Fall is here now and winter is approaching. Are you planning to feed your dog the same quantity of food as you did this spring and summer? Why? Are you planning to feed the same food? Why? Is your dog as mixed up in winter months once meizitang the climate is low and the daylight limited? Is your dog housed outdoors during the cold months cold?

How come these questions important? Dogs need the same seasonal adjustments within their food amounts as we do with seasonal changes. If housed outdoors throughout the winter, they may also require a different food.

How Cold conditions Affect Weight

As temperatures fall, owners are less inclined to exercise their dogs due to their own discomfort within the colder weather. Less exercise means less calorie expenditure. When dogs are expending fewer calories they require less dietary calories and fewer food. Continuing to feed exactly the same quantity of food will result in "winter weight gain" that's unhealthy.

But what about the dog that's housed outdoors during the cold winter season? A key biological imperative of all animals and humans is to maintain a constant core body temperature. Shivering is really a way of doing that. But shivering uses large amount of calories. Even non-shivering calorie expenditure increases within the cold. Fat deposits and fur density help insulate and reduce the calorie expenditure of shivering. Also, active animals and those acclimatized to the cold are better protected from the bitterness of cold.

Studies claim that dogs subject to cold exposure need two to three times the standard calories as they need in a more moderate temperature. The rise in calories results in more fat accumulation and insulation and reduces or compensates for the amount of calorie loss from shivering and non-shivering. With no extra calories these pets actually slim down.

Pets subjected to cold also provide an altered metabolism. They use fat preferentially to glucose for metabolism. Dogs housed outside during the cold months require more dietary fat. This might mean changing from their present dog food to a food higher in fat.

How Less Daylight Affects Weight

Decreasing daylight means less opportunity to exercise and it has exactly the same effect as lowered temperatures. Owners tend to be more unwilling to supply the same degree of exercise as when there is more daylight. Less exercise means less calorie expenditure. The quantity of food needs to be decreased.

However the shortening of daylight hours causes other change in your canine's metabolism. Shorter days signal to the dog brain that winter is coming. This sparks hormonal changes to slow metabolic process and conserve calorie expenditure. These changes also promote the deposition of fat. This phenomenon is a result of a genetic adaptation called the "thrifty gene." The thrifty gene prepares the dog for the harsh winter and enables normal performance in harsh conditions.

For dogs housed inside, this genetic adaptation meizitang reviews is disadvantageous for their health. Inside dogs aren't susceptible to the harshness of winter. A decreased metabolism will mean they gain weight if fed the same as in other cases of the season. Dogs protected against the harshness of winter need less food to pay for this hormonal metabolic change.