2008 September | NaturalDogTreatRecipes

Sep 29

Food and Water Dishes- Part 1

How do I Choose a Proper Dog Dish?

No food should ever be fed to a dog unless that food is put into some type of a container. The practice of putting food on newspapers or directly on a cage floor or the ground serves no purpose except to contaminate the food from the surroundings. This method also contaminates the surroundings from the food, draw flies, increase parasite transmission and soil the dog’s coat. The money, time and energy a dog owner thinks he is saving by such feeding practices are completely wiped out by the loss of the dog, the time spent to clean floors and combat insects, or the effort needed to put a food-soiled coat back into show condition.

Feeding Bowls: No feeding bowl should be used unless it meets the following criteria:

1) It is the correct size for the dog that is using the container.

2) It is designed so that it is easily washed, drained and dried, or can be thrown away after each use.

3) It is made from satisfactory materials.

Feeding containers are made from a large number of materials, some good and some bad. An ideal material from which a dog’s food container is made should:

1. Never be toxic to a dog. This includes the body of the feeding bowl, its coverings, and any paint, decals, printing or other decorations.

2. Capable of withstanding a reasonable amount of abuse from a dog’s teeth.

3. Made of a substance that is non-corrosive to dog foods, dog urine and the other substances to which a feeding container normally may be subjected.

4. Resistant to soaps, detergents, water, grease and disinfectant solutions.

5. Resistant to breakage, cracking or similar damage under normal wear and tear.

6. Reasonably priced.

A material that meets every one of these specifications can be quite difficult to find. However, there are four materials that meet enough to be considered as suitable for dog food containers. These are glass, pottery, plastic and metal.

Glass containers are the least suitable of the four. They are unfit for kennels or breeder operations. Their fragile nature makes them unsuitable. The feeding bowl used for one house dog usually is handled individually at each feeding, just as the family’s dishes and bowls are. Under such restricted conditions of handling, glass containers rarely are subject to breakage. And because of their low cost and attractive nature, glass feeding and watering bowls make satisfactory household food containers.

Get the scoop on more Food and Water Containers-Pt. 2.

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Sep 21

Inside the Outside Dog: How to feed

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How To Feed The “Outdoor Dog”

The dog that is kept outdoors all of the time, or an exclusive diet of dry food, does not need to be restricted to portion control feeding. These dogs will do quite well when self-fed. One precaution should be pointed out about outdoor pets that are put on self-feeding programs. If they have not been eating dry food, their water consumption will jump considerably when they begin to eat it. A special effort should be made to keep plenty of cool, fresh water before these dogs at all times.

Outdoor dogs require even more water during the summer because a dog’s body-cooling processes that depend on water. When outdoor pets are individually fed they can be fed by either ad libitum or portion control. The feeding location should be under some kind of shelter. This will keep the direct sunlight, dust, and dirt to a minimum.

Outdoor feeding locations should also be located away from garbage cans. A back porch, back steps, or corner of the garage may be convenient, but if there are garbage cans nearby such places are unsuitable as dog feeding locations. First, such places allow flies of all descriptions to contaminate the food. Flies are not particularly objectionable to a dog. Most outdoor dogs go through life snapping up and swallowing a fly now and then. Ordinarily this is no cause for alarm, but around garbage cans flies become so numerous in a dog’s food that they constitute a disease danger.

With dogs that are fed outdoors, it is of particular importance to pick up any food remaining uneaten after 20 or 30 minutes. Food served at room temperature, then allowed to stand outdoors, quickly warms to temperatures at which contaminating bacteria rapidly multiply. Most dogs do not find the odor of over-ripe dog food unpleasant. Many, in fact, consider the smell quite desirable. The toxins and other waste products produced by bacteria, at the same time they are creating that smell, may have a distinctly detrimental effect on the dog.

There is perhaps more important reason for feeding an outdoor house-pet at the same time and place every day and allowing the food to remain before the dog only 20 or 30 minutes. It is to train your dog to eat only at that time and at that place. lf the dog does not, it learns quickly that it must wait until the next feeding before it gets anything more to eat. Your dog will soon become accustomed to eating at only a specified time, and will come to the specified place every day around that time anticipating its food.

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Sep 11

The Expectant Mother Dog

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Nutritional Problems That May Occur in the Pregnant Dog

Most nutritionists agree that reproduction is the most critical stress encountered by a female dog. While the healthy male dog can sire hundreds of puppies without any stress whatever, the female is called upon to use tremendous amounts of energy and nutrients during pregnancy and lactation. If her feeding program does not adequately supply these nutrients and energy, she will obtain them by using up her own body tissues. If neither dietary nor body sources of nutrients and energy are available, a multitude of problems will result.

The manifestation of an inadequate diet during early phases of reproduction may take on several forms. Those most likely to be recognized are:

1. An "out of condition" appearance of the dog. This may not become apparent until after the pups are born. An actual loss in body weight throughout gestation can occur, but is unusual in most instances.

2. An uncontrollable diarrhea following whelping and throughout much of lactation. This is most often seen when she must increase her food intake excessively to meet increased lactational demands because the food she has been eating is poorly digestible or low in calories.

3. The "fading puppy" syndrome. The puppy may appear normal at birth, but several hours to several days later it is found crying or whimpering and chilled. It is off by itself, obviously disowned by the mother. Attempts to reunite the two are usually met with failure. The puppy’s stomach will be empty and its body will be dehydrated. When weighed, it will weigh the same or less than the day before.

4. Anemias. When an anemia occurs as the result of a dietary deficiency during reproduction, it will be present in both the dam and pup. When both mother and pup are anemic, the first place to look for its cause is the diet.

Once pregnancy is terminated by the whelping of the pups, an inadequate diet during lactation is most likely to appear as:

1. Lactation failure (agalactia). This is a complete failure of the mammary glands. The dog produces no milk at all from which the pups can be nourished. These pups cry continuously, fail to gain weight, and unless immediate remedial feeding is started, the pups will die.

2. Lactation depression (dysgalactia). While the mammary glands are functional, they are unable to produce adequate amounts of milk to fully support the pups’ complete nutrient needs. The pups are restricted in growth rate and may become stunted.

3. Deficient milk. The milk, although it may be produced in adequate amounts, is deficient in one or more nutrients.

You may find that it is beneficial to offer the pregnant or lactating dog extra support in the form of dietary supplements. There are specially formulated foods, vitamins, herbs, and aromatherapy preparations as well as specially designed additives that you are able to offer the female dog, in the form of high fat, high protein treats. If you have specific concerns, it is essential that you discuss the problems with your holistic health care team. They are very well equipped to answer the questions that you have as well as offer suggestions and prescribe regimens if necessary.

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