Winter Changes Your Pet’s Nutritional Needs

Feeding your pets the proper food in the right amounts is crucial. Pets need a specific balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water each day to maintain their normal physiological functions. Like different individuals, many dogs have distinct dietary requirements. The needs of adult pets differ from those of newborn and young pets.

Pets who are expecting, nursing, or have diabetes have special dietary needs. An adequate diet is essential to prevent or treat health diseases like obesity, diarrhea, arthritis, thyroid, and other conditions. Most pet diets do not meet nutritional needs and must be supplemented with nutritious toppers. The immune system and metabolism of your pet are supported by these nutrients.

Like other seasons, winter can have an impact on your pet’s appetite. Because they require a little fatter to stay warm and prevent freezing, pets eat more during the winter. Pets will move less and exercise less when the temperature drops. Their metabolism slows down as a result, and they eat fewer calories. In this situation, individuals should eat fewer foods that are low in calories and carbs and high in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

Here are some tips:

For dogs, increase the calorie nutrition

Even though dogs love to play and go outside, during winter they become lazy. According to research, dogs exposed to cold temperatures require two to three times the calories that dogs exposed to more moderate temperatures require. The increased calorie intake produces greater fat storage and insulation while minimizing and balancing the calorie loss caused by shivering.

Serve warm food to aid digestion

Aren’t you warming up for your food multiple times during winter? Well, dogs are no different. Dogs digest food similarly to humans, therefore, we should infer that warm meals help them similarly to how they benefit us.

Consider giving supplements

If you haven’t already understood the gist of how similar your dog is to you. Here is another important factor that will make you understand the similarity even more. Just like humans need some extra supplements since we’re not always on top of our diets, as the weather changes, many pets’ eating habits change as well. To ensure that they are getting the proper amount of nutrition, you can add supplements to their diet or top up their meals with a nutrition topper.

Keep an eye on their coat and behavior

You know how your knees ache and back ache, how you have spots on your body due to deficiency. Similarly, pets, like humans, can exhibit indications of malnutrition, such as dull, brittle coats and dry, flaking skin. Check for these symptoms and make the necessary dietary modifications. Since most pets don’t drink much water in the winter, be sure to include it in their meals so they keep hydrated and always have access to fresh water.