When to feed your pet – and when to keep him hungry
There’s a lot of information out there on what to feed dogs and cats, but when to feed is equally important. The whole point of selecting a custom pet food with care – optimal health – can be undermined if your timing in serving that food isn’t equally careful.
Some owners feed pets once daily, but imagine how mad hungry you’d get if you only ate one meal every day! Some people can restrain themselves from raiding the fridge, but a hungry dog won’t hesitate to supplement his diet while he’s out for a walk, inhaling anything edible-looking he happens to encounter. If he’s especially clever, he may even figure out how to open your refrigerator door and inhale its contents!
We all know what happens when pets eat off-menu items: they risk getting sick to their stomachs. Whether the digestive distress is a case of the runs or something much more serious and life-threatening – such as ingesting chocolate or some other food that’s toxic to dogs and cats – the goal is to avoid disruption of dietary balance. And one simple way to do that is to feed twice daily, adjusting the amount served at each meal so it’s consistent with the feeding instructions on the pet-food package. Spot will feel satisfied, and that will help curb his appetite for contraband snacks.
Immediately before vigorous exercise is no time to give your dog a full meal! If you know that Spot is about to raise his heart rate with a fun, healthy, aerobic workout, at the dog park or by your side on the trail, do not feed him right beforehand or you risk gastric torsion (bloat). This potentially fatal condition happens often to large, deep-chested dogs who eat dry food. Here’s how it happens: A dog works up a powerful thirst during his workout. Drinking large amounts of water causes the food he ate to expand exponentially, which can literally twist his gut.
Bloat is serious and can result in emergency surgery and even death, but it’s very simply avoided: Wait about an hour after giving your dog a workout before serving him a meal. If he’s ravenous, give him one or two small treats – even a few individual bites of kibble – to tide him over until meal time.
If your pet is scheduled for surgery, whether it’s a routine procedure (such as spay/neuter or dental cleaning) or something more serious, the rule is not to give any food or water after midnight the night before the procedure. The goal is to prevent the animal from vomiting, which could lead to asphyxiation. Some owners err on the side of caution, fasting pets starting at 10 p.m. the night before a procedure – not a bad idea.
Another time to fast your pet is before traveling by automobile or airplane. Motion sickness afflicts pets just as it can people, so a four-footed traveler with an empty stomach is best suited for driving or flying. As soon as you arrive at your destination, reward Spot for his saintly patience with a portion of his very own customized pet food, and he will forgive you for causing his stomach to growl during the trip!
About the Author
Rex & Sophia are the official Spokesdog and Spokescat for RedMoon Custom Pet Food. For custom pet food visit: http:// www.redmoonpetfood.com or to learn more about custom pet foods visit: http:// www.custompetfoods.com.
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