NATURAL FOODS AND DOG FOOD TO REPLACE PROCESSED FOODS

Abstract

Nowadays the number of homes and families that have dogs as pets is quite significant on all continents. Today dogs are considered family members living inside the house, sleeping in the bed, travelling by car, and are always with their family members on walks and travel. In keeping with all these changes in habits, social perspective, quality of life and healthy living of dogs in society, many owners, despite the practicality of industrial feeds, lock for alternative foods for their pets. Among these, the search for organic, natural foods and others with less industrial processing stands out. Diet and nutrition play a fundamental role in health, quality and life expectancy, since such foods have good palatability and digestibility, contributing to good body condition and welfare. Although very different from the diet that wild dogs obtained in their ancestry, through domestication this species has adapted to an anthropomorphic diet and the digestion of starchy products. The adoption and implementation of natural diets for dogs is growing and has a very promising market, but it still lacks the support of competent bodies and requires professional guidance to certify a balanced diet in nutrients that supplies all the nutritional requirement, promoting health by avoiding deficiencies and excesses of proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals. The aim of this work was to search the available scientific literature for information to clarify without exhausting the subject related to natural food for dogs.