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Feeding Your Dog
The basic principle to be
understood in the feeding of dogs is that, with only minor variations,
they have the same nutritive requirements as man. A dog apparently has
less need for starches, and its digestive juices do not handle fatty
foods well. Thus, the dog's meat should always be quite lean, otherwise
it will commonly cause a stomach upset with symptoms of vomiting and
diarrhea.
The best foods for the dog are milk,
meat, and vegetables. Most dogs
will enjoy milk and digest it readily. Some breeds, however, such as
the Boston Terrier, often do not seem to be able to handle milk and
will vomit it. Where this occurs, milk should naturally be avoided. But
with most breeds this difficulty will not be encountered.
With a little experience the individual
dog owner can determine what
the situation is with his particular animal.
In regard to meat: beef, lamb, or
horsemeat are generally considered
best, while pork is usually not recommended. Lamb or horsemeat are best
served cooked, while beef may be fed either cooked or raw.
Whether meat is fed cooked or raw
depends both on convenience to the
owner and on the preference of the animal. It will make no difference,
however, to the health of the dog which way the food is fed.
As far as vegetables are concerned, most dogs generally handle them
quite well. However, as with milk, the owner will have to determine on
the basis of actual experience which vegetables the animal prefers or
which it can properly digest.
In most cases, diced lettuce and tomatoes will be found to be the most
readily accepted.
Dog owners often raise the question of the egg requirements for their
dogs, mentioning that they have heard somewhere that the feeding of
eggs will encourage a glossy coat. This belief is incorrect. Vigorous
dogs that are properly cleaned and groomed will have glossy coats
whether or not they have ever been fed eggs.
Unhealthy dogs, or those that are improperly cleaned or groomed, will
not have a good, shiny coat no matter how often eggs are fed. Eggs,
however, are a perfectly wholesome food for dogs and are an excellent
source of protein. But, since meat and milk are equally rich in this
nutrient and are generally cheaper, eggs are usually considered to be a
good, though uneconomical, supplementary food for dogs.
As for the tremendous variety of dry or
canned commercial dog foods,
most animals will get along perfectly well on them, though it is often
suggested by the most competent authorities that the best results will
be obtained if dog foods are fed only in combination with fresh foods.
Great strides have been made in the improvement of commercial dog foods
in recent years. Their formulae are specially prepared by trained
scientists to meet all of the dog's needs, and all nationally known
brands are guaranteed by the federal government, on the basis of
careful experiment, to furnish normal maintenance diets. This means
that the dog can live its entire life without eating anything but dog
food. For those owners within the low income brackets, or those with
the very large breeds, the feeding of dog food exclusively would
certainly be the most economical method and, as far as the dog is
concerned, such a diet is quite adequate.
Something should also be said of the great variety of commercial dog
biscuits. While some companies will claim that their biscuits are a
complete food, and are often justified in their claim, most experts
agree that the large majority of the biscuits that are manufactured
serve best only as a supplementary food. They may be fed dry, but
usually are preferred by dogs when mixed with meat and broth. If
biscuits are fed, then the feeding of vegetables is usually
unnecessary, because the essential elements contained in vegetables are
present in most biscuits.
Bones are not essential to the health of the dog. The food elements
contained in bones are already present in other foods that are
routinely fed. True, the dog loves bones. He particularly enjoys the
bone marrow and relishes it with the same enthusiasm that a child does
candy. However, bone chips may lodge in the throat, scratch the
delicate membranes that line the digestive system, or otherwise be the
source of considerable annoyance. So to maintain the health of the pet
it is best to deprive it of this pleasure. If the owner feels badly
about depriving the dog of a bone, then the least harm can be done by
letting the animal play with a small section of one of the large leg
bones of an ox. Usually these bones are so thick that the ordinary dog
can only toy with them and not chew them to bits. But the teeth and
jaws of many dogs are so strong that they can mutilate almost any bone.
In such cases, the feeding of bones can do nothing but harm.
The trait of burying bones is an instinct acquired in ancient times
when a dog was compelled to do so to make sure of a future meal. It is
not true, as has sometimes been suggested, that the dog did this
because he preferred his meat "ripe." The fact is that the dog prefers
his food fresh and will resort to stale food only when fresh food is
not available. The dog of long ago buried food simply as a security
measure so that he could have something to come back to when fresh food
was lacking. The modern dog still buries bones, but he does so by force
of ancestral habit. He will dig them up only when insufficient fresh
food is forthcoming. If he is well fed he will ignore his buried
treasure.
Most people have peculiar ideas about the feeding of candy or any other
form of sweets. It is a common belief that sweets will cause worms in
dogs. This is not true. (Something more will be said about this in the
section where worms are discussed. ) It is another common notion that
sweets, in any form or quantity, are bad for dogs. The fact is that
when sweets are fed in moderate quantity they will do no more harm to
the dog than they will to the human. The question logically follows:
how much is a moderate quantity? The best answer is simply that the dog
should be permitted to have an occasional nibble of candy, let us say,
as a reward for especially good behavior. If the dog is restricted to
this occasional nibble, no harm can result. Of course, if the dog never
has candy, it never will be missed. However, sweets comprise one of the
good things of life. To have a wee bit once in a while is a simple and
modest pleasure. There is no point in depriving the animal of it.
In addition to the regular food, dogs, during the first year of life,
should be fed some vitamin supplement to assist in the proper
development of the bones and the eyes. This can be done by giving about
half a teaspoon of cod-liver oil a day to animals weighing less than
twenty pounds, and a full teaspoon to animals over twenty pounds. The
very large breeds may be fed as much as two teaspoons a day. If tablets
are preferred, the ordinary "one-a-day" vitamin preparations that can
be bought at any pharmacy will usually serve admirably when given to
the dog weighing twenty pounds or more in the same dosage as is given
to man. Smaller dogs are given proportionately smaller doses.
Before making an explicit statement of the practical feeding routine,
it would be well to mention a few words about the eating of grass. The
ancestral dog probably ate grass when he was nauseous, toxic,
constipated, or otherwise indisposed. The grass would exercise a
beneficial laxative effect, causing the animal to vomit and to move its
bowels, accompanied by relief of the indispositions. This seems to have
been a wholly instinctive activity; the modern dog has retained this
instinct. It still eats grass and apparently does so for the same
reason as the ancestral dog. However, while the eating of grass does
actually have salutary effects on many vigorous modern dogs, it also
often produces harmful effects on a goodly percentage of animals
maintained as household pets. It commonly causes an inflammation of the
lining membranes of the stomach and intestine, with resulting vomiting
and diarrhea that persist until the grass eating is stopped. Apparently
many generations of domestication have wrought a change in the modern
dog, at least to the extent that its body often can no longer withstand
the violent cathartic action of grass. The dog owner can determine on
the basis of experience just what the effect of grass on his particular
animal happens to be. If he finds that grass does no harm, or is even
helpful to his animal, he can allow this activity. If he determines
that grass is harmful to his animal, he should naturally make a special
effort to curtail the ancestral habit.
Finally, a popular prejudice may be debunked. It is a common belief
among dog owners that liquor will stunt the growth of a dog. The truth
is that liquor will not affect the growth of a dog any more than it
will influence that of a human being. Dogs may be taught to drink
intoxicating beverages, and if they take them in small or moderate
quantities no harm will usually result. But it is also a fact that most
dogs seem to have a violent revulsion to liquor, and to train an animal
to drink it would be a rather difficult task. In any case, the feeding
of liquor to the normal dog serves no useful purpose. Sometimes, when
the animal is quite sick, liquor may be useful for medical purposes
because of its qualities as a stimulant. Its medicinal use, however,
should always be left to the discretion of the veterinarian.
The quantity of food to be given should not cause undue concern. Some
dogs, like some people, are bigger eaters than others. The least amount
of food that will maintain the animal in vigorous condition is the most
desirable. If the animal appears too fat, cut down somewhat on the
food. If the animal appears too thin, then feed larger quantities of
food. If you are in doubt, ask your veterinarian.
The practical feeding routine varies with the age of the animal. The
following general statement of diet may serve as a guide.
DIET
FROM SIX
WEEKS TO THREE MONTHS OF AGE
MORNING: Milk; or a mixture of milk and pablum; or canned or dry dog
food.
NOON: Raw or cooked lean chopped beef; or cooked lamb; or horsemeat; or
canned or dry dog food.
EVENING: Raw or cooked lean chopped beef; or cooked lamb; or horsemeat.
With kibbled biscuits or diced lettuce and tomato. Season with salt. Or
canned or dry dog food.
10 P.M.: Milk; or a mixture of milk and pablum; or canned or dry dog
food.
DIET
FROM
THREE TO SEVEN MONTHS OF AGE
MORNING: Milk; or a mixture of milk and pablum; or canned or dry dog
food.
NOON: Raw or cooked lean chopped beef; or cooked lamb; or horsemeat; or
canned or dry dog food.
EVENING: Raw or cooked lean chopped beef; or cooked lamb; or horsemeat.
With kibbled biscuits or diced lettuce and and tomato. Season with
salt. Or canned or dry dog food.
DIET
FROM
SEVEN MONTHS OF AGE AND OLDER
MORNING: Milk; or a mixture of milk and pablum; or canned or dry dog
food.
EVENING: Raw or cooked lean chopped beef; or cooked lamb; or horsemeat.
With kibbled biscuits or diced lettuce and tomato. Season with salt. Or
canned or dry dog food
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