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Your pooch’s diet defines its overall health and well-being. What it eats contributes to the amount of energy it has throughout the day. As a caregiver, it becomes your responsibility to provide the correct amount of nutrition and nourishment to your fur baby. Understanding the various components of your pet’s diet helps in providing them with the right nourishment.
Although everyone knows dogs need protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and minerals; did you know your canine friend also requires fibre in their diet? Even though fibre is not completely digestible it is an essential part of your pooch’s diet. High-fibre dog food aids in better digestion and bowel movement. Soluble fibre for dogs helps them in absorbing water. This type of fibre then gets fermented in their intestines to release fatty acids for better gut health. Other than soluble fibre, dogs also require insoluble fibre for better water absorption and digestion.
Fibre in dog food helps the dogs digest their food better. Proper digestion equates to better bowel movement and good gut and gastrointestinal health. Your canine friend’s food should contain at least 2-4% fibre to assist their gut health’s growth and development. Besides, fibre for dogs acts as an absorbing substance that collects excess water and acids. Given below are a few other benefits of fibre for dogs.
Apart from absorbing extra water and acid, the insoluble fibre also helps in cleaning your pet’s gut tract. This makes their bowel movement better. Consuming the right amount of fibre also helps maintain your dog’s anal gland issues. Smaller breeds of dogs are more likely to suffer from these issues. The fibre in dog food makes it easier for stool to pass smoothly without any added effort. Hence, reducing the chances of your pet developing gastrointestinal and anal gland illnesses.
Many breeds of dogs are meant for outdoor life; the lack of proper activity may lead to obesity in such breeds. Pet caregivers often worry about their fur baby being overweight because of the countless hours spent indoors with little to no activity. In such cases, high-fibre dog food is suggested alongside regular walks and playtime to manage the pooch’s weight. The fibre allows your fur baby to digest more food and aid in controlling its calorie intake.
Some types of fibre are slow to digest. This helps in maintaining blood sugar levels in dogs. Slow digestion of fibre stops sudden rise in blood sugar levels. Dogs that consume high-fibre dog food often have lower blood-sugar fluctuations and hence have lesser chances of suffering from diabetes.
At IAMS™, we understand the importance of fibre in a dog’s diet. Hence, our range of dog food not only has proteins, vitamins, and minerals but also fibre. With beet pulp being a consistent ingredient in our dog foods, we make sure that your pooch has a hale and hearty gut. This fibre-rich ingredient provides bulk to move waste. Moreover, it ensures that your dog absorbs all the nutrients present in its meal.
On average dogs need only 2-4% fibre in their daily diet. Anything beyond this measure can be considered excessive fibre consumption for dogs. While fibre is needed for better gut and gastrointestinal health, too much fibre for dogs can be a topic of concern. Given below are a few issues that may occur because of excessive fibre consumption.
Fibre is not completely digestible. Hence, even though limited consumption of fibre helps in eliminating gut-related problems, too much fibre can lead to gastrointestinal problems and increase gas and acidity issues.
While soluble fibre manages water content in the body, insoluble fibre can lead to digestive issues when consumed in excess. Frequent urge to pass stool and diarrhea are some known side effects of consuming too much fibre.
Even if is fibre bad for dogs is a common query, the conclusion is fibre is needed for better digestion and gut health of your pooch. However, excess fibre consumption can lead to certain stomach and gut-related issues, while eating little to no fibre is also not a good choice. Avoiding fibre altogether can lead to the anal gland diseases and gut illness. Hence, as a pet parent, you must ensure your canine friend is provided with the right amount of fibre in their daily diet. Besides fibre dogs also need adequate amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in their diet for consistent growth and development.
Yes, dogs need some amount of fibre in their diet to digest their food and absorb excess water.
On average dogs need to consume at least 2-4% fibre per meal. While their daily fibre consumption should not be anything more than 10%.
As fibre is not completely digestible, consuming too much fibre can lead to diarrhea and gas issues in dogs.
Yes, fibre consumption can increase your pet’s urge to poop or make them poop more as fibre helps in removing excess water, acid, and other undigested components from your pet’s body.
Antioxidants are chemicals that the body uses to combat free radicals. And free radicals are substances that might harm the body if they exceed a certain level. Antioxidants are also beneficial for your pets, especially your dogs. Your dog needs antioxidants to help promote a healthy immune system. Hence, every IAMS™ dog formula contains optimal levels of these nutrients.
Antioxidants are naturally occurring essential nutrients that help maintain your dog’s health by slowing the destructive oxidative process of cellular molecules. IAMS™ research has been focusing on advancing antioxidant nutrients for senior dogs — and the benefit is improved immune function. Discover how the antioxidants in IAMS™ products can benefit your dog’s health in a number of ways.
Antioxidants are found naturally in fruits and vegetables. Common antioxidants include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and certain compounds called carotenoids (like lutein and beta-carotene). When antioxidants are a part of a dog’s complete diet, they can provide the following benefits:
As cells function normally in the body, they produce damaged molecules called free radicals. These free radicals are highly unstable and steal components from other cellular molecules such as fat, protein, or DNA, thereby spreading the damage.
This continues in a chain reaction, and causes cells to die. This process is called peroxidation. Peroxidation is useful because it helps the body destroy cells that have outlived their usefulness, and it kills germs and parasites. However, when left unchecked, peroxidation also destroys or damages healthy cells.
Antioxidants help prevent widespread cellular destruction by willingly donating components to stabilise free radicals. More importantly, antioxidants return to the surface of the cell to stabilise other cellular components.
When there are not enough antioxidants to hold peroxidation in check, free radicals begin damaging healthy cells, which can lead to problems. For example, free radical damage to immune cells can lead to an increased risk of infections.
Antioxidants offer countless benefits to our furry friends. And it is imperative that their food is loaded with it. Want to know why? Read on.
Antioxidants are a must for dogs as they are exposed to significantly more toxins than humans. These antioxidants work like protective agents within the dog’s body, battling free radicals that cause symptoms and diseases like skin problems.
Furthermore, giving liver antioxidants for dogs will boost liver health and eliminate toxins from their body more efficiently. The liver will convert fat-soluble toxins into water-soluble toxins to easily flush them from your pet’s body through the GI tract and kidneys.
Recent research has examined the benefits of certain antioxidants on the immune response of dogs, and the results of these studies indicated that antioxidants are important in helping dogs maintain a healthy immune system.
IAMS™ adult and puppy formulas contain optimal levels of antioxidants such as:
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Now that you know how dog food with antioxidants can benefit your dog, here’s a list of the best antioxidants for dogs:
You can find natural antioxidants for dogs in the following:
The antioxidant content of plant-based foods is high. Foods that are highest in antioxidants are fruits and vegetables as they are loaded with vitamins and beneficial in countless ways. Some examples of excellent sources of antioxidants are blueberries, strawberries, pears, red cabbages, and kale. Make sure to check which fruits and vegetables are safe for your dog to consume.
Give your dog the best vitamins you can, so your pooch stays healthy. It is crucial that dogs receive a supplement that is specifically designed for their life stage.
Look for dog food with antioxidants and nutrients that are bioactive and bioavailable so that these get absorbed properly into your dog’s body. Make sure that the supplement you choose has the ideal ratio of natural elements for your pet’s needs. That can be accomplished by looking for a combination of prebiotics, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
For a healthy body from the inside, you can also feed your pooch IAMSTM Proactive HealthTM dog food. Find the products that are best for your dog by shopping based on your pet’s age.
