Feeding Your Dog
There are a couple of thoughts on feeding your dog. I used to always 'free feed' our dogs because it seemed they would never over eat and we had a 'doggy door' in our house so they could go outside to relieve themselves at any time. Most authorities will tell you this is bad because a dog is one animal which will eat until the food is gone, unlike a cat who will only eat while they are hungry.Same thing for water, they will tell you water should not be freely available.
OK, I can buy into not 'free feeding' your dog, but the water?
We have recently moved into an RV and there is no way to put in a 'doggy door' so I have stopped 'free feeding'. Free Feeding is when you have the dog's food readily available at all times, like with an automatic dog food dispenser.
So if you are not going to 'free' feed, how much and how often should you feed your dog? Most experts will tell you to feed your dog two times a day, morning and again at night. The correct amount will vary by weight and is probably listed on the bag or can of dog food you are using. You may find your dog needs to be fed more than twice a day. I think this depends a lot on the dog, their size and the amount of exercise they get on a daily basis.
You should not be able to see your dogs' ribs, that would mean they are being underfed.
I prefer using a mixture of dry food, to help keep their teeth clean, and canned food because, well because they seem to like it better!
The other day I read an article on dog food, they article went into great detail as to why there is no packaged dog food you can buy which is good for your dog! None! Basically the reason is all dog food is processed by big dog food manufacturers whose purpose is the bottom line of their company which, in turn, means they are more interested in profits than good quality food. All dog food is prepared by these companies, all food.
The article went on to state the best food you can give your dog is raw, or slightly cooked, meat along with fresh vegetables. Who can afford that? What I feed our dogs now is a mixture of raw hamburger meat mixed with Purina Light and Healthy dry food
The video below is from Dr. Martin Goldstein regarding absolutely best Dog Food
This is a shortened version of Dr. Goldstein's promotional video,
Here are the main points from the video
Among the worst ingredients in commercial dog foods are:
Preservatives, mainly
BHT - Butylated Hydroxytoluene
BHA
Propylene Glycol
Fillers
Some are OK In Small Amounts
Brown Rice and Quinoa
Fillers to Avoid are Grains
Soy
Wheat - a leading cause of dog Allergies
Corn has no nutritional value
Barleys
Oatmeal
White Rice
By-Product Meal
Chicken by-product
Beef by-product
Lamb by-product
Duck by-product
Which is Slaughter House Waste
We used to use Purina but it contains corn and other bad ingredients
Now the best we can afford is:
Rachael Ray Nutrish Dry Dog Food, Beef, Pea & Brown Rice Recipe
To order Dr Goldstein's dog food
