Nutrition Officer, Naturediet
Finding the right food for your dog can be a time-consuming and often overwhelming process, particularly with so many different diets on the market. For many owners, it’s not as simple as just ‘picking something off the shelf’, especially if their dog has dietary sensitivities, or is selective in what they will eat.
Sensitivities
The words ‘allergy’, ‘intolerance’ and ‘sensitivity’ are thrown around a lot in the pet food world- but what do they actually mean? A food allergy is where an animal’s immune system reacts to a particular component of the food (usually a protein), causing issues such as itching. Whereas a dietary intolerance or sensitivity is where something disagrees with the dog’s body but doesn’t involve the immune system. In general, the most common allergens are thought to be wheat, chicken, beef and dairy, although every dog is different and what works for one, may not work for another.
At Naturediet, we try to cater to a variety of nutritional needs by offering a range of different recipes. Our diets are popular choices for dogs with dietary sensitivities, as we don’t use ingredients such as wheat, beef or dairy in our diets. We also offer both grain-based and grain-free formulations to suit a broad range of dogs.
Elimination diets
If you suspect your dog may have a dietary sensitivity, it can be beneficial to conduct an elimination diet. This involves removing a suspected food allergen from a dog’s diet for a prolonged period of time and monitoring their progress. It’s also important to cut out any additional treats and titbits, to help streamline the diet as much as possible. During this time, you may choose to keep a food diary or notes, especially if you need to report back to your vet.
Within the Naturediet range, we typically use limited ingredient recipes of up to 4-6 ingredients. This can be highly beneficial when conducting an elimination diet, as it’s easy to identify which diets may be suitable for your dog. Our diets are also topped up with vitamins and minerals to make them complete and balanced and help provide all the nutrients a healthy dog needs.
Novel proteins
When it comes to dietary sensitivities, it can also be beneficial to feed a novel protein- this is a single protein your dog has never eaten before and therefore has not developed an allergy or intolerance to. This could be a protein source such as salmon, turkey, or perhaps something more exotic. The Naturediet ranges offer a variety of protein sources including lamb, turkey, salmon, white fish and chicken to help cater for different dietary needs.
Fussy dogs
Not all dogs are food orientated. If your dog is a fussy or selective eater, wet food can be a great choice for them. This is because wet food usually has an appetising aroma and gentle texture, which most dogs find appealing and easy to eat. Wet diets are also highly versatile and can be fed alone, mixed in with dry, or spread into Kongs, Likimats or puzzle feeders, to help make mealtimes more interesting. Diets such as the Naturediet Feel Good Chicken is a delicious, pate-like consistency, which can be spread, cubed, sliced, mashed- you name it!
Contact us
Looking for more information about your dog’s diet? Please give the Naturediet nutrition team a call on 01362 822 320 or email us at [email protected] and we would be happy to help.
Written by: Zoe Russell, BSc (Hons), ANutr (Guest Author)
