These are the most pampered members of the family. Our pets are great part of our lives and give us an incredible amount of joy that is a great plus to our health, and just as they care about our health in one way or another, we are responsible of taking care of theirs. Just like in humans, the base of a great health comes with a good feeding and this is the first thing we have to watch out since most problems in our pets have a base on overfeeding. Do you want to avoid doing so? Follow these tips.
First of all, you need to keep track on what are you feeding to your pet. This goes beyond the food your pet is intended to eat on a regular basis, you’ll need to include treats and scraps of human food if you’re including those in their diet. It’s important to keep track on the amounts of food you’re giving to them. This first step lets you see if you’re over-feeding them.
Now take a look at the package of food you’re giving them in order to control portions. Every can and bag of food comes with a portion suggestion based on how big your pets are (in weight). You need to keep in mind that these suggestions comes often in ranges, so if your pet is in the beginning of a specific range of weight, then use the beginning of the corresponding serving range. Also, use a measuring cup to be as exact as possible.
It comes the time to eliminate table scraps from your pets’ diet. Since human food is intended for humans, there are many oils and salts that can damage your pet’s health with gastric issues. Also, if you’re providing them the right amount of food according to the package suggestion, then table scraps are just additional calories and nutrients they actually don’t need.
Do you remember taking a peek to the food package to have a correct portion according to the weight of your pet? You have to do the same exact thing with the treats. Remember your pet is getting every necessary nutrient from the food and a proper portion, which means pet treats are a source of extra calories. See the maximum treats you should give your pets based on their weight, don’t treat them constantly and seek for low calories substitutes such as apple slices or homemade natural treats.
Last but not least, keep track of their weight. If you concluded that you overfed your pets, it’s time to see if those advices were helpful to make them lose some weight. Of course, if the main goal is helping your pets losing weight, ask for the help of your vet. They’re expert and they will assess you with all the information you need to know. Also they’ll help you control the unhappiness, hunger and begging from your pets.
Always take care of your loyal companions’ health. They are counting on you!