If you got yourself a reliable and loyal friend -dog, then you just need to know all the subtleties of her feeding. On this depends not only the health of the animal, but also the duration of its life. We will help you answer many questions concerning the content of the pet. How to feed a dog, how many times a day to feed it, it is useful or harmful for dry food - all this and more you will find in this article. 
Feeding a pregnant dog
If your dog should have puppies, thenthe question arises - how many times a day it needs to eat. From 4 to 6 weeks, the number of feedings should be increased up to 3 times. Be sure to give cottage cheese, cheese, fish, meat, milk porridge, boiled egg. The food of a pregnant dog should include various minerals, especially calcium. The norm of its daily intake is 65-70 mg per 1 kg of weight, and that of phosphorus 50-55 mg. What to feed the dog when the second half of pregnancy comes? At this time, it is necessary to reduce the diet of carbohydrate food and add mashed raw vegetables and fruits. It is also useful to add bone meal in food: in the amount of two tablespoons a day. If pregnancy occurred during the winter, be sure to give the animal vitamins A and D. And starting at 8 weeks, transfer the dog to four meals a day. It is advisable to exclude bones and other products from her diet that make intestinal peristalsis difficult. To prevent postpartum eclampsia (toxicosis), meat should be replaced by boiled fish, necessarily of marine origin. 150 grams of fish replace 100 grams of meat. You can not give pasta, potatoes, legumes, pearl barley, because this food overloads the digestive tract of the animal. In the last days before childbirth, exclude from the diet all foods that can cause the dog to have allergic reactions, and reduce the amount of food by ¼. If you lose your appetite, try to attract the animal with tasty bits for it. When the delivery will take place, increase the diet and go to the four meals a day. 
Feeding the nursing dog
How to feed the dog after giving birth? During the first days it is recommended that she give semi-liquid sour-milk food. Water should always stand side by side and be fresh. It is not necessary to feed the dog with meat in the first week after giving birth, since such food can provoke eclampsia - toxicosis. Nutrition of a nursing dog should be high-quality and high-calorie, include vegetables, cereals, and dairy products. A week later, a small amount of meat can be introduced into the diet. Feeding of a nursing dog is carried out not less than 3 times a day, including calcium preparations. To feed a dog with raw meat is undesirable, because it can have worms that will be passed on to puppies. Therefore, you should boil the meat for at least a couple of minutes or at worst - scald it with boiling water. Nutrition of the nursing dog should be given special attention, because it loses more calories and nutrients, giving them to its puppies with milk.
Feeding the puppies
How much food does the puppies need when they stop suckling the mother's breast? This question is also very important for dog breeders.
- From 1.5 to 2 months, prepare small portions of food and feed the puppies every 3 hours (6 times a day);
- After 2 months, the number of feeds is reduced to 5 times, while increasing the amount of food;
- In 4-5 months of the puppy fed 4 times a day, 6-7 months - 3 times a day;
- After a year the dog is transferred to a two-time feeding.
About how many times you need to feed your dog for up to a year,you already know, and now let's figure out how best to feed the dog in puppyhood. In fact at this time at it the skeleton is formed, teeth and a wool grow. And from the lack of necessary substances, rickets and other diseases can develop. In the diet of the puppy should be present: low-fat cottage cheese, egg yolk, lean meat. For shiny hair, vitamin D (as an additive to food) and vegetable oil should be given. With 2 months of puppy it is useful to give a small amount of cartilage, and at 4-5 it is already possible to add soft beef bones. And necessarily in the diet should be present vegetables. They can be given both cooked and raw, pre-rubbed on a grater. Once a week puppies should be added to the diet marine fish, cleaned from bones. 
Dry food
It is necessary to mention the dry food. They fall into three categories:
- Products of economy class - are of poor quality;
- Medium-product - average quality;
- The premium product is the highest quality.
It begs the natural question, what kind of foodbetter and how many times a day to feed them an animal. Naturally, it is best to use food with the highest quality, but not all of them contain animal proteins. When selecting, pay attention to the annotation, which indicates the composition of the feed. When deciding how to properly feed a dog with dry food, do not forget that you should not add other products. Often our choice depends on financial possibilities. But in any case, try to choose a well-balanced product containing a sufficient number of proteins, amino acids, fats and other nutrients.
Feeding an adult dog
The digestive system of the dog is arranged, as inpredatory animals. She does not chew, but tears and swallows meat. Developed jaws need such work, for them the frayed food and semolina porridge does not approach. A predator living in the wild, eats prey entirely. The best treat for a dog is cartilage and soft bones. Bones should be large, better beef. In no event should you give the dog tubular and bird bones. Small fragments can injure the esophagus and stomach. Gnawing bone, the animal not only strengthens the teeth, but also replenishes the body with mineral salts. And what kind of meat to feed an adult dog? And how much meat can she eat? Once a week, feed the pet raw beef. Just make sure the product is fresh. Pork is not recommended for a dog, as veterinarians assure that pigs can be ill with diseases that are not transmitted to humans, but are dangerous to pets. If the animal does not have allergies to chicken protein, you can sometimes give him and boiled chicken, mixing it with vegetables or porridge: buckwheat, millet, oatmeal, rice. Hercules can be given to both puppies and an adult dog, soaking it in broth, kefir or milk. Liver in small amounts (5-15g) is added to the ration of the animal to replenish vitamins A, E, D. By-products (kidney, liver, udder and heart) contain various useful substances, but they should be digested.
Nutrition for elderly dogs
Since one of the main problems of agingdogs are obese, then feed your pets more often, but in small portions. The diets are best divided by 2-4 times. It is desirable to heat food to the body temperature of the animal - 38 degrees Celsius. Food should be balanced and not depress the functions of the heart and kidneys. It is desirable to reduce the amount of protein food. If you gave the animal fish from a small age, then continue to do it now, but not more often 1-2 times a week. How are they fed with dry dog food in advanced years? Dietary rations are compiled by veterinary doctors, taking into account age-related changes in animals. Older dogs often have otitis, cataracts, periodontitis, arthrosis, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, urinary incontinence. And during this period, the owner must carefully monitor the health of his pet, in time to recognize the disease and begin treatment. 
Feeding a sick dog
Naturally, during illness the food shouldeasy to digest and be nutritious. But with certain diseases, a special diet is required. Feed your pet more often, but portions should be small. For example, with allergic dermatitis, the meat should be lean, you can not give meat broths and other fatty foods. Do not treat your pet with sweets. Only compliance with the diet will be the key to successful treatment. The dog's tendency to allergies often arises from malnutrition. And in the process of treatment, experts prescribe a low-calorie hypoallergenic food. After all the symptoms disappear, one product is introduced into the animal's ration. Thus, you can identify the allergen. When a product dangerous to an animal is identified, it should be permanently excluded from the diet. Most often, the allergy in dogs occurs on dairy products and pork. As a result of malnutrition, the animal can develop diabetes mellitus as a complication after pancreatitis or a pancreatic tumor. Domestic animals that have diabetes, should eat foods that contain a small amount of fats and carbohydrates, but rich in vitamins, proteins and minerals. Dog breeds susceptible to this disease include: Australian Terrier, Pug, Kishond, Miniature Poodle, Beagle, Zwergschnauzer. For such dogs, it is best to use only natural ingredients. The diet implies the consumption of lean meat and fish by the animals. You can add fresh vegetables, fruits and feed the dogs with raw meat, but everything should be within reasonable limits. Buckwheat and Hercules are allowed. But the cleared rice is better to exclude. If your dog is poisoned, it is better not to feed it during the first 24 hours after the withdrawal of the disease, but give plenty of drink. Then you can try a rice broth. After your pet has an appetite, give him a little boiled rice porridge on chicken broth. Gradually add to the diet well-cooked and finely chopped meat: chicken or veal. A little later, you should add fish. Naturally, this should be low-fat varieties of sea or ocean fish - cod, pollock, salmon, hake.
Ration for hunting dogs
Hunting dogs can be: large breeds - greyhounds; medium breeds are hounds, pegs and huskies. Small breeds - spaniels, dachshunds, fox terriers. How much food should contain carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and mineral salts, so that the animal is properly developed? Let's try to answer this question. The daily need of an adult hunting dog is: proteins 4-5 g per 1 kg of weight, fats 2-3 g per 1 kg of weight, carbohydrates 12-15 g. For these breeds the food should be high-calorie, the needs of each animal depend on exercise and temperature environment. If the animal is kept in the open air, you should increase the fat content, if the dog performs a long physical work, then focus on protein and carbohydrates. The diet of hunting dogs should be varied. Particularly valuable for them are meat and offal, fresh fish. For puppies and nursing animals, a good nutritious food is cottage cheese, milk, buttermilk. Vegetables and greens are indispensable products in the diet of hunting dogs. How many times do I need to feed these dogs? Adult animals should be given food 2-3 times a day: early in the morning, at lunch time and around 6 pm. Do not forget to add mineral top dressing: bone meal, fish oil, ground chalk, egg shell.
Ration for fighting dogs
To dogs with fighting qualities are: Alabai, pit bull terriers, rottweilers, Staffordshire terriers, boxers. What to feed a fighting dog so that it is strong and hardy? Both natural products and dry food are suitable. It is best to purchase high quality food. Protein foods should be present in the diet of puppies and adult dogs daily. It is needed to build muscle fibers and bones, as well as for animal activity. There is no particular difference in the diet of large and medium dogs. Sometimes small breeds to maintain vitality require food of higher caloric value. The main thing to remember is that meat products are basic in the diet of such a dog. They should be given both in raw and in boiled form. The topic of feeding dogs is extensive. Here the main thing is not to make mistakes, because it depends on the proper nutrition depends on the health and life expectancy of your pet. Well, if you watch a dog from an infant age will be the same veterinarian. With him you can always consult on any issue. We advise you to read:
