When Satchel came to us, I attempted to continue with the raw food diet his foster family was providing. Satchel was so thin, and had been under so much stress, I didn't want to alter his diet. After researching canine nutrition a little, and raw food diets, I decided it wasn't for Satchel. First, the calorie content was not nearly enough. At the time, Satchel weighed about 70 pounds, and he should have weighed 80-85 pounds. That was not the fault of the diet. I could have increased the calories, but I was interested in the explanation that though dogs, and other animals, in the wild do eat raw meat in the form of killed prey and carion, they actually go for the partially digested food in the stomach and intestines first. Stomach acid slightly "cooks" the meat and vegetation, therefore, a raw food diet isn't completely primal. There are benefits to people and animals from a raw food diet, but I decided it wasn't for Satchel.
No matter what type of diet you decide to feed your dog, it's important to feed him the right amount of calories. Your dogs' calorie needs depend not so much on breed, but size, activity level and life circumstance. Pregnant dogs and puppies need more calories than the average adult dog, but a working dog, or dog in physical competitions such as agility or flyball, will need just as many or more calories as a puppy.
From the books I've read, and from a canine nutritionist I met along the way, the average dog needs about 15 calories per pound of ideal body weight. Your vet should be able to help you assess what your dog's ideal body weight is. Commercially prepared dry and canned foods usually provide calorie content on their packaging or websites, as do treat boxes and bags. With this information, you can measure how much food, and how many treats, your dog should have each day to meet her caloric needs.
When Satchel was diagnosed with cancer, and for managing Koko's colitis, and when trying to figure out to what Luna was allergic, I provided a home-cooked diet. The greatest resource I found was "Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats." Satchel thrived on a beef, rice and beans recipe. Koko felt great, and lived 2 years longer than anyone but we expected, on chicken breast and rice recipes, and with a venison and vegetables recipe, I learned Luna lives more comfortably eating little to no grains. Home cooking is time consuming and expensive, but I feel it was one of the best things I've done for my pack.
Presently, my dogs eat a commercially prepared dry dog food. I add powders and vegetables and give my dogs supplements, which I will post about later this week, but for my family's needs right now, I'm happy with dry dog food. I researched brands and ingredients and feel the two most important elements are:
1. The food must be made in the USA from ingredients raised and grown in the USA.
2. The first ingredient must be meat. We happen to be a chicken family.
There are several high quality dry foods available, and they can be expensive. I recently read an article that suggested dry food rotation to decrease ingredient sensitivity and allergies. We're usually told to not change our dogs' food to avoid stomach upset, but I found that foods whose first ingredient was meat caused my dogs to have no issues. I also found that one of the foods they seemed to like a lot would cost ~$80 per month. I'm sticking with the ~$60 per month food that has no grains and I occasionally provide home-cooked meals. My dogs' weights are great, their nutrition excellent, their coats beautiful, and they're always ready for an adventure. I think our diet is a keeper!
No comments:
Post a Comment