Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

Dog Food & Supplements: An In Depth Look At Nutrition For Dog Health (3)

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Supplementing For Better Dog Health

Labeling in the pet food industry is carefully controlled by state and federal regulations and is important to dog health.

Words such as “complete” and/or “balanced” cannot arbitrarily appear on a label. Before any labeling claims that a product is complete and/or balanced, manufacturers must prove it to the satisfaction of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

The AAFCO is made up of representatives from each state, and representatives from the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration. The AAFCO is closely affiliated with the individual state departments of agriculture. Manufacturers must prove that the product actually meets or exceeds the acceptable guidelines as set forth by the National Research Council.

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Because of the variety of dog foods now available to the consumer, he finds himself faced with the question, which is best? Canned, dry, or semi-moist food?

Complete and balanced foods are available in all three forms.

Nutritionally, they are the same. Only the means used to arrive at the end result (putting it in a can, bag or box) are different. In canned foods, fresh or frozen meat or meat by-products are used as a source of protein, though they are not the only source of it. In dry foods, the very same products are dehydrated, and other ingredients added to compensate for any loss of nutrients during the dehydration process.

This raises another set of questions around dog health.

Why then is there such a wide diversification of prices? How can some dog foods be priced at just a few dollars while seemingly the same amount of nutrients in a more popular brand be priced triple that amount? If both foods are labeled as “complete” and “balanced” then what is the difference?

The answer can be found in the list of ingredients the manufacturer uses to make the product. The ingredients used will affect the palatability of the product – that is – how it tastes and smells.

A person sitting down at the dinner table with a plate of broiled lobster, french fries, corn on the cob, and homemade yeast rolls would really savor the taste and smell of the meal, provided he enjoyed such cuisine. Then again, the smell of Hungarian goulash emanating from the table alongside wouldn’t turn him on at all. A person adverse to lobster meal might very well relish the Hungarian goulash. The price paid for each of the two meals would vary greatly.

In other words – people’s tastes differ – and likewise, dog’s tastes differ.

The manufacturer strives to develop the one taste that will be enjoyed by the largest percentage of dogs. To this end, each manufacturer strives for consistency. The job for proper blending to achieve taste and smell falls directly upon the manufacturer’s quality control staff; this ensures great dog health for your pet.

Avocados: A Surprisingly Healthy Fruit For All Dogs

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A useful dog health tip is that most dogs love avocados. They taste good, and they are an excellent source of fat. Fat is responsible for providing dogs with extra amount of energy and gives them healthy skin as well as an extra glow in their coat.

Strangely enough, it was the dogs themselves who led us to the idea of using the avocado as a supplement to the canine diet. It seems that avocado growers’ pet dogs were competing with the growers for any fallen fruit. The growers became curious and decided to compare the nutrients that this amazing fruit contained with those needed by canines.

According to a Veterinary professor at Iowa State University, this fruit enhances hair quality as well as skin tone, with which avocado growers have reported in their dogs is most likely due to the amount of linoleic acid of the fruit when added to the dog’s diet.

Of course, this fruit alone could not be recommended as the only nutrient source for dogs. But an avocado, in small quantities as a supplement, might be helpful if adequate amount of fat were not available from other sources.

A dog’s requirement of fat depends mostly on the amount of activity he engages in. For instance, an active working dog needs up to twenty percent fat in his diet, while the average household dog that walks a few blocks everyday needs only five to eight percent of fat in his diet. The very thin dog should get a diet rich in fat until his weight and health improve. The pregnant and nursing female dog also needs greater amounts of fat in her diet.

The majority of canine canned foods contain adequate fat to satisfy the need of an average household dog. However, if the dog is fed a diet strictly of dry meal, it might be moistened with additional sources of fat.

Avocados are an excellent source of fat for this purpose. And for canines that get most of their fat from canned foods, this tasty fruit also serves as an occasional treat. Avocados might be alternated with other occasional food supplements to add variety to the dog’s regular diet. Simply put, dogs love avocados and they are good for them!

Word Of Warning:  Documented evidence suggests that some dogs, as well as other domestic animals like cats and cattle, can be severely harmed and prove fatal when they eat the avocado pit, skin, leaves, and bark of the avocado tree. Therefore, when supplementing your dog’s health and diet with avocados, make sure to only give him the meat of the fruit.

Dog Food – 3 Types Of Standard Commercial Dog Food Sold In Stores

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With the rising concern for dog health, there are many different types of dog foods today. There are 3 types of commercially prepared dog foods that are available in the market today: Canned foods, Semi-moist foods, and Dry foods.

Canned Foods

This type of food comes in several varieties which ranges in quality as well as price. They consist of about 75% water and is mixed with assorted meat, fish, and cereal products. They are easy to prepare and dogs love them! However, canned foods produce low-energy nutrients, which means that you would need to give your dog a big serving in order to provide him with the required energy he needs.

If you have a large dog, you would have to double the amount of servings, which makes canned food a bit unpractical and on the pricey side. To solve this problem, consider mixing canned foods  with dried food.  The mixture will provide more energy for your dog and will also add volume to the food, thereby saving you money.

There is another kind of canned food that only contains meat, hence called “all meat canned foods”.  Similar to regular canned food, all meat canned food does not provide your dog with the proper amount of energy that his body needs. In order to get enough energy, you would need to give him large quantities of the food, although this will only produce an unbalanced diet. Therefore, all meat canned foods should also be mixed in with dried foods or even semi-moist food.

Semi-Moist Foods

This type of food has high concentration and only contains 15 to 30% water content, which provides more energy for your dog in less amount of volume than canned foods. Their ingredients consist of meat, cereals, vegetables, sugar, and fats.  They are easy for your dog to digest and he will surely love the taste. They come in a wide variety, do not need to be refrigerated, and many owners find them to be the most convenient way to feed their dogs.

Semi-moist foods are expensive and is loaded with sugar and corn syrup and therefore, should not be given to dogs with diabetes. In addition, these foods are also loaded with colorings and artificial flavors.  It is best to give your dog this type of food only on an occasional basis rather than his main source of diet.

Dry Foods

Dry foods contain about 10% water, providing high energy value to your dog. They are the least expensive of all the dog foods, they can be stored in bulk quantities, and they do not need to be refrigerated. This is why most pet owners prefer this to have a food for their dog and considerate it to be the most economical way to feed their pets.

On the other hand, the majority of commercially prepared dried foods contain mostly cereal and is very limited in the amount of protein that the dog requires. Consider mixing dry food with canned foods to give your dog a well-balanced diet.  Another alternative is to choose a brand that contain meat as its main ingredient, this is helpful in reaching balanced dog health.

Special Diets For Dogs: The Overweight Dog

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“Should I put my dog on a diet?”

The answer to that question is Yes, but only if your veterinarian recommends it. The same care, consideration, and advice should be taken when your dog needs to be put on a special diet program, as you yourself would get from your personal physician if you were put on a diet. You cannot diet your dog properly without expert advice, and in this case, as in most problems with animals, your pet’s best friend is always his veterinarian.

Your veterinarian has at his disposal many compounded special diets. There is one for the overweight dog as well as the dog with heart trouble or kidney disease. Manufacturers also supply him with prescription dietary foods for puppies, pregnant dogs, the allergic dog, and dogs with intestinal upsets.

There are dry, as well as canned, diet foods. The canned foods come in various sizes to meet the needs of the small dog and the large dog. Your pet’s doctor may recommend mixing several foods together. Special diets are often fortified with mineral and vitamin supplements. So if your veterinarian suggests that you put your dog on a dietary program, you know that he will be getting the best nutrition possible.

The Overweight Dog

Now let’s look at the most common reason why a diet is typically instructed by the veterinarian: the overweight dog. There are no “crash diets” for the obese dog. If your dog is overweight, you are the one who is responsible for it. The overweight dog is very much like a fat person. He is short of breath and is often called a lazy dog. Exercising is just too much for him. All the energy he can muster is used carrying that extra weight.

One also must remember that it is the fat on the inside of the animal that causes the most trouble. The last time I spoke to a veterinarian about this issue, he explained to me what excess fat can do to the body. There may be fatty tissue surrounding the heart, the lungs, or the digestive tract which could cause these organs not to function properly.

The overweight dog needs low-calorie food for weight reduction. Your veterinarian will weigh your pet and determine how much he needs to lose. He will then prescribe the amount and type of dietary food he needs. Your full cooperation is needed if the diet program is to be a success. Do not feed him snacks in between his allotted meals, or any tidbits from the table for that matter.

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