Most of us consider what we eat, even if all the gory details don’t actually make us put our pizzas and burgers down. Call it blissful ignorance, but dogs don’t have this luxury of seeing what makes up their food so that responsibility can fall on the owners. Without the social pressure of being in a perfect shape, though, how important is a dog’s dinner?

While food is important throughout the entire lifespan of a dog, it is particularly important in the early stages of their lives. This is because these early months are vital for the dog’s growth, so they need more calories than a fully grown dog; even if they’re a quarter of the size. Food labelled for growth is therefore ideal in this stage of your dog’s life to make sure they grow to their full and healthy size. You might also see food that claims they are for ‘all life stages’, and even though this might make the process of feeding your dog easier, we would recommend food specifically tailored for each stage of their development.

Benefits of a good diet for your dog include a better coat, better digestion, an improved lifespan and, importantly, a happier animal too. These are all especially true when combined with a good exercise regime. If owners were to completely disregard the health of their animals, then they risk difficulties such as osteoarthritis, breathing and heart problems, intervertebral disk disease (IVDD) and various subclinical conditions.

While an unbalanced diet can lead to several problems, there are certain foods that will cause much more direct damage to your dog. Chocolate, for example, contains theobromine which can kill canines in large doses, whereas lactose based products can cause digestive problems and items such as grapes and raisins can cause renal failure.

There is also a lot you can do with their food to keep them healthy. If you’ve ever had a dog get car sick on a long journey, you’ll be happy to know that not feeding your animal within two hours of the drive will help drastically cut down on this form of illness. On the subject of eating advice, it is also strongly recommended that you never feed your dog from your table or plate as this only encourages begging, barking and can become disruptive to their eating habits. It also means more food for us humans!

While this has hopefully shone a light on the do’s and don’ts for the diet of your dog, the truth is that if you are overly worried then few online articles can compare to the personal touch visiting a professional veterinarian can provide. For those interested in more advice to keep your dogs healthy then you can read this article by Jack Dsouja, and for those interested in dog kennels and such, you can visit Kennel Store.