Small Dogs Need Diets Made Just For Them!

We all know the old adage – you are what you eat. This philosophy applies to the furry members of our families as well. Personalized healthcare has the ability to go beyond the exam room and into every meal, with ingredients tailored towards optimal health for dogs of every size. Small dogs are predisposed to different diseases than their giant breed counterparts – for example they are more likely to suffer from urinary tract infections and dental disease. Not only are these diseases painful for your pet, but they can be costly to treat; dental disease requires surgical intervention and can lead to whole body infection if left untreated. But why treat these diseases when they can be prevented through diet?! A number of veterinary pet food lines such as Royal Canin and Hills offer preventative foods that work to reduce the likelihood of these diseases developing. Below are some of the benefits of feeding a diet specific to your small dog’s needs:

Dental Benefits: Hills and Royal Canin both offer dental specific food that have ingredients that actively prevent plaque – which is a film of bacteria that naturally builds up on teeth over time – from calcifying into disease causing tartar. Even kibble size is designed to maximize these dental benefits for your pet.

S/O Index: Royal Canin also formulates their small breed diets with s/o index – a fancy way of saying these diets prevent the accumulation of struvite or oxalate crystals from forming in the urinary tract of your pets and causing painful infections.

Come in and talk to a Guelph Animal Hospital team member today – we are more than happy to answer any questions you may have!