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Dangers of Mixing Pet Food |
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by Dr. Linda Arndt
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It is very important NOT to mix different
brands of pet foods together or even mix the same brand
name. An example of this would be mixing
an adult and senior food of the same company, or mixing
two brands together. Only mix foods when you are first introducing the new food.
Because every type of
food developed
by each company is designed
nutritionally on a nutrient
matrix system of
vitamins/minerals/amino
acids, it is critical to maintain
the integrity of that
nutrient panel in order
for the food to be balanced. When you move
one element in that nutrient
panel,
it effects all the elements and therefore
adjustments
must be made in order for the food
to be re-balanced.
When you mix two foods you will cause excesses
and deficiencies in certain nutrients as well as
disrupt the delicate balance of the food, especially the minerals composition
which is critical to
the body's metabolic and skeletal systems. These deficiencies or excesses may
not be evident
immediately in an adult dog, but they will manifest in a slow
deterioration of the animals health
and reproduction capabilities. As we know from past experience, it does not take
long for the
body
to exhibit dietary problems in a growing animal.To prevent these imbalances, stay with one
type (adult, senior, puppy, etc.) of food at a time,
and more importantly, stay with one super premium brand of food. The use of
whole foods; fruits,
veggies, meat or canned meats, probiotics/digestive enzymes and dietary enzymes
will enhance
a diet without unbalancing it. |
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Ok, your dog or cat doesn't want to eat his
supper. What should you do?
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| by Dr. Jane Bicks |
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Did you know that dogs and cats instinctively know if they need more food
or not? They know when they have enough protein, fat, calcium, and other
nutrients. They don't have to eat every day and they certainly don't in the
wild. When a dog or cat is acting fine, and just turns their nose to their
meal, that's ok. They are supposed to do that. Left alone, these dogs and
cats will not have weight problems later on in life. Their body says enough
food and they listen.
Unfortunately, there are many parents that get concerned when their pets
don't eat. They believe that their pets have to eat at every meal. Eating is
so important to a parent that they will buy dog foods based on taste rather
then ingredients. When the dog or cat refuses to eat, the owner adds
something to the food, just a little something. It can be water, milk,
pieces of meat fish or cheese, or even some canned food. The lucky dog
or cat that gets their meal adorned with other good tasting things are not
always
lucky at all. As a matter of fact, their well meaning owners might be
creating a real nutrition problem.
A high quality dry food comes in nuggets, right? Each and every nugget has
all the nutrition the dog or cat needs. A beautiful coat, healthy skin,
strong muscles, healthy eyes are just examples of why our pets need a
balanced diet. Fortunately for them, we have pet foods which will deliver
every nutrient they need. In fact, the nugget is so full of many types of
nutrients that the pet doesn't have to eat a lot to satisfy their
nutritional requirements. Did you ever think about the small amount of food
you give to your pet, relatively speaking? That's because each nugget has
over 70 ingredients in it.
When you add extras to this concentrated food you could throw off the
balance of one of those 70 plus nutrients. Whole food like chicken, fish,
and cheese will not do much damage unless you add too much. Don't ever let
your people food exceed 25% of the meal. If you are adding a canned food
then your pet is in trouble. The canned food is also 100% complete so that
every teaspoonful contains over 70 nutrients. Put the two nutrients together
and they will fight each other. Unfortunately, your pet loses the fight
because many of the needed nutrients simply can't be used because of this
interaction between foods. This silent malnutrition is not always easy to
spot. I had a poodle client, age 4, that jumped off the couch and broke a
leg and shoulder. The xrays showed that the bones were too soft. A cat was
brought to me because she couldn't go up the stairs at age 8. She wasn't fat
and she didn't have any arthritis or broken bones. Her muscles were simply
too limp. She was being fed a high quality dry food combined with a few
teaspoons of canned food.
If you want to add canned food to your dry food, please think twice. Is it
for you or for your pet? If you decide to do so, the canned food must be the
same brand as the dry food and for the same stage of life. A puppy food
can't be mixed with an adult dry food. A client of mine who caused a problem
by combining two foods said to me " but I spend 100.00 dollars a month on
him. How can you tell me he is malnourished?" My answer was simple: "You can
save money and help your pet by feeding only one food".
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