Classified as a large dog breed, Pit bulls are not picky eaters. In fact, these canines would gobble up whatever you decide to place in their bowl. What pit bull owners need to realize is the fact that these dogs have certain nutritional requirements which are not similar to other dog breeds. What To Feed Pit Bulls? If you’re looking for some advices to feed your dog, you’ve come to the right place.
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Ideal Body Weight and Type for Pit bulls
Pit bulls are tough canines. They were meant to look muscular and meaty. An adult pit bull would weigh 30 to 60 pounds. By ensuring that your dog gets the proper nutrition, your canine won’t be prone to joint problems and other health issues.
The best way to maintain your dog’s weight is to put much thought on what you are feeding them. You also need to know the amount of nutrition they need to sustain their energy.
You can add about two years to your dog’s life if you maintain its ideal weight. While your dog’s weight can guide you on the ideal body type for your canine, there’s another way to tell if your pet is healthy or not.
As a rule of thumb, you will know if your dog’s body is healthy because you can see the dog’s waist from above and the abdominal tuck is also visible. You can easily feel the ribs and there is little to no excess fat covering, from the side, your dog’s abdomen must be tucked up. Both visual and physical inspection can help you tell whether your dog still has a healthy weight or not.
Feeding Schedules
Pit bulls love food and they are more likely to overeat and be obese than be underweight since they are not picky eaters. This also means that you can’t allow them to have access to food all day long. You need to put them on a feeding schedule and stick to it.
Free feeding is not a good practice for pit bulls because it could prevent them from getting the right amount of nutrition. Instead of free feeding, stick to feeding your dog two to four meals a day.
Ideally, pit bulls should be eating 1.5 to 2.5 cups of dog food twice a day. You can break up the meals into smaller portions if you want to feed your dog three to four times daily.
While you think about it, pit bulls are a lot like children in the sense that they won’t touch their main meals if you allow them to have munchies all day long. If you don’t think this is good practice for kids, then it probably isn’t good for your dogs too!
While on the subject of food, you should also consider treats as part of your dog’s food intake. If you are feeding treats to your dog all the time, you would be feeding it more which could amount to overeating on their part and overfeeding on yours.
Although it might seem tedious, you should always measure your dog’s food intake and take note of their physique regularly. If there are indications that your dog is getting obese, it is vital to take action right away.
What Should Be in Your Pit bull’s Diet?
There are three kinds of food that you can give to your dog – dry dog food, wet food, and raw food. Pit bulls would do alright with any of these diets. However, you need to consider that for pit bulls, a balanced diet contains 35 to 40 percent protein, 14 to 17 percent fat, 20 to 30 percent carbohydrates, and 1 to 1.5 percent of calcium.
Dry Dog Food
Commercial dog food is the most convenient food for your dog because it is readily available and it doesn’t require you to do much other than give it during scheduled feeding time. However, it is important to pay attention to the components of the dog food since quality could be different depending on the manufacturer.
When choosing a dog food, it is vital to look for premium quality meat. About 70 percent of the protein source of your dog should come from high-quality meat. The dog food must not be made from grains like corn, peanuts, and rice since these cannot meet the protein requirements of your canine. It is always a must to check for the protein sources.
Wet and Semi-Moist Dog Food
Ideally, pit bulls would do best with a wet dog food diet but it’s also possible to feed them with semi-moist food by mixing dry dog food and water. While you can achieve variety by feeding wet food to your dog, try not to maintain this kind of diet as it can cause teeth and gut problems for pit bulls.
Aside from that, most wet dog food contains high amounts of sugar which can be detrimental to any dog’s health. Just like in dry dog food, check the label of the wet food that you are giving your pit bull. It’s necessary that the wet food contains high-quality meat; otherwise, your pet won’t be able to get the nutrition it needs.
Raw Food
Another go-to option which is becoming quite popular among pit bull owners is feeding canines with raw food. Uncooked game or red meat is good for your pit bull and it has positive effects on your pet’s overall health. There would also be improvements in your pet’s skin, teeth, and coat. In some cases, dogs have better digestion after transitioning to a raw food diet.
Meat should be the primary component of this diet, not just bones. It’s also important to feed your dog with kidneys, heart and even liver from other animals. Pit bulls take a fancy to chewing and a raw food diet is also good for them but the meat should be as fresh as possible.
Vitamins and Supplements
Nutrients from food may be high in nutrition but this doesn’t discount the fact that your dog still needs vitamins and minerals in its diet. Depending on your dog’s condition, the vet may prescribe that certain nutrients be added to its food.
When it comes to feeding pit bulls, protein is the most important nutrition. These animals require the energy given how mischievous they are and because of their natural built. If your dog lacks protein in its diet, you will notice that it doesn’t have much energy.
Keep in mind, however, that you need to focus on all nutrients not just protein.