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Advice & wellbeing Feeding

Good food.
Clear choices.

A practical starting point for everyday feeding—without treating general information as individual veterinary advice.

France

Feeding while living or travelling in France

Keep the dog’s diet suited to its life stage and health. When buying locally, check the label and feeding instructions rather than assuming similar packaging means the same food.

Practical details and sources

Look for whether the product is a complete food (aliment complet) or a complementary food (aliment complémentaire). A treat or supplement is not automatically a replacement for the main diet.

Take enough familiar food for a transition when practical. Ask a vet before changing a prescribed diet or adding supplements; keep drinking water available and portions adjusted to the individual dog.

Sources and checked date
Lire ces repères pour la France en français

Nourrir son chien en France

Choisissez une alimentation adaptée à l’âge et à la santé du chien. Vérifiez l’étiquette et les quantités conseillées, pas seulement l’apparence de l’emballage.

Distinguez l’aliment complet de l’aliment complémentaire. Une friandise ou un complément ne remplace pas automatiquement la ration principale.

Prévoyez si possible assez d’aliment habituel pour une transition. Demandez conseil avant de modifier une alimentation prescrite ou d’ajouter des compléments. Laissez de l’eau disponible et adaptez les portions au chien.

Sources et date de vérification

Start with a complete diet.

Check that the food is labelled “complete” for your dog’s life stage. “Complementary” foods do not contain everything needed as a sole diet. Puppies, adults and senior dogs can have different nutritional needs.

Measure the whole day.

Use the manufacturer’s guide as a starting point, then consider your dog’s weight, body condition, activity and veterinary advice. Treats and training rewards count towards the daily calorie total. Keep additional treats below 10% of daily calories, not 10% of the food’s weight; individual diets may need a stricter limit. You can reserve part of the usual complete-food ration for rewards. WSAVA: feeding treats.

Keep water available.

Provide clean, fresh drinking water at all times. Take water when travelling or walking, particularly in warmer conditions.

Change food gradually.

Unless your vet directs otherwise, introduce a new food over several days. Ask your vet before using a homemade, raw or therapeutic diet, or if your dog has allergies, ongoing symptoms or a medical condition.

Check harmful foods and how to prepare fish safely →

Support healthy stools—not a promised cure.

Anal sacs usually empty as a dog passes a well-formed stool. For some dogs, additional dietary fibre can increase stool bulk and support this natural process. It does not guarantee prevention, and recurrent problems can also involve anatomy, diarrhoea or constipation, excess weight, skin disease or allergies.

Make measured changes.

Begin with a complete, life-stage-appropriate diet, adequate water, regular activity and a healthy body condition. If your vet recommends extra fibre, small amounts of plain cooked pumpkin, sweet potato or carrot may be suitable examples. Introduce one change gradually so its effect on stool consistency can be assessed.

Ground flaxseed, chia or a formulated fibre supplement may suit some dogs, but the amount, water intake and overall diet need consideration. Ask your vet or veterinary nurse before adding them—particularly for a puppy, a very small dog, a dog with a medical condition or one receiving a prescribed diet.

Do not use bones or poultry necks as an anal-sac strategy. They are not a source of dietary fibre and can introduce choking, dental, obstruction, injury and—in raw products—bacterial risks.

Know when diet is not enough.

Scooting, repeated licking or biting around the back end, a persistent fishy smell, discomfort when sitting, straining, swelling, blood or discharge should be assessed by a veterinary professional. Pain, marked swelling, bleeding or an open wound warrants prompt attention.

Do not repeatedly express anal sacs at home unless a veterinary professional has examined the dog and taught you to do so. Recurrence should prompt assessment for an underlying cause rather than progressively increasing fibre without advice.

General information only. Contact your vet for advice tailored to your dog, especially if appetite, weight, thirst, stools or behaviour change.

Sources & further reading

PDSA: Your dog’s diet
UK Pet Food: responsible feeding information
MSD Veterinary Manual: anal-sac disease
Royal Veterinary College: anal-sac disorder research
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine: anal-sac disease

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Lifetime health & preventative care

Puppy & Young Dog: practical next steps

Supermarket meats: check before sharing

“Cooked chicken” or “roast beef” on a packet does not mean unseasoned meat. Sliced sandwich meats, deli meats and ready-cooked chicken may contain added salt, brine, stock or seasonings. Ham is usually cured and salty.

A practical choice for treats

For routine rewards, choose tiny pieces of thoroughly cooked, lean, boneless meat with no added salt or seasoning. Remove skin and visible fat. Avoid cured, smoked, brined, glazed or heavily salted products as everyday treats. Check ingredients for onion and garlic, including powders, and avoid these products. “Reduced salt” is not a guarantee of suitability; check the full recipe and the salt per 100 g, not just the front of the packet. Ask at the deli counter if no ingredient list is available; if uncertain, choose something else.

Portions and individual needs

A human sandwich portion can be a large amount for a Chihuahua or another small dog. Keep treats small and count them within the day’s food allowance; complete dog food should remain the main diet. Dogs need sodium, but this does not mean they need salty human treats or that their complete food should be made salt-free. Ask your vet about treats for a dog with a prescribed diet, heart or kidney disease, or a history of pancreatitis. No universal “safe number of slices” applies.

If your dog has already eaten some

An occasional tiny piece of plain ham is unlikely to cause a problem in an otherwise healthy dog, and is not automatically salt poisoning. Some veterinary charities allow small ham pieces as occasional rewards; our everyday recommendation is plain, unsalted lean meat. Call a vet promptly if the amount is large or uncertain, the ingredients include onion or garlic, your dog has relevant illness or dietary restrictions, or develops vomiting, diarrhoea, unusual thirst, weakness or abdominal pain. Collapse, tremors or seizures need emergency veterinary help. Keep the packaging and note the amount and time. Offer access to fresh water without forcing drinking. Do not induce vomiting or give home remedies.

Check a food or ingredient

Evidence and further reading
About this guidanceReview details and sources

Feeding while living or travelling in France

Local information checked 18 September 2026. Check the official source for subsequent changes.

Nourrir son chien en France

Informations locales vérifiées le 18 septembre 2026. Vérifiez les changements auprès de la source officielle.

Sources & further reading

Reviewed 15 September 2026

Supermarket meats: check before sharing

Focused meat-and-salt guidance checked 15 October 2026. Editorial synthesis; not a product endorsement or individual veterinary advice. Product recipes can change.

Evidence standards · Report an inaccuracy

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