Richard Hill, MA, VetMB, PhD, DACVIM, MRCVS
Life Stages: Much overlap in requirements
Maintenance
Gestation (Pregnancy)
Lactation
Growth
Old Age
Maintenance
Types of Pet Food
1. Dry food contains very little moisture so as feed analysis reported on bag is similar to dry matter analysis. They are formed by an extruder and are mostly low fat (~25 percent energy as fat) because the extruder requires a low fat mixture. These are fine for dogs which are couch potatoes but may not contain enough fat for gestation, lactation or growth, or for dogs that undertake a lot of exercise. They may not give optimum coat quality. More expensive dry diets have fat sprayed on after extrusion and tend to contain more fat (40 percent energy as fat). They are packaged in special grease proof bags and are greasy to the touch. Continue reading Feeding Dogs for Life Stages