Dog Diet

As a dog owner it is your responsibility to make available for your dog a healthy and properly balanced diet. A healthy properly balanced diet should consist of the following:

• Protein: to build the body;
• Fats: for skin and coat health;
• Carbohydrates: for energy;
• Vitamins and Minerals: for good bone development and healthy tissues.

You should provide your dog with a high quality dry dog feed that contains varied ingredients with sufficient amounts of fats, carbohydrates, proteins (amino acids), as well as vitamins and minerals. 80% of your dog’s daily dietary intake should come from dry dog food. Canned dog food is generally not recommended as a regular dietary item. Although dogs will prefer the taste of canned foods, canned dog food is mostly water (nearly 80%) and does not help promote good health for the dog’s teeth and gums.

Care should be taken that dogs do not over eat when fed canned food.

Meat alone cannot complete your dog’s diet, as it lacks the required levels of vitamin and mineral needed to sustain and maintain your dog’s health.  In rapidly growing dogs a diet of meat alone can be responsible for major mineral imbalance and skeletal damage.

Bones provide many benefits for your dog, especially raw bones. Raw bones contain a natural, highly digestible source of calcium. Adequate calcium is vital for normal growth and development, for correct mineralisation (strength) of the teeth and bones, and structure of joints. It is vital for muscular contraction in the body, including the heart muscle, and is involved in a wide array of metabolic processes.
They provide a higher natural balance of phosphorous then what is found in raw meat.

Dogs should have complete access at all times to a plentiful supply of clean, fresh water, particularly when dry foods are used. Containers must be kept clean and placed in the shade. In hot weather water may need replenishing several times a day.

Overall, the easiest and most beneficial balanced diet is a mixture of meat, bones, dry food and clean water.