The question of what to feed
dogs in general, and puppies in particular, is one that is sure to
cause an animated discussion whenever dog owners get together. And it's
not only people who have had dogs for years that are questioning what
diet is best for their canine friends. Some of the first questions that
puppy owners ask their vet are:
"What is the best food to feed my puppy?"
"How often should I feed my puppy?"
"Should I feed bones to my puppy?"
"What about feeding raw food?"
In addition to asking their vets, people also get advice from breeders, pet stores, internet groups and magazines. And, of course, they are also bombarded by advertisements wherever they look. With so many varied sources of information, many of them biased or, at best, ill-informed, it's not surprising that people are confused.
Surprisingly, the vet is often one of the least qualified sources of information. Their courses in college spend very little time on either preventive care or nutrition - they focus on cures and surgery. The little they do pick up is often from Hill's, who also sponsor many of the materials in veterinary colleges, so not surprisingly, vets often recommend Hill's Science Diet range. Unfortunately, this is not a good source of nutrition for dogs and contains many of the same inappropriate ingredients that are found in the cheaper brands. This is a case where the high cost of the product is not reflected in the quality of the food.
And the cheap foods are at least as bad. One of the very worst foods available is also, unfortunately the most widely sold in the US - Ol' Roy from Wal*Mart.
So what is the right answer?
The answer to this is actually easy. We should feed as near to a natural diet as possible. And that means thinking about what the dogs would be eating in the wild, because that is what their digestive system is designed to deal with.
The closer we can get to replicating a natural diet, the better it will be for our dog's health. If we consider how dogs were raised before commercially prepared products were developed, they ate bones, meat and vegetables (often leftovers from the table). And they were generally healthy on that diet.
Once we moved to commercial foods, tinned products and dry kibble, the dogs' health started to suffer. Cancer, once relatively rare in the domestic dog, is now the greatest killer - a fact now widely being attributed to their modern diet.
There are many reasons for the health problems that arise from commercially prepared cooked foods, particularly the fact that they are being made up from a ingredients such as grains (which their systems are not designed to digest), the waste from the milling process, indigestible fat (sometimes rendered from euthanized pets), and a whole list of other unappetizing contents.
So the simple answer is to try to replicate the natural diet which, in the wild, would be predominantly made up from small rodents that they caught. The first thing is that the diet would be raw. It would be made up roughly in the proportions of 50% bone, 40% meat and 10% vegetative matter (from the stomach of the prey).
Of course, we are not suggesting that you go out to catch rats and squirrels to feed your pet! Or even that you prepare a raw food diet yourself, although that is certainly possible and can make for an excellent diet. Rather we are suggesting that you buy one of the prepared raw food diets available today. There are many manufacturers of these diets, ranging from the most expensive, organic foods that can be bought via the internet, to reasonably priced products available on a local basis.
In summary, if you want to give your pet the most appropriate, healthy food to ensure that he lives a long, happy, and healthy life - go for a raw food diet, every time. Please, do not feed a commercial food - whatever your vet thinks!
"What is the best food to feed my puppy?"
"How often should I feed my puppy?"
"Should I feed bones to my puppy?"
"What about feeding raw food?"
In addition to asking their vets, people also get advice from breeders, pet stores, internet groups and magazines. And, of course, they are also bombarded by advertisements wherever they look. With so many varied sources of information, many of them biased or, at best, ill-informed, it's not surprising that people are confused.
Surprisingly, the vet is often one of the least qualified sources of information. Their courses in college spend very little time on either preventive care or nutrition - they focus on cures and surgery. The little they do pick up is often from Hill's, who also sponsor many of the materials in veterinary colleges, so not surprisingly, vets often recommend Hill's Science Diet range. Unfortunately, this is not a good source of nutrition for dogs and contains many of the same inappropriate ingredients that are found in the cheaper brands. This is a case where the high cost of the product is not reflected in the quality of the food.
And the cheap foods are at least as bad. One of the very worst foods available is also, unfortunately the most widely sold in the US - Ol' Roy from Wal*Mart.
So what is the right answer?
The answer to this is actually easy. We should feed as near to a natural diet as possible. And that means thinking about what the dogs would be eating in the wild, because that is what their digestive system is designed to deal with.
The closer we can get to replicating a natural diet, the better it will be for our dog's health. If we consider how dogs were raised before commercially prepared products were developed, they ate bones, meat and vegetables (often leftovers from the table). And they were generally healthy on that diet.
Once we moved to commercial foods, tinned products and dry kibble, the dogs' health started to suffer. Cancer, once relatively rare in the domestic dog, is now the greatest killer - a fact now widely being attributed to their modern diet.
There are many reasons for the health problems that arise from commercially prepared cooked foods, particularly the fact that they are being made up from a ingredients such as grains (which their systems are not designed to digest), the waste from the milling process, indigestible fat (sometimes rendered from euthanized pets), and a whole list of other unappetizing contents.
So the simple answer is to try to replicate the natural diet which, in the wild, would be predominantly made up from small rodents that they caught. The first thing is that the diet would be raw. It would be made up roughly in the proportions of 50% bone, 40% meat and 10% vegetative matter (from the stomach of the prey).
Of course, we are not suggesting that you go out to catch rats and squirrels to feed your pet! Or even that you prepare a raw food diet yourself, although that is certainly possible and can make for an excellent diet. Rather we are suggesting that you buy one of the prepared raw food diets available today. There are many manufacturers of these diets, ranging from the most expensive, organic foods that can be bought via the internet, to reasonably priced products available on a local basis.
In summary, if you want to give your pet the most appropriate, healthy food to ensure that he lives a long, happy, and healthy life - go for a raw food diet, every time. Please, do not feed a commercial food - whatever your vet thinks!
The author, Chris Lewis, is a long time dog breeder. He has been
raising, training and showing dogs for over 30 years. If you found this
article interesting, you can get more tips and advice, as well as a FREE
mini-course on choosing and caring for a new puppy, at BuyingPuppy.com.
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