In our harsh conditions of the Far North, where winter is all the seasons that children see, and the color of white snow is the only color of nature, we considered it necessary to present the city residents with the variety of colors of the flora and fauna of both the planet and Gubkin . Our children cannot directly communicate with living nature, observe the change of seasons, or feel like an integral part of it. The distance from the central regions of the country, the absence of a circus and a zoo requires the creation of a living corner in our city. The lack of diversity of colors, smells, and sounds of living nature leads to purely medical and social problems. A lack of communication with wildlife leads to an exacerbation of social problems - drug addiction is on the rise, aggressiveness is increasing, which ultimately leads to an increase in environmental offenses among children and teenagers.

Along with this problem, the problem of leisure for disabled children and youth with disabilities, as well as the problem of our society’s humane attitude towards the problems of people with disabilities, is also very acute. And after all, both a child and an adult, both the sick and the healthy, simply need to be able to take care of plants and animals, listen to the voices of birds, and touch living nature during the long northern winter in the conditions of the polar night.

Out of this entire world, humans perceive animals most emotionally, vividly, and caringly. They are closest to a person both externally and behaviorally. We must follow the principle: <>. This means that the starting point of any activity must be a living organism. If we are talking about some kind of animal, then before your eyes there should be a live hamster, parrot, or owl. If animal behavior is studied, then we must observe it firsthand in an aquarium with fish, or by looking at a family of rats. And all this is unthinkable without communication with those animals that are in our city in the ecological center "Harmony"? Even the most wonderful books and films about nature cannot replace a brief moment of live observation.

People with incipient hypertension can lower their blood pressure when they take pets to work. Communication with animals (especially dogs) helps children cope with a serious illness or death of a parent. Pet owners have fewer minor health problems. Pet owners have better psychological well-being. Being around animals develops caring qualities in children, who will become more caring adults. Pet owners are more likely to survive a heart attack and avoid having one again. Pet owners have better physical health due to animal activities. Socializing with an animal can reduce the death rate from heart attacks by 3%. This amounts to approximately 30,000 lives saved annually. Dogs are a means of preventing and combating daily stress. Animals reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. Children involved in humanities educational programs demonstrate higher levels of empathy towards people compared to children not involved in such programs. Children's positive self-esteem increases when interacting with animals. Children's cognitive development improves as a result of interaction with animals. 70% of families studied note that their families have become happier since purchasing animals. The presence of a dog during a child's medical examination reduces distress. Children who own animals are more involved in activities such as sports, hobbies, clubs or choir. Children who communicate with animals in the first year of life are less likely to suffer from allergic rhinitis and asthma. Children with autism exhibit more prosocial behavior and less autistic behavior, such as withdrawal. Children who own animals show much higher levels of empathy and are prosocial than those who do not own animals. Animals perform many of the same support functions as humans for adults and children. People with AIDS who own pets suffer less from depression and stress. Animals as a primary source of support increase the ability to cope with difficulties. Children especially need interaction with the natural world. They are more attracted to communication with animals. Such communication performs the following functions:

• psychophysiological (stress relief, normalization of blood pressure, increased immunity);
• psychotherapeutic (harmonization of interpersonal relationships);
• rehabilitation (psychological and social rehabilitation of children deprived of parents and in correctional institutions);
• function of self-realization (satisfying the need to be significant to others);
• aesthetic;
• cognitive;
• communication function.

A balanced diet is a diet that provides all the nutrients necessary to meet the animal’s daily needs, as well as energy to support life processes. When using this diet, there is no loss or accumulation of nutrients. The role of a balanced diet is that it helps maintain a long, healthy life for pets and reduces their susceptibility to disease.

There are two main types of animal feeding:

• Feeding with homemade food
• Feeding with industrially produced feed

The use of homemade food, especially if it is poorly balanced, can contribute to the occurrence of various diseases. Even with careful implementation of all recommendations, homemade diets, as a rule, remain unbalanced. Adding various minerals and vitamins to their composition, carried out on the advice of a veterinarian, can lead to various disorders. There is another disadvantage of homemade food - it does not need to be chewed. At the same time, the teeth are not cleaned of plaque and stone. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly examine your pet’s mouth and offer something to clean the teeth.

What categories of industrial pet food are there?

There are three main categories of commercial pet foods:

• Economy
• Regular
• First-class (premium and super-premium)

Feeds of different categories differ in their nutritional value, balance, composition and variety of ingredients, digestibility, taste and, accordingly, price. The quality of any feed depends, first of all, on: the quality of the raw materials from which the feed is made; the recipe according to which it is prepared and the equipment on which this feed is produced.

Feeds classified as “economical” are usually made from the most accessible and cheapest raw materials for the place of production. Manufacturers of these feeds do not always ensure that the feed meets the physiological needs of animals at different periods of life, and also do not guarantee the excess content of certain nutrients and toxic compounds in the feed. These feeds are among the cheapest and least quality products. The main motive for their production is the low cost of feed. At the same time, little attention is paid to the nutritional value of the product.

Most conventional foods have a variable composition of ingredients, which depends on the availability of raw materials and their cost. Some ingredients (table salt, calcium phosphate, vegetable oil, etc.) are standard. The content of other ingredients (fish, meat, offal, grains, bone meal) varies significantly depending on their availability. If there is insufficient control, this circumstance can affect the quality of the feed. The main attractive point when choosing these feeds is the affordable price and good taste. If the food is cheap, is well eaten by the animal, and does not cause constipation or other negative effects, then owners often choose this brand of food. In addition, some buyers believe that: "The more the merrier." That is, the more protein, calcium and phosphorus contained in the feed, the better it is. This misconception is often taken into account by manufacturers of this category of feed.

These feeds are fully balanced in accordance with the optimal needs of animals and are adapted to certain age periods and the physiological state of animals. The use of only high-quality ingredients in their preparation is determined by expediency, and not by their price. Due to high digestibility and good balance, the consumption of these feeds is lower than when using low-quality feeds for feeding animals. First-class feeds are also distinguished by the fact that after consumption, a smaller volume of feces is formed, due to the high degree of digestibility. Many varieties of these feeds are produced, intended for feeding animals at different age periods, as well as at different levels of their activity.

What are the benefits of feeding commercially prepared diets to animals?

Feeding prepared food is very convenient for animal owners. There is no need to spend a lot of time purchasing fresh food, preparing and balancing your diet. Moreover, this cannot be done with any guarantee, provided that the home owner does not have a biochemical laboratory that allows a complete analysis of the finished diet. When producing high-quality industrial feed, samples are taken from each batch and tested in independent laboratories. The result of this is a “guaranteed analysis”, which is indicated on feed packaging. Thanks to this, the owner knows exactly how many specific proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals are guaranteed to enter the animal’s body every day. This is especially important when it comes to therapeutic diets, where the benefits of ready-made diets specially designed for specific diseases and conditions are obvious . After all, diet therapy in some cases is the most effective method of treatment. It is almost impossible with homemade food to provide a strictly controlled supply of certain substances, sometimes measured in milligrams. For example, you can compare the nutritional value of meat, which is most often used in preparing homemade diets, with the needs of the animal, based on the energy needs of the body, which is the first step in formulating diets.

Currently, three main types of animal feed are produced:

• dry (6-10% moisture)
• semi-dry (23-40% moisture)
• canned (68-78% moisture)

Is it possible to combine feeding with natural products and industrial feed?

Such a combination is unacceptable. This is one of the most common feeding mistakes in dogs and cats. Some owners try to add small amounts of commercial food as a vitamin supplement to the home diet. Or they worry that they can’t eat only “breakfast cereals” for the rest of their lives. After all, in nature the animal does not consume dry food. We must not forget that breakfast cereals are not the only source of nutrition for people, so huge research centers have not been working on the development of another similar product for many years, and the balance of such a breakfast is not ideal for a person. Dry industrial animal feed is a completely different product. This is a complete balanced diet. With long-term consumption of only dry food, the animal’s body naturally adapts to the production of a certain amount of digestive juices, a certain quality and composition. This consistency helps the body maintain metabolism and water balance at the required level. Therefore, fresh drinking water should always be available. If the animal does not like dry food, you can soak it in water at room temperature or feed your pet canned food. The nutrition of animals in nature has nothing in common with eating homemade food, since the food consumed by wild animals is absolutely balanced in all nutrients. We cannot provide a cat with the same set of nutrients found in a mouse using a homemade diet. In addition, in nature, the animal has the ability to independently adapt the balance to its current needs. At home, pets have to eat what their owners offer them. Achieving a balanced diet with mixed feeding becomes even more difficult than when feeding an animal with homemade food.

Is there a need to exchange ready-made industrial feeds of different brands with each other?

Some owners are worried that their pet will get tired of the food they have chosen, so they try to change the food once a week or at other intervals. In fact, pets very quickly become accustomed to exactly the diet to which their owners accustom them. Therefore, if the chosen food is suitable for the animal, there is absolutely no need to change it, otherwise the animal will get used to the constant change of food. In addition, the transition from food from one manufacturer to food from another manufacturer is always stressful for the animal’s body, since each of them uses its own ingredients, its own recipes, its own production technologies, and the body is forced to adjust its enzyme system to a specific product each time. Such a load does not pass without leaving a trace on the body. Sooner or later, such “diversity” leads to chronic diseases and metabolic disorders.

Why is it so important what ingredients the food consists of?

The list of ingredients provided on the food packaging can be helpful in evaluating the food. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. However, in practice it is very difficult to determine the quantitative content of ingredients when analyzing finished feed. Many manufacturers take advantage of this and, contrary to existing legislation, put ingredients that are beneficial to them at the top of the list.

It is useful to remember some basic rules when assessing the quality of feed based on ingredient content. Specifically, an animal protein source should be one of the first two ingredients in canned foods and one of the first three in dry foods.

In addition to the presence of certain ingredients, the quality of the feed is influenced by the relationship between them, their biological value, degree of digestibility, quality before preparation and preservation of basic nutritional characteristics after preparation.

What is the biological value of ingredients?

Usually this concept refers to feed proteins. It lies in how much the product contains all the essential amino acids. The biological value of eggs is 100%, so eggs are considered an excellent source of protein.

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