Importance of feeding your pet the right portion
Feeding your pet great meals helps keeps them healthy but it’s not the only thing that does, feeding the right portion, not too little or too much, is equally as important and a major determinant for a heathy lifestyle.
In nutrition, quantity is as important as quality. And not just any quantity but the right quantity.
There must be a correlation between the energy intake and energy requirement; when the former is more than the latter, it is characterized by increased energy retention, accumulation of fat and variable degrees of weight gain, from moderate to excessive.
However, while other health issues like diarrhea, alopecia, parasitic infection would cause most pet owners to visit the vet, pudginess and obesity is largely ignored. Interestingly, for those that do not ignore they don’t necessarily know how to identify obesity in their pets.
Overfeeding/Obesity
Obesity is usually the direct result feeding your pet too much, whether that means too much regular food or too many treats. Treats should not make up more than 10% of the total calories in your pet’s diet – if you train regularly and need to use treats, you might need to adjust the amount of food you feed.
To many pet owners, feeding too much food seems like an act of love, but on the contrary, it’s harming their pet. Research clearly shows that pets that maintained a healthy weight range lived up to 2.5 years longer than those qualified as overweight.
Underfeeding
On the other hand, feeding too little even though unintentional is not uncommon. Seen either in feeding too little in terms of frequency or just in the quantity of food. But this is just as bad as feeding too much.
Feeding too little can result in nutritional deficiencies and other health issues such as the following:
- Reduced quality of life
- Lethargy
- Skin issues such as: hair loss, dry skin and dull coat, dandruff
- Weak immunity and stunted growth
- Weight loss
While feeding too much can result in the following:
- Reduced quality of life
- Joint pain/discomfort and risk of osteoarthritis (being overweight and obese set the stage for increased risk of joint damage and subsequent osteoarthritis (OA), leading to chronic pain.)
- Bowel issues
- Skin problems
- Lethargy and tiredness
Food Rationing
Food rationing for pets is one of the areas of concern for pet owners but they don’t know how to go about it.
Firstly, it is important to note that each pet has a daily feeding recommendation, and this allocation or requirement may vary depending on the following factors:
- Breed
- Age
- Gender
- Level of activity
- Spay/Neuter status.
- Type of food
- metabolic rate
Here are 6 things to note to ensure correct meal portion for your pet;
- Pay close attention to the feeding guide on the bag.
- If you switch food types or food brand, reassess the portion size to feed your pet accordingly.
- Consult with your veterinarian.
- Keep a record of your pet’s weight change.
- Determine the body condition score.
- Consider your pets lifestyle.
- If you have more than one pet, ensure the weaker/smaller pet isn’t bullied by the bigger ones. Keep close monitoring.
So, pay as much attention as you do to the quality of food to the quantity of food.
Importance of feeding your pet the right portion
