Feeding your dog
Dog food isn't all it seems
There are many brands of dog food on the market; wet food in tins and dry food in sacks. Many people decide on a brand on the basis of whether their dog likes it, but dogs aren't necessarily the best judge, and what is put in the food, and what is left out, isn't always reflected in the taste.
As with everything else, you get what you pay for, and cheap dog food will lack essentials your dog needs to stay fit and healthy into old age. The more expensive foods will tend to have a balanced formula, and much research has gone into their contents and manufacture. Even the 'best' dog foods available in the shops only have to have 4% chicken to be labeled 'with chicken'. Although some do have more than this, the cheaper ones have even less, the rest is made up of soya and fillers. Not difficult to see this might not be the best diet to keep a dog healthy; since dogs are omnivores, they don't just exist on meat protein like felines, they need a varied, balanced diet to provide all their nutritional needs. Dogs don't mind what colour the food is, so remember those foods which contain coloured bits are for your benefit, not your dog's. As the colours are additives, they bear no relationship to contents and don't necessarily indicate the presence of vegetables.
But that's not the end of the story
Something that was of concern to the dogfood industry was the alarming level of cancer that pet dogs die from. Concerned that it was something in their product, they were constantly testing to see if it contained carcinogenic traces, but none were ever found and the mystery remained. Then an important piece of work showed that cancer cells have an enzyme on the outside of them that helps them invade surrounding tissues and this enzyme breaks down B17 [a compound naturally occuring in lichen, grass, nuts and other vegetable sources] to cyanide and benzaldehyde both are toxic and immediately kill or damage the cell that just made them. B17 it turns out is a natural anticancer agent and when we used to eat loads of nuts and fruit, the B17 in the seeds kept us free from cancer.
In the wild, dogs rarely get cancer. In the wild, dogs generally hunt and eat rabbits and other grass eaters, and when they catch one, they generally eat the guts first. Grass is rich in B17. So in its wild diet, a dog is eating regular and significant quantities of B17. In captivity however, a dog is likely to be fed reformulated chicken 'bits' and other ground up, unwanted meat bits, plus soy and some carbohydrates from vegetables for bulk and fibre - but no grass.
So, it is not something in the food that is causing the dogs to get cancer - it's something lacking from the food which is failing to prevent the dogs from developing the cancers which are forming all the time.
We have discovered one dog food manufacturer which not only guarantees 30% meat protein in all their foods, but is also aware of B17, and ensures that this essential vitamin is in all the food they sell. Trophy Pet Foods don't sell to shops or supermarkets, but have a network of franchisees who deliver orders locally. They stock a range of foods for different dogs; small and large breeds, puppies and older dogs and those in need of a slimming diet in the usual sizes of bags, and also offer advice on behaviour, nutrition, treats, health care, microchipping, training aids, and toys. They are opposed to animal testing so give free samples as a means of testing their products on non-captive animals. For those areas not yet covered by a home delivery representative, they offer a mail-order service. Many dogs are intolerant of wheat gluten and can't digest it, but most proprietary dog foods contain quite a lot of wheat, it being a cheap filler. Trophy foods are wheat free as they have researched the subject extensively and know what dogs don't need in their diet.
We don't recommend anyone we aren't 100% certain of, and we already feed our own dogs on Trophy food and they love it. It's not the cheapest food available - it is priced along with the more expensive brands - but in the case of Trophy, you get high quality value for your money, and, more importantly, your dog gets the very best nutrition available.
Raw meat
Unlike humans, dogs can digest raw meat without becoming sick from e-coli, salmonella or other pathogens. Some dog owners think that the most natural diet for a dog is raw meat, as that is what they would be eating in the wild. Dogs can't cook, so they have evolved to cope with micro-organisms in meat since it is the largest part of their diet; the rest made up with fruits, nuts, roots and insects etc.
When meat is cooked, proteins and vitamins break down, and some of the benefit is lost. So the major part of your dog's diet should be meat - the one ingredient we know dogs can digest.
Commercial dog foods contain soy, corn, and wheat - all common allergens for dogs and although Trophy food is better by far to all the others available and doesn't have wheat, it can't be as good as an all-natural diet of raw food. Raw dog food advocates maintain that all grains should be eliminated from our dogs' diets. They also claim that grains have been implicated in pancreatic stress and tooth calculus, as dogs did not evolve to digest these foods. There's a lot of truth in this, and if you have the time and ability to source raw food on a regular basis, this might be something you may wish to pursue. It's very convenient to measure out a quantity of dry food pellets daily, and of course the dog is hungry so will eat most things put before it, they are, after all, omnivores. But even 30% is probably too small a percentage of meat, and it is processed along with the other ingredients, so bound to have lost some of its nutritional value to the dog.
This site has lots of information on a raw diet, along with recipes your dog will love. Although American, the site contains useful advice and is well worth a visit when deciding what to feed your dog. The first step to providing fresh raw meat is to seek out a friendly butcher and ask if he has any scraps he could save for you regularly. These will be gristly offcuts, bones with still some meat on them, and offal that humans don't want to eat, such as liver and kidneys. You may get the throwaway offcuts for nothing or a nominal price, livers and kidneys will cost a bit more, but dogs love them raw or cooked and they contain lots of nutrients they need.
Once you have established a relationship with a butcher, be sure to pick up regularly, occasionally buying something more special for your dog as a treat. Many butchers have rabbits [if you can stand the smell which isn't too pleasant], and all have chicken. Chicken bits such as legs and wings are perfect for a dog, and are easily digested raw, complete with bones. Don't give bones to your puppy however, their digestion has yet to develop sufficiently to cope with them, and just as with human children, they have to be weaned and introduced to new foods slowly. Puppies when big enough tp crack bones will swallow down lots of them eagerly, but they will be back up again sooner rather than later! Adult dogs can eat any bones they can crunch, which is most. Chicken, rabbit, sheep and cow, all uncooked, are fine, depending on the size of dog. Don't give cooked bones to as dog ever; they can splinter and even if they don't injure this way, they can impact into a cement-like stool in the gut and cause a blockage requiring intervention, usually an operation if oil and enemas don't free it. Best for the dog's sake to keep all such cooked bones wrapped properlyand disposed of where they can't be got at by animals.
Another important consideration with raw meat and bones, is the likely deficiency in bonemeal [calcium] in most proprietary dog food, which can lead to loose stools and anal gland problems. Lots of bones in the diet makes the faeces harder, which takes more effort to expel, thus keeping that end of the digestion healthy. If your dog is not getting bones, you need to supplement with bonemeal, in powder form it can be mixed with anything liquid.
It seems likely that a more natural diet of fresh meat and bones leads to a healthier dog and an extended lifespan. But remember dogs are not pure carnivores, but omnivores, and not only can they digest fruits and vegetables, but they are vital for health in small proportions. Basically, you can leave it to your dog to accept or reject both fruits and vegetables; they do have individual tastes within the wide spread available. For instance, two dogs who have different preferences for fruit; one likes apples, the other oranges, nothing can tempt one to take the other fruit. Both also like cabbage and other brassica stalks, but not leaves, cucumber but never celery - a left-over mixed salad given to either of them will end up containing a small pile of celery bits. One loves grapes, the other can't bite them with teeth that can crunch bones the size of my hand! As previously stated, dogs are all individuals.
Remember that at all times a dog needs access to fresh, clean water. This includes when you are out for any length of time, so you need to take a supply of water and a drinking bowl when setting out on a journey.