Dry food has long been one of the most popular pet feeding options. Using ready-made dry mixes for nutrition can save time, and sometimes even money. This product covers all the needs of the pet and allows you not to bother with the preparation of multi-component food. But in order for the food to bring maximum benefit to the dog, you need to choose it correctly.
Structure
There are several important characteristics of the composition that you need to consider when choosing dry food for small dogs, as well as for puppies of small breeds. The basis of the feed should be the basic nutrients for nutrition: protein, carbohydrates, fats. Each living creature has its own norm of these components, which must be consumed per day. It varies for different breeds and sizes of dogs and is calculated on the basis of the weight of the animal, its age, build and other parameters.
Compliance with this norm is important for the health and maintenance of the dog.
If you ignore it and feed the animal food for large dog breeds, this can lead to problems with the pet's health, such as obesity, increased nervous irritability, lack or excess of any substances in the body, problems with internal organs, teeth, etc. d.
Small dogs are more energetic compared to their larger counterparts. Therefore, food for them usually includes linoleic acid, as well as vitamins of group B. Both of these components allow you to maintain energy reserves at the right level.
All dry feed for any animals and breeds are divided into classes, which are determined by the composition and degree of utility.
Before buying a dry mix for a pet, you need to carefully study its composition.It is important to pay attention to what the feed is made of: whether there are a lot of preservatives, offal, dyes or other chemical components in it, the descriptions of which can not even be found in the search engine. Already at this stage you can weed out the wrong options.
- The most affordable product classes are economy and premium. But it is important to understand that such food will not bring the pet anything good. Such feeds are not suitable for constant nutrition, unless you add any other sources of vitamins and minerals to them. Foods of such classes are simply not enough to cover all the animal's needs for building material for the body and energy to support life.
The basis for feed of economy class is the cheapest raw materials. And the low cost of raw materials allows you to create the same cheap and readily available product.
For its manufacture, soy and offal are used. In addition, manufacturers often use food waste to replace the meat they need to feed their dogs.
Excessive consumption of dry mixtures of economy class can harm the pet. Such food is not completely absorbed by the animal’s body, which can lead to indigestion or other problems with the digestive system. In addition, these mixtures do not contain all the necessary nutrients. This is the case when dry food necessarily requires supplementation in the form of individual vitamins or vitamin complexes and other food sources.
In addition to stomach problems, allergies are a common side effect of eating economy-class foods.
Diseases of the internal organs may also occur. Experts recommend not using economy class mixtures for continuous use. Well, if such an animal will be episodic in the animal. For example, in an emergency when the animal has nothing to eat.
- Premium feed, despite its catchy name, in fact they didn’t go very far from the products of the economical segment. A distinctive feature of such dry mixes is usually a pleasant smell and a richer taste due to flavor enhancers, dyes and other preservatives. In contrast to the economical options for dry mixes in premium animal feed, animal fats are already an order of magnitude higher than pure vegetable fats in economy class foods. But this fat is still obtained from cheap offal and waste.
- Super premium food deservedly takes a position a notch higher than previous classes. This option is already more suitable for the pet, because its composition is better and more useful. The composition of such products includes quality components: instead of soy and offal, natural meat is used. But producers are not limited to one meat. Eggs are added to the feed as an additional source of proteins and nutrients, as well as natural grains.
In addition, some vitamins or minerals are sure to be added to the feed of this class in order to enrich the composition and make it useful.
Due to the use of high-quality feed components, the super-premium segment is much better absorbed by the body of dogs. Although these mixtures are not absorbed 100 percent, and part of the product is excreted with waste products.
A distinctive feature of the products of this segment is that such feeds can be selected for the pet with much greater accuracy. Manufacturers of super-premium products often take into account not only the age of the dog and its physical data, but also the general condition or even lifestyle of the animal when creating various lines of feed. Meet the needs of dogs suffering from allergies or any disease by creating specialized mixtures.
- An ideal balanced and healthy diet for small dogs - holistic feed. The composition of such products is the most natural.It will not meet offal or any waste, it uses only real meat and all kinds of natural ingredients. Vitamins, as well as prebiotics, are necessarily put in such dry mixes so that the feed is completely absorbed by the canine organism. This food perfectly meets all the needs of the pet in terms of nutrition and allows you to maintain it in a healthy state. It not only does not cause, but also prevents problems with the digestive system, teeth, excess weight.
Kinds
Dry food for small dogs It happens as usual with a normal content of proteins, carbohydrates and fats with a composition, and dietary, and even low-calorie.
- The most important goal of regular dog food is to saturate the animal’s body with everything you need. Such food is intended for animals that are in good health and have no problems or deviations.
- Small dogs with improper feeding are prone to problems with internal organs and obesity. The risk increases especially after castration or sterilization. In this case, preference should be given to dry foods for food marked "dietary". They include hypoallergenic products, an easily digestible protein, prebiotics and a vitamin complex to maintain the health of the dog or even for treatment.
- Low-calorie dry mixes are intended for dogs with weight problems. Such feeds also have a balanced composition without an abundance of carbohydrates and fats. They contain only natural ingredients, vitamin complexes and the same prebiotics that improve the digestive system.
Manufacturers Overview
- Holistic products manufacturer Innova (USA) are great for dogs that are allergic. When creating feeds, this company does not use wheat, rye and other cereals. Instead, rice is used in the recipe.
The basis of the feed is natural meat, fish, poultry. Dry mixes can be supplemented with canned food for good nutrition.
Innova products have good palatability and a pleasant smell.
- Super premium products from Pro plan created by Purina (production in France and Russia). Today, under the Pro Plan trademark, a huge number of different types of animal feed are produced, including small dog breeds. In addition to the usual dry mixes for daily use, Purina also produces complete diets, medical, dietary, hypoallergenic.
- Products Hills (Netherlands) is heard a lot like Purina products. The feed of this company is popular because of its quality composition and wide assortment, which allows you to meet all the requirements of a four-legged pet. Hills is considered the leader in the medical nutrition and animal diets segment.
- Heads the rating of mixtures of super-premium products from the brand Royal canin. The products of this manufacturer have a good composition and affordable prices. The composition of Royal Canin feed is quite diverse and includes useful vitamins and minerals. Products are presented in several lines.
- The most famous brand of premium dry mixes is Pedigree (production in Russia). The main advantage of the products of this brand is its low price. The food quality is quite good, but the line of feed is small, without taking into account the individual requirements of the animals. Pedigree also produces economy-class feed.
- The best-selling brands of mixtures of economy class - Darling (Hungary, France) and Chappi (Russia, USA). As mentioned earlier, the composition of such feed is as simple and cheap as possible. But the products of these firms can be found today in any store, not even a specialized one.
Criterias of choice
The modern abundance of dry mixes for small dogs allows you to satisfy all, even the most special needs of small four-legged pets. Now you can choose a specialized dry mix for sterilized and neutered animals, for allergy sufferers, for fastidious pets and even for dogs with certain diseases.
- To choose a dry mix, you can seek help from a consultant in a store, listing all the parameters of the animal, its habits and such features as allergies or illnesses. In this case, they will select the most suitable option for a particular pet.Today, manufacturers give a sufficiently comprehensive description of each type of mixture, so you can independently familiarize yourself with the line of feeds and determine what the pet needs. This option will take more time, but an unprepared pet owner can understand the full variety of products without outside help.
- Professional products for feeding dogs are often sold by weight, which is very convenient when choosing food. You can choose several options for your pet, take 100 grams of each species and try to feed the animal with each of them to determine how suitable it is.
- The main selection criterion is the composition of the dry mix. It is best to choose those manufacturers that detail the composition of products on the label and inspire customer confidence.
- The best option is to have several options for a suitable product for your pet, so that if necessary they can be replaced with each other. This will help to avoid unpleasant situations when there is no way to buy a specific product for food.
Feeding rules
- You can start feeding the dog with a dry mixture immediately after the start of the first feeding. There is nothing wrong with the fact that the animal will immediately switch from mother's milk to dry food. There are special rulers for puppies that are designed for such situations.
- If you begin to feed the dog dry food from the first days of switching to solid food, this will help to avoid possible problems with the restructuring of the diet in the future. After all, the animal throughout its life will eat fully and without the introduction of unfamiliar products.
- It is important to wait a while before introducing a new product into the diet in order to understand if an allergic reaction occurs. The optimal period is 2-3 days. At this time, the animal is best fed with proven foods that it tolerates well.
- The feeding rate per day is calculated based on the parameters of the animal. Usually it is indicated on the packaging of the feed. It is important when feeding a dog dry food to provide it with constant access to drinking water to avoid dehydration, since the dry mixture does not provide any fluid for the body.
- Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to combine feeding with natural food and a dry mixture. This can cause unwanted reactions to the pet. Constant restructuring from one type of nutrition to another can adversely affect his health. The key to the health of the pet will be a balanced, properly selected diet with the addition of vitamins and minerals.
It is believed that natural food is not ideal for a dog. Especially if it is a thoroughbred dog with certain nutritional requirements.
Today, dog feeding experts recommend switching to specialized food for animals so that the dog is healthy and well-groomed.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find all the necessary vitamins and minerals in natural foodso that feeding the dog with dry mix will not only save time and ease of feeding, but will satisfy all the needs of the dog.
Overview of 10 feeds that you should not buy, see below.