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How Your Dog’s Diet Affects its Lifespan

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How Your Dog’s Diet Affects its LifespanAlmost every dog owner doesn’t think of dogs as just pets but family members. Therefore, it is normal to provide best possible food you can afford for the members of your family. Just like people, dogs are what they eat, so dog’s poor nutrition can, in some cases, dramatically affect the lifespan of your four legged friend. Also keep in mind that even if your dog is slightly overweight it can reduce its lifespan.

What exactly is the best food for your dog is never an easy question. But, there are several things you should know when it comes to dog nutrition.

First thing you should understand is that you should always read the ingredients on the back of the dog’s food; that way you will get the picture if the food is good for your dog or if it’s just junk. Basic guidelines in choosing proper food would be checking the proteins – is it lamb, beef, turkey or chicken meal or by-product.

By-product means that the manufacturer is using any part of the chicken while in case of a chicken meal they are using only meat from the chicken to make the food. The other important thing you should check for is grain source. Certain dog foods contain corn as the others have rice or oatmeal. The best choice for your dog are grains which can be digested easily, so keep in mind that one of the hardest grains to digest is corn, while rice is much easier to process.

Note that some grains may contain pesticides which can cause odorous fur, fleas, mites, worms or other parasites. Also choose foods that have natural preservatives such as with vitamin E and not chemicals. If you follow these guidelines you will notice the level of improvement in your dog, its coat will be shinier, the energy level will be higher and the dog’s stool will be better as well.

Some of the generic dog’s foods may contain carcinogenic substance like BHT that is used to preserve food or higher doses of salt which can cause loss of kidney function. Equally bad is sugar since it can lead to tooth decay, bad breath and even diabetes.

Probably the best way to feed your dog is proper raw diet. This will consume a bit more of your time, but you will know exactly what your dog is introducing to its body. There are no preservation chemicals in raw meat and bones. The best way to organize your dog’s raw diet is to find a reliable butcher and make a deal with him to get scraps for a good price, which will result in healthier dog with a regular, dry stool and healthy teeth.

One of the most common mistakes dog owners make is overfeeding their dogs, studies have shown that reduction of calories in dog’s nutrition can extend the lifespan of your dog for about two years. Essentially what you need to do is find the food that your dog will eat, since they, as people, can be intolerant to certain things.

Dogs Lifespan Vs Human Lifespan – A Comparison

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dogs lifespanDogs Lifespan Vs Human Lifespan – A Comparison

Relationship between a dog and a man is probably the closest in the pet’s world. There are hundreds of situations which confirm this theory. No man can love his golden fish, miniature turtle or parrot as much as a dog. Unfortunately, our pet’s life is shorter than ours and the hardest part of the relationship is dealing with the dog’s death.

There is an old calculation which says that one dog year is equal to seven years of human life. This ratio isn’t quite accurate. For example, two months old puppy is indeed developed like a 14 months old human baby but ratio decreases as the dog ages.  So, a one year old dog has aged about as much as a 15 years old human. Still, a 14 years old dog matches an 82 years old man, which corresponds to a ratio of only about 5.8.

Several factors can contribute to the dog’s lifespan. Depending on the breed structure, health and genetics, some dogs can live longer than others. It is interesting that smaller dog breeds live approximately 1.5 times longer than the bigger ones. It’s much easier to Chihuahua’s heart to pump the blood than the heart of a Great Dane. If we make comparison between genders, we will notice similarity to humans. Female dogs are expected to live a year or two longer than males, just like people.

The key to longer and healthier life of your dog is quality nutrition. Top quality dog food will extend dog’s life, especially if combined with neutering or spaying. These methods can reduce the risk for cancer of the reproductive organs. Mental and physical exercise on daily basis can affect your dog’s life span in a good way. Be sure to take special care of your dog’s teeth and gums. According to some veterinarians it can extend your dog’s life up to 4 years. Very good idea is to get your dog vaccinated. Just as it is with humans, many stressful situations can affect dog’s health.

Average life span of dogs is between 13 and 14 and for humans it’s about 67.2 years. Due to better medical care and food, dogs and human life span has increased dramatically over the past 100 years.  People of Japan live the longest with average life span of 82.7 years, while in Mozambique it is only 39.2, which is 40% below world average.

It’s all about the evolution – it dictates how long both humans and dogs will live. Both species have changed and developed over millions of years, with the big difference that humans have slower metabolism and for that reason live longer than dogs. In the coming future it will be possible to extend both life spans. I’m looking forward to see 1.000 year old man with 200 year old dog on the porch in front of their future house.

Average Life Span of Top 10 Breeds

·         Labrador Retriever (12.5 years)

·         German Shepherd Dog (11 years)

·         Golden Retriever (12 years)

·         Boxer (10.5 years)

·         Bulldog (7 years)

·         Poodle (12 years Standard) (15 years Miniature)

·         Chihuahua (13.5)

·         Rottweiler (10 years)

·         Doberman Pinscher (10 years)

·         Cocker Spaniel (12 years).