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Your dog needs a balanced diet of
protein, carbohydrates and fats to maintain good
general health, a healthy skin and coat, and plenty of
energy. Broad guidelines are: 20-25% protein, 20-35%
fat and 40-60% carbohydrate. Like humans, they need
vitamins and minerals, though unlike us their need for
Vitamin C is satisfied by their ability to synthesize
it for themselves. Essential vitamin B1, however, is
not stored by dogs, and can be lost in food
processing. It may need to be supplied as a
supplement. Just feeding your dog
lean meat does not satisfy these guidelines. In
nature, dogs will eat all of their prey, including fat
and the contents of the gut, which as a whole provides
close to this ideal balanced diet. In fact, dogs in
the wild have been observed to prefer to eat the gut
of their prey first. |
Studies have confirmed this
preference in domestic dogs, by showing they generally
prefer their food cooked, warm, wet and ground up rather
than in raw meaty chunks. Dogs are not delicate eaters,
however. As natural scavengers, they will eat almost
anything when they are hungry, and will naturally gulp
down large meals quickly when food is available. Their
ancestors never knew when next they might get an
opportunity to eat. Commercially
processed and balanced dog food is commonly fed to dogs to
help meet their ideal requirements, incorporating the
necessary vitamin and mineral supplements. Often these
foods come in dry form for ease of storage, or in cans or
sausages, and offer a simple and convenient solution that
is popular with a high proportion of dog owners. The
commercial pet food business is today a huge industry.
Store bought commercial dog foods are not always cheap,
however. An alternative for dog
owners is to mix their own balanced dog food diet. It’s
tricky to get the right combination of the right foods.
Human diet guidelines are not necessarily appropriate. You
will have to read up on the subject to know what you are
doing. To give one example of the unique dietary issues to
consider, including too much dried skim milk powder could
cause scouring because of its high lactose content that
dogs find difficult to digest. Recipes that offer guidance
are readily available should you choose to take this
approach. Dogs like to chew on large
bones, but small bones and cooked bones that may splinter
should be avoided. They are a common cause of death for
dogs when ingested. Cooked chicken, lamb chop and fish
bones are especially dangerous. Scraps from the table are
always popular with dogs, and feeding your dog after you
have eaten is one of the strategies you should adopt to
assert your “alpha” position in the “pack.” But do watch
out not just for small bones, but also for other dangers
they may contain, like toothpicks. An
aspect of dog behavior is that they will learn to
associate a particular food with a bad experience, such as
a digestive upset, and, as a natural survival instinct,
may never eat it again. This may explain the frustrating
and mysterious aversions to some foods that dog owners
occasionally observe. Feeding your
seemingly ravenous dog is a little more complicated than
it appears to be at first glance, but rarely presents any
difficulty once you are aware of the unique requirements
of dogs.
Author Bio: Shelby Wright grew up
working with sheep herding dogs on a farm, and later bred
and showed gun dogs. For more helpful information see
Shelby's
reviews of dog training guides and
dog care. Shelby also contributes private label
rights articles to
PLRWrittenArticles and
writes an
information products review blog. |
