Feeding for the winter | Princeton Veterinary Hospital

As it gets colder, our outside animals will need to burn more calories in order to stay warm. It is important that we adjust their feeding to make up for these extra calories. But it?s a fine line ? increasing their daily food too much can result in overweight animals very quickly! Just like for people, extra weight seems to be very easy to put on, but very difficult to take off. We have given you recommendations about how to feed your cats, dogs, and horses, but some of these recommendations need to be modified during the cold months. Follow these 7 steps to maintain your animals at a healthy weight all year long.

1. Assess your pet?s weight. You can use your bathroom scale for cats and smaller dogs to weigh them. For larger dogs or horses, this is not possible. Instead, use a body condition score for dogs and horses (there is also a body condition score for cats). We want all our animals to have a body condition score of 3 out of 5 (or a score of 5 on the 9-point scale for horses). A body condition score of 3 (or 5 on a 9-point scale) is ideal ? you can feel your pet?s ribs as you run your hands down their sides but they don?t stick out and they are not covered with an ?extra? layer of fat.
2. Know how much you are feeding your pets every day. Are you pouring dry food into a bowl and letting them eat all day long? When you feed the next time, measure how much you are feeding. You can use a measuring cup or any container. Make sure that you are feeding the same amount every time.
3. Increase the amount of feed during the cold months. This doesn?t mean your dog has free access to the 50-pound bag of dog food, or that your horse gets turned loose in the barn with the hay and sweet feed! Increase the feed by 25% or less of their normal amount. (If you are feeding 1 cup of dry dog food every day, increase this up to 1-1/4 cups a day. If your horse gets 1 scoop of sweet feed, increase this up to 1-1/4 scoops.)
4. For livestock (horses, cattle, sheep, goats, alpacas, and llamas), make sure they they have plenty of fresh, good-quality hay. This roughage is a very important part of their diet, especially in the winter.
5. Check their weight and/or body condition score every 2 weeks. Small changes in weight and body condition can be difficult to notice when you are looking at your pet every day. Keep track of their weight and body condition regularly. If they are losing weight or body condition (getting thinner), increase the amount of food they are getting. If they are gaining weight or body condition (getting heavier), decrease the amount of food they are getting.
6. When the weather gets warmer, make sure to decrease their food again! As we head into spring and the weather warms up again, your animals won?t need to use as many calories to stay warm. You can decrease their food back down to their normal, pre-winter, amounts.
7. Make any changes in food gradually. Whether you are increasing or decreasing the amount of food your animals are getting, be sure to make this change gradually. Eating too much too fast can cause an upset stomach, vomiting, or diarrhea. Horses that eat too much grain can colic or founder. Ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats, alpacas, and llamas) that eat too much corn or grain can also have stomach problems.

Do you need some help figuring out your pet?s body condition score? Do you have questions about how much food to give your animals during the winter? Bring your dog or cat in, or schedule an appointment for us to examine your horse or other farm animals. We can show you how to evaluate your pet?s body condition, look at what you are feeding now, and make recommendations to keep your pets at the ?right? weight.

ePetHealth?is a free service we offer to our clients. Through this service, you can access your pet?s medical records online, view educational articles and videos, sign up for email reminders, and more! Check out?this article?to learn more about what ePetHealth can do for you. It?s easy to sign up ? all you need to do is?call?or?email?us to add your email address to your records.

Source: http://princetonvet.net/2013/01/feeding-for-the-winter/

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