Alaskan Malamute is a large breed that loves a delicious meal. Looking at the size of the dog, it seems that he requires a huge amount of food. The question arises: how to feed malamutes to satisfy their nutritional needs, and is it worth it to get such a dog?
Food, natural food or both
The breeders of the breed disagree: some claim the benefits of dry food, others insist on a natural diet, and still others combine both. Which of them is right than to feed malamutes correctly, and what is categorically prohibited? Consider the advantages and disadvantages of all options.
Natural food
If you have time to cook, it is recommended to feed your pet normal food. This does not mean that in his bowl are leftovers from the hosts table. Such an approach to the question of how to feed the Malamutes is absolutely impossible. It is very easy to harm the health of a pet, giving him the waste of a human meal.
When the owner stops on a natural diet, he thoroughly examines the lists of allowed products:
- The diet of malamute includes lean meat: beef, veal, turkey meat. You can’t give him chicken regularly; it is an allergenic product.
- Twice a week, boiled marine fish is taken, peeled from the bones.
- From dairy products kefir, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk are allowed. The fat content is 1.8.
- Hard-boiled chicken eggs are given to the dog once a week.
- The diet of adult malamute includes cereals. Rice, buckwheat and oatmeal are boiled, mixed with meat or fish.
- Among the allowed vegetables are carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, and occasionally potatoes. They are boiled, cooled to room temperature, meat is added and given to the pet.
- Malamute is served with delicate cheese as a treat.
Benefits of Natural Nutrition
A person who wants to have a representative of this breed is wondering: how to feed malamute at home? Possible options are described above. This subsection focuses on the benefits of natural food:
- The owner chooses quality products.
- He knows what is part of a dish.
- The risk of dog poisoning is minimized.
- The cost of natural nutrition is slightly less than high-quality dry food.
disadvantages
If the future owner of Malamute is a livestock specialist, he can skip this subsection. Livestock specialists are taught how to make animal feed, so the future owner will be able to balance the power of his dog. For the rest, we recommend that you carefully read the information below:
The most significant disadvantage of natural feeding is its imbalance. Products can be expensive and of high quality, but the dog does not receive the necessary vitamins.
The cooking process takes time. With the modern rhythm of life, most people do not have enough to cook their own food for a dog.
The breed is prone to overeating. How to feed malamutes so that their weight is normal? It is worth giving preference to dry food.
Choose dry food
Once a new owner comes to a pet store, he is lost. On the shelves a huge variety of feeds, ranging from economy class to super-premium. What food is best for malamute, what to look for when choosing it:
We recommend super premium products. On the Russian market it is presented as feed-holistic. This is a misconception, for holostics and human grunge are distinguished among expensive feeds.
The first include products half consisting of meat or fish.
The composition of the feed marked "human grunge" natural products that are approved for human consumption.
Advantages of dry feed
Super premium products are perfect for malamute. It has all the necessary vitamins, minerals and trace elements. In other words, the feed is balanced and of high quality.
The feed consumption is quite small, the daily consumption rate is indicated on the packaging, and a large measuring cup is in large packages.
disadvantages
What to feed malamute, we found out. Natural nutrition or dry food is at the discretion of the owner. Some owners are confused by the cost of super-premium products; they decide to get along with feed easier and acquire an economical option.
Cheap food is contraindicated to Malamute, they have nothing useful except dyes and flavor enhancers. Representatives of the breed are distinguished by a weak gastrointestinal tract and a tendency to allergic reactions. Treatment will cost much more than high-quality feed.
Malamute puppies require careful selection of the diet. Crumbs, like adult dogs, are prone to allergies. Noticing the redness of the ears, constant scratching and biting himself, the owner should change the puppy's food.
How many times to feed a puppy
On the Internet, they often write that three meals a day is enough for the baby. From the age of 4 months, it can be transferred to morning and evening feedings.
Puppies need high-quality nutrition, their growing body requires calcium, phosphorus, fiber and protein. How many times a day to feed malamute, until he reaches nine months of age, we will gladly tell you:
- From two to three months, the puppy is fed five times a day.
- From three to five months - four feedings.
- From five to nine months - three meals a day.
- From nine months old, malamute puppies are transferred to two meals a day.
How to feed an adult dog?
Starting from the age of nine months, Alaskan Malamute receives food twice a day - morning and evening. Patients, elderly dogs and pregnant bitches are fed more often, depending on the recommendations of the veterinarian.
The table shows an approximate diet of a dog that is on natural food.
| Day of the week | Morning | Evening |
| Monday | Boiled vegetables with beef | Turkey Rice |
| Tuesday | Friendship porridge from rice and oatmeal, drenched in a raw egg | Cottage cheese with kefir |
| Wednesday | Buckwheat with turkey or chicken | Oatmeal with kefir |
| Thursday | Veal Rice | Vegetables with vegetable oil |
| Friday | Boiled Veal or Beef | Rice with vegetables |
| Saturday | Oatmeal with chicken | Buckwheat with cottage cheese |
| Sunday | Friendship porridge with veal | Oatmeal with Vegetable Oil |
The menu is adjusted according to the preference of the dog and the financial capabilities of its owner.
Kefir and cottage cheese are mentioned in the table - they are allowed, but is it possible to give milk to malamute? No, an adult dog is unable to digest it. Milk is given to puppies for up to 3 months, then removed from the diet.
What should not be given to malamute?
The newcomers, wishing to treat the pet, offer him chicken or beef bone, a piece of sausage or sausage, sweets and other products that they love. Please remember: a dog is not a person, it is forbidden to give it what we eat with you. Sweet malamute is contraindicated, allergies can appear from sausages and sausages, chicken bone will pierce the esophagus. In the latter case, the owners do not have time to bring the dog to the veterinary hospital, the animal will die in torment. This is not a “scarecrow” for beginners, but the harsh truth.
The following products are strictly prohibited:
- smoked meats;
- pickled cucumbers and tomatoes;
- fatty dishes;
- salty foods;
- all kinds of sweets;
- butter baking;
- bakery products (with the exception of wheat home-made crackers without salt and spices, they are dried in the oven and given to the dog as a treat);
- carbonated drinks, juices, alcohol.
If there are children in the house, explain to them that you can’t treat the dog to chocolate or chips, this is fraught with serious consequences for her health.
Why can not combine natural food and dry food?
Attentive readers will remember what is written in the subsection about the recommendations of breeders regarding malamute nutrition. For those who managed to forget, we recall: natural food, dry food or combined nutrition. Regarding the latter, we say: never feed a dog dry food and ordinary food at the same time. Those who recommend such a diet are very mistaken and do not know anything about the physiology of the breed.
Malamutes have problems with the gastrointestinal tract, as stated above. Even the healthiest dog of a different breed is not able to digest feed and "natural" at the same time due to the lack of necessary enzymes. The latter are allocated in order to cope with ordinary food or with dry food, they differ from each other. There is no joint isolation, which is why the animal is not able to digest both products.
Basic feeding tips
How to feed malamute and how often, readers now know. Remembering the recommendations is easy enough.
The tips in this section will help novice owners learn how to feed malamute:
- Puppies are fed up to three months every three hours.
- The older the pet, the longer the intervals between feedings. The amount of food offered at one time is increasing.
- If the animal eats natural food, it is warmed up before being given to the dog.
- Dry food is soaked in a small amount of warm water, allowed to swell and offered to the pet.
- Always follow the daily dosage indicated on the packaging of the feed. He, as we found out, has the property of swelling, which happens both in a bowl and in the dog’s stomach under the influence of a liquid. If you give more than necessary, food will cause great discomfort, swelling in the stomach.
- Be sure to ensure that the pet always has access to clean water.
Conclusion
It is time to take stock. We told how to feed the Malamutes: dry food or natural food - the choice is the owner.