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

Unusual Pets: Snakes

Snakes are limbless, cold-blooded and scaly reptiles belonging to the order of Squamata. Keeping Snakes as pets can be easy only if their requirements are understood completely. Their needs are different from other reptiles. Owners must also understand that some of them grow very large and can become dangerous with the passage of time. There are different types of Snakes available for pet owners with different preferences. Every Snake has a different diet and needs a different environment to live in. Snakes, which are kept as pets, range from the common Garter Snake to Pythons. Snakes sometimes live for more than 40 years, so potential owners should be aware of this fact and be ready to make a lifetime commitment before thinking of keeping some types of Snakes as pets.

Snakes frequently escape from their owner’s custody. They always look for small openings in their enclosures which will let them out of their captivity. Owners must be extremely careful in this regard and should make sure that their pet has an escape proof enclosure and that it is never left open unattended, even for a minute.

Snakes are carnivores. They do not eat vegetation at all. The favourite food for Snakes is rats and mice. Bigger Snakes are fed with squirrels, rabbits and other small mammals. Some species even eat insects and fish. When your pet Snake eats a small animal, it is advisable to kill the prey before it is given to the Snake. If this job is left to the Snake, it could be a risk to its life, depending on the type of prey. For example, rats and squirrels can be very vicious if they are trapped in the cage with a Snake and in fear for their life.

Usually Snakes that have been bred in captivity are an excellent choice as pets. Wild Snakes carry lots of diseases and parasites with them, get really stressed out during transportation and frequently are very difficult to tame.

King Snakes, Ball Pythons and Corn Snakes are popular choices as pets. Their diet and environmental needs aren’t as complicated as other species of Snakes. They are also smaller in size, but King Snakes can sometimes grow up to seven feet long. Ball Pythons have eating issues. They like to feed on live prey instead of pre-killed prey. Also, they sometimes stop eating food for months. Ball Pythons that have been bred in captivity have lesser eating issues. Before buying a Ball Python, the prospective owner should test whether the reptile eats dead prey or not, if the seller cannot provide this information.

The more challenging Snakes that can be kept as pets are Red-tailed Boas, Water Snakes, Burmese Pythons, any other Pythons and wild Snakes. The most dangerous of them are Burmese pythons. These are the Snakes that have been abandoned in the Florida everglades and are now endangering the alligators and humans native to this area. They can completely swallow a human being. So it is recommended that you have people around while feeding this reptile so that they can help if problems occur. Burmese Pythons are very strong Snakes and it would be very difficult, or next to impossible, for one person to free themselves from the Snake if captured in its grip. They grow more than twenty feet and weigh more than two hundred pounds. Even Red-tailed Boas grow up to ten feet and weigh more than fifty pounds. These Snakes are also difficult to manage by yourself. All these species demand the right temperatures and humidity in their environment.

Reticulated Pythons and Anacondas are extremely dangerous pets. It is not recommended that you keep these Snakes as pets. Another variety that could be fatal are venomous Snakes. They are not only a threat to the owner and family members, but also to people in the neighbourhood, if one of these type of Snakes escapes.

Snakes are also bred for their skin, which is used to make belts, bags, shoes, etc. They are also eaten as a delicacy in many countries including parts of the United States. In many of the Asian countries, the Snake’s meat and blood is consumed for medicinal purposes.

Mom and dad have talked to a number of people who own Snakes and asked them why they chose a Snake as a pet. The most common reply was that they found it extremely soothing to let the Snake slither through their fingers. The second most common reply was that they were fascinating to watch. So, if you want a Snake as a pet, check with your local pet store to see if they sell them and it they do, ask them if they can tell you the name or phone number of someone who has purchased a Snake from them. Contact this person and find out all the pros and cons of owning a Snake. Once you have done that and researched the requirements of the particular Snake you are interested in, then return to the pet store and get your new pet and all of the equipment that you will need to house it and the food you will need to feed it.

Until next time,

Teia