Canine nutrition and nutritional requirements

Pet nutrition principles for feeding dogs continue to evolve. An example of how far we've come concerns what we veterinarians, 30 years ago, used to call "All Meat Dogs." These pathetically sick and dying dogs were coming in to clinics all over the United States, thin, weak, with hair loss and metabolic imbalances as a direct result of eating a nationally advertised "All Meat" canned dog food. Nearly everyone at that time thought that because dogs were carnivores (they're technically omnivores) that "all meat" diets must be the best thing for them! We know now that dogs cannot survive if fed 100% meat for extended periods. Since then, pet food manufacturer's knowledge has changed and they now make some properly formulated foods. We've all learned much more about just what it takes to put together the right combination of ingredients in the proper ratios to create a nutritious diet. Unfortunately for the pet food purchaser, and worse for the dog, there are available all across the United States various brands of foods that, despite what the label may claim, are NOT a good source of nutrition for your dog. Some are actually harmful! During my thirty years of veterinary practice I have often been upset by the poor condition I see some of my canine patients in due to inferior quality diets that the owner honestly believes to be adequate. In good faith the dog owner assumes that since the dog food label proclaims "complete and balanced", "premium", "high protein", and so on, that their dog will automatically do just great if that's all it is fed. Because of ambiguous or deceptive labeling of the dog food, the owner unknowingly will feed an inadequate diet. And it may be decades before the FDA requires more strict guidelines for dog food manufacturers to follow so that misleading, ambiguous, and sometimes phony labeling practices no longer confuse or trick the purchaser. For example, I could put together a "high protein" dog food where the protein is composed of an indigestible substance such as feathers, hide or hoofs. Sure, the protein level by analysis might be high (and even the experts don't agree as to just what amount qualifies as "high" protein level in a food) but if the dog's gastrointestinal tract is unable to break the protein molecules down into amino acids and then absorb and utilize those amino acids, the diet is worthless as a food source for the dog! So "high protein" on the label means absolutely nothing; you've got to read the ingredients label to see if the source of protein is digestible. See Table #1 to compare the approximate digestibility of the more common dog food ingredients. Egg white protein is used as the benchmark, giving it a value of one (1) since it is so highly digestible. Other protein sources are then compared to egg whites regarding their digestibility. Table #1 - Protein Digestibility List (Note: Values in table are approximate, as they have been taken from several nutrition sources and personal communications with nutrition experts.) Egg whites 1.00 Muscle meats (chicken, beef, lamb) .92 Organ meats (kidney, liver, heart) .90 Milk, cheese .89 Fish .75 Soy .75 Rice .72 Oats .66 Yeast .63 Wheat .60 Corn .54 It's a good idea to explore the dog food label to see if the statement of its suitability is documented either by analysis or through feeding trials as specified by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). You should have much greater confidence in the diet's nutritional value if feeding trials on live dogs have been done as opposed to the diet having been designed on paper only and, therefore, formulated by analysis. Did you know that even if the dog food label says that the ingredients are X, Y, Z that there may not be any X or Y or Z in the food at all? How could this happen? The practice of substitution of one or more ingredients is a greater possibility if you buy that food from a small local mill or if the food is of a generic variety. Generally, the larger manufacturers have set ingredient parameters that don't vary. This is called a fixed formula. On the other hand, some pet food producers will substitute ingredients and not change the label to truthfully reflect what you're buying. Price and availability of raw ingredients change from day to day, the less ethical producer will then substitute one ingredient for another in order to keep production costs to a minimum. They want to make that food as cheaply as possible! And changing the label to reflect the ingredient change is not required to be done immediately. Did you know that some of the most popular and most trusted brands of dog foods are purposely formulated to just meet the minimum requirements of an average dog? These formulations are set up so that the pet food can be sold at a targeted lower price in order to appeal to the consumer group that will not spend higher amounts on dog food. A dog food that just barely meets the minimum nutritional requirements of a dog will have cheaper ingredients, such as grains, instead of higher quality ingredients that cost more. And meeting the minimum standards for an average dog means statistically some dogs won't get what they need. What if your puppy or adult dog isn't average? No one has ever shown me what an average dog looks like so how am I, after working with tens of thousands of dogs over thirty years of practice, supposed to know the difference between an average dog and one that isn't? How will you know if your dog is average? And even if you did know, would you really want to feed it a food that was specifically designed to only meet it's minimum requirements? Buy a cheap dog food and you will be feeding your dog cheap ingredients. Cheap ingredients are less efficiently digested, there's more fecal waste production, and the dog won't be as healthy as when fed higher quality (meat-based) dog food. Another example of how poorly regulated the pet food industry is concerns preservatives. There are all kinds of agents used to keep the nutritional value in that bag or can of dog food from deteriorating over time. The AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) Official Publication lists 36 preservatives, some having no restrictions on amounts that can be mixed with the food. Chemicals such as Ethoxyquin and BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) have controversial reputations as to safety. Most experts will tell us they are safe, however, many pet owners would rather avoid chemical preservatives and instead use substances that don't have murky reputations. Currently, pet food consumers have driven the popularity of more "natural" preservatives such as vitamin E or vitamin C. Naturally we consumers, when given a choice, generally pick a food preserved with vitamin E and have every reason to expect that the food has no other preservatives in it. Well, sorry. It still could have other chemical preservatives in the food if the manufacturer purchased the fat and protein from suppliers who, prior to shipping to the manufacturers, added chemical preservatives. So the food manufacturer's label says, "preserved with Vitamin E" because that's all they added. You have no way of knowing if prior to what the manufacturer did, someone else added other preservatives. In my opinion, the pet food industry really needs tighter controls and more specific labeling of their products. In the meantime, you might be asking, "How do I pick out a good food for my dog?" There are some general rules to follow and concepts to keep in mind when choosing a good dog food. Choosing a Good Dog Food Making the right choice starts with reading the label's list of ingredients. By law the ingredients must be listed according to weight of the ingredient added in descending order. In other words, by weight of raw ingredient the main ingredient is listed first, second most prominent ingredient next, and so on. The first three ingredients are the most important. It's easy to tell if the diet is vegetable based, with corn, rice, wheat, and soybean meal listed as the main ingredients; or if the diet is meat based, with meat, lamb, fish or poultry listed as the main ingredients. I would always pick a meat-based diet over vegetable-based foods for optimum health for dogs. Now...here's the catch! I'm going to have to pay more for the meat-based diet! Responsible and caring dog owners should never let the price of the food dictate the purchase decision. In almost every situation with dog food, you get what you pay for. The higher the price the higher the quality. I'll let you consider the converse of that. And the higher the quality of the ingredients, the greater the nutritive value for the dog. Plus, you will purchase less high quality food than cheap food since dogs must eat more low quality food to meet their nutritional needs. Immediately you will notice that when feeding a high quality, meat-based food, the dog will need to consume fewer cups of it per day than a cheap diet; the dog will also pass noticeably less stool when consuming a high quality diet than with a grain-based diet. Cheap dog foods -- and they are widely available and wrapped in all sorts of fancy labels -- will contain cheap ingredients that will be poorly digested and will lead, over varying lengths of time, to deficiencies in your dog's health. Stroll through the pet food departments of various pet food outlets and read the labels of the different products. The cheap food will almost always be vegetable based and the more costly foods will be meat, poultry or fish based. Your dog has no control over your choice; so you have an obligation to provide good quality products that will optimize your dog's quality of life!

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