YOUR DOG'S FOOD REQUIREMENTS
The three main ingredients in dog food are proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Proteins are the body's 'building blocks', necessary for proper muscle and skeletal development. Proteins are actually arrangements of 22 amino acids, which occur in different proportions in the various protein sources. The dog, like humans, need all 22, and his body can manufacture all but 8. Because these eight amino acids have to be provided from an outside source, they are called 'essential' amino acids. They are found in greatest abundance in animal products...eggs, meat, poultry and meat meal, and in lesser quantities in ground, soy meal, and other grain by-products. Consequently, if you are feeding a dog whose major protein source is an animal by-product, you will have to feed less than if the food's major protein source were grains.
Fats are a source of energy. There are three major fat sources in dog food...vegetable fat, soft animal fat, and tallow. Your dog's system can utilize all three, but beef tallow, the cheapest kind, is also the most difficult to digest. Tallow is the hard fat surrounding the muscle of cattle, while soft fat comes from chickens or the abdominal area of large animals. In any dog food ration, the persentage of digestible protein...i.e., that contains all eight essential amino acids...to fat should be 3:2. If it is not, the the fat source used in that particular food is probably tallow. Too much fat results in an oily coat, 'fatty liver' disease in older dogs, loose stools, and a fat, unhealthy dog.
Carbohydrates are the third major ingredient in dog food. They are derived from grains and supply quick energy needed for every day activity. However, an over supply of carbohydrates can result in an overactive or 'hyper' dog. Unfortunately, when the protein source is vegetable, the protein is usually accompanied by carbohydrate and more carbohydrate. This means that to give your dog enough protein from a grain source, you will almost certainly be over-feeding carbohydrates.
TYPES OF DOG FOOD
Canned: These products are 80% water and are not meant as a suitable source of nutrition. Like dry kibble, not all canned food is the same. Grocery store brands usually contains a potpourri of preservatives, color enhancers, artificial this and that, and other non-foods, some of which are harmful. Purchasing canned foods from holistic pet stores will have all-natural ingredients and preservatives.
Semi-moist: These can be worse because of the amount of sugar they contain. Dogs should have no sugar, ever, but some of these foods are loaded with it. As well, they contain all the non-food items listed above, plus enough carbohydrate to turbo-charge an elephant. If your dog is over-active and you are feeding a semi-moist food, his diet should be changed immediately. The dyes and cute burger-with-cheese look are to attract the human purchaser, not the dog. Dogs couldn't care less what their food looks like.
Commercial Dry Food (non-fixed formulas): This category covers all the major dry foods found in supermarkets or warehouse style pet stores. Any of these is preferable to canned or semi-moist food, but they too have drawbacks.
First, the major protein source is either animal by-product or vegetable, which means it either contains the left overs of the animal (such as feathers, beaks and feet) or vegetables (such as potato starch) that contains an over-abundance of carbohydrate. As well, the ingredients are not always the same from bag to bag of the same brand, as they are bought in bulk according to the prevailing market price. Thus, the factory may use wheat one month and soy the next. Consequently your dog may suffer digestive upsets from a change of diet, even though you are feeding the same brand regularly.
Secondly, these foods invariably promise a balanced diet when fed as directed; then the label might direct that you feed 6 to 8 cups daily to a 50lb dog. Your dog cannot possibly consume those quantities...but, he must to get the balanced diet promised on the label. The reason for the disparity is the amount of carbohydrate filler that must be used to get enough protein into the ration. This filler leaves the dog in the form of frequent, copious and often loose stools.
Fixed Formula Dry Food: These are specialty foods such as Acana/Orijen, Go!/Now!, Horizon/Legacy, Innove/Evo, etc., stocked in pet supply stores. The ingredients are the same in every batch, and the protein is usually poultry, meat or fish meal, resulting in lower carbohydrate intake. The fat source might be a combination of tallow and other fats. The most obvious disadvantage of these foods is their price, which can leave your jaw gaping. But before you leave the pet store empty-handed and rush to the supermarket, keep some facts in mind:
Your dog will eat substantially less of these foods, which means that the price per feeding is about the same as the cheaper brands. He will also digest it more efficiently, resulting in fewer, firmer stools littering your yard and a healthier dog.
Finally, the reason you may not have heard of these foods is because their advertising budgets are negligible compared to those of the larger commercial dog food companies. So, you are paying for ridiculous 'scatch & sniff' magazine ads and primetime TV spots when you should be paying for good nutrition.
WHEN TO FEED
The adult dog should be fed twice daily...morning and late afternoon. A morning feeding helps relieve hunger tension throughout the day (a common reason why dogs left alone all day are destructive).
Dogs should not be free-fed...i.e., food left out for the dog to eat whenever he feels like it. Such practice can lead to either finicky or gluttonous eaters, resulting in under or overweight dogs. The owner also misses a golden opportunity to play the role of 'Alpha' by having the dog sit for his dinner.
WHERE TO FEED
Your dog should be fed in a quiet area away from household traffic to prevent food-related aggression and anxiety. Put him in a sit/stay until you place his food dish on the floor. Give him an 'okay' as a signal to eat. Leave the food down for 20 minutes and remove any untouched portion after this time. If he's finicky, a few days of removing untouched food should convince him of the wisdom of eating while the eating's good. Say nothing if you have to remove it. Above all, don't beg or cajole him to eat; your tonality will be one of stress, which will cause anxiety in the dog.
SCRAPS
In general, table scraps should 'not' be fed, especially fried foods, however, fresh fruits, veggies, and cooked meats are fine on occasion. You will simply destroy the balance of the dog food you are feeding. For training, you can use freeze-dried or soft treats, cheese, or all-natural biscuits.
VITAMINS & OTHER SUPPLEMENTS
Most nutritionists do not recommend supplementing the dog's ration with vitamins and other concoctions, unless specifically prescribed by the veterinarian. A good dog food contains all the vitamins and trace minerals in proper proportion. Adding a little of this and a little of that can upset the balance and actually cause a deficiency.
CHOCOLATE POISONING
Many species are susceptible to chocolate poisoning, however, it most commonly occurs in dogs. Chocolate is derived from the roasted seeds of Theobroma cacao and contains theobromine and small amounts of caffeine. Dogs are particularly susceptible to these two ingredients.
Delayed absorption may delay the onset of clinical signs for some time after ingestion. With excessive amounts ingested at one time, signs may develop after 8 hours and death 12 - 24 hours after ingestion. Signs include thirst, vomiting, diarrhoea, urinary incontinency and agitation to nervousness, seizures, and coma. With chronic ingestion (over several days) death may result (sometimes with little or no outward warning signs) from cardic failure.
Milk Chocolate...
Lethal Dose? = 2 oz per kg of body weight (approximately 13 mg/kg) of milk chocolate can be fatal unless treated...ie: 5 kg (11 lb) dog = 10 oz (280 grams); 25 kg (55 lbs) dog = 1.4 kg chocolate.
Unsweetened (bakers) dark chocolate...
This is 10 times more lethal than milk chocolate (much higher theobromine content)...ie: 5 kg (11 lb) dog = 1 oz (28 g); 25 kg (55 lbs) dog = 5 oz (140 g).
White Chocolate...
Low enough in both theobromine and caffeine to be unlikely to cause poisoning.
