It takes all sorts to make up a world – all sorts of people and all sorts of pets. Some of which have delicate stomachs or special dietary requirements. So they should be fed accordingly…
First time you hear the words “lemmikin ruokinta” you’d be forgiven for thinking the person using them was talking about lemmings. Or maybe remembering the words to that song out of The Lion King, only doing it wrong. Well, that’s what you might think if you weren’t Finnish. If you were you would know that lemmikin ruokinta is something to do with feeding pets – and you’d probably be wondering why you’d refer to pet food in Finnish in an article written in English.
But there you go. It takes all sorts to make up a world – all sorts of people and all sorts of pets. Some of which have delicate stomachs or special dietary requirements. So they should be fed accordingly, allowed the right quantity of food for their size and the right constituent parts of that food to ensure that no allergies or sensitive digestive systems are irritated or compromised.
The easiest way to feed a pet and know that he or she is getting that he or she needs is to talk with a vet. Indeed, modern vets can perform all sorts of food allergy tests on your cat or your dog or your horse or your budgie to see if he or she has an allergy already in place; and will be able to recommend the right kind of science nutrition to compensate.
The basic idea behind scientific pet nutrition is that you can get all the natural nutrients an animal of this species requires, into his or her body without he or she having to eat anything he or she is allergic to, or which could cause other forms of damage. Scientific nutrition is also formulated to providecertain extra benefits – perhaps stronger bones and teeth, or even cleaner teeth. Some animal species, which require the gnawing action of a bone or similarly hard object to keep their teeth free of food particles and dirt, may find the hard dry food in a science diet ideal for staying healthy.
Ultimately, pets that get put on science diets are so put because they can’t put up with normal pet food. This is good for them and may be good for the owner as well. After all, some brands of normal wet pet food smell positively appalling. So having a brand that doesn’t smell at all because it’s dry is a welcome relief, both for the owner and the animal – as of Couse its “lemmikin ruokinta” is no longer making it throw up all over the welcome rug in the hall.
Overall, good science nutrition is designed to avoid commonly allergenic substances for the animal in question – most of which occur in the jelly rather than the meat. So the answer is dry food.
Well there you have it. For healthy pets, the correct lemmikin ruokinta is the only way to go. As for doing it in Finnish – well, why not if it makes you happy. Whatever floats your boat, or stops your cat from doing its business in your shoe…
Lemmikin ruokinta is not, as its sound suggests, some kind of lemon-based main meal, but a Finnish word for “pet food”.
Harry wilson is an international pet food expert, who has travelled extensively in Finland. He routinely writes blogs about lemmikin ruokinta.
