Diet dog food for overweight dog cook yourself
If your four-legged friend is overweight, it is a good idea to switch to diet dog food. But instead of feeding diet food from a can, you can cook it yourself and make it easier for your pet to lose weight. Nevertheless, have your dog checked by your vet beforehand and then discuss which nutrients he needs to prevent deficiency symptoms.
Overweight dogs can suffer from serious secondary diseases such as heart and circulatory problems or liver disease. That’s why it’s important to fight obesity with a diet dog food specially tailored to your dog – by cooking for him yourself, for example.
The visit to the vet
If you observe weight gain in your dog and want to switch him to diet dog food, discuss your plans with a vet as a first step. This way, you can clarify the causes and initiate all the necessary measures required to lose weight.
Cook diet dog food yourself: Important principles
As with humans, dogs need to limit their energy intake if they are to lose weight. However, the eat-half principle is not the best choice for your four-legged friend. This method can have a negative impact on your dog’s satisfaction and may not provide him with enough minerals and other important nutrients.
It makes much more sense to reduce the amount of fat in your dog’s diet. Fat has just under twice as many calories as protein, but is needed in smaller proportions than protein. Another very helpful trick is to increase the amount of crude fiber in the diet, i.e., add vegetables. This makes the dog feel satiated, even though he has eaten fewer calories.
What tastes good and is good for your dog
If you have discussed the weight loss plan with your vet and decided to cook diet dog food yourself, opt for lean meat in any case. Turkey and chicken fillets and ostrich meat are considered particularly suitable. Compose the meal according to the following units: one third meat, one third vegetables and another third whole grain rice or diet flakes.
To ensure that your dog receives all the important nutrients, add a vitamin mixture if necessary after consulting your vet – and the kilos will start to fall off your fur friend without any deficiency symptoms.
