Is your dog diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy? Managing your furkid’s heart problem can be difficult for both you and your dog. But there are things that you can do so your dog can continue to enjoy a good quality of life. Here’s how you can help:
1. Encourage light exercise and avoid exhaustion
Even with DCM, your furkid still needs light physical activity. If your dog isn’t showing signs like difficulty breathing and coughing, it’s alright to let him play. Just make sure he doesn’t exhaust himself and stop when he seems tired. However, if your furkid is suffering from a more advanced heart problem, it’s better to avoid any strenuous activity and limit him to short, calming walks.
2. Avoid giving salty food and treats
Eating salty foods and treats can cause a spike on your furkid’s blood sodium levels. This increases his risk of high blood pressure which is a contributor to heart disease. Opt for low to no sodium diets to avoid stressing out your furkid’s heart muscles.
3. Opt for omega–3 rich food
Omega–3 offers a lot of benefits to your furkid’s heart. It helps reduce inflammation and lessen muscle loss. Omega–3 also helps protect your dog’s heart against arrhythmia (or abnormal heart rhythms), which is common to dogs with DCM. Choose a diet rich in naturally occurring in Omega-3, like Wishbone Ocean, made with high-quality New Zealand king salmon. Read up more about Wishbone Ocean for dogs here.
4. Choose a taurine-rich diet
Taurine is an important amino acid that helps strengthen your furkid’s heart so that it can pump blood efficiently. A deficiency in this amino acid causes dilated cardiomyopathy in both dogs and cats. If your dog is suffering from DCM, his body may no longer be able to make enough taurine for his needs. Boost his taurine levels by giving him pet food enriched with taurine.
At Wishbone Pet Foods, taurine is our secret ingredient to help prevent and fight DCM. Even though AAFCO does not include it as a nutritional requirement for dogs, we at Wishbone make sure all our pet food recipes are enriched with taurine for our pets. Moreover, we use 8 beneficial superfoods in our recipes, to help boost your furkid’s health even further.
Read more about how taurine in grain-free pet food helps fight DCM.
See our healthy, taurine-enriched gourmet recipes for dogs and cats and you will love all the goodness that’s in Wishbone.
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