Change Your Dog’s Diet – Know When To Change It
Posted by admin | Under Pet Vitamins Wednesday Aug 18, 2010
Just as your pet keeps you happy, you should reciprocate by making him/her healthy and happy too. This can best be done through diet change. But how is this done? And whom should I consult for advice and also learn more about what change needs to be done in my dog’s diet?
Your dog may seem to be doing great from about any can or bag of dog food you get into your shopping cart at the grocery, but is that the reality? And how do you tell your dog’s dietary needs are in perfect line? If you take down all the simple things concerning your dog. You’ll discover that your dog’s diet has far reaching effects on every aspect of its well being. That realization should help you monitor your dog before forming any conclusions.
Consider the following issues when deciding on whether your dog’s diet needs to be changed or not. How does your dog act? Is it always groping around the house for scraps? Or does it rest comfortably after a meal?
A well fed and satisfied dog will hardly grope for food and will easily relax and go siesta after a meal.
What about his outputs? Are they thin, runny, or firm? A dog’s diet is best observed in the output, if the output is bad news, his diet needs a boost. Observing the pets output will help you tell whether the diet is suitable or not.
If your pet is frequently ill or regularly feeling under the weather, you may have to think about what the pet feeds on. Remember that it’s the dog’s diet that reinforces the immune system and maintains him in a cheery disposition. A diet deficient in vital vitamins and other mineral nutrients will never keep your pet in an upbeat condition.
As your pet matures you may be required to do a diet switch. Remember that a puppy’s health needs are very different from an adult dog in regard to diet. Aging dogs could require senior diets to keep their weight under check and curb other medical conditions.
A dog with low energy level is usually lazy or may appear high strung. Such conditions mostly arise from poor diet.
If you engage your dog in a lot of physical activities, then you may need to alter the diet to match his increased need for energy.
Dog’s dietary needs are also dependent on where you keep them. Pets that reside outside during the cold seasons need additional calories to keep warm during winter seasons.
If you are in doubt about what kind of diet is best for your pet, then you may have to consult an animal nutritionist or vet for advice. These professionals will be very helpful in offering you guidance on what is good for your dog’s special dietary needs, they will also discuss with you about the numerous types of dog feeds available and their merits and drawbacks. Work closely with your vet to ensure that the pet get s the best care. The vet can advice whether or not your pet needs diet change.
A lot of factors determine whether you need to change your pet’s diet or not. Diet change is influenced by factors like health issues, weather, and age of the pet. Seek your vets advice about the proper diet for your dog. Observation and education are two essential tools you can use to establish the state of your pets diet.
Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/change-your-dogs-diet-know-when-to-change-it-753475.html
How to prevent the yellow grass/lawn when my dog pees?
We don’t have a fence at this time but in a month or so we plan to install it. Because we don’t have a fence, I take my dog to go pee outside everyday, so I know where he pees. I dilute it with water, because that’s the only solution that seems to work (that I know of). Since we’re installing a new fence, I wouldn’t be able to monitor where he pees. Is there any other solution to Yellow patches of grass when your dog pees? Something that maybe I could feed him. Should I change his diet? If so, how? Or maybe something that I would need to treat the grass with. Please, I don’t want my world revolving around monitoring my dog’s peeing business. Thanks.
I’ll be curious as to how others respond cause we have that problem with our lab.
References :
At Petsmart and I’m sure other pet stores they sell MANY things for that problem. Look it up online. I hope that helps.
References :
Many supplements can be purchased at your local pet store.
References :
U R definetly DOING THE RIGHT THING….water the spot down when ur doggie pees…this can be accomplished with a bottle of water and will reduce the acid on the grass…good hes going on the grass n not the carpet… GOOD BOY!
References :
There is none that I know of. A dogs pee is very strong so the only prevention is to P R E vent the problem by deluting the ground first. Waiting until he urinates is like treating the wound because you got hurt instead of preventing yourself from getting hurt in the first place by being careful. A dog’s pee is also like a fertilizer but because its sooooo strong it will fertilize the surrounding grass and kill the grass it hits just like regular fertilizer does. So keep the area that you are letting him pee on well watered… a good 6 inches deep into the ground daily. Then also wash down the area that he pees on and it should keep the problem from occurring. Making sure that the pet has ample water daily will also dilute his urine before he goes as well. The best way to insure that is to buy a pet fountain. Our kitties had such strong uring that we had ‘kitty house’ smells all the time until we got the Platinum Plus DrinkWell. They drink so much water now that the last urine culture that our vet did on the one kitty had almost clear uring which is the way it should be. If you can smell your pets pee it isn’t drinking enough and therefore is highly consentrated… which makes it burn the grass if he’s a dog.
References :
watering it down is pretty much the only way to prevent this. It happens because there is such a high concentration of nitrogen in urine. Nitrogen is a fertilizer but too much will burn the grass. If you look at them in a few weeks the grass around the spot will be much taller because nitrogen has begun to break down and fertilize it. The best way is to put lawn patch on the dead spots after a little while.
References :
easy tomato juice just a little in their food or you can spend money on pet store pills
btw if they eat stool give them some pineapple in their food
References :
vet tech
Urine contains ammonia. The ammonia is burning the grass. There is nothing you can do about it. This question has been asked a million times.
There is no magic answer, changing his food and tipping water where he goes will not change the grass from being killed off.
References :
Give him some tomato juice. I have a large breed dog "89 lbs" and I give her two tablespoons a day. I saw it on Oprah and it does work.
References :
I definitely would go with the suggestions of watering the spots down immediately after he goes. The spots will recover very quickly. I would absolutely not use any of the over the counter remedies because they change the PH of your dogs urine. Messing with the PH of your dogs urine could encourage the formation of crystals in the urine which can lead to bladder stones. Better to have a few yellow spots on the lawn than a life threatening problem for your dog. Just have an old pitcher out in the yard you can use to water down the areas he pee’s on. My dog is not allowed to pee on the grass. She has a designated area that is dirt to pee on.
References :
Vet Tech 15 years
Have the dog pee in his own fenced dog run…and not just anywhere in the grass. Its pee always kills the grass cuz of its too much acidity theres just no other way but to keep him away. That why I gave up my puppy Max a beagle who pees anywhere and can climb out of his Dog-run and over the fence. I just cant keep up with him.
References :
i think they may sell lawn paint to spray over the yellow patches.sry that doesent help with preventing them.
References :
I’ve been told that its the Dry food that makes the urine to strong..
If you feed a Natural Diet you will not only have a healthier lawn but a Healthier dog.
Here in Australia we have things called "DOG ROCKS" you get from the pet shops you drop the rock in the dogs water bowl (lasts for a few months I think) and it changes the Urine somehow and the grass does not mind it.
I don’t know what it does to the dog but I guess its safe..
I don’t have this problem as I feed my dogs real food
References :
Some wonderful suggestions can be found at the Landscaping section of
Better Homes and Gardens (bhg.com)
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/dgroups/viewThread.jhtml?forum=364&thread=7294893
Subject: My dog’s urine is killing my grass
Answer:
You have a dog, he pees, his pee is high in ammonia….pure nitrogen,
and concentrated the way it is on your lawn, much like too much
fertilizer, can burn the area.
So, where he goes more often, you water more often.
Sprinkle some lime in the area. Lime is good for lawns. Its alkalinity
will reduce the effects of the acidness of the pee.
Or sprinkle some gypsum…powdered gypsum…will also act like lime.
No lime…no gypsum….then use baking soda, sprinled on the surface
will act much the same way.
*****
You could alter the pH of your dogs urine by adding a teaspoonful of
Brewers Yeast to his/her diet. That is something already in most dog
foods, just not enough.
For brown spots already in the lawn a 50/50 mixture of gypsum and lime
does help correct the two problems dog urine creates, excess nitrogen
and uric acid, but it is best to water down the area as quickly as
possible afterwards to dilute the urine as musc as possible.
*****
There is a product out that comes in the form of a treat and saves
your lawn while treating your pet. It is available at Pet Supplies
Plus. It is called Turf Saver by Harper’s and is 100% natural. Only
chemical is a preservative. So far it has worked great for me, and I
have 2 medium sized dogs and 2 puppies. I forgot to get some one week
and immediately noticed a few burns so I believe it does work.
*****
If you read the labels of those products you will find that they are
brewers yeast, only they cost much more.
References :
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=378219
funny you say that beacuse when my dog pees in the yard the grass grows faster… it gets lusher… and darker :/
References :
yes there are solutions to yellow grass patches form dog pee. There is a supplement that can be fed to your dog once a day to lower the urea levels in his pee this can be found a t petsmart. Also there is a spray that can be put on the yellow spot after it has turned yellow and supposedly it will go back to its green color. Lastly there is something called a pee post that is sprayed with pheromones that will attract your dog to that spot every time he has to go. All of this can be found at petsmart or on petsmart.com
References :
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751998&lmdn=Dog
Replant grass! Duh smart one.
References :
I don’t think there is any way to stop your dog’s pee from ruining the lawn. It’s quite toxic, and there isn’t much you can do, other than diluting the spot right away with water.
The best thing you can do now is to train your dog to pee somewhere you don’t have anything growing. make a spot in the corner of the lawn that’s just dirt, or where you don’t mind a bit of dead grass.
References :
I’ve cared for many dogs, and know people who have this problem.
Train your dog to go where you want him to go. Pick a spot, reward him for peeing there.
References :
hey we have that same problem with my dad!
References :
That’s a strange question, as usually it is the female urine that kills the grass, not he male.
References :
i a not quiet sure where yo get them but you could try looking it up online but one time i saw something about a pee brick that smells and attracts the dog to pee on it and therefore doesn’t pee much around the yard.
References :
i found something like this on the website 1800petmeds.com, but can’t find it but here r some other stuff:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752040
References :
2 chihuahuas
Weird, I have three dogs, they all pee in a certain patch of grass in our frontyard and years later the grass still looks the same, super green and grows TOO quick.
DON’T USE "DOG ROCKS" like the other person said. They don’t even know the side effects.
Do not give anything to your dog to make his pee less strong, thats absurd. Would you do that to yourself?? Plus you don’t know how that will affect your dog in future…maybe kidney problems since it has to do with pee.
Whats more important?? Your grass or the dog??
Keep watering the grass or buy some sprinklers so that your grass at least gets watered everyday once a day.
DO NOT GIVE YOUR DOG ANY SORT OF PILLS OR ANYTHING THAT’S ORALLY TAKEN. YOU NEVER KNOW THE SIDE EFFECT IN THE END. BETTER BE SAFE THAN SORRY.
References :
There are supplements for your dog. Consult with your veterinarian for products that are safe.
References :
You can have him go in only one area of the lawn and then water that down to diluted the nitrogen.
References :
My dog had the same problem and we gave her this. And guess what? i haven’t had yellow spots for months
It really works
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751690
References :