Food . . . . What Difference Does it Make?

Volhard Holistic Care
Article by Wendy Volhard

Your dog´s behavior, happiness, health, longevity and overall well-being are inextricably intertwined with what you feed him. Dogs, just like everyone else, have specific nutritional needs. And, not to complicate matters, the needs of individual dogs vary. For example, even though your first dog may have done wonderfully well on Barfo Special Blend, it may be completely wrong for the dog you have now. We are not trying to turn you into an expert on canine nutrition, but you do need to know some basic concepts.

The most common and most visible symptoms of nutritionally caused deficiencies are allergies of one kind or another. In his best selling book, "Pet Allergies: Remedies for an Epidemic", Alfred Plechner, DVM, paints a dismal picture for the future of our pets.

"Because many commercial foods are woefully deficient in key nutrients, the long term effect of feeding such foods makes the dog hypersensitive to its environment. . . . [I]t's a dinosaur effect. Animals are being programmed for disaster, for extinction. Many of them are biochemical cripples with defective adrenal glands unable to manufacture adequate cortisol, a hormone vital for health and resistance to disease."

Allergies can be, and often are, unrecognized deficiency diseases. Recognizing nutritional deficiencies will save you a great deal of frustration and allow you to make the necessary adjustments in your dog´s diet.

Choosing the Right Food

Not all dog foods are alike and there are enormous quality differences. The cliché "garbage in, garbage out" applies with terrifying validity. There are so many choices available today that trying to make an informed decision can become an overwhelming task. We are going to tackle the job by the process of elimination. Two commonly used criteria immediately come to mind: advertising and price.

Forget about what the ad says about how good this food is for your dog. You have to look at what´s in it.
Forget about price. This works both ways. Just because it costs more doesn´t necessarily mean it´s better than a less expensive variety.

Following is a quick check list to determine if your dog is getting what he needs:

• he doesn´t want to eat the food
• he has large, voluminous stools that smell awful
• he has gas
• his teeth get dirty and brown
• his breath smells
• he burps a lot
• he constantly sheds
• he has a dull coat
• he smells like a dog
• he is prone to ear and skin infections
• he has no energy or is hyperactive
• he easily picks up fleas
• he easily picks up worms and has
• to be wormed frequently
• his immune system is impaired   

All of these can happen occasionally with any dog, but only occasionally. When one or more of them occur frequently, or continuously, it´s time to find out why.

A Carnivore Needs Meat

Your dog is a carnivore and not a vegetarian. He needs meat. His teeth are quite different from ours -- they are made for ripping and tearing meat. They do not have flat surfaces for grinding up grains. His digestion starts in his stomach and not in his mouth. All the enzymes in his system are geared to breaking down meat and raw foods. There is no doubt about it, your dog is a carnivore.

Your dog´s body, as well as yours, is made up of cells, a lot of them. Each cell needs 45 nutrients to function properly. The cells need:

• protein, consisting of 9 to 12 essential amino acids
• carbohydrates
• fat
• vitamins
• minerals
• water

These nutrients are the fuel, which is converted into energy. Energy produces heat and how much heat is produced determines the ability of your dog to control his body temperature, critical to a healthy life. Everything your dog does, from running and playing, to working, and living a long and healthy life, is determined by the fuel you provide and the energy it produces.

The term calorie is used to measure energy in food. Every dog eats the quantity of food he needs to meet his caloric needs. The food you feed must provide sufficient calories so your dog´s body can

• produce energy to grow correctly
• maintain health during adulthood,
• reproduce, and
• grow into a quality old age.

The Dog´s Staff of Life -- Protein

On the back of dog food packages you will be told how much protein is in the food. Protein content is important, but even more important is the source.

The manufacturer has choices as to the kind of protein to put into the food. The percentage of protein on the package generally is a combination of proteins found in plants or grains, such as corn, wheat, soy, rice, etc., plus an animal protein, such as chicken, beef, lamb, etc.

By law, the heaviest and largest amount of whatever ingredient contained in the food has to be listed first. By looking at the list of ingredients it is easy to see the origin of the protein. For example, if the first five ingredients contain 4 grains, it tells you that the majority of the protein in that food comes from grains. The more grains in a dog food, the cheaper it is to produce. We wonder what your dog thinks of such a food.

Animal Protein Deficiencies

When your dog does not get enough animal protein as part of his diet, or there is an imbalance of his nutrients, one or more of the following may occur:

• chronic skin and/or ear infections.
• reproductive system, heart, kidney, liver, bladder, thyroid and adrenal glands may be compromised
• may develop some kind of epilepsy or cancers
• spinning or tail chasing
• aggression
• timidity
• lack of pigmentation
• excessive shedding
• crooked whiskers
• gastrointestinal upsets, vomiting or diarrhea
• poor appetite
• impaired ability to heal from wounds, for example, spaying and neutering
• weakened immune system which cannot deal with vaccines, for example, may contract the disease.

It has been our experience that the majority of the working breeds, sporting breeds, toys and terriers need extra animal protein in their diets. Dogs that lead a couch potato existence can survive on food with more plant than animal protein.

Amino Acids

One more thing you need to know about protein. Amino acids are the name given to the building blocks of protein. When they are heated they are partially destroyed. All dry and canned commercial dog food is heated in the manufacturing process. So commercial food contains protein that is somewhat deficient or destroyed through heating. To compensate for this loss, besides meat, you need to add an amino acid complex tablet.

The Critical Time of Growth

During the first seven months of your dog´s life, he will increase his birth weight anywhere from 15 to 40 times, depending upon his breed. By one year of age, his birth weight will have increased 60 times and his skeletal development will be almost complete. For everything to go well, he needs the right food. He also needs double the amount of an adult while he is growing, especially during growth spurts. Nutritional deficiencies now, even for short periods, can cause problems later on.

The most critical period for a puppy is between 4 - 7 months, the time of maximum growth. His little body is being severely stressed as his baby teeth drop out and his adult teeth come in. He is growing like a weed, and at the same time his body is being assaulted with vaccines, exposure to new viruses and parasites. The right food is critical so his immune system can cope with all these demands and onslaughts.

To find out how you can protect him as best as possible, you need to take a look at different dog foods to see which ones best meet the criteria for your young dog´s growth.

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