Maximum Performance - Nutritional Essentials for Your Dog

Your neighbor's dog, Buddy, falls after only 10 minutes of playing catch the children. On the other hand, your dog considers 10 minutes of play as a simple warm-up. That's because your dog is an athlete. He's used to jumping on bars, chasing records, running after balls and keeping you while hitting the pavement. In fact, he is even the type of athlete that would embarrass Rocky Balboa.

That is why as an owner, you must make sure that you eat the best food available to nourish your active body. More calories, not less, are your friends. But these calories should come from the right foods to ensure constant maximum performance in your puppy.

Before entering into the nutritional elements that your dogs need, we must define what an "athletic" dog really is. If your canine runs around the backyard for about 30 minutes a day, we are not talking about him in this article. An athletic dog normally spends approximately two hours a day performing dog activities as described above. Therefore, he needs a high-energy diet to stock up on fuel. The two essential elements for this type of diet are fat and protein.

If you prepare your dog's meals from scratch, you should include between 15 and 25 percent fat and between 30 and 40 percent protein. For those who barely make their own meals, when strolling through any supermarket or pet store, look for brands that contain 10 to 18 percent fat and 24 to 28 percent protein. Whether you cook or buy your food, you can increase fat levels by adding animal fat (saturated fat) or vegetable-based fat (polyunsaturated fat). Animals give your dog the highest levels of energy, while vegetable fats such as those found in vegetable oils are the reason why your coat and skin shine.

Before going to change the diet of your active dog, make sure you really need the adjustment of the food. He will let you know if he is not eating enough. If it seems lethargic and has less energy than usual, that's a sure way to know. Also, look and see if you are devouring your meals faster than normal. He probably is not getting enough food.

So, what do you add to their diets? Some puppies will simply need more of what they are already eating and will not need to switch to a higher energy diet. Another alternative is to add fatty meat such as burgers, steak, lamb and pork to your dog's food. If you still act like you can not get enough to eat, then it's time to consider a higher energy diet.

Dogs that are "super active", that is, those that are sledding, driving, skijoring and military and police work, will definitely need more high-octane foods added to their meals just to keep up with their active bodies. Examples of these types of foods include drippings of roast beef, chicken and turkey. Some dog owners like to buy poultry fat from their local butcher because it is very easy for the dog to digest. Just remember: it is not healthy for dogs to simply eat these high octane foods alone. They need to be combined with your regular meals.