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What Type Of Diet Is Right For Their Dog

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Introduction

Approximately forty-four percent of all households in the United States have at least one dog, totaling up to seventy-eight million dogs in households (Pet Statistics). When feeding senior or geriatric dogs, one of the most common aspects that pet owners consider, is what type of diet is right for their dog. There are two main categories in which a dog’s diet can be broken into, a commercial diet and a homemade diet. There are many sub categories that these can be broken into, but first one of the two varieties must be decided upon. For this to occur, a pet owner should do research on first, the requirement of their pet and then secondly, into which dietary components from each diet properly meets their dog’s requirements. …show more content…

As any animal ages, they begin to slow down, not just physically but also mentally and a specific diet that aids in meeting the requirements of a geriatric dog can help slow the signs, keeping the dog looking and feeling more vital. As animals age, one of the consequences is an increase in diseases which leads to different requirements, even from that of an adult dog to a senior dog. One of the key nutrient components that changes as the animal ages in the amount of energy required for the maintenance of the animal. According to the Journal of Nutrition, when a study was done measuring the amount of metabolizable energy intake, older dogs showed a steady twenty-four percent decrease when compared to younger dogs (1998). This study serves to epitomize the concept that even though senior dogs may require more supplements in their diet, the bulk of their diet also changes such that the energy components of the diet should be reduced to prevent an excess of fat buildup due to the over feeding of energy. Varying components of a diet were tested on young and senior dogs, elevated levels of crude protein and fat, exceeding the requirements in animal products, while the plant sources were designed to meet the requirements. This experiment yielded that generally speaking a senior diet will be comprised of more feeds

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