The information provided on these pages is intended as a guide only. Should you have any cause for concern with your dog you must always seek professional advice from your veterinary surgeon .

Home-Cooked Diets

If you intend to feed mainly a home-cooked diet, make sure that the mixture of foods will supply the right types and quantities of nutrients.

A popular type of home cooked meal is lean mince or cheap meat cuts cooked together in a pressure cooker with a mixture of vegetables and perhaps pasta or rice. You can prepare this meal in bulk and freeze dinner size packs. A commercial dog biscuit may be fed for breakfast, and the main meat meal fed at night.

Cooking food destroys some vitamins, and overcooking can greatly reduce a foods nutritional value. You would therefore need to supplement cooked foods with the right types and amounts of vitamins, just as reputable pet food manufacturers do.

Supplements usually contain calcium carbonate or bone meal ( to create the right balance of phosphorus and calcium ), iodine. Vitamin A and vitamin D. Properly formulated supplements and herbal preparations are available from pet stores and / or veterinarians. Before using any you should talk to your veterinarian.

Supplementation may be necessary under certain conditions, such as stress or illness - ask your veterinarian for advice, special therapeutic diets are also available.

A Home -Made Maintenance Diet

This diet is for maintenance only - when a dog is already in good health and not under any stress. It is formulated to balance the nutritional deficiencies in meat. Liver provides vitamins A, D, E & various B vitamins. Corn oil provides essential fatty acids, while bone meal provides calcium and phosphorus in the correct proportions. Lodised salt provides iodine.

This quantity is for a 10kg ( 22lb ) dog. And should be adjusted for dogs that are lighter or heavier. The serving size will depend on the calorie requirements or the dog the total energy value of this quantity formula is 750KCal. This formula will keep in the refrigerator for a few days. However, like us, dogs enjoy freshly cooked food, which tastes better than cold warmed up meals.

Mix the rice and water and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the other ingredients and simmer for a further 10 minutes. A meatier, more tasty diet can be prepared by transposing the quantities of rice and meat. The energy value will be the same, but the diet will contain almost twice the protein.

Meat and Meat by Products.

All forms of red or white meat provide protein, B group vitamins , Fat and energy, but the relative amounts depend on the type of meat and also on the cut.

All meats is seriously deficient in calcium and slightly deficient in phosphorus, and the proportion of phosphorus to calcium is greatly excessive, ranging from about 10:1 for rabbit and beef heart to 30:1 for veal and 360:1 for fresh liver. Dogs need a 1:1.3 phosphorus to calcium ratio.

Meat is also deficient in vitamins A & D & iodine, copper, iron, magnesium and sodium. Cheap cuts will be as nutritious as expensive ones, but whichever you buy should be cooked. ( In an effort to eliminate the hydatid tapeworm. Certain countries require that all sheep or goat meat must either be cooked to a certain temperature or deep frozen at a given temperature for a minimum period of time. Cooking destroys much of meats vitamins B content, liver is a valuable food rich in protein, fat , the fat soluble vitamins A, D, and E and B vitamins. Too much vitamins A can lead to abnormal bone growth, but cooking reduces the livers vitamins A content. As a general guide, do not let liver form more than 15 per cent of your dogs diet. Chicken is considered to be more digestible than red meat, while some dogs are allergic to certain proteins contained in red meat and may develop a skin irritation. Click Here for Natural Remedies.

Fish

There are two main types of fish / White, which has a nutrient composition similar to lean meat, and fatty or oily, which contains high levels of vitamins A and D. All fish contains high quality protein and iodine, but is deficient in calcium, phosphorus. copper, iron, magnesium and sodium. Take care not to feed your dog raw ( filleted ) fish, as it contains thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys thiamine. One of the B vitamins. Never give fish heads or fish offal ( all the crap that is ). Cook any fish you serve. Oily fish ( such as Tuna ) contains high levels of unsaturated fatty acids, and too much may cause a painful inflammation of fat deposits under the skin ( steatitis ). Fish bones should be fed only if previously softened by pressure cooking or grinding in a blender. Boiling or stewing would also soften the bones, but the longer cooking time would destroy more of the nutrients. Whole fish cooed in a pressure cooker is nutritionally better than meat, as it has a better balance of nutrients.

Eggs

Eggs contain iron, protein, most vitamins ( except for vitamin C ) and carbohydrates, and are particularly good if fed raw. However, too much raw egg may be harmful, as egg white contains a substance called avidin that can reduce the availability of the B vitamin biotin ( essential for many body processes, including health of skin and hair and proper muscle function ). as a guide, feed no more than two raw eggs per week to a 30 kg ( 66lb ) dog. If you feed the yolk only, you may increase the number of eggs to four. Hard boiling reduces the adidin, although this slightly reduces the nutritional value of the eggs.

Milk and Cheese

Dairy produce is high in protein, fat, carbohydrate, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin A and the B vitamins. Milk is a useful source of calcium for puppies, although not all dogs will drink it. It contains milk sugar ( lactose ), and as puppies mature their ability to digest this decreases if fed more than small quantities of milk they may develop diarrhea. Some adult dogs are lactose intolerant, and if fed milk they will develop an allergic, dry itchy skin condition. Cheese is a useful source of animal protein, and most dogs like it. Serve it in chunks. It contains little or no lactose, so it can be fed to dogs that are known to have an intolerance.

Fats and Oils

Fat acts as a carrier for fat soluble vitamins ( A, D, E, and K ), and contains substances called fatty acids ( one of which is linoleic acid ) that promote a healthy skin and coat, a deficiency produces an itchy skin that may become dry and scaly. Fat is almost 100 per cent digestible and adds palatability to food. Vegetable oils and fish fats are nutritionally better than animal fats. If the diet is not already balanced, you can feed very small amounts of cod liver oil ( 5ml / 1 teaspoon per 50kg /110lb of body weight, or 20 small drops per 10kg /22lb of body weight, per day ). Excessive amounts may cause a painful inflammation of fat under the skin, called steatitis. Never feed your dog used cooking oil, for it may contain toxic substances called peroxides.

Vegetables

Dogs, like cats can synthesise vitamin C in their body and don’t require a dietary source. Vegetables are a good source of B-group vitamins, but overcooking will destroy these. So just as with cooking for humans, it is best to lightly cook in a little water. The cooking water can be added to the meal as well. Root vegetables are a good source of vitamin A, and should be cooked to increase digestibility. Peas and beans provide protein, energy and B vitamins, and Soya beans are a particularly rich source of protein and energy. One drawback to feeding peas and beans is their tendency to form gas during digestion and cause flatulence. Flatulence can also result from feeding high levels of milk or milk products, high protein diets, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage and onions, to name but a few !.

Grains

Grains provide carbohydrate, and some proteins, minerals and vitamins. They are generally deficient in fat, essential fatty acids and the fat soluble vitamins A, D, and E. Wheat germ contains thiamine and vitamin E.

Yeast

Rice in B vitamins and some minerals, yeast preparations may be good for older dogs and are safe even in excess.

Fibre

Your dogs normal diet should contain about five per cent Fibre ( measured on a dry basis ), derived from vegetable matter. Fibre rich diets ( 10/15 per cent ) may be used to help reduce obesity, and can also be used as a dietary aid in diabetic dogs, because fibre slows the absorption of glucose ( the end product of carbohydrate digestion ).

Bones

These contain 30 per cent calcium and 15 per cent phosphorus, magnesium and some proteins. They are deficient in fat and essential fatty acids and vitamins. Bone meal has similar nutrient content. Too much bone in the diet will cause hard white faeces and may lead to constipation. Never feed chicken or chop bones, as they will splinter, and feed fish bones only if they have been pressure cooked.

Water

Make sure that clean, fresh water is always available. A dogs normal daily requirement ( from feeding and drinking ) is about 40ml ( 1.4floz ) per kg ( 2.2lb ) of body weight. water intake will vary acc ording to the temperature and your dogs diet, increasing in proportion to the amount of dry food it consumes. It also increases if a dog is suffering from ailments such as diarrhoea, diabetes or kidney disease.

Warning

Excessive supplementation with vitamins and minerals can cause serious health problems. The ingredients for a home made maintenance diet, make sure that the mixture provides the correct types and quantities of nutrients.

When taking a photograph its best if you take the photo from as low as possible at the dogs level, that way you can take a full photo shot of your dog. Click on Photos above to enlarge photos and Profiles of the dogs

You can Contact us at keetchsblueboy@btinternet.com

Click Here to sign our guest book thank you