Feeding your Miniature Pinscher
Be careful to not overfeed your Miniature Pinscher. An adult Miniature Pinscher typically eats two smaller meals daily. If the dog is fed more than it requires per day, it is going to get fat. If weight gain happens, its likely that the dog may get sick. An overweight small dog usually leads to significant joint problems for the dog, and it can have an increased risk for diabetes and breathing problems.
Feed your miniature pinscher high-grade dog food. The first ingredient should be meat, and the amount of crude protein should be no less than 30 percent. Crude fat should be no less than 20 percent. There is not a need for a high amount of fiber content – about 5 percent or less.
You can also get natural health supplements for dogs here.
Owners should be aware that, if their Miniature Pinscher is overweight, it is not only likely to develop joint problems, but also other medical issues. For example, if a thyroid problem develops, it can usually be treated with medicine and a strict diet. In face, often many medical problems can be avoided by using good nutritional management by the dog’s owner.
As a common estimate of the amount of food your Miniature Pinscher should have daily – about one half ounce of food for each one pound of weight. You probably know that there is some debate as to whether or not a dog should be eating the same food as people do. In most cases, do not feed your dog people food, because the food we eat usually has more sugar and salt that what the dog needs. If a small dog eats such foods, it can gain weight rapidly, and over time, there is a high chance that sugars and sodium can build up and become toxic.
Recommended Food
Miniature pinschers are known to develop certain health conditions such as demodectic mange (a skin disease caused by a microscopic parasitic mite), epilepsy (seizures), patellar luxation (dislocation of the kneecap) and Legg’s Perthes disease (hip joint arthritis).
So to summarize:
- overfeeding and feeding inappropriate foods can cause pain and a number of medical problems that will shorten the life span of the Min Pin.
- use quality dog food, and not “people food”
- feed the dog about one half ounce of food for each one pound of weight, per day
To learn more about the Miniature Pinscher, here is a highly regarded book about Miniature Pinschers:
