Don’t Forget the Calcium

Whe people decide that they are going to make their own dog food rather than subject their beloved fur children to the mainstream and mass marketed pet foods, often they are at a complete loss for where to begin. If you try to simulate the ingredients that your dog would ingest in the wild, you may be at a good starting point.  There are people who would like to do just this, but in truth, prefer not having to deal with their perceived notions of feeding raw.  And, not all dog food must be raw to have nutritional benefit.

If you have gotten to the point where you are cooking for your dog, and have found some good recipes, you must continue to be vigilant regarding the proper amounts of vitamins, minerals, and fats to include in the diet so that your dog does not end up with nutritional deficiencies or inadvertent overdoses of certain elements in the diet.

Calcium is critical to include in your dog’s diet, as it is an essential building block for nutritional health.  Meat without bones provides needed phosphorus but the dog’s diet also requires calcium.  In order to maintain a balance, you should be adding a calcium supplement to every batch of food that you prepare for your dog.

Be certain that when you choose a calcium supplement that you do not choose one that is marked to use in the garden as bone meal.  You can make your own calcium supplement from drying egg shells and powdering them in a coffee grinder or food processor.  The suggested amount to add is 1/2 teaspoon for each pound of meat.   The perfect ratio of calcium to phosphorus is 2:1.

Remember that although our dogs are domesticated, their internal structures remain relatively similar to those of their canid ancestors.  Hence, they need the proper diet with the best supplements available.

Dogs and Begging Behavior

There are dog guardians who are completely convinced that if you feed your dog from the table, offering tasty morsels from the remains on your plate, that your dog will learn to beg.  Highly probable.  However, consider that even if you decided that your dog would receive only canine food from your hand at the table, chances are extremely likely that your dog would be sitting at the same spot nightly, awaiting the handouts that arrive, regardless of whether it is the exact food that he gets in the early morning, in his dish in the kitchen.

What is going on?  In a word:  reinforcement.  Just like the dogs that were trained to salivate at the sound of a bell, your perfect canine pooch will learn that when you are seated at the table, and place your hand near his mouth or in his general direction, he will get a "treat"…a piece of food from the table.

This strongly reinforced, learned behavior has absolutely nothing to do with the type of food offered to the dog, but rather that it is offered consistently enough to have established a pattern.

I would offer to you, that it benefits neither canine nor human companion.  It is in the dog’s best interest to be fed away from the table, and not to be offered any table food whatsoever.  Empty calories, sugar, hidden carbohydrates and fats are certainly among the ingredients that are not healthy for your dog.

Treat your dog to some belly rubs, premium dog treats, lots of exercise and some time away from the table.  You’ll get more out of your meal that way.

Bone Appetit!