In today’s affluent society, many dogs suffer from being overweight. As a rule, this is not due to too little exercise, but rather to overfeeding by its master. Such behavior is unreasonable and not species-appropriate.
In order to feed a French bulldog puppy properly, you have to know the following: Every dog still has a certain basic instinct that causes him to make provisions for bad times. Dogs will eat anything that appears edible to them. Dogs don’t know that there is something to eat at their master’s every day, and they can’t be taught to realize this either. The quality and quantity of feed must be monitored by humans. If they fall for their dog’s pitiful stare, he must suffer from their pitiful weakness.
Food that exceeds your dog’s basic requirements is converted into fat and immediately stored in the body. The consequences are obesity, which puts a strain on your dog’s body, damages the functionality of the organism and shortens your dog’s life. The French bulldog tends to get fat. If your dog is already overweight, only a strict diet will help.
How much your dog needs to eat depends on temperament, health, age and physical stress. Species-appropriate and balanced food in an appropriate amount is completely sufficient for an adult dog without physical exertion. There is an increased need for nutrients, for example, during the gestation and lactation period. Due to its size and weight, the French bulldog does not necessarily need a lot of food a day. The guiding principle is: approx. 150 g meat, 75 g rice or cereal flakes and 75 g vegetables with additional minerals and vitamins are enough for her.
A kind of fair and balanced diet:
Every food contains nutrients. A distinction is made between organic (animal and vegetable protein, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins) and inorganic (minerals) nutrients. For a healthy dog life, all must be in balance.
- Meat:
The basis of dog nutrition is meat. However, a pure meat diet should be avoided, as it leads to dull hair, calcium deficiency and bone damage.
The healthy and intact meat of all animals for slaughter (except pork) and fish are suitable for feeding. In addition to flavorings, meat contains animal protein, animal fats, vitamins and salts.
Recommendations are missing :
- “green” – i.e. raw, uncleaned – beef tripe – beef head meat, throat and liver
- pure ground beef for puppies and sick dogs (only if it is fresh and raw)
Not to be missed are:
- pork (causes the deadly Aujeszky’s disease)
- raw poultry meat (possibly salmonella carrier)
- “white” – i.e. boiled – tripe (nutritionally less valuable)
If you have any doubts about feeding raw meat, you can in principle cook it. Please note, however, that you then have to regulate the dog’s vitamin supply by feeding other foods.
The bones (or bones in the case of fish) must be removed from the meat. Bones in any form should be totally taboo as the harm (choking, jamming, getting stuck, nausea, constipation, damage to the bowel) they can cause outweighs the actual benefit. There are chewing bones in all sizes and shapes in specialist shops. These are ideal for strengthening the teeth and teeth and are not too dangerous for your dog.
- Animal products:
Animal products such as quark, cottage cheese and yogurt are an ideal feed supplement and can be fed in large quantities. They are wonderfully suitable as diet food or for diarrhea, as they are well tolerated and easily digested. They help to rebuild the bacterial flora in the intestine. One or two egg yolks a week are also healthy and easily digestible. You can give them raw or cooked. Under no circumstances should the egg white be given, as it contains a substance that destroys vitamin H (biotin). It also happens that your dog throws up the egg white (raw or cooked) immediately after eating it because it doesn’t get it.
Since adult dogs – in contrast to puppies – no longer have the digestive enzyme lactase, which breaks down the milk sugar (lactose) contained in milk, milk should be withheld from every dog. Milk will cause diarrhea in your dog.
- Vegetable products:
Millet, rice, flakes, bran, ground grain and small amounts of vegetables, lettuce, herbs and fruit are extremely important for your dog’s nutritional needs. They not only regulate bodily functions but enable them in the first place. However, a one-sided plant-based feed mixture should be avoided, as otherwise some of the required nutrients would be missing. Variety is the magic word here. Mixed dog flakes meet the nutritional needs better and are therefore preferable.
The proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates contained in plants must be made usable depending on the species. Your dog’s digestive system makes poor use of raw, untreated carbohydrate components (sugars, starches). This means that they briefly heat grain products or boil the rice before feeding them. The roughage contained in plants stimulates your dog’s intestinal movement and promotes the digestive process. However, too much fiber leads to increased amounts of feces.
If this is too cumbersome for them, they can also add a teaspoon of vegetable oil to their feed. If you are traveling with your dog or if your dog has no appetite, one or two slices of wholemeal bread with margarine, butter, liver sausage or sardines in oil will do. However, these delicacies should remain the exception and not become the rule.
- Minerals:
Your dog always takes in the necessary minerals with food, as they are present in every living being. They are used for growth and are necessary for maintaining the substance of the organism. They regulate the water balance and ensure the formation of bones and teeth.
- vitamins:
The vitamins enable a healthy dog life. They are an essential ingredient. A distinction is made between the fat-soluble (A, D, E and K) and the water-soluble (B and C) vitamins. The B-complex vitamins and, to a lesser extent, vitamin C must be constantly supplied to the dog. The others are only absorbed in connection with fat and stored in the organism.
- Water:
A dog must always have enough fresh, but not too cold, water available. A dog needs about 55 ml of water per kilogram of body weight.
Finished food:
For those who find the preparation of dog food too laborious, the industry offers time-saving convenience food products. A distinction is made between wet food, semi-moist food and dry food.
Wet feed is usually a mixture of muscle meat, offal, poultry offal, blood, grain, vegetables and the essential vitamins and minerals. In this combination, it is offered as a complete or whole food. This means that no complimentary food needs to be fed. However, some products are also of purely animal origin. Although they are very high in protein, they must be supplemented with carbohydrates (vegetables and cereals), vitamins and minerals. In the case of purely animal feed combinations, one speaks of basic feed.
Semi-moist feed is offered as a ready-made feed mixture. It consists of meat, fish, cereals and vegetables. It is additionally enriched with sugar, glycols and organic acids for preservation. Semi-moist food is heat-treated during manufacture. During this process, part of the water content is removed from the food. This in turn increases your dog’s need to drink while eating. However, it contains all the important proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Dry food is defined as ready-made feed mixtures, dried meat or fish, dog biscuits and cereal flakes. It is made from dried fresh or frozen meat, blood, poultry offal and animal meal. Our bullies do not need any particularly high-quality or nutritious feed – approx. 20-22% protein content is quite sufficient. The proportion does not have to be higher when it comes to the food for your puppies either. We now know, tested by nutrition experts, that the puppies otherwise grow too quickly. The protein content of approx. 24-26% is sufficient for puppies.
Dry food can be given alone or as a supplement. It can also be ideally mixed with fresh meat. However, the meat content should not exceed 1/3 of the total feed. If dry food is fed alone, this triggers great thirst in your dog. You can also mix it with warm water or warm broth until it is thick.
Feeding sturnus:
- Puppies from 8 to 12 weeks = 4 meals a day (one of which can be a milk meal)
- Puppies from 3 to 6 months = 3 meals a day
- Young dogs from 6 to 18 months = 2 meals a day
- from 18 months = 1 meal a day (but you can continue to feed twice a day, but the main meal should be in the evening.)
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