Journal of Animal Research: v.12 n.1, p. 123-130. February 2022 DOI: 10.30954/2277-940X.01.2022.19 How to cite this article: Singh, O., Singh, U., Sethi, A.P.S., Mavi, G. and Malav, O.P. (2022). Proximates Composition, Physiochemical Properties of Dogs Food and Nutritional Practices Adopted by Dog Owners in Central Punjab. J. Anim. Res., 12(01): 123-130. Source of Support: None; Conflict of Interest: None Proximates Composition, Physiochemical Properties of Dogs Food and Nutritional Practices Adopted by Dog Owners in Central Punjab Opinder Singh 1 , Udeybir Singh 1 *, A.P.S. Sethi 1 , Gurjot Mavi 2 and O.P. Malav 3 1 Department of Animal Nutrition, College of Veterinary Science, Punjab, INDIA 2 Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Veterinary Science, Punjab, INDIA 3 Department of Livestock Product Technology, College of Veterinary Science, Punjab, INDIA Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab, INDIA *Corresponding author: U Singh; E-mail: udeybirchahal@gmail.com Received: 29 Nov., 2021 Revised: 18 Jan., 2022 Accepted: 21 Jan., 2022 ABSTRACT This research was conducted to study the nutritional practices adopted by the dog owners in the Central Punjab. 50 dog feed samples were collected from various part of Central Punjab, which includes Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Moga, Jalandhar, Tarn-Taran and Amritsar. Moreover, 491 dog owners were randomly selected and interviewed directly by visiting houses and polyclinics from Central Punjab. The appraisal of data revealed that, 42% of population offer homemade feed, 6% population offer exclusively commercial feed and 52% of the population offer both homemade and commercial feed to their pets. 28% of the population of the Central Punjab feed only vegetarian diet to their dogs while 72% of the population offer mixed feed. 95% of the population feed chapatti to their dogs however, only 33% of the dog owners feed rice to pets. Milk is offered by 84% dog owners to their pets. Nutrient composition of feed samples indicated that 24% of feed samples were in range of 18-22% protein, 94% of the feed samples were having less than 5% fat and 66% of feed samples were having fibre less than 3.5%. The pH value was less than 4.0. Based on the data available, it is clearly indicated that feeding practices followed by the dog owners in Central Punjab closely followed the trend of food consumed by the dog owners. 60% of the feed samples were found not to fulfill the overall nutrient requirement of dogs. The microbial parameters were well below the prescribed limits. HIGHLIGHTS m Proximate and physiochemical properties of dog food were studied. m Nutritional practices adopted by dog owners of Central Punjab were also studied. Keywords: Dog, Dog owner, Feeding Practices, Physiochemical properties The role of the companion animals is very crucial in people’s lives, as they provide a positive impact on both the emotional and physical health of people with whom they have contact, as well as strengthening the communities in which they live. With increase in the nuclear families the demand for adoption of companion animals such as dogs is increasing day by day (Ranjan, 2012). Most of the dog owners resort to unscientific management practices, because of convenience, due to which there is occurrence of various kind of metabolic diseases in pet at various stages of life like eclampsia, obesity, rickets etc. which in a study conducted by Seneviratne et al. (2016) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, via questionnaires distributed to pet owners. They reported that 42% of dogs were fed only home-cooked food, while 18% were fed only commercial food. Presently, India’s dog population is 11.67 million. Out of which 9.49 million populations is in rural areas and 2.18 million are present in urban India. Inspite of very