What are the specificities of a sterilized dog?
or why does a sterilized / neutered dog need "special" kibble?
Simply because sterilization profoundly changes a dog's metabolism and after its sterilization / surgical castration, it will no longer have the same energy needs as before. If his diet is not modified accordingly, the sterilized dog will then tend to gain weight and gradually move towards overweight and obesity, if nothing is done by his master to "correct the situation" . ".
Why does a sterilized dog gain weight easily?
When a dog is surgically sterilized, its gonads are removed: the ovaries, if it is a bitch and its testicles, if it is a dog. The gonads are responsible for the secretion of sex hormones which have a role in reproduction but also in a whole set of reactions on the scale of the whole organism of the animal. Thus, the decrease in the production of sex hormones would be both responsible:
- an increase in the dog's food intake,
- a decrease in physical activity,
- an increase in the dog's fat mass, at the expense of its lean/muscular mass, which alone is responsible for the animal's energy expenditure.
The equation "eat more" + "move less" + "spend less" leads irremediably to weight gain if nothing is done in terms of dog food to reverse the trend.
Thus, a sterilized dog will have a 20% reduced energy requirement compared to a whole dog. In other words, this means that the diet of a sterilized dog should provide him with 20% fewer calories than before, with equal physical activity.
On the other hand, the dog's other nutritional needs do not change with sterilization. A sterilized dog will, for example, always need as much protein as its entire congener, so that if we are content to reduce its ration of "normal" kibble, we will certainly provide it with fewer calories but also less of everything and in particular protein, at the risk of deficiency in the medium/long term.
What to do then? Feed it with kibble specially designed for the nutritional needs of sterilized dogs. But, as all these croquettes are not equal, you have to choose them well
Choose the right sterilized dog food
“Good” kibbles for sterilized dogs are kibbles:
- hypocaloric, low in fat and therefore lower in calories,
- high protein (more concentrated in protein). They thus make it possible to reduce the dog's energy intake while maintaining an adequate protein intake.
Croquettes sufficiently rich in protein
To find out if the kibbles provide enough protein for a given dog, you should not only look at the protein level on the product label but take an interest in the protein-calorie ratio (PRC) of the croquettes. This is the amount of protein (in g) contained in the food expressed per 1000 Kcal of food. It can be assimilated more simply to the "concentration" of protein kibbles.
The protein-calorie ratio of the kibbles must ideally be greater than or equal to the animal's necessary protein-calorie ratio (RPC necessary) so that we can say that this food is well suited to its needs in terms of proteins.
This ratio can be provided by the food manufacturer or be calculated from the nutritional information provided on the kibble packet. As this calculation is a bit tedious, we provide you with the following tool to calculate the RPC of your kibbles and to know if they are adapted to the needs of your dog.
with good quality protein
But be careful, if the RPC informs you about the protein concentration of kibbles, it says nothing about the nutritional quality of these proteins. Kibbles can have a “good RPC” but whose value is artificially “inflated” by an excess of vegetable proteins or by animal proteins of poor nutritional quality, which are difficult to digest and difficult to assimilate for the dog. It is therefore necessary to judge the quality of these proteins with the only means available to you as a consumer (or rather buyer) of these kibbles: the information on the product label.
To judge the quality of protein in your kibble, look at the phosphorus content of your food and calculate its protein-phosphorus ratio. If the phosphorus content is higher than 1.1%, it is surely because the animal proteins incorporated into the food come more from bones, tendons and cartilages - providers of poorly digestible proteins - than from real "meat" . ( although we cannot strictly speaking speak of meat in the croquettes) whose proteins are much more interesting.
If, on the contrary, the phosphorus content is less than 1.1%, it is either because:
- the animal proteins in the food are of good quality (and so much the better!),
- the proteins in the food are mostly provided by plant products, which are not suited to the dog's protein needs. Make sure that the croquettes you choose are not too rich in vegetable protein sources such as cereals or legumes (peas, lentils and others found especially in grain-free croquettes) by consulting the list of ingredients.The first ingredients mentioned are therefore generally present in greater quantities, so if plant products appear first, it may be that the kibbles you have selected contain too much of them!
And if the phosphorus content is not indicated?
The phosphorus content of kibble is not a value that the manufacturer is obliged to display. It is therefore possible that this information does not appear on the label of your packet of croquettes. You can then contact the manufacturer to ask for it or, failing that, refer to the ash content which must appear on the label. Although it is less precise than the phosphorus level, this level is still an indicator of the quality of the proteins in the kibbles. It is generally important in kibbles rich in animal protein, a rate higher than 12% is almost always the sign of poor quality raw materials.He reports that a large amount of bone in the animal meal or animal by-products used - and therefore "bad proteins" - was used to make the kibbles. Conversely, when this rate is too low, it may be because the kibbles contain too much plant-based protein
Less fat but “good fat”
Sterilized dog kibbles generally contain less fat than "classic" kibbles. This is what makes them less caloric because it is the fats that are the biggest suppliers of energy. Even if sterilized dog food provides less fat, it is still necessary that these croquettes provide enough "good fat" in the form of omega 3. Make sure that the croquettes you choose provide at least 1% of fat. fish oil from cold seas or 0.01 to 0.05% EPA and DHA on dry matter.Failing that, don't forget to supplement your dog with a fish oil capsule!
and fibers
To summarize, good kibbles for sterilized dogs must contain more good protein, fewer calories, enough good fat and fiber. If they do not provide the animal with calories, these fibers are essential to improve the animal's digestive comfort and to satiate it more. By increasing the volume occupied by the kibbles in the dog's stomach, the soluble fibers will also have a satietogenic effect which will help your dog not to feel the pangs of hunger too much, often increased in the event of sterilization.
When to switch to sterilized dog food?
It is necessary to switch to sterilized dog food in the days following your pet's operation. However, be careful not to change your diet suddenly, overnight, but to respect a gradual food transition.