There are many opinions about the best diet for dogs.
I feed some meals of cooked stews made with meat & veggies, some meals of raw chicken and other raw meats, and some
meals of high-protein no-grain kibble. Some people favor an all raw diet. Others exclusively 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 the best choice for any dog at any time.
The cheap dog kibbles are mostly grain. These grain-based
kibbles do have the amount of protein their labels 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 -
called 'essential amino acids' - must be consumed. Some of the essential amino acids are not present in proteins
from grains. A deficiency in any of the essential amino acids can cause health problems. 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 best on a grain-based diet any more than you would
if you tried to live on a diet of grass that your horse would thrive on. 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. It is foolish to think that corn or other grains are a good basis for dogs'
diets. Dog foods which contain at least some meat-source protein together with grain may prevent or delay the negative
health consequences that would result from a total absence of the essential amino acids lacking in grains, but the best
diet for dogs clearly should be based on meat, fish, & eggs. Not grains.
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.
"If no one on earth had ever seen a dog, and a dog
arrived from another planet in a flying saucer, and we were wondering what food to offer, the dog's sharp teeth and short
digestive system and other physical traits would clearly be saying 'This is a carnivore. His nutritional needs
will best be met with meat.'"
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. Chronic skin problems are also
reported to be resolved by removing grains from dogs' diets, as well as other health problems. It may be that some dogs
are genetically more strongly predisposed to have arthritic & other health 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. It is important in choosing
among them to consider protein sources & protein percentages. Simply being a no-grain food is not good enough.
'No-grain' has become trendy, so some kibble makers are selling new products in
which they have simply switched from grain to another carbohydrate. It is possible for a kibble to be no-grain but
have too little animal protein and/or low quality animal protein. Look at the ingredients listed on the bag. By
law these must be listed in order of percentage in the kibble. The first named ingredient being the thing there is most
of in the kibble, etc. However, be wary. Some manufacturers will break down ingredients listed so as to give a
false impression. For instance, if a kibble is mostly rice with only a little meat, the ingredients list should
in honesty read:
"Rice(brewers rice/rice broken pieces/rice hulls/ground rice), chicken meal,"
--- etc etc
but the manufacturer knows many people look to see what the first named ingredient is on the
bag, so he breaks out the various rice items as separate ingredients, letting him put 'chicken' first, thus:
"Chicken, brewers rice, rice pieces, rice hulls, ground rice," --- etc etc
Or, the manufacturer could use multiple non-meat ingredients to let him keep chicken
as the first listed ingredient while the proportion of chicken in the kibble is actually small:
"Chicken, brewers rice, rice pieces, corn, wheat, ground brown rice, rice powder, beat
pulp," --- etc etc.
A kibble could have a dozen non-meat ingredients which added together comprised more than
90% of the kibble's weight, but if no single one of the non-meat ingredients were more than a chicken proportion of 8%,
the chicken would be listed as the first ingredient.
Seeing high quality meat sources (such as chicken, turkey, chicken meal, etc) as the
first several ingredients, and high protein percentages overall, are the indicators of a good quality no-grain kibble.
-- Seeing one or two low quality protein sources (like "poultry by-product meal") followed
by non-meat ingredients, and a lower protein percentage overall, indicates a low quality kibble.
---- Here are the kibbles I like best:
--The Natura company which makes 'Innova' brand kibble has a no-grain kibble named 'Evo'.
Great for adult dogs, but not recommended for puppies.
-- Champion Petfoods makes 'Orijen'. A great adult kibble, and for puppys, 'Orijen Puppy'
is the best there is.
--The Wellness company makes a good grain-free kibble called 'Core'.
Here is a link to a dogfood analysis and review website:
Homemade meals which include a variety of meats and veggies are good. Raw meat meals are
good. A high-quality, no-grain, high-protein, low-carb commercial dog food is also good choice. Using a good quality
kibble for at least part of a dog's diet insures that you aren't missing some necessary nutrient in your home-made food.
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.
There are different opinions about the various supplements. I give all my dogs
vitamin supplements, fish oil capsules, and Glucosamine & Chondroitin daily. 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 Joint Supplement Dosages:
Glucosamine --
500mg per 25 lbs of body weight ( 20mg/lb)
Chondroitin
400mg 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.
I feed two meals a day and divide the supplements so as to give part of the daily amounts with
each of the two meals. I like to give the tablets with meals. However, some sources believe that Glucosamine
& Chondroitin are absorbed better when given 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:
