Feeding your Beloved Pet

Notes and practical guidelines to loving your dog through food.

We love to feed our dogs. It’s true. Walk into any pet store, veterinary hospital, or feed store and you will be overwhelmed by kibbles, cans, treats, chews and raw diets in a myriad of flavors and packaging. Lets try to make sense of all this. 

Much of the feeding dogma we experience today, started many years ago.  You pick a brand of dry food and feed it twice daily for life. You give milk bones for treats and no people food or your pet will get fat. Feeding your dog should be much more than this. Yes, your dog will get bored. And, yes, variety is good for many reasons. 

Dogs are omnivores like humans, so it stands to reason they should be provided a wide variety of foods. Protein need not necessarily dominate the picture, as this disregards omnivore biology. We do not generally advise exceeding 28% protein in the kibble you feed your dogs. Many types of protein are fine, though please note that chicken, turkey and white fishes are less fatty than beef, lamb, venison, salmon, tuna and ham. 

Evolution has resulted in dogs being primarily scavenge feeders. If food is available, most will eat, regardless of whether they are full. Of course there are some fussy dogs, and they may do very well with free choice availability of food, but generally, established meal times are best for most pets. This also helps pets not harass you constantly for food. They will remember everything. So if you give them treats throughout the day, they will look for them throughout the day. Some pattern here helps you both not to think about food all day long. Single pet households can be free fed more easily than multi-pet households. Competition for food is a powerful thing. My four dogs are a prime example for needing regimented feeding times, bowls, and place settings to allow for success in de-escalating food frenzy. 

Obesity in dogs parallels rising levels of obesity in humans. Research establishes that overweight canines generally live about 2 years less than their fit counterparts. We so love to feed them! But love them, and feed them less. Feeding guidelines on packaging are frustratingly inaccurate. Feeding guidelines assume healthy, young dogs who may spend time each day on a treadmill as an equivalent to dog walks. You can see how energy requirements can get skewed easily.  I always advise pet parents to “feel not read.” In other words, you must be able to readily identify ribs, a waist (more narrow section behind the chest) and dorsal spine when you pet and squeeze your dog. There are several body condition scoring systems as references. Look at your dog and discuss this with your veterinarian and a friend. Do not kid yourself. This is important. We love them so much that we do not see that those rolls of fat are not the rippling muscles we thought they were! If you are not sure, ask. I weigh my dogs regularly to keep it all real. Just because I am a veterinarian, doesn’t mean that I don’t start scooping more liberally from time to time. Helpful hint: please keep a measuring cup in your supply of dry food. Once again, it helps keeping it all accurate and not using a ‘coffee cup.’ Generally, 1/8 cup twice daily feeds about 10 pounds of bodyweight / ¼ cup twice daily feeds 20 pounds / ½ cup twice daily feeds 30 pounds and 1 cup twice daily feeds 60 pounds. That is all a very small amount of kibble. These are broad brush strokes to help guide you. Remember that kibble is just one part of the overall feeding schema. I advise adding some water, canned food and/or a variety of human food to make a tasty goulash! More on all that in a moment. 

Back to the old advice: one brand/type of dry food and you’re done. We continue to learn more about the gastrointestinal track and its role in health and immunity. We advise feeding your dog a variety of food. Pediatricians now advise that six-month-old babies be exposed to a great diversity of foods and we advise the same through feeding several dry foods at a time or feeding them in an alternating fashion. Of course, no sudden changes. Please do not adhere to old dogma. Have a little fun! At West Friendship Animal Hospital, we advise Royal Canin, Pro Plan, Science Diet and Verus brands of kibble. We do not advise feeding grain free kibble. The final commentary on grain-free food has not been written, but West Friendship Animal Hospital does not support it. As opposed to felines, which typically consume primarily the muscle tissue of an animal, canines usually eat the ‘easy’ parts first – organs, and even gastrointestinal contents. Dogs did not evolve on a totally grain free diet. Grains are part of a diversified, balanced diet. 

Please moisten the kibble with warm water, and then let it sit a bit. This is beneficial for a variety of reasons: it makes the food tastier and more aromatic, adds volume, anecdotally reduces the incidence of bilious vomiting, helps senior pets with low level dental pain, and vitally, adds more moisture to a diet to help hydrate your dog and reduce the incidence of urinary tract diseases. 

Next, add a small amount of a ‘topper.’ This is where you can really have fun. Anything is game.  Add some canned food; similar brand names are recommended. However, I am not against including a non-AAFCO (AAFCO: American Association of Food Control Officials is an independent organization that has been involved in guiding food standards and safety for more than 100 years.)  certified food to expand the range of possibilities. You may include salmon, a dollop of cottage cheese, rice, peas, hamburger, eggs, or a crumbled Stella & Chewy chicken patty. Of course, be careful! Please no bacon grease, chicken fat, or salami. Dogs can get indigestion, pancreatitis, or gastritis readily. Think lean and clean, like for us. Also, please think vegetables and fruits. They are great for dogs, as well, and are under-utilized as snack foods and toppers. Please do not forget to wash your dogs bowls often, and in the dishwasher periodically. Carefully wash any utensils that are used in preparing your dogs food, especially if they are used in preparing your food. 

Let’s briefly discuss raw diets. West Friendship Animal Hospital does not advise feeding a raw diet to your dog. We are concerned about the safety aspects of this trend. Humans do in fact eat sushi or beef tartar on occasion, but we do not only eat these items. Bacteria (e.g. Listeria, Salmonella) can populate your dog’s mouth, your kitchen counter, and your refrigerator.  We envision your dog having a meal and walking over to your toddler and licking the toddler’s face. It all seems an unnecessary risk. Occasional feeding of freeze-dried foods is not discouraged, but we regard undercooked meat as dangerous. 

So, ‘people food’ is not all bad. In fact, if you eat well, then your dog can benefit greatly from your talents in preparing healthy food. Dogs may eat everything we eat except for grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, chocolate, and xylitol. Please be aware of how toxic xylitol is to dogs. It is found in so many things such as chewing gum and peanut butters that are sugar free, as well as many other ‘low sugar’ products and toothpastes. Adding a tablespoon of leftover quiche, or a scrambled egg, or several pieces of pizza crust to any bowl of moistened kibble will make it enjoyable for your dog, increase palatability and will help to add diversity to your dogs microbiome. Feeding variety to your dog insulates them from diarrhea related to dietary change.

            We do not want to toss milkbone treats under the bus. They are fine for most dogs, but we can add lots of variety to this category of feeding your dog as well. Treats are terrific! But they can also be multi-ingredient, fat-heavy, super rich, food bombs! Please avoid Beggin’ Strips, Pupperoni, and similar treats. These are examples of highly processed foods that are not good for your pet. Please, instead reach for single ingredient snacks, such as: apple, carrot, banana, pepper, berries, melons or string cheese. Another example of a good treat is Saint Rocco’s treats for dogs, which only have a few, understandable ingredients, and are also very high value. Treats are under-identified as sources of gastro-intestinal upset, so choose wisely. Pet parents often think they need to switch dog food when they really need to change their pet’s treats.

            If you notice your dog experiencing lots of stomach noises or passing lots of gas, please do not dismiss these clinical symptoms. They may be signs of dietary intolerance in your pet. Please have us run a comprehensive PCR fecal to eliminate parasites as a cause. In point of fact, we often empirically deworm in the face of a normal fecal. There is a high incidence of parasitism even here in beautiful Howard County, Maryland! Also note that various chews for dogs (ex: bully sticks) can result in gastrointestinal gas or soft stools. Note: bully sticks are wonderful in helping to keep teeth clean. You may need to limit amount.

            Enjoy feeding your canines. It has been a favorite subject of mine for a long time. One pet parent asked, after a long, enjoyable conversation about feeding his dog, if I had ever written any of this down. Thank you, Jake, for prompting this long, overdue attempt at putting on paper our conversation. If you have questions, please email us at WFAH02@yahoo.com or call the office. We love talking about dogs! We welcome talking about cats too!! There is a sister blog for our incredible felines.

            One final, but often forgotten, point: wipe your dog’s mouth after they eat. All of the food debris and moisture that remains from a meal will promote bacterial growth around your dog’s muzzle. Long-haired dogs, or dogs with prominent flews are especially prone to lipfold infections. The smell around your pets mouth is often due to organic debris just sitting in a warm, moist area. Interestingly, wiping a dogs face, like trimming nails, is another every day activity rich with lessons for your dog. It teaches your dog to accept close manipulation of head and mouth without concern. This translates later to non-stressful veterinary examinations and medication administration. Have fun with your dog!