrates, the main source of energy. In addition to these products, the food contains hydrolyzed animal protein, beet fiber and cellulose necessary for digestion, and 0.83% salmon oil, which covers the need for Omega fatty acids. Club 4 Paws Scout food also includes:
- INTEGRAMIX complex – natural vegetables and fruits (banana, tomato, hawthorn, ginger) in dried form;
- Brewer's yeast is a source of prebiotics for digestion;
- glucosamine (320 mg/kg) and chondroitin (160 mg/kg) – supplements for joints (chondroprotectors);
- vitamins A, D, E, K3, group B, vitamin-like substances choline and L-carnitine;
- minerals – macroelements calcium and phosphorus, microelements copper and zinc.
Feeding a street dog
The main points of natural feeding of a street dog in the cold, winter season are not much different in principle from domestic pets.
Food should also be rich in vitamins and fatty acids.
Moreover, the food should be twice as high in calories as that of indoor weevils.
The body of such dogs spends more energy to maintain natural heat exchange. Therefore, it is important that street dogs develop a thick undercoat in the fall.
You cannot offer cold, and especially frozen, food to a watchdog living on the street. By the way, this also applies to dry food.
The yard dog also needs to increase the amount of food consumed daily by increasing the number of feedings. This way the body will not remain hungry for a long time and will retain energy.
Just like indoor dogs, outdoor fur friends must have constant access to water. But, in this case, there is a risk that the water in the cold will simply turn into ice.
Some people believe that to prevent water from freezing, you need to add a little salt to your drinking bowl. But this is absolutely impossible to do. Salt increases thirst, and the pet will definitely not get drunk, but will only suffer.
Add a little vegetable oil to the water. A film forms on the water and it will not freeze. Or the most proven method is to put a bucket of snow. Snow perfectly quenches thirst, and it definitely won’t cause the animal to catch a cold.
These are the main points on how to properly feed your dog in winter. Of course, everything is individual. You must monitor the condition of your pet yourself, determine the diet and duration of walks. There are no specific limits to the frost resistance of dogs, even of the same breed. In any case, any young and healthy four-legged animal freezes much less than puppies, elderly or sick pets. But, if you take care of the right diet, this is a great guarantee that your dog will have good immunity and excellent resistance to various diseases.
Reviews of dog food Club 4 Paws Scout
On the website of the Pethouse online pet store you can find reviews of Club 4 Paws Scout dog food. Buyers respond positively to this product, noting that it is filling, their pets like it, and provides them with energy.
Review of food Club 4 Paws Scout No. 1
Our dog trains often, and she was not fully satisfied with the previous food. After switching to this food, the situation changed. The animal eats enough food and has enough energy for a long time.
Review of food Club 4 Paws Scout No. 2
A complete diet containing all the vitamins an active dog needs. The shepherd eats with pleasure.
Colds
Prolonged hypothermia of an animal often leads to the development of ARVI. The dog exhibits the following symptoms:
- Body temperature rises.
- Lymph nodes enlarge.
- Appetite worsens or disappears completely.
- Breathing becomes more frequent, shortness of breath, thirst and severe cough appear.
- A runny nose develops, mucous and purulent discharge from the nostrils occurs.
- Conjunctivitis appears.
A sick animal must be shown to a veterinarian. Otherwise, serious complications may arise, which will ultimately lead to the death of the dog. Constantly breathing in cold air can cause pneumonia. There may also be problems with the ears. Icy wind in some cases causes otitis media.
The development of colds can be prevented through moderate hardening and proper nutrition. The animal's bed should not be located near heating devices or vents.
Many owners buy suits, overalls and vests for their dogs. Someone puts a small hat with a pompom on the dog's head. All these things look beautiful, but they disrupt natural thermoregulation. Wild animals do not wear jumpers, but they practically do not get colds.
Only the most vulnerable areas of a smooth-haired dog’s body should be covered with clothing. Watch the animal when it comes from a walk. A frozen dog may lean against the radiator or heater. Instead of warming up, the dog will receive a severe burn.
Bowl coasters
Special stands and tripods allow you to install the bowl at any height. They also make it possible to attach containers to vertical surfaces and adjust the angle of inclination of the dishes. Bowl holders are made of metal, plastic or wood.
You can place several bowls at once on a tripod. This is convenient when you own several animals of different sizes. If the dishes are placed on a stand, then the dog does not need to bend down every time to eat.
The correct position of the bowl will allow your dog to avoid the following health problems:
If you own a dog kennel, then you need to buy multi-row stands. The long rack can accommodate up to 8 containers. Wide stands are suitable for feeding a large number of puppies.
Dogs will not interfere with each other and climb into other people's dishes. In this case, food will not become the cause of a mass brawl. The puppy should be taught from an early age that he has his own dishes. In this case, he will not steal food and engage in “begging.”
The bowl can be placed on a special rubber stand. This accessory will prevent dishes from sliding on linoleum or parquet. There are models that are equipped with suction cups to prevent slipping. Stands for containers make cleaning easier. They allow you to quickly clean up spilled food or canned food.
Bowl size and material
Plastic bowl
Before purchasing cookware, you need to inspect it carefully. The surface should not have chips, nicks or sharp edges. Pay attention to the material from which the dishes are made. A plastic bowl is relatively inexpensive, easy to clean and light in weight. Beginning dog breeders often buy such dishes.
Plastic containers also have their disadvantages . Plastic bowls can have a strong chemical smell and have a short lifespan. If you put hot food in such a bowl, it may react with the plastic. The result of this interaction will be the release of toxic substances that can cause poisoning in the animal. Plastic cracks and scratches easily. Pathogenic microorganisms begin to accumulate in the resulting cracks.
Plastic bowls are not suitable for dogs with strong jaws. The animal can easily bite through the plastic container and damage the oral cavity. If your dog swallows sharp pieces of plastic, he will experience internal bleeding and intestinal obstruction.
Ceramic bowl
Ceramic bowls are highly durable and can withstand high temperatures. Such dishes can be easily cleaned of food residues. Designer ceramic bowls delight the eye with intricate patterns and colorful pictures.
Make sure that the ceramic bowl coating does not contain lead or other harmful components. Toxic substances will gradually be absorbed into the food and will accumulate in the animal’s body. The main disadvantage of a ceramic bowl is its price. Bowls made from high-quality ceramics can be quite expensive.
Metal bowl
Metal containers are highly reliable. They don't rust or break. Steel cookware is relatively inexpensive and has a long service life. The surface of a metal bowl is almost impossible to damage or scratch. This means that food debris will not accumulate in the cracks. The only drawback of steel utensils is the noise that accompanies the process of feeding the animal.
Individual approach
The choice of industrial feeds today is quite large: for any time of year and form of keeping an animal, its state of health, breed, age, build, temperament and physical level
The owner’s task is to choose a tasty and healthy winter diet for the dog, based on its biometric and physiological characteristics. Everything here is very individual, even within the same breed. There are dogs for whom canned food and biscuits are suitable, but for others, serve barley porridge with tripe.
Note that recently there has been a tendency to return to natural products due to the negative impact on the health of dogs of low-quality dry food, which often causes allergies. Feeding systems such as BARF (Bones And Raw Food) and RAW (raw) have been developed. However, even the most experienced breeders are still inclined to believe that a mixture of industrial (dry) food and natural food in a 1:1 ratio is best. And the transition from biscuits to raw meat with bones must be done with extreme caution. And always carefully observe the dog’s reaction to this or that food.
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"Surprise, buddy!"
It is believed that a dog’s diet should not be so varied in the number of ingredients, but balanced in composition. However, sometimes you really want to give your four-legged friend a pleasant surprise, especially on a winter evening, after a walk, when the cold is so intense that even ordinary oatmeal causes a storm of delight. To please your pet with something tasty at such a moment means to please not only him, but also yourself. There is no point in presenting here numerous recipes for dishes for every taste and budget: they are scattered in abundance on the Internet. Let us only note that you should not abuse pickles - the consequences of overloading the liver and gastrointestinal tract may not be so pleasant.
Poisoning of domestic dogs with special food, which is scattered in places where stray animals accumulate to destroy them, is increasingly observed. To prevent your pet from taking food from the ground and from strangers, you should practice refusing food with the command “fu”. The dog is a born hunter and the desire to independently search for food is in its blood. And replacing a powerful unconditioned reflex with a conditioned one is difficult. However, this standard stage of the general training course is vital.
How to choose: recommendations for owners
Inexperienced owners, after purchasing pets or choosing an animal from a shelter, try to provide maximum comfort to their new friend and purchase items to care for and feed the dog.
Learn about the early signs and symptoms of colitis in dogs, as well as treatment for the inflammatory disease.
Instructions for using the drug Liarsin in veterinary medicine for small breed dogs are described on this page.
Optimal selection of bowls:
Classification is carried out according to several parameters:
Hiking options and cooler bowl
If you are the owner of a large dog, then you need to take a bowl with a special membrane that will prevent water from spilling. This type of cookware is convenient to use while traveling. There are also special bottle-shaped containers on sale. The container can be used during long walks.
For hiking, you can use folding bowls that do not take up much space and easily fit in any compartment of your backpack. There are also inflatable dishes, which are made from special rubberized fabric. This bowl can be carried in clothing pockets.
If you live in a country with a hot climate, then you can buy a cooler bowl for your animal. This cookware is made of metal and plastic. The space between the steel bowl and the plastic base is filled with non-toxic cooling gel. After this, the dishes are placed in the refrigerator for several hours. A properly prepared bowl can maintain a low temperature of water or food for 14-15 hours.
