30/12/2022
4 Signs Your Dog Is Stressed or Sad—and What to Do about It
1. Meat
"Meat should be the first ingredient," says Morgan. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they need meat to survive, and while dogs are technically omnivores that can survive on plant-based diets, they don't necessarily thrive on them, she says. She prefers organ meat such as heart or liver because it's more nutritionally dense.
"Fresh meat has the amino acids, vitamins and minerals your pet needs, and is most digestible," says Bernal. But because it is mostly water, many formulas also include some kind of dehydrated protein, such as turkey or chicken meal, to pump up the protein.
Related: What Is Protein & Why Do You Need It?
2. Quality carbs
Carbohydrates are as hotly debated a topic for pets as for people, says Bernal. The natural food category grew so quickly, in part because of grain-free foods. But unless your pet has a true allergy or sensitivity, some carbs are OK. She recommends that no more than 30% of the food's total calories come from carbs, and they should be things like oats, pumpkin, sweet potato, leafy greens, apples, blueberry or papaya. Morgan looks for organic or non-GMO vegetable matter.
3. Healthy fats
The right fats help promote healthy skin and a shiny coat and may help prevent the chronic inflammation associated with various diseases, says Bernal. Omega-3 fatty acids are one kind, and you can find them in things like fish or flaxseed oil, olive oil and egg yolks. For packaged foods, Bernal advises looking for the guaranteed analysis on the label, which ensures ingredients are present in a large-enough quantity to matter.
4. Probiotics
Research indicates that pets have colonies of healthy bacteria in their digestive tract just as humans do, and may benefit from probiotics, foods that help maintain that balance and variety of microorganisms. You can look for specific bacterial strains such as Lactobacillus acidophilus or Bifidobacterium lactis. The tricky thing about probiotics, says Bernal, is that they need certain temperatures and other conditions to stay alive.