Witten Lodge Veterinary Centre - Nutritional Advice

Nutritional Advice

Feeding our pets can sometimes be a cause for concern for owners. Some pets are very food orientated which makes feeding time very easy but can lead to obesity, others are not really that fussed about mealtimes and this can lead to mealtimes being stressful for some owners.

Our approach is try and keep things simple and, where possible, would advise a good quality complete, dry food suitable for the breed.

Here are a few basic guidelines.

Choose a food which is based on a fixed formula ration, which means that the ingredients always stay the same from one bag to the next. Less chance of a tummy upset. Examples include Royal Canin, Hill’s and James Welbeloved.
Choose food which is correct for your pet’s life stage (eg. newly weaned, junior or senior) and not based on simply the palatability of the food. (Most children prefer junk food.)
When changing a diet take 4-5 days to wean off one food and to introduce the new.
Feed 3-4 meals a day for puppies and kittens food and 2 meals a day for adults. Some cats prefer numerous small meals. Very elderly pets may do better with “little and often” If the food is not eaten after 10 minutes take it away and don’t offer any other food until the next meal time. For pets that are not very food focussed try not to make meal times a “big deal” as this may encourage pets to confuse meal times with attention times and this may lead to fussy eaters.
Ask different members of the family to feed your pets so that there won’t be any problems eating if you are not there for mealtime.
Because dogs can become territorial over their food bowls it is a really good idea to occasionally add extra food to the bowl when they are eating so that hands near the bowl means “more food!”
Don’t give too many snacks you will be upsetting the nutritional balance of the food.
Your pet’s body condition is a better indication of how much to feed than simply relying on the feeding guidelines on the packet.
We stock a range of foods Royal Canin, Hill’s, James Welbeloved and Lilly’s Kitchen at the surgery but appreciate that there are many other foods available, and a much wider range is available via our online shop.

If you have any questions about feeding your please speak to one of our members of staff, a number of whom are qualified nutritional advisors.