Question

List three ways that a critical care diet for a dog would differ from a maintenance diet for a dog and, for each, explain the basis for this.

Answer 1

Like human beings, the animals also requires nutrious diet for their growth and development. There nutrition requirements changes with illness or injury. Special diets are prepared to help them recover from these events. Here are 3 ways how a critical care diet differs from the maintainence diet of the dogs:

1) The dogs undergoes a series of metabolic changes in body after a surgery or illness. Their body undergoes a stressful situation as their natural defense system is compromised. Therefore critical care diets are formulated to helps dogs recover from their debilitative stage like surgery, illness or injury. Whereas the maintainence diet for dogs is those diet which serves all the essential nutrients in right amount as per the need of the body for the growth and development of dogs.

2) As the body has to recover from stress and meet the metabolic change, the levels of nutrient supplementation will increase than normal in critical care diet. For example high levels of digestible protein ,fats, antioxidants, vitamin B, zinc etc. Whereas the maintainence diet provides just want is normally recommended for its normal body functioning. These nutrients are the basic requirement of the dog's body to perform the vital functions in the safest posible way.

3) The critical care diet a specially formulated diet which has to be prescribed by a veternary doctor and often given by intravenous or enteral route. Whereas the maintainence diet are readily available in home and is homemade given through enteral route.