Here is How I Feed, etc

As important as training is, a dog needs a proper diet and good health to be both physicaly and mentally balanced.

Unless you are feeding babies, DO NOT FREE FEED, meaning leaving food down all the time for the dog to graze on as they want.  This is both unhealthy for their GI tract and often creates picky eaters, as well as gives all that value away for free.  It is like leaving an open wallet for your child to get into anytime they want.

I feed my dogs once/day, in the evening, but will give a small snack of a couple bites in the morning.  My dog’s food is measured at every feeding so I know exactly what/how much they are eating and can adjust as needed.  If I’m training alot, using treats (healthy food of course to treat with) I feed less food at night so my dogs never become over-weight.

I begin with a measured amount of dry dog food, 5 stars in quality, and add water to soak it.  When the water is absorbed, I add their supplements, 1-2 oz of (often raw) meat/10#/body weight, and feed.

YES: my dog’s get ‘people’ food.  It is food, whole and healthy, with live enzymes, etc.  Feeding whole food does NOT cause begging, feeding from your table causes begging!  My dogs LOVE raw cabbage, leaf lettuce, asparagus, melons, berries and more.

NEVER: feed grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, chocolate, bread products, sugary foods, anything with the sweetner Xylitol (it is very poisonous)!

Here are 2 links for supplements I  feed my own dogs:

The Dog Food Advisor.com: to research the quality of dog food you are feeding. It rates countless brands of dog food for quality and ingredients.

Nature’s Farmacy.com: for supplements this is what I feed all my dogs and I can’t recommend their products highly enough. Click thru to Nature’s Farmacy.com from here and enter your email address to save 10% on your order.

What I Use:

I add these to my dog’s food from birth thru old age, thru breeding and gestation. My 2 favorite products are the Probiotic Max and the Ultimate. I also use the Norwegian Kelp daily as well as several of their other products for my aging dogs. Their supplements for those who have breeding males or females are excellent, and their fading puppy supplement is a lifesaver.

If you are interested in learning to feed homemade, they have great advice, help and support to get you going.

Bones:

My dogs all have access to raw ( uncooked, not smoked, not flavored, not processed/bleached, etc) bones at all times.

I do not brush my dog’s teeth, I give them a bone to chew on.  I NEVER  give any bone other than raw.  A chew treat might be a bully stick (organic of-course).  NEVER rawhide bones.

Water: 

When I travel, I take water.  My dogs NEVER get floridated or chlorinated water.

Be Aware:

Environmental toxins are a contributing cause of cancer in dogs.  My dogs are never exposed to:

  • Dryer Sheets
  • Laundry Detergents with scents or dyes
  • Air Freshners
  • Deodorizers of any kind, such as carpet or Febreeze type stuff
  • Artificially Scented Candels
  • Heavy Perfums
  • Yard Chemicals (I prefer dandilions to a sick dog)
  • Flea/Tick poisons
  • Chemical based bathing products
  • NO CIGARETTE SMOKE

Health A-Z

Dogs Naturally Magazine website has more information about canine health than you can imagine. They are a main ‘go-to’ for myself: www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com Whether you are curious about essential oil, vaccines, fleas/ticks, vaccines, diet, or any other subject, they have information about it. I would also follow the advice of Dr Karen Becker (found on-line), Dr Jean Dodds (found on-line) or Dr. Ronald Schultz (found on-line).