If your dog could ask if he looked fat, would he? The answer is probably no, because whether he talks or not, chances are your dog is not a health conscious animal. Most dog food does a good job at providing the essential vitamins and minerals dogs need to stay healthy. But older dogs and dogs with health problems may need a little more attention. Most often, being responsible for your pooch goes beyond providing food and water. A dog nutrition calculator can help you determine how much food to give your dog depending on what brand you are feeding him, and a breakdown of what the food contains. This can be extremely helpful if your dog is older or has special dietary needs.
A typical nutrition calculator for humans works in a similar way. This tool determines the nutritional value of thousands of foods, from bread to ice cream to a Big Macs. Most people like to count on a nutritional calculator in order to keep track of their daily caloric, fat, and carbohydrate intake. All you have to do is find a legitimate nutritional website with a nutritional calculator, select the food that you have eaten or are about to eat, and voila, the calculator automatically generates a breakdown of what the food contains so that you know whether or not eating it was (or is) the right choice. Most calculators give very in-depth readings and can tell you how much protein, fat (saturated, mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated), cholesterol, carbs, fiber, calcium, and sodium each serving of a food item contains with just the click of the mouse. It even goes as far as revealing what smaller minerals (re: phosphorous, copper, potassium) and vitamins are in the food as well. A nutritional calculator even goes further by giving helpful tips for staying healthy with indications telling you how much is too much or not enough.
Dog calculators work in a similar way. You must first enter in some information about your dogs such as age, weight, activity levels, etc., to create a personalized feeding and nutrition plan for your dog. From this information, the nutrition calculator provides an overview of what a dog of that age needs in terms of vitamins and minerals and often he should be fed. It also provides you with a list of brand name dog foods that your dog may benefit from.
For us humans, nutrition calculators are great because you can find just about any type of food to break down; but this can be also be time-consuming when you consider calculating an entire meal. For instance, if you had a pork tenderloin with green beans and mashed potatoes, you would have to choose the right type of tenderloin from the list of pork tenderloins out there, as well as the green beans and mashed potatoes. Then, you would have to make sure the serving size you enter in is correct, and don’t forget any condiments you may have put on your food such as pepper or salt or butter. These require serving sizes too, so as you can see, it can be somewhat of a daunting chore. On the other hand, the vast amount of information a nutritional calculator can give is incredibly helpful and interesting. It can tell you a lot about what you are putting into your body and can give you advice on what your body may need more or less of. For dogs, it is an easy way for you to make sure you are properly taking care of your dog and that he is getting the nutrients he needs to stay trim and fit.
By Kelley Caner