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Information
Countries of ISU including Russia win the second place in the world (the first is USA) in a number of domestic animals. However in Russia only 3% of owners feed their pets with fast food and only 2% - with canned goods. At the same time in such developed countries as England and Germany this proportion exceeds 50%. The most popular in major European countries are fast food made by Mars (Pedigree, Chappi, Whiskas ш Kitekat). Their proportion accounts for more then 40% in France, England and Belgium, and approaches to 60% in Germany and Austria. Royal Canin and Nestle (Friskies) in France accounts for a little bit more than 10% of all fast food. On markets of other European countries these take a negligible place yet.
You love your cat or a dog for no doubt. And of cause you want to give it a treat by some new dish instead of boring fish or porridge. And temptations are everywhere. Bright labels of fast food on the displays of TV sets and shop-counters attract you, promising a great launch for your pet. Pedigree and Chappi, Purina and Royal Canin, Bosh and Enkanuba, Friskas, Whiskas and Kitekat! How to gain an understanding of all this? And are these food is really better and more useful than an ordinary "natural" food?
Fast words about fast foods
We have no doubt that you as a Master are the best to know and understand your pet. But for sure you'd like to check yourself. After all, "we are personally responsible for those we have tamed". So ponder for a while, is it easy for a good owner to feed, for instance, his dog. Consider prices of goods, gas/electricity discharge while cooking food, time spent for buying meat, vegetables, curds, and vitamins... Further, to prepare small portions is inconvenient, large - may go bad till it'll be fed. Fast food never goes bad and doesn't occupy little place. Especially this concerns dry food. They are not needed in much, see, 210-230 g, i.e. only two cups of dried Pedigree daily are enough for a cocker-spaniel or other dog of weight 10-12 kegs.
You have often heard your friends keeping dogs say: " Uncooked meat only!" But, you see, the dog hasn't been fed meat only during all its history. It has eaten bones, sinews, and even hairs. The composition was absolutely different. Besides let's face the truth: for a long time we have been living in synthetic conditions. Our cloths, footwear, and furniture - all around us haven't been made of natural products for long. Our domestic animals live under same conditions. They have changed and differ much from their wild ancestors, which hunted in ecological forest and then tore their preys with growling. It's abnormal to make them eat their natural food. It is difficult for them to digest it.
Right food for dogs contain 50% of meat, the last are necessary additions. There is much less calcium in meat then phosphorus, and the minute count is needed to get the correct proportion of 1,2:1. You can reap the fruits of labor of specialists, working out well-balanced fast food.
Of cause a dog likes the food its master eats. But for a diet, human food contains too many fats and lacks proteins. Dry fast food as well as canned goods, is the correct decision of the main problem: the owner determines himself how to feed his dog and he is sure - that that's what it needs.
And once again! Your dog should not be like a pillow. It was created to be what it is. Obesity is considered to be the prosperity disorder. However it's Russian generous nature that spares not the last bit for a close one. Nevertheless before you share a launch with your pet, think of whether you to do your friend an ill turn. Give him a bit of Pedigree - Markis or Biskrok, if you want to praise your pet. It is much better than a crust of bread or a candy.
One more rule: don't spare money for a puppy or a young dog! If you accustom a puppy from early years to fast food and use those marked "Junior", the result will be perfect: habit is a good thing. It's correct both for a human and a dog.
How To Choose Food Correctly
Now you are sure that well balanced fast food are the best to feed your pet with. But before going to a shop, think for a while.
First of all, estimate age, activity, weight and breed of your dog or a cat. And of cause estimate its health and psychical status. Don't forget about its individual tastes. The time of year amends dog's diet also. At summer an adult dog is fed once, and in winter - twice a day.
A sportive kitten or a puppy needs some absolutely different diet than a lazy big cat or a dog, which is going to have a litter. A food in package with a mark "Junior" is appropriate for young animals. There is dry and canned food for puppies and kittens. Often there's a gradation depending of cub's age. For example, there're two kinds of a new dry food Pedigree Advance Formula: one, for puppies under 5 months from the moment of separation is marked "Junior 1", and "Junior 2" is for those after 6 up to 18 months. The latter is especially recommended for large breeds that mature longer.
A dog under stress after a dog-show or a dog that has run 2,5 miles needs food enriched in protein. In these conditions dogs have also a special need for iron vitamin E and selenium. In any case the diet of a working dog should include goods rich in proteins and fats that are easy to digest. It is recommended that these dogs be fed with Pedigree Advance Formula Energy food. All food of this sort contains chicken and poultry meat as the source of protein that whittles down the chance of allergic reaction when one begins to feed an animal with this food.
Of cause whelped and lactating bitches as well as kittened cats require special feeding. They need high-energy dry food.
And what if your friend has been living with you long? And what if he is not that nimble as formerly, and prefers lying on a sofa or lounging in the sun but still is favorite and dear to you? Take care of it. The capacity to assimilate some diet components reduces in old years. That's why the diet of old animals should include components low in protein, calcium, phosphorus and sodium. It is probable that you'll have to visit a veterinary and write out a special dietetic food. Besides, there's a great range of dietetic fast food that are tasty and have a medical effect in the case of many cats' and dogs' disorders. For instance, there is some dietetic food, elaborated by Center of feeding domestic animals Waltham in England. But let's talk about it some other time.
Second, one should know that all fast food in general is well balanced. They are all the same at first sight. The secret is in technology and compounding. That's why we advise one to buy food of famous trademark quality. Defy seller persuasions to taste something new. Don't take chances! Food of well known experienced companies with good reputation is safer. These products necessarily run certification as a rule. To receive the certification, it is obligatory that the text on the package be written Russian. The fact that a package with Pedigree or Whiskas is supplied with Russian text of recommendations for correct feeding is a pledge that all certification conditions have been observed. It should be noted that in every point of the world where Whiskas and Kitekat are produced representatives of these trademarks have a priority in choice of tinny-fish for food production. Do you know that health requirement, especially for canned goods for cats and dogs are very like those for children's food?
Third, while choosing a food, read the package carefully. On every packet, box or can you will find information on food components, chemical composition, an instruction for feeding, assigning the necessary amount of food for a dog or cat of certain weight. However producer recommendations is an average value. Only your personal experience will help you to determine the exact daily amount of food and the optimal frequency of feeding for your pet. The particular attention should be paid to a serviceable life and the intactness of package. Opened can should not be kept in a refrigerator for more then a day. Non-observance of this rule often leads to poisoning of animals. Never give your pets food right from the refrigerator. Don't be lazy, heat it up till room temperature, as if you do this for yourself.
One more advice: you have selected the food for your pet. And your animal likes it. Be consistent and don't experiment. There's no need to use several food of different trademarks at the same time. One can raise an animal and provide it with a perfect health with a help of high-quality and well-balanced food of a single trademark (in the constant presence of pure water, of cause). Cats are exception. They go under three conditions: cleanness while feeding, an easy access to feeding-rack and a change in a diet. The latter is not a problem. The choice is wide: food with chicken, meat, fish, heart and simply a mixture. However one should remember that a change of food is a gradual operation, continuing for several days in order to avoid indigestion during a change of a diet. One may accustom any animal to a new food. All depends on your patience.
So then, be a professional while selecting a food for your pets. Because we are responsible for those we have tamed and feed. In our turn, we wish your four-legged friends bon appetite! Let them lick their dishes clean and then look into your eyes faithfully and wag their tails thankfully.
Translated by Tatiana Karpova (Moscow)
(MSU, Biology faculture, Dep. zoology and ecology).
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