Dog owners must exert extra caution when preparing meal plans for their Dalmatians, as the breed is highly intolerant of purine-yielding foods. But what is purine? It’s a type of protein found in shellfish and several types of meat that mammals can normally turn into uric acid in the body. Dalmatians, however, lack this ability, which can cause several health problems.
So, what can you feed a Dalmatian? In this guide, we’ll go through how to responsibly undertake Dalmatian feeding.
If you’re sticking to a dry dog food diet, then there should be serving suggestions on the side of the box. If you’re feeding your Dalmatian a raw diet, consult your vet to get the portion size right. When feeding Dalmatians, remember it’s important they also have free access to fresh water.
Dalmatian puppies weighing around 9.1kg should be fed around a 3/4 cup of dry kibble per day. Throughout puppyhood, it would be best to split these amounts into three separate meals evenly spaced throughout the day. It’s also possible to feed your puppy raw dog food if the meat involved is low in purine.
Adult Dalmatians are medium-sized dogs and need around 1.5-2 whole cups of dry kibble daily. This should be shared between two meals per day.
They can, of course, also be fed raw food as long as it is low in purine. The best raw foods for Dalmatian diets include:
High-purine foods that should be avoided include red meats, game meats, and certain types of seafood (mackerel, mussels, and scallops).
Senior Dalmatians should also be fed twice throughout the day, with portion sizes getting gradually smaller as time goes on. In terms of calorie intake, senior Dalmatians only require around 700 calories per day.
Your pregnant Dalmatian will need more nutrients, but you should still avoid overfeeding her. The best thing to do would be to consult your vet, who’ll be able to accurately examine the dog’s condition and make dietary recommendations.
Your Dalmatian will thrive on a kibble diet; however, some claim that a raw diet is best for your spotted canine companion. Fans of raw food diets for dogs state that it’s the closest way to replicate the diet patterns of dogs’ ancestors and is, therefore, a more natural way of eating for them.
Yes, as long as they are low-purine treats. The best low-purine treats include vegetables, fruits, and cooked eggs.
Anything high in purine, including yeast products, red meat, game, and offal. Feeding them products containing purine can be detrimental to the Dalmatian’s health and can lead to urinary stones.
Dalmatians aren’t stereotypical fussy eaters, but you may find that your furry friend turns their nose up at certain meals!
A Dalmatian owner must provide around 60ml of water per kilo of the dog’s body weight daily.
A Dalmatian is a highly energetic dog with a strong build that needs to be fed a healthy dog’s diet to thrive. This diet cannot consist of any purine-yielding foods, such as organ meats, but should consist of poultry, eggs, and other low-purine foods.
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