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Nutrition for your boxer 

A boxers's nutritional health depends on receiving the correct amounts and proportions of nutrients from the six required groups: water, protein, fat, carbohydrate, minerals and vitamins. With the exception of water, commercial dog foods identified as 100% complete and balanced contain all of these required nutrients.

Water
Water is essential in helping regulate body temperature, lubrication of body tissues and as a fluid medium for the blood and lymph systems. Because water is involved in practically every reaction within an animal's body, any large deviation will be associated with adverse effects. A dog's body, therefore, has several systems designed to maintain constant water balance.

Water intake is controlled by thirst, hunger, metabolic activity (work, gestation, lactation, growth), and the environment (humidity and temperature).

Dogs obtain water from the water they drink, fluid ingested with food, and water generated from metabolic processes in the body.

Water is lost in urine, feces, respiration, and to a small extent in flakes of skin, saliva, and nasal secretions. For nursing females, water will also be required for milk production.

A dog's water requirement is determined in large part by the amount of food they consume each day. A general guideline is that dogs require 1 ml of water for each kcal of energy.

Energy is measured in calories and a calorie is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water from 14.5 degrees Celsius to 15.5 degrees Celsius. Because this amount of heat is so small, it is common to describe energy requirements and the energy content of foods in kilocalories (1000 calories = 1 kcal). The term Calorie, written with a capital C, is often used to refer to the amount of energy in 1 kilocalorie of food.

Food and Water Consumption
As food intake increases, a dog's water intake also increases. When the water content of a diet increases, the dog usually drinks less water. Therefore, dogs consuming canned diets, which contain approximately 70-75% water, will generally drink less water than dogs consuming dry diets, which contain about 8-12% water.

Protein
Protein is an essential nutrient and serves numerous functions in the body, including muscle growth, tissue repair, enzymes, transporting oxygen in the blood, immune functions, hormones, and as a source of energy. A protein is defined as a group of amino acids linked to each other in different quantities and sequences. Each protein has a precise combination of amino acids that is specific for that protein, and the arrangement of amino acids determines the specific nature of a protein. Dietary protein that is digested in the stomach and small intestine is broken down to form free amino acids which are then absorbed into the bloodstream. Amino acids are distributed to various cells of the body where they are utilized to build body proteins.

Over twenty amino acids are involved in the synthesis of protein in the body. Essential amino acids are those that cannot be formed fast enough or in sufficient amounts to meet the requirements for growth and maintenance and, therefore, must be supplied in the diet. Nonessential amino acids are those that the body can produce in sufficient amounts from other nutrients and metabolites and, thus, do not need to be supplied in the diet.

Although essential amino acids are not stored as such in the body for any significant period of time, they are constantly metabolized. Consequently, they must be provided simultaneously in the proper proportions in a pet's diet. Essential amino acids for dogs include: