Diet Information

At Dogs Naturally we are commited to providing an all round education for your and your dog.  This extends to providng you with information about areas of your dogs life which you have choices in.  All the decisions you make with your dog should be the right ones for both of you, and be founded on an informed choice.

This extends to what you feed your dog and why.

Many people feed their dogs whatever their breeder or vet recommends.  Others buy the most expensive as they think it must be the best.  Others buy the cheapest, or whatever is on offer that week. There are so many possibilities over which brand, how do you possibly choose?

There are the following possibilities:

• Complete dog food
• Canned/wet food and dog biscuit
• raw meat, vegetables and biscuit
• BARF

These are discussed below:

Complete food

The equivalent of ready meals for dogs.  Comes with a measure so you just tip out the right amount into the dog bowl and often dont even need to wash the dog bowl everytime.  There are many brands available - from the very expensive to the very cheap, but whats the difference?

Generally speaking cheaper brands include less meat and more by-products and grain fillers than more expensive food. There is a huge amount of information on the internet about the source and regulation of pet food.  Essentially the meat used in

Nutrition levels

FEDIAF (2008) recommends 18% protein for adult dogs, 25% for pups under 14 weeks and 20% protein for young dogs.

References:

FEDIAF (2008) Nutritional guidelines for complete and complementary pet food for dogs and cats.  Available at: http://www.pfma.org.uk/_assets/images/general/file/FEDIAF%20Nutritional%20Guidelines%20-%20September%202008.pdf