There are many opinions about the best diet for dogs.
I feed cooked stews made with meat & veggies and also meals of raw chicken and other raw meats. Some people favor an all
raw diet. Others use packaged dry dog foods ('kibble'). Some of these kibbles are much better than others. I don't think any
knowledgeable person believes that the cheap kibble available in supermarkets is a good choice for any dog at any time.
The cheap dog kibbles are mostly grain. These grain-based
kibbles do have the amount of protein they say they have, but it is not the right kind of protein for dogs. Proteins are made
up of amino acids. Different sources of protein contain different types of amino acids in different amounts. Grains do not
provide the correct types and balance of amino acids for dogs. Dogs require 22 amino acids (the building blocks that make
up proteins). Dogs can synthesize 12 of these amino acids; the remaining ones - essential amino acids - must be consumed.
Essential amino acids for dogs include: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine,
tryptophan, and valine. A deficiency in any of the amino acids can cause health problems. A dog can survive on the non-optimum
proteins found in grains, but there will be health consequences to such a diet. Meat, fish, and eggs are the best sources
of high-quality protein for healthy, happy dogs. If you give your dog a diet high in meat-protein, some of the protein will
be used as calories, some used to build and repair the body, and any excess will be excreted in the urine. There is no reason
to believe a dog can get too great a proportion of high quality protein in his diet.
Dogs bodies have been designed by nature to thrive
on the high-protein, meat-based diet of a carnivore. They won't prosper on a grain-based diet any more than you would if you
tried to live on a diet of grass & leaves. As omnivores we humans can make better use of grains in our diet than dogs
can. We need to feed our dogs a diet that suits their digestive systems rather than a diet that would work for us.
Grains contain large amounts of carbohydrates.
Lesser amounts of carbohydrates can be useful for a dog, but high levels of carbs in grain-based diets lead to weight gain
and nutritional deficiencies.
Some vets will tell you that too much protein
will cause kidney disease or other health problems. This is not true. It used to be widely believed in the past, but
now is known to be untrue. If your dog has a kidney disease, you need to know more about this. Please see this website:
I have stopped using grains in my home-made dogfood
almost altogether. I have read that some dogs with arthritic problems improved greatly when grain was removed from their diets.
It may be that some dogs are genetically more strongly predisposed to have arthritic problems when fed grains. It is certainly
true that dogs do not need grain in their diet and that grains are not an ideal food for dogs.
---- There are now a number of no-grain dog foods available.
--The Natura company which makes 'Innova' brand kibble has a no-grain kibble named 'Evo'.
--The Solid Gold Company now makes a no-grain kibble called "Barking at the Moon".
--The Wellness company's no-grain kibble is called 'Core'.
--The Nature's Variety company makes 'Instinct'.
There are several others now as well, and more will be entering the market. This is a big change
from just a few years ago when a no-grain dog food was very hard to find.
I believe that the best possible diet for a dog is
homemade and includes a variety of meats and veggies and consists at least partially of raw meats. A high-quality, no-grain,
high-protein, low-carb commercial dog food is a good second choice.
Serendipitously, when I stopped using grains I found
that the dogs were much less inclined to put on excess weight. Many dogs who have ligament injuries are overweight dogs. It
is important to get their weight down as part of recovery and for avoidance of future joint problems. So eliminating grains
could be something to consider for several reasons.
I give all my dogs vitamin supplements, fish oil capsules,
and also Glucosamine & Chondroitin & MSM daily. There is much differing opinion about many supplements, but Glucosamine,
Chondroitin and MSM are universally accepted as very useful and effective. There are many sources for these supplements. I
have found that the most cost-efficient way to buy them is to get the human-grade supplements. They can be bought at one of
the big warehouse stores (BJs, Costco, SAMs etc). You can also find them at most places that sell vitamins. Supplements are
also available through catalog and internet sale. Vets sell joint supplements but there is usually a high markup on the price.
There are now dry dog foods which include Glucosamine & Chondroitin.
The amounts included are very small relative to what a dog should be getting. Supplement tablets are the best way to provide
appropriate dosages. I often hear from people that their vets have recommended dosage amounts that I believe are less than
optimum. Here's the amounts which I, and many other people, have used for years with good effect.
Recommended Daily Dosages:
Glucosamine --
500mg per 25 lbs of body weight ( 20mg/lb)
Chondroitin
400mg per 25 lbs of body weight.
MSM
625mg per 25 lbs of body weight.
Combination Glucosamine/Chondroitin tablets can usually be found in tablets
containing the 500/400 ratio. A 50 pound dog (20 kilo) would get two tablets a day. A 100 pound dog (40 kilo) would
get four tablets a day. You can safely give more so you don't have to split pills. Just give however many pills it takes to
be at or over those dosages. These are very safe supplements.
Probably you will need to buy MSM tablets separately. There are tablets which
contain all three, but these usually have too little MSM proportionally.
I feed two meals a day and divide the supplements
between the two meals. I like to give the tablets at the same time the dogs are eating so as to avoid their getting
the tablets on an empty stomach.
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Diet and supplements are subjects that deserve more
in-depth consideration than I have given them here. Mary Straus has a website which has much information on these and
other subjects, and is well worth reading. Below is a link to it:
