Remember that age old adage – “You are what you eat”. This proverbial phrase means nothing but how healthy eating is the key to one’s state of mental & physical fitness. So, who’s to say it’s any different for our furry friends?

Your pet is also what they eat. Their behaviour, physical growth, well-being and even increase in their life span all boils down to one major thing – what goes in their tummy!

Most pet parents in today’s day and age are well informed. Well, thanks to internet. However, it is commonly known that pet parents, especially the ones who make or order fresh meals for their pets, may be making these few discrepancies in their decisions.

Here’s listing seven common mistakes you SHOULDN’T be making if you feed fresh meals to your pets:

Mistake 1: Meals are not balanced with nutrition

Just like human, pets too need a balance diet. A balanced and wholesome diet consists of Water, Protein, Carbs, Fats & Oils, Fibre, Vitamins and Minerals. The meals of their entire day should consist of a good balance of these elements; otherwise it can lead to long term health issues like obesity & joint issues or even short term issues like dehydration & shedding.

Mistake 2: Not tweaking the diet as pet their health conditions

When feeding fresh meals to your pet, make sure you tweak their diet as per any recurring health condition they may be facing. For example, if they have an injury then there should be more of vitamins & minerals. If they’re facing any recurring skin condition or inflammation, one should include fish or fish oil in their pet’s diet. Pumpkins are a good source of food for weight loss and tackling obesity, so on and so forth.

Mistake 3: Only Veg Diet

Our pets are inherently carnivores. They thrive on meat and that’s their major source of protein. Hence, one should not be deprived of meat as they may be able to “survive” on a vegetarian diet, but we need to make sure it’s a healthy life for them and not just survival.

Mistake 4: Excess of Milk & Chapatti

Most uninformed pet parents still only rely on Milk & Chapatti for their pets in the name of fresh food. This being their daily feed makes them extremely deficient in proteins and minerals. In fact, milk should be avoided completely as many pets are said to be lactose intolerant. Giving chapattis every day is also harmful as it will lead to gluten build up which ultimately leads to indigestion problems.  Again, just because you do not see any short term problems, please be aware that lack of other nutritional elements will ultimately lead to problems in the long run.

Mistake 5: No Vegetables & Only Meat

A complete meat based diet may be good but only giving chicken/mutton and rice every day is also not advisable. There should be a good mix of veggies in your pet’s diet which includes – pumpkins, carrots, broccoli, beans, mushrooms, sweet potatoes. They’re packed with nutrients, fibre & antioxidants which help in boosting their immunity. Mix it with their favourite food and see them go at it!

Mistake 6: Not measuring the intake of food or calories

It is imperative to keep a close check on their calorie and food intake on a daily basis. At every age & stage of your pets, different percentage of a balanced diet’s nutrients are needed and keeping oneself informed or even seeking professional help with a nutritional expert would help in keeping a check on their intake. If you don’t keep a note, they might just be overfed or underfed and none of it is a good state to be in for our pets.

Mistake 7: Removing organ meat from the food

Organ meat like liver, gizzard, heart, trachea & chicken feet are amazing for your dogs. Organ meat has the most amounts of minerals and vitamins that you can get out of meat. Liver has iron, Vitamin A & Vitamin D which helps in boosting energy. Gizzard (stomach) is full of nutrients and Chicken Feet have glucosamine which aids in joint development or any kind of joint pain relief that your pets may be facing.

So next time, you’re whipping up a fresh meal for your pet, keep in mind these pointers.

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