FEEDING & NUTRITION

Every living thing needs protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water to live, but the quantities of each nutrient vary with the amount of physical or mental stress placed on the organism. Thus athletes need more protein for muscle development, fats and carbohydrates for sustained energy, vitamins and minerals for efficient conversion of fats and carbohydrates to energy, and water to replace that which is lost through perspiration than non-athletes. Young puppies need relatively more nutrients than adults do; moderately active adults need more nutrients than older ones; and malnourished or sick dogs need more nutrients to regain health.

Canine nutrition

Dog foods in addition to protein, fats and carbohydrates also must contain vitamin and mineral supplements in balanced concentrations. Too much of one mineral may interfere with absorption of another; too little of a mineral may interfere with vitamin use or other mineral use. Major dog food companies make every effort to provide balanced proportions of vitamins and minerals for maximum benefit to the dog.

Most dogs will do well on any one of several dry dog foods, depending on his level of activity, his metabolism, and his individual body chemistry. Because of the requirements of a healthy coat many owners find that Maltese & Silkys both need at least 10% of fat in their diet to maintain the healthy, silky coat that they both have. They also need a high level of protein in the diet.

If your dog is doing well on the food you are feeding do not switch. If you have skin problems that cannot be traced to an obvious cause such as fleas, consider a food with a higher fat content or one of the hypoallergenic foods.

Which Dog Food To Choose

If a dog food is balanced and provides the proper amount of essential nutrients which of the dozens of brands and hundreds of formulas should be chosen for your dog?

1. The food must contain nutrients in usable form. Proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals are no good if they can not be absorbed. Here is where the difference between cheap foods and more expensive formulas is greatest. The higher-priced diets are more likely to have balanced and usable nutrients.

2. It must be palatable to the dog. If your dog does not like it, it does not matter how well balanced it is.

3. Your dog must remain healthy while eating the food. If his skin is dry, he is losing or gaining weight, has stomach gas or flatulence, consider changing his diet.

Feeding Your Dog

Puppies should be feed three times a day until they are three months old. They should be then feed two times a day for the rest of their lives. If you are feeding a dry kibble you may wish to soak the kibble in water to soften this for younger puppies. By the time they are three to four months old they should be eating the kibble dry or with a little canned food mixed in. Look for a kibble that comes in small bites. Feeding a dry kibble will help with teeth and gum problems.

Feeding the Older Dog

As your dog becomes a senior citizen his nutritional requirements may change. As he gets older he will naturally be less active than he was as puppy and young adult and therefore may need less energy from his diet. A special diet is sometimes needed for him as he grows elderly. Adjustment in the content of protein he gets might be needed as organs can become less efficient in dealing with food. Many of the major brands of dog food have formulas available for the elderly dog.

Obesity

Obesity in dogs is a serious medical problem. Fat dogs are more at risk in surgery, more prone to injury, and have more stress on their heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and joints. Fat complicates diseases, injuries, and surgery and stresses the body. Health factors associated with obesity include skeletal stress, cardiopulmonary disease, interference with normal reproductive functions and puppy delivery, complications to diabetes, difficulty in regulating body temperature, and potential inflammation of the pancreas. Surgery takes longer if the veterinarian has to work his way through layers of fat, and obesity complicates drug therapy, anesthesia, and recovery from injury.

To avoid obesity, tailor the diet to his activity level, walk the dog daily, and cut back on treats, especially high fat treats. Do not depend on the dog to exercise himself in the back yard; like most people, dogs will not exercise sufficiently without some incentive to do so. A regular schedule of walks and a lower calorie diet will help avoid obesity in spayed and neutered dogs.

To return a dog to a healthy weight, work with a veterinarian to rule out hormonal problems, determine the dog's optimum weight, and devise a feeding schedule that will achieve that weight with a minimum of stress on the dog. Some dog food companies have a special formula for overweight dogs that contain fewer calories. If the dog is very hungry, a diet high in moisture may do the trick because it provides more volume.