We asked Dr. Tammie Pearce, Director of Veterinary Science for AskVet, why nutrition is important to overall health and what to look for in your dog's food.
You pay attention to what you’re putting into your own body, and now that you’re a pet parent, you want to do the same for your pup. Just like us, nutrients are important for your dog’s health, immunity and longevity. The basic building blocks of many metabolic functions of the body are contained in the foods you’re serving up for meals and snacks. So ideally, your pet’s diet needs to provide those nutrients to help them thrive!
Ever check a label to see what something is actually made out of at the grocery store? Do the same for your best bud! Be on the lookout for products that have whole food ingredients, like salmon or chicken, rather than highly-processed or artificial ingredients and fillers.
When checking out those product labels, look for whole meat or egg protein sources and whole grain ingredients. That’s the good stuff that will build strong muscles, bones and bodily functions like brain cognition. Translation—you’ll have a fit and smart bud to hang with.
If the food also has probiotics, that’s all the better to help digestion! It is thought that normal gut flora that is very diverse boosts immunity and helps maintain healthy elimination. Sometimes, because of medications or our pet’s sedentary lifestyle, the gut flora can become very homogenous and contribute to poor health. Jinx foods have probiotics included to help maintain your pet’s healthy gut flora.
A great tip when you’re checking labels is to always look at the first 4-5 ingredients. These top ingredients are listed by the amount contained in the food and comprise most of the diet’s makeup. Foods should have highly-digestible proteins like chicken, turkey, fish and lamb. Jinx has two chicken and two salmon recipes to choose from, sure to have your pup begging for more!
That's another pawsitive tip from AskVet's Dr. Tammie! To learn more about proper doggy nutrition, you can chat with an AskVet veterinarian 24x7 on the AskVet app any time, day or night.