Nutrition

You need to take care of your dog with proper dog nutrition and feeding. They say 'we are what we eat,' and if it is true for us, it is also true for our dogs. Knowing how to select a good dog food, how much and when to feed, and how we can control or prevent certain diseases through diet will help our dogs live longer and healthier lives. 

Feeding Your Dog and Their Nutrition

Dogs have had 15,000 years to evolve from being primarily meat eaters into omnivores capable of digesting both animal and plant nutrients - just like their owner. They are no longer the same as their close relatives, the wolves, who are strict carnivores living on meat alone. Although dogs prefer meat-based foods, they can exist on vegetable proteins as long as other missing nutrients and amino acids are added.

Good nutrition and a balanced diet are essential for your pet’s health. People often ask me what they should feed their dogs. Over the years, I have made some observations on the health of dogs fed an enormous variety of diets. It’s amazing how well they do on such varied entrees. Here are some of my conclusions.

Does How I Feed My Dog Matter?

What and when you feed your dog early in life will shape its preferences when it is older. This applies to time of day, odor, texture, taste and meal temperature. Up to 50% of an adult dogs diet can come from carbohydrates such as grain. Water should be available to your pet at all times – especially during heavy exercise to prevent dehydration and overheating. Adult dogs do well on just one or two feedings a day but puppies need to eat more frequently.

Should I Feed Canned, Dry or Homemade Food?

Commercial dog foods are available in three forms: canned dry and semi moist.Do not feed semi-moist dog food to your pet because of the large amounts of artificial chemical additives in them. More dry kibble is sold than any other type. Dry foods contain about 90% dry matter and 10% water. They are a blended mixture of grains, meat and meat by-products, fats, mineral and vitamins. Canned dog food contains 68-78% water and 22-32% dry matter.

Given their choice, most dogs prefer canned diets. The aroma, flavor and palatability of dry diets do not match that of canned. Which ever you buy, be sure the label says that the diet meets the National Research Council’s guidelines on canine nutrition and is certified by the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Over the years I have found that dogs fed dry diets have less tartar build up on their teeth and less gum disease surrounding the teeth. They also have less obesity problems. With time, gum inflammation associated with canned diets causes the tissues surrounding the teeth of your pet to recede, the teeth to loosen and their breath to have a bad odor. Also with time, bacteria moving through the blood stream from these infected gums cause damage to the heart, kidneys and liver. It takes much less dry food to satisfy a pet's need because dry food has greater caloric density – that is , it is much richer in nutrients. This is because canned food contains about 75% water.

How Much Should I Feed My Dog?

Individual dogs vary greatly in the amount of food necessary for optimal weight and health. Active breeds such as Brittany spaniels have a much higher metabolic rate than more placid breeds. Many adult dogs I see are overweight. If you can't feel your dog's ribs it is overweight. If the top of its back is flat, it is overweight. If friends say your dog is fat, it is overweight. Growing dogs and puppies require considerably more food per pound body weight to thrive than adults or senior pets do. Most dry dog chows give approximate feeding amounts on their labels. The following chart is an estimate of how much to feed an adult dog each day when using a name brand dry dog chow that contains 21% protein, 5% oil, 2.5% fiber and 8% ash:

What Are The Nutrient Requirements of Dogs?

There are ten essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein, that dogs cannot manufacture on their own. Studies have shown that dogs can tell when their food lacks a single amino acid and will avoid such a meal. One amino acid, taurine, is sometimes deficient in dry dog chows. Although dogs can synthesize taurine from cysteine or methionine, diets composed chiefly of lamb and rice seem to prevent this process. This may be due to the action of rice bran in increasing the body’s loss of taurine through the intestine. Dogs lacking taurine are susceptible to a form of heart enlargement called dilated cardiomyopathy or DCM.

Although high fiber diets are not natural for dogs, some dietary fiber is important for gastrointestinal motility. Diets rich in dietary fiber can also help your pet weight loss. Too much fiber can prevent the absorption of vitamins and minerals and lead to diarrhea.

What Minerals Do My Dog Need?

There are twelve minerals that are essential for dogs. One of these, calcium, is essential for the formation of bone and teeth and as a signal chemical between nerve cells. Puppies that do not receive sufficient calcium have pinkish, translucent teeth a bow-legged stance and knobby painful joints. Partial bone fractures in these puppies are common. Most of these puppies were the offspring of nutritionally deprived mothers. Others received a diet that was primarily meat and bread. Meat is low in calcium and high in phosphorus. High phosphorus interferes with the absorption of the little calcium that meat contains. Older dogs on low calcium high phosphorus diets also suffer from tooth and bone problems. A lack of vitamin D3 can also contribute to this.
Magnesium is important for muscle and nerve cell activity as well as a portion of the mineral structure of bone and teeth. Dogs deficient in magnesium have reduced weight gain, as well as motility problems later in life.
Dogs are remarkably adaptable to a wide range of ingredients, texture, and form in terms of what they will eat. Though many dogs prefer animal-based protein, they can thrive on a supplemented vegetarian diet. Regardless of whether the protein comes from plant or animal sources, normal adult dogs should get about 10 percent of their total calories from protein. Older dogs appear to require as much as fifty percent more protein to maintain their protein reserves.

How Often Should I Feed My Dog?

Dogs eat larger, less frequent meals than cats do. It is OK to feed your adult dog once or twice a day. Puppies, however, need more frequent feedings. Most owners allow their pets to eat as much as they desire. This is fine unless the dog gains excessive weight.

(2ed Chance Info, http://www.2ndchance.info/dogfood.htm, 2009)