Dog Food...  − 8 May, 2008

Oh, the confusing, complex topic of dog nutrition… one of the more common questions overheard at dog competitions – both “show” and “working” - is “what do you feed?”
Everyone has their secret weapon. Some folks, like me, try every premium food to find the best – I like so many of the super-premium recipes – but I find, time and time again, there are only a couple of foods that seem to really “deliver” for my dogs.
Dogs, like people, have their own unique metabolism and needs. Every dog is different. I hate feeding 4 or 5 different formulas, so I try to find a food that most of them do the best on. Contrary to what I want to believe – that the best recipe will provide the best nutrition – I have found, in my experience, that a few regular premium (as opposed to super-premium) foods have fit the bill for my pack.
I try the super-premium foods because their excellent (and expensive) recipes sound logically great to me. I put my dogs on it, and find that my old standby really performs better. It seems no matter what I try, I always find myself going back to Nutro. I use Royal Canin and Diamond and Eukanuba as well, but Nutro really makes my dogs sparkle. I mix my faves. Right now I have 2 bins – one for my younger dogs and one for my older dogs. The youngsters are getting higher-calorie formulas and the older ones are getting a maintenance formula.
Like many dog folks I also supplement. A lot of the feed folks will say you don’t need supplementation with a premium food and that supplementing will imbalance a food. There are just some things that are cooked out of a kibble (even a super-premium one) and just not at therapeutic levels (like Glucosamine for joints) in a ration, so I have my secret arsenal of supplements. I don’t overdo it, as I don’t want to overload a liver (like giving large amounts of Vitamin A – found in fish oil supplements) but I do like choosing a food with a high amount of Vitamin E (like Nutro and Royal Canin) and I supplement with Ester-C, MSM and Glucosamine for joints (I buy horse supplements as they are more cost-effective) and I also use Vertex or Nupro (if I don’t have any Vertex on hand) and Clovite (an “old-school” supplement for all species of animals – tough to find but worth the search). I am going to try “InFlight” too. This is to fill in the blanks – these supplements seem to catalyze, or perhaps make more bio-available, the nutrients in the dogs’ diet. I also give the occasional raw chicken back, egg, plain yogurt… I like to think I am covering all my bases.
So far it seems to work for my dogs. I always have rich coats with healthy skin and sparkling fur. Shiny eyes, tight, strong muscles and feet, ready-to-go energy and intelligence and good digestive tracts (even the collie – a breed notorious for gastric issues). The food is power-packed enough that I don’t actually feed a huge amount, considering the size of the dogs, and I “fast” them once a week to keep their gut “tight.” In the wild, canids eat maybe a few times a week – not the daily schedule we foist on our pets, so I give their gut a “break.” Works to keep everything firm. I find feeding copious amounts often contributes to cow-flop stools in dogs… fasting fixes that.
For my dogs, coat, muscle tone and performance are important – in the breed ring and in the competition ring. My Malinois has gone really far – great genetics and great health. My collie, at 10 years old, is still working and you would never know he’s a senior – he runs around like a puppy – but forget his MSM in the morning and he’s stiff. My other senior, Maiya, has taken Best of Opposite at our Regionals – at 9 years old! A testament to her health, as well. And my youngest, a shepherd, is lean and tight and ready to take on the world with her big “boy” head and tiger paws – already earning the highest breed rating possible - under a German judge, no less.
So good luck finding out what works for your guys – I recommend Nutro and Royal Canin and Vertex and MSM for joints – my magic formula.