Diet tips for pets during summer

“Pet parents should give a balanced meal for their pets during the summer season. This will ease digestion. A healthy diet is determined by the nutrition requirements of a pet and also depends on their age, weight, activity levels among other factors like breed, body score, etc,” says Praveen. He shares diet tips to follow for pets during summer.

Make sure your pets have an adequate amount of water every day. It’s crucial to keep them hydrated and it helps them beat the heat. Water has a cooling effect on a pet’s body and it will regulate his/her body temperature. Also, drinking water gives them enough energy to be active throughout the day.

Yogurts are natural probiotics and are recommended for a pet’s gut health. Unless your pets are lactose intolerant, you can give them diluted yogurt and buttermilk. You can either mix yogurt with the afternoon meal or can give it separately at any time of the day. Also, yogurt contains calcium and protein which is again good for pets.

Give your furry friends fruits that are rich in water content like watermelon, muskmelon, papaya and pomegranate. If you haven’t given any of these fruits earlier, give them in small portions. If they are fine consuming it without any problem, give fruits daily. Make fruits a crucial part of your pet’s diet. But don’t give fruits as a one-time meal, make a mixed fruit salad and give it.

You can treat your pets with a scoop of vanilla ice cream once or twice a week. Either give homemade ice cream or buy it from people who make pet-friendly ice cream. The only recommended flavour is vanilla.

This is the most common mistake most pet parents make. To show the pets how much one loves them, some pet parents give food from their plates. It is okay to share one or two treats that are suitable for pets. But not the same food that we are eating.

Don’t take pets for walking when it is sunny. Either take them for walking early in the morning or after sunset. And once the dog is back from walking, given him/her a good massage; this will help in blood circulation. Extreme heat is a real threat to pets. So, make sure that your pet is properly groomed at least once a week.