Nutrition - What to Feed the Dog

I recently asked a couple of our local veterinarians what they recommend feeding dogs

Both stated a high-quality kibble with grains.

This somewhat surprised me because I jumped on the grain-free bandwagon a while ago. Apparently, there has been some correlation found between grain-free diets and enlarged hearts in dogs. We want our dogs to have a strong heart but enlarged is not our goal.

Due to the complications with heart disease, I no longer feed grain-free. I currently feed my dogs a multi-grain Victor High-Performance food with Glucosamine. 

The fact is – dogs are not living as long as they used to. The average lifespan for a dog in the ’70s was 17 years old and is now 11. Nutritionists believe the lower life span is due to diet. Feeding kibble is feeding processed food, and we all know it’s bad for humans to eat processed food all of the time. It is for dogs as well.

I recently ordered a supplement developed by Veterinarian Dr. Gary Richter called NutraThrive. I am going to try it for 6 months and see how my dogs perform on it. This non-scientific research will include a lame 10-year-old male Bouvier and an 8-year-old energetic Bouvier.

My 10-year-old dog, Titus, moves pretty slowly in the evening and it will be interesting if this supplement helps with his soreness.

I put a link above if you would like to learn more about NuraThirve. It is not cheap at $70 a can, which should last about a month per dog, but if it helps with their quality of life then isn’t it worth an extra $2.35 per day? We’ll see.

Other things you can feed your dog to help with his overall health is, in addition to his kibble, give him green tripe, organs, raw eggs, and coconut oil.

• Green Tripe contains naturally occurring enzymes, probiotics, and Vitamin B.
• Meat organs are loaded with vitamins while containing phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium, and iodine, and provide the important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
• Raw eggs are a great source for amino acids and contain vitamin A, riboflavin, folate, vitamin B12, iron, selenium and fatty acids.
• Coconut oil is a superfood which promotes healing, increases energy, improves skin and coat, improves digestion, and reduces allergic reactions.

When picking out a quality kibble, you pretty much get what you pay for. There is a web page – www.dogfoodadvisor.com –  that rates dog food from 1 – 5 stars. I recommend looking for 5-star dog food. I feed my dogs Victor dog food because it’s a quality food with a 5-star rating and has never had a recall.

I hope this clears some things up with the dietary needs of your dog. It can be daunting in the pet store when there is such a variety of food to choose from. Before entering the pet store, do some research, ask your veterinarian, and know what you want prior to entering the pet store.

If you have a new addition to the family, the pet store will typically provide you with a list of the necessary items you will need for a new puppy or adopted dog. The staff at the pet store is usually quite knowledgeable about the products they sell, but you can’t expect them to know everything just because they stock thousands of items.

Do the best you can afford for your beloved dog, and they will love you for it.

In West Michigan, stop by Adams K-9 Dog Training and Kennel or contact our team and let us help you with all of your dog boarding or training needs.