What is the Best Dog Food for Congestive Heart Failure?
Every dog owner hopes for the best for their dog. Unfortunately, occasionally we have to acknowledge that our beloved dog has medical disorders that need to be tackled. For this particular article, let us focus on what is canine congestive heart failure and how to make nutritionally sound selections to avoid the decline in your dog’s health due to heart failure.
Heart disease is caused by an aberration in acanine’s heart structure and performance. Usually, what happens is that this defect causes your dog’s heart to reduce its capacity to pump blood well which leads to ultimate heart failure for the poor dog. Often there will be no indicating signals of this ailment until it is too late so we would do well to read and learn about the best dog food for congestive heart failure - it is one of the most effective tools to avoid this from happening to your pet.
Just as is the case with humans, a low sodium diet will greatly help in maintaining a healthy heart. Try this, cook 1/4 lb of lean beef ground meat with 2 cups of unsalted rice and 2 teaspoons dicalcium phosphate in vegetable oil. You can also use premium commercial pet food but check the nutritional content and consult with your vet before making any changes in the dog’s diet and lifestyle.
Another essential nutrient that should preferably be compounded in your dog’s daily meal is Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 seems to not only reduce the risk of congestive heart illnesses for dogs, but with other potentially fatal cardiac disorders as well. Omega-3 fatty acids can be sourced in fish and other sea food.
Vitamin E can also increase the antioxidant levels in the dog’s cardiovascular reserves. Studies have constantly shown that Vitamin E can help animals with heart ailments. When you are using a particular dog food, ensure that it has not been kept in storage for a very long period of time - especially if it has a high unsaturated fat content. This is one contributing factor in depleting the pet’s vitamin E.
Other nutrients that help in improved canine cardiovascular function are Taurine and L-Carnitine. L-carnitine improves a dog’s heart rate, tolerance for activities and protection against many types of heart diseases. L-carnitine in partner with Taurine is recognized as good helpers in maintaining heart health for animals. Taurine specifically is said to extend the life expectancy of dogs with congestive heart disease.
When determining your dog’s diet, do not forget also the value of exercise as a preventive measure for canine congestive heart failure. A symptom of this ailment is the animal’s extreme exhaustion after exercising; so when you notice that the dog is exhibiting signs of labored breathing and excessive fatigue - take him to the vet for diagnosis immediately.
Hearing about a dear pet’s life threatening condition is often heartbreaking. Just a little effort and learning about the best dog food for congestive heart failure will make a difference in keeping your dog’s heart health. Bear this in mind and be sure to look forward to your dog’s best years ahead.
Posted: November 9th, 2009 under Timothy Reynold.
Write a comment
You need to login to post comments!