Papillon (Detailed Introduction)

　　 Dogs, like humans, need to intake sufficient nutrients daily to maintain a healthy life. If you want to have a healthy and active dog, what should we pay attention to in their diet? What nutrients do dogs need to supplement every day?
　　1. Water: Water is the most important substance for a dog's life activities. The digestion, absorption, and transport of various nutrients, waste elimination, body temperature regulation, and lactation in female dogs all require water. Adult dogs should be provided with 100 ml of clean drinking water per kilogram of body weight daily; puppies require 150 ml per kilogram. Water should be available throughout the day for dogs to drink freely.
　　2. Protein: Protein is the primary nutrient essential for dogs to maintain life. Generally, adult dogs require 4–8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, while growing dogs need 9.6 grams.
　　3. Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates in food mainly provide energy for dogs. It is the source of heat energy required by various organs in the dog's body. Puppies need 17.6 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight daily.
　　4. Fat: Fat is an important source of energy and also improves the palatability of food, aiding the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Adult dogs require 1.2 grams of fat per kilogram of body weight daily, while growing dogs need 2.2 grams.
　　5. Minerals: Minerals are the main components constituting functional tissue cells, bones, marrow, and teeth. They are essential for maintaining acid-base balance and osmotic pressure and serve as key components of many enzymes, hormones, and vitamins. Essential minerals for dogs include calcium, phosphorus, iron, copper, cobalt, potassium, sodium, chlorine, iodine, zinc, magnesium, manganese, sulfur, selenium, etc.
　　6. Vitamins: Vitamins are a class of organic substances essential for maintaining animal metabolism. Although required in very small amounts, they play an important role in regulating physiological functions. For dogs, most vitamins must be obtained from their feed because, except for vitamin C and vitamin K, dogs cannot synthesize vitamins internally. Vitamin deficiencies can cause specific deficiency diseases.
　　The above describes the basic nutrients dogs need to supplement daily, but dogs in different situations require additional nutrition, such as calcium supplementation for puppies, senior dogs, and dogs with fractures.