Feeding Your Dog

My "Sister" Gemma

Medical update - I've lost another half pound in the past week. I went to the vet yesterday and had my stitches removed (put in where the biopsies were conducted and the scarred flesh in my groin was removed to aid in the healing process.) We are still waiting for extra tests, being conducted on the biopsies, to be completed. Once the results are in and if no contra-indications are expected, the vet is going to put me on a two week treatment session of Prednisone, a steroid, to promote increased healing and to clean out any lingering infection. Now onto today's post.

Although us dogs have usually been considered as carnivores, we are actually omnivores, which means that we can eat, enjoy and digest various types of food. We do not require as high a protein diet as cats do. We can live perfectly well on a completely balanced diet, but we do enjoy some variety in our meals.

It doesn't matter whether you use a premium complete commercial diet, or choose to create your own food combinations, you must ensure that our diet is well balanced, containing both proteins and carbohydrates. Our diet must also contain fatty acids, vitamins and minerals to ensure optimum health, proper bodily functions, healthy skin and a healthy coat (hair/fur). Fruit and vegetables are beneficial ingredients to include in our diets. I love apples, mangoes, cantaloupe, bananas, watermelon and strawberries and, to a lesser amount, most other fruits and vegetables. When we are convalescing, boneless chicken or fish mixed with boiled brown rice makes a highly digestible meal.

Active dogs need a higher protein diet than those of us that laze around looking pretty. And, of course, overweight dogs, like my “sister” Bandit, should have fewer calories than those of us that still have slim figures.

All commercially prepared packaged food for dogs contains comprehensive lists of ingredients which should be carefully studied before you make your choice of the food for your dog. For example, my food, which keeps me from getting kidney stones, is made by Royal Canin Canada Company under the brand name “Medi-Cal”. The maintenance variety which I eat contains the following ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Oat flour, Pearled Barley, Rye (the grain not the liquor), Chicken Fat, Corn Gluten Meal, Salmon Meal, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Flax Meal, natural flour, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Tomato (source of Lycopene), Apple Pomace, Dried Egg Powder, Fish Oil, Cranberry Meal, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Sulphate, Fructo-Oligosaccharides, Taurine, Salt, Vitamins: [DL-Alpha-Tocopherol (source of Vitamin E), Inositol, Niacin, L-Ascorgyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), D-Calcium Panothenate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Acetate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement and Vitamin D3 Supplement], L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, Potassium Citrate, Marigold Extract (source of Lutein), Trace Minerals: [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulphate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulphate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Brewer's Yeast Extract (source of Mannan-Oligosaccharides), L-Carnitine, Beta Carotene, L-Glamine. Naturally preserved with mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract and Citric Acid. It is a slightly acidic dog food that is formulated for optimum nutrition and urinary tract health of active adult dogs.

You must always remember that we have sensitive digestive systems and if you change suddenly from one type of diet to another, that we could end up vomiting or having diarrhoea. You must always introduce diet changes gradually mixing the new food in increasing amounts with the current food over the course of a week or so. In this way we can adapt to the new food without adverse results.

Fresh and canned dog food should be removed and disposed of if left uneaten as it tends to spoil quickly after being expose to air. Bacteria quickly forms and could result in your dog becoming ill. Dried dog foods can remain available all day because they contain natural preservatives.

Adult dogs usually require one main meal per day with a light snack at the other end of the day. Since we are more active during the day, the main meal is probably best served in the morning with the snack before bed. In this way, we have the fuel for our active day and a snack before retiring for the night. When the main meal is served at night, it tends to result in more weight gain as the calories we ingest do not get burned up by activity so they add fat to our bodies for later use during energetic times. Unfortunately, many of us produce more fat than we use up as fuel and thus we become overweight. (More about overfeeding and obesity in a later post.)

Your dog's daily meals can be divided into two equally sized meals if desired as this method doesn't result in your dog getting a large meal before retiring. NOTE! Under NO circumstances should your dog be exercised energetically within one-half hour of ingesting a large meal. If you own a large dog, to aid his digestion, you should raise his food dish off the ground so that he does not have to bend so far down to get his food.

Because I have dry dog food, it's available all day and I can eat whenever I want. As a result, I've become a “grazer,” which means that I eat a little every time I get hungry. However, since my “sister,” Bandit came, things are a little different. Bandit guards the food bowl and if she thinks that I want some food, she will gorge herself on it so that there won't be much left for me. This has resulted in me doing the same thing thing to her. As a result, both of us were getting fat until I got sick. It has also led to growling matches and a few fights, so mom and dad are thinking of changing to scheduled meal times, which doesn't suit my style of eating.

Bones are not recommended as they tend to splinter and can cause internal damage. Cooked bones should NEVER be given to a dog as they splinter easily and often result in tragedy. Raw marrow bones can be given to your dog, but they must be discarded if they start to splinter or if they start to smell like they are spoiling.

We must have access to fresh water at all times because proper hydration is an absolute must have condition. Stainless steel bowls for both food and water are the most hygienic and they are much easier for you to clean than bowls made from other material.

If you are considering a raw food diet for your dog, you should see the following:

“Should Your Pets Eat a Raw Diet? Five Considerations Before You Start” published on this blog on Saturday August 15, 2009 and “How to Prepare a Raw Diet for Your Pet(s)” published on this blog on Friday December 18, 2009. You can access these entries by clicking on 2009 and then the appropriate months or by searching “raw diets” via the blog search capability in the top left corner of the blog page.

Until next time,

Teia