Canine nutrition

• Feeding your dog a RAW meat or BARF diet
• Advice on feeding your dog or puppy through all stages of life.
• Feeding guidelines for most dog foods.

• Gastric Torsion (bloat) and dog food.

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The information below (advice on feeding your puppy or dog) is to help today's dog and puppy owners. One thing I would like to say is that I have seen people drive themselves batty worrying over which food diet is the best for their dogs. I have always been of the belief that if one searches long and hard enough for problems you eventually will find them, even if they are of your own creation.

The vast majority of today's dogs do very well and live a long life eating commercial dog foods purchased in fine pet stores.  Most quality dry foods can only be purchased at a pet store. I have always tried to be realistic when giving dog owners nutrition advice. The fact is dog owners are busy people, with families and many times children. Therefore, most dog owners do very well in feeding a well known premium brand of dog food available at the pet store. I do not have a problem with owners that want to spend a large amount of money on specialized dog food. Those owners are not the norm and its their money to spend as they wish. Just keep in mind the fact that all those holistic, or "natural" dog foods are trying to sell you a product. The only way to convince you to buy their product is by convincing you that the regular commercial dog food sold in stores is detrimental to your dog's health. The most honest opinions on dog nutrition are given by those who have nothing to gain by convincing you to purchase a certain brand or type of dog food.

Feeding your dog RAW meat or Bones and Raw Food:

 I have always believed the feeding of RAW or BARF (bones and raw food) is not a positive or viable means of good nutrition for dogs. Our dogs are not WOLVES but in fact are far removed from the wolf. Wolves did not live to be fourteen or more years of age or bask in the sun inside your family room. Our dogs do not have to search and hunt for their dinner. Wolves do not have nutrition experts from large corporate companies working to find the best possible nutrition answers for them. Most wolves in the wild only lived a few years and eventually died of  poor nutrition. I find it ridiculous that anyone would want to feed their pet today as if it was a wild, undomesticated animal. I believe RAW can do more harm than good.  Since feeding RAW is a relatively new idea, it will take years to find the long term effects it can have on our dogs.  I personally know of many dogs that have choked on raw bones or had obstructions caused by swallowing bones.  There is always the threat of salmonella and other bacterial infections from feeding RAW.  And most importantly, people do not and will not have the time to spend monitoring a RAW diet and preparing  food as needed  by a RAW food diet.  Dog food companies are in the business of making a financial profit. It serves them well to develop safe and realistic diet for today's dog owners that promote a long life for dogs. After all, a dog eats much more food in it's life if it lives to be 15 instead of 10.  People are becoming more educated about good nutrition for their dogs.  As a result of dog owners becoming more educated about good nutrition for their dogs, dog food companies are being forced to develop products educated dog owners will buy for their pets.  They must do this to stay competitive in today's enlightened canine community.    I have never lost a dog before the age of 11 and I have had many dogs live past 15 years of age.  I have always fed commercial "premium" dog food diets.  Be realistic. Be logical when making choices in your canine's nutrition. Please click on the links below. It states many of the same reasons I do not believe RAW to be an alternative way of feeding our dogs. 

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/BARF_Raw_Food_Diet.htm

Causes of excess shedding in dogs.

**Over bathing your dog can actually cause excessive shedding and sometimes even cause a smell from skin damage.  Over bathing can damage your dogs skin, dry it out and contribute greatly to shedding.

**Dogs that live inside tend to shed all year long.  Since the daytime and night time  hours control when a dog sheds naturally, dogs indoor are exposed to much longer periods of light (artificial light from lamps and indoor lighting).  That combined with indoor heating cause a dog to shed at least some of its coat all year long. 

**Stress or stressful situations (as that scary visit to the vet and surgery) can contribute to shedding. 

**Parasites can contribute to shedding.  Dogs overwhelmed by parasites (worms) can have a dull unhealthy looking coat and shed more than usual.

**Good nutrition is very important in the over all health of your dog.  Nutrition can have a very important role in hair growth or shedding problems.  Dogs that are fed diets with soy or corn as the main ingredient tend to have a more unhealthy coat, can show symptoms as a dull unhealthy coat with excess shedding and tend to need more trips outside to relieve themselves.

**The quality of the protein and the actual amount of protein your dog eats can affect shedding.  Dogs tend to shed more when being fed diets with corn or another carb as the main ingredient.   These dogs may not get the amount of protein needed in their coats which can contribute to shedding.  Dogs fed  protein levels that are higher than needed can shed in excess also.  These dogs may not have dull looking coats and are in good health, but they seem to shed more.   It appears that they grow more coat and shed more because of that.  Sometimes adjusting the amount of protein can make a difference in these cases.  Some of my Beagles that were fed a very high protein (Euchanuba for small breed, with a 32%protein) actually had horrible looking coats.  It is just too much protein for them.

**Dog allergies can show themselves as ear infections, excess tearing, dry, irritated and itchy skin as well as excess shedding.  The majority of the time allergies are caused by a dog's diet.

**If your using a quality premium food to feed your dog, do NOT add vitamins to it's diet.  This can interfere with your dog food.

**If your feeding a high quality dog food do not purchase shedding or anti shedding products.  Your just paying for something your already getting from your food.  Anti - shedding products are nothing more than vitamins and supplements already supplied by your dog's food.

The foods listed below are a few of the premium dog foods available at popular pet stores. Most of them offer large    breed puppy foods.
*Purina Pro Plan (has a wonderful fish diet for dogs with sensitive stomachs or allergies)
*Euchanuba Dog Food (recently introduced a lamb line of dog food).
*Nutro Max
*Natural Choice **my favorite line for dogs with allergies** (large variety of foods)
*Authority Dog Food (PetsMart only)
*Purina One *available in larger chain grocery stores and Walmart*
*Iams (watch their regular diet food as it changes to corn as a main ingredient, their lamb diet food is fine)
*Pro Pac
*Pro Plan *They offer a full line of quality foods for all dogs.
*Bil Jac ( I feel the protein amounts are high in some of their foods, they may also still use BHA as a preservative).
*Nature's recipe (offers different foods for dogs with sensitivities and food allergies).
*Royal Canin * (I prefer this for small and toy breed dogs)

My general guidelines for most dog foods are:

1.  Avoid all dog foods containing SOY
2.  Feed a food with meat as the first ingredient. (and doesn't have corn as the second, third and fourth ingredient).
3.  I always avoid foods that contain BHA , BTH, ethoxoyquin or other synthetic preservatives. Most premium foods now use natural preservatives (like vitamin E).
4.  Never feed a dog food that contains dyes for color. This is for the owners benefit as the dog is color blind.
5.  Feed your dog food that is meant for his or her age and activity level. (puppy, adult, large breed or senior)
6.  Check expiration dates on dog food bags. Dog food only has a certain amount of shelf life before it starts to lose its nutritional value. Old food also attracts insects.
7.  READ dog food ingredients. The first ingredient is the MAIN ingredient. Just because a bag of food says "Beef" on the bag do not take it for granted it is the main ingredient.

Corn and soy based foods although much less expensive, tend to give you more piles to clean in your yard as the dog usually defecates much more often. Dogs fed this diet tend to shed more, have dry skin as well as be less tolerant to fleas. Dogs show food allergies in different ways. Some scratch and bite themselves. Others may have eyes that tear excessively or even get ear infections from the food they are being fed.
                                                Gastric Torsion And Dog Food
Gastric Torsion or "Bloat" can kill a dog in a matter of 2 hours or take as long as 36 hours. It is horribly painful to a dog and is a problem in adult dogs. The stomach fills with gasses making the dog extremely uncomfortable. As it progresses it twists and locks the gasses in causing even more severe pain. Bloat can happen to any dog but it is much more likely to be seen in large or giant breed dogs with deep chests. Anyone with a large breed dog should take care to avoid this horrible killer of pets. Below are some ways to avoid bloat in your dog. If your dog seems in pain or discomfort after it eats and does not want to lay down comfortably, it may be suffering from bloat.

• Do NOT feed your dog one meal a day. Your dog should be fed two to three times a day. If smaller amounts of food are always present in the dog's stomach it reduces the chance for bloat to occur. Leaving food out at all times can cause a picky eater or a fat dog.

• LEAVE WATER OUT AT ALL TIMES! If you limit water your dog is much more likely to drink quickly and too much. This contributes to cases of bloat. If something is always available a dog is much less likely to gorge. NOTE:  Monitor your large breed or giant breed dog after heavy exercise.  Do not let them drink too much water too fast!!

• Feed your dog from an elevated dish. This helps the dog take in less air as it doesn't "suck" in air when eating.

• IF you purchased a dog from a quality breeder, they will know the bloat history of their dogs. It can be hereditary. 

• Prevent your dog from eating quickly. Sometimes putting a large rock in the middle of the food dish slows down the eating process as the dog must eat around the rock. The rock needs to be too large for your dog to fit into it's mouth!

• Keep your dog calm after meals. Harsh exercise and physical activity can contribute greatly to bloat.

If you would like more information on this subject, I found a great article at the link below!
http://www.eclipse.net/~bobaloo/bloat.htm

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