Dog feeding models

How to feed dogs and cats has been a topic of debate for years, both among owners and in the veterinary world. You'll meet die-hard fans of dry food as well as passionate advocates of natural feeding. When choosing a feeding model for your pet, remember that not every type of diet suits every animal. You need to take into account both your pet's health and your own time and budget.

Dry food for dogs and cats. How to choose it?

Dry food is hugely popular, mainly because it is easy to get hold of, relatively cheap and doesn't demand much effort from the owner. This type of food also contains no water and a relatively high proportion of carbohydrates. Both of these features mean that dry food works better for dogs than for cats, which by nature drink hardly any water. The low moisture content of this type of food is also a contraindication for animals with kidney problems.

Wet food in the diet of dogs and cats. What sets it apart?

Because of its moisture content, this type of food is recommended far more often. Unlike dry food, wet food as such has no contraindications for either cats or dogs. Health problems your pet may be dealing with don't rule out this type of feeding, but bear in mind that not every wet food will suit every animal. With kidney disease, for example, you need to look at the phosphorus content when choosing the right one; with liver problems, you look at the fat content. Each time, the composition of the tin or pouch has to match the health of your dog or cat.

Mixed feeding for dogs and cats. Is it worth it?

This term isn't even informally defined in nutrition. When people talk about this kind of feeding, they usually mean giving different types of food at the same time: sometimes dry food, sometimes wet, sometimes raw meat and sometimes even table scraps. There's no simple answer as to whether this kind of feeding is right. You always have to look at what it actually involves. If by mixed feeding we mean wet food as the base, with the diet varied by a raw meal two or three times a week, then such feeding can be considered healthy. If, however, mixed feeding means giving all sorts of food with no rhyme or reason, it's not something to encourage. This kind of mixing often leads to an unbalanced overall diet, which can result in various deficiencies, and to digestive problems.

Cooked diets – myths and facts

Contrary to popular belief, a diet based on one third meat, one third vegetables and one third filler (rice, pasta, groats) is neither optimal nor healthy. Such a diet is unbalanced and deficient. A proper cooked diet should be supplemented, and the owner needs to calculate protein and fat. A good choice is so-called BACF, which is simply the BARF diet in a cooked version. Unfortunately, this diet requires more commitment from the owner and knowledge of nutrition.

BARF for dogs and cats. Pros and cons

BARF, or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, is a diet based on the idea of feeding your animals as close to nature as possible. Dogs and cats are carnivores, so we give them meat, offal, bones (which can be replaced with a calcium supplement) and, optionally, vegetables and fruit. BARF doesn't involve cooking, so it can't be fed to every animal. Contraindications include pancreatic disease, among others. In such cases, BACF is a better choice. An undeniable advantage of this diet is that it can be tailored as closely as possible to your animal's health. You also have the greatest control over what ends up in your pet's bowl. While BARF is often cheaper than wet food, it tends to cost more than dry food. Even so, the benefits of this diet are so great that they make up for any inconvenience. Just remember that feeding your pet this way means investing plenty of time in your own education. A grasp of the basics of dog or cat nutrition is essential for putting together a properly balanced diet.

Whole prey – is it the right diet for dogs and cats?

Whole prey is a diet in which a dog or cat is fed whole carcasses, such as mice, rats or day-old chicks. It is undeniably one of the most controversial types of feeding, but also one of the most natural. It is also the most expensive feeding option. If you opt for this diet, you must find a good source of feeder animals. Whole prey never involves giving live animals. The carcasses are bought from feeder-animal breeders, where the animals are humanely killed and sold frozen.

Frankenprey – what does it involve?

This diet involves assembling a single "carcass" from the products available to you. In other words, the aim is for the meal you prepare to resemble what your animal would eat in the wild. So you might give, for example, beef muscle meat, turkey heart, chicken lungs and so on, all in the right proportions, of course. In theory, this diet is fairly intuitive, but because some offal is hard to get hold of, it is very difficult to do properly.

Whatever diet you choose, always pay attention to the quality of the products you give. When choosing commercial food, read the ingredients; when feeding naturally, check whether the meat you choose is fit for human consumption; and when choosing whole prey, check the feeder-animal breeder. Nutrition is a very important part of your animals' lives, and getting it wrong can have serious consequences. There is a huge choice of ready-made food on the market, and some of it has excellent ingredients. If you lack the knowledge and time to prepare food at home, such food will be the safer choice.

BEMO HEALTH ACADEMY Ewa Salwerowicz-Skoczylas Barfne Korepetycje