What to feed? This dog doesn't care.
photo courtesy of Quasic @flickr.com

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Who Paid for that Study?

Realize when it comes to research conducted on dog food, no single researcher outside of the dog food industry has the time, money or inclination to run a multi-year study simply to find out if Brand Z extends your dog’s life or promotes better health than Brand Y. Any positive scientific claim you read that defends Brand Z was paid for by Brand Z, or its parent company, whether that research was conducted in Brand Z’s own labs or at Ivy League universities. No one ever says “Our product is bad, and the research proves it.” On the other hand, bad products generally do not reach the market shelves. Dog food companies do want to get it right because their livelihood depends upon it. Bad products, such as the Melamine-tainted dog foods that came from Chinese manufacturing plants in 2007, are isolated accidents.

Peer Support and Popular Opinion

The title of this article, “Dog BARF,” refers to a diet that is the polar opposite of processed dog food. Almost all of the articles on the BARF diet, and there are hundreds, if not thousands of them, make fun of the name. The name is an acronym which stands for biologically appropriate raw food; or, bones and raw food. The second name aptly describes the diet. Dogs on this diet receive uncooked bones along with raw meat, grains, and vegetables.

You can read ad nauseum about BARF, including the beneficial claims, the claimed disadvantages, and the risks associated with the diet. Everyone chimes in, from breeders, to veterinarians, to dog owners. The most unique aspect of the BARF diet is there is no scientifically conducted research to back up any of the opinions. You can probably guess the reason why when I tell you the BARF diet was invented by an independent veterinarian, not supported by any major dog food company. The vet does not have the money or time to do a controlled multi-year experiment. None of the diet’s thousands of proponents have laid out the cold hard cash to run studies. All that leaves us with is opinions, which range from:

• Raw food is the single best, most natural thing you can feed your dog, to
• Raw food carries the risk of poisoning from Salmonella and Campylobacter, to
• It’s expensive, to
• My dog is worth the expense,

and on and on and on.

As you would expect, the website that most strongly supports this diet, and the one that turns up in the number one ranked position in a Google search on the BARF diet is . . . wait for it . . . from the guy who invented the diet!

What about peer support and popular opinion for the BARF diet? The recurring theme I have found in reading articles and forum comments in support of the diet is based on circular reasoning: I believe something, therefore it’s true, therefore I believe it:

“My dog is thriving on the BARF diet, therefore it is superior to traditional dog food, therefore my dog can only thrive on the BARF diet.”

Then there are people who have tried traditional dog food with one dog, and the BARF diet with another dog. The dog on BARF, take your pick: lived longer, had whiter teeth, less intestinal gas, healthier joints, more energy, etc. Therefore, the BARF diet is better, never mind the uncontrolled differences between dogs, including genetics; exposure to environmental stresses; supplementing with table scraps; contracting diseases; differing levels of exercise, etc.

Your Veterinarian’s Opinion

Your vet is a great resource when it comes to dog nutrition and health. Even so, you would do well to take your vet’s advice not as the gospel, but as one credible source. I say this because even your vet is not free from bias. Most of the information he has at his disposal is based upon reading research conducted or funded by, guess who? Dog food companies. Additionally, if your vet carries a specific brand of dog food for sale in his office, you can bet dollars to doughnuts, (or dog treats,) he is going to recommend the brand he carries. This is not to say you should automatically discount the vet’s brand simply because he has a profit motive. Likely he carries that brand because it is good. Your vet not only wants to make a buck by selling food from his stock, he also has his good reputation to maintain. Just realize the choice he recommends is only a choice, it isn’t your one and only option.

What’s Not Important

Here is the dog’s honest truth about dog food. Almost all of the brands and varieties available today will sustain your dog. Try to ignore attention grabbing devices such as multi-colored, multi-shaped dog food pieces. Try to ignore photos and ads that pass off dog food as human food. You know the kind—moist, tender tidbits of rich beefy chunks floating in velvety gravy. Years ago fishing lure companies realized they could increase sales if they designed their lures to catch people first, then to catch fish. Many dog food companies use the same approach with brightly colored food that resembles children’s breakfast cereal. Your dog is red-green color blind and his ability to distinguish blues and yellows is not good. The color of dog food is irrelevant to your dog. Your dog also couldn’t care less about gravy, or the shape and size of his tucker. About the only thing he cares about is, well, food; and the stinkier, more humanly unappetizing, the better.

Try to ignore the research hype surrounding dog foods. When someone makes a claim about a particular food’s superiority, ask yourself, “Who paid for that study?” If a group of people claim a particular diet or food is the one and only solution for all dogs, remember the trap of circular reasoning. All you need to do is look around to find dogs that thrive on a variety of diets.

What’s Important

Read the nutritional breakdown of various dog foods. Look for a food that derives protein and fats from high-quality, wholesome sources. Look for a food that is not loaded with cereal fillers, though expect to see some grain used as a source of dietary fiber. Note the inclusion of minerals and other nutrients that make a dog food well-balanced. Your veterinarian will be able to guide you. Realize that dog food is one area where a high price does not necessarily indicate a better product. Some dog foods are marked up not because they are superior, but because the manufacturer is either trying to market to a wealthy demographic, or because the manufacturer is trying to cover the high cost of a limited production, boutique product. As long as a dog food meets your and your vet’s criteria, buy what you can afford. Don’t over-extend your budget on the false notion that more is more.

Finally, look at how your dog fares on a diet. That is your best indicator. If you and your vet agree his digestion, energy level, and general health are satisfactory on a particular dog food, and he actually eats the stuff, you’ve hit the mark.

*The opinions expressed in this article are my own and not necessarily those of the provider of the attached photo.

Chow now.

Step 1. Put the food in a bowl.
Step 2. Put the bowl on the floor.
Step 3. Let the dog eat.
Step 4. Pick the bowl up.
Repeat as necessary.

It’s a piece o’ cake. Not so fast. A guy named Murphy surmised nothing is as simple as it seems.

First, before I get into the exciting, dare I say spellbinding, intricacies of delivering chow to your dog let me say this: Dogs can survive on garbage and worse. Feral dogs make their living at garbage dumps and trash cans. Pariah dogs can get by on human and animal feces. Dingoes consume the remains of decaying carcasses. Most wild dogs survive on rotted food. Of course, in all these examples, the dogs in question probably carry a huge parasite load; and many have evolved digestive systems that can handle bacteria-laden food.

It is likely your small domesticated dog would not thrive on rotted flesh. It is also likely your small dog would not respond well to a constantly changing diet, obtained at random, under a wide variety of circumstances. It becomes your responsibility as a dog owner to provide food in exactly opposite the circumstances I just described. Food should be given:

1. With as little variety as possible.
2. Feeding just enough to maintain an ideal body weight.
3. With no fanfare.

Let’s break it down.

1. With as little variety as possible.

Your dog loves variety, but variety does not love your dog. We humans also love variety. Variety is one of the reasons most of us enjoy eating at restaurants. A restaurant chef can prepare anything we desire on the menu. Fortunately for us, our digestive system is designed to accept almost any food we throw at it, (never mind heartburn or food allergies,) as long as the food is unspoiled.

Your domesticated dog’s digestive system is not so versatile. Changing your dog’s food suddenly will probably cause him digestive upset, including diarrhea, intestinal gas, and possibly vomiting. Your dog will not anticipate these problems. He will eat anything new with gusto. It’s your job to avoid translating your own love of variety into an expression of love for your dog: “Hey, I love trying new foods. My dog loves trying new foods. I love my dog, therefore I’ll give him new foods!”

There will be times when circumstances will force you to change your dog’s diet. For example, as a dog ages, most owners switch from puppy chow to adult dog food; and later, to a food designed for senior dogs. Any time you have to change your dog’s diet, you should do so very slowly. The standard method for doing this is to blend in a tablespoon or two of the new type of food into your dog’s existing food ration. At the same time, you should reduce the quantity of the old food type by an equal amount so the total volume of food remains the same. As each day passes, increasing amounts of the new food type displace the old food type until the dog is on the new diet. (This method may be adjusted as necessary to keep the total mix of new and old types of food balanced for nutrition and weight control. Your veterinarian can provide guidance.)

One last word on variety before we move on. Your dog may try to manipulate you into giving him a more varied diet. Dogs will occasionally stop eating or reduce their food intake for various reasons. When this happens, it may be tempting to try a new food simply to get the dog to resume eating. This tactic is the top of a slippery slope. Once your dog figures out his refusal to eat will bring him more variety, he will continue to refuse to eat simply to get you to deliver the goods. At Kelsey’s Dog House, we care for some dogs that somehow convinced their owners to serve everything from diced Camembert to premium deli meat to meatloaf with rice and English peas. There is more on this situation in my article, When a Small Dog Refuses Food.

2. Feeding just enough to maintain an ideal body weight.

Your dog has no concept of weight control. Unless he is a very picky eater, he will usually consume everything you put in front of him. There is only one way to alter a dog’s weight: Feed him more or less than he needs for his level of activity.

In a previous article, I talked about two strategies for feeding your dog. In free-feeding, you put food in a bowl on the floor and let your dog eat when he feels like it. Timed feeding is a method of feeding your dog at a specific time of day or after a specific event, such as exercise. Either strategy may lead to overfeeding. Some dog owners who employ free feeding tend to refill the bowl any time the food level gets low. People who feed dogs on a schedule can overfeed as well, particularly if they feed their dogs more than once per day. When feeding a dog multiple times per day, it is important to control the amount of food at each feeding so the total amount for all feedings equal one day’s ration.

It is also possible to underfeed your dog. I know one owner who was told that overweight Dachshunds tend to develop back problems in old age because their elongated spines cannot support the added load. In a misguided attempt to avoid this problem in the future, he currently underfeeds his dog. The result is a half-starved dog that looks terrible and behaves worse.

Regardless of how much dog food your dog gets per day, you should also consider treats and other foods part of his caloric intake. Almost every overweight dog we see at Kelsey’s Dog House gets food supplements at home in the form of table scraps casually handed out at family meals. We have also found that dogs that get fed table scraps at home frequently tend to turn their noses up at regular dog food. (This situation is also discussed in my article, When a Small Dog Refuses Food.)

3. With no fanfare.

As I have said elsewhere. Dogs are creatures of habit. While some dogs will eat anything anywhere, picky eaters are often put off their food by the situation in which it is presented. Dogs in boarding, for example, are often too nervous to eat initially. Until they get used to the boarding environment, they may refuse a meal or two. How you behave around your dog as you present food may also affect his eating habits. If you tend to wind your dog up emotionally with crazy talk just before you put the food bowl down, your dog is going to approach his food with a high degree of agitation: “ARE YOU HUNGRY REXY?! WANNA EAT?! OOH BOY, HERE COMES THE GOOD STUFF!!!!” You may inadvertently be training your dog to bolt his food or become aggressive around his food bowl. Hovering over your dog and fretting over whether or not he will eat may cause your dog to worry as well. Left to his own devices, he would have eaten normally, but your concern may overwhelm him to the point at which he cannot eat.

You’ve heard that expression “Let sleeping dogs lie?” I say, let eating dogs eat. At each meal, do exactly what I said at the beginning of this article.

Step 1. Put the food in a bowl.
Step 2. Put the bowl on the floor.
Step 3. Let the dog eat.
Step 4. Pick the bowl up.
Repeat as necessary.

Do this with as little variety as possible; feeding just enough to maintain your dog’s ideal; and with no fanfare. And for goodness sake, please wash your dog’s bowl between meals. Your dog’s digestive system is not designed to handle bacteria-laden food. If you fail to clean your dog’s bowl after each meal, I can guarantee you will be doing cleaning of another variety some time after your dog eats.

In this and the preceding article I discussed when and how to feed your dog. I did not discuss what to feed your dog because that is best left to your own research, but I do have an opinion on some diets. The next article will look at one particular diet for dogs called BARF. If you have not heard of it, it’s not what you think it is.

Supper time!

photo courtesy of simax105@flickr.com

First, let me clarify. This is not an article on what to feed your small dog, though what you feed your dog may influence when you feed him. What to feed is a question best answered by conducting your own research. Your veterinarian’s opinion is a great place to start that research.

There are 2 ways to time feeding:

Option 1. Free Feeding.

In a free feeding situation, you place a full-day’s ration of dog food in a bowl on the floor and let your dog eat at his time of choosing. The theory behind free feeding is your dog will be less anxious about food in general if it is always available to him. Some people believe that a dog with limited access to food will become obsessed with food-seeking. Others believe letting your dog decide when to eat by leaving food out all day is one step towards losing control of that dog. Regardless of theory, there are advantages and disadvantages to free feeding.

Free-feeding advantages

1. You do not have to be available at an appointed hour to feed your dog.
2. My own experience with free-feeding dogs does seem to support the theory that having food available all day makes dogs less anxious about food. There is less of a tendency, in my experience, for dogs raised in a free-feeding situation to bolt food. I have also noticed less of a tendency for free-feeding dogs to engage in food seeking behavior throughout the day. My observations are non-scientific and may be explained away by other factors, such as genetics or training.
3. Your dog can eat when he feels like it. Many dogs like to eat late at night, sometimes well after you have gone to bed. This behavior may be a throwback to a time when ancestral dogs hunted for prey or scavenged for food in the dark.

Free-feeding disadvantages

1. Free feeding only works for dry, stable dog food. Wet, quickly-perishable dog food will spoil if it sits in a bowl at room temperature all day.
2. If your dog tends to wolf food down as soon as it becomes available, by default, you will not be able to free feed your dog.
3. Free feeding will not work if there is more than one dog in your household and those dogs compete for food.

Option 2. Timed feeding

As you would guess, timed feeding is the opposite of free feeding. In timed feeding you place a food bowl on the floor at a specific time of day, or after a specific activity, such as an evening walk. Timed feedings may be delivered once a day; or, parts of a full day’s ration may be delivered two or more times per day. In general, puppies, like human babies, need to eat several times per day. Adult dogs can take all their nutrition in one or two meals per day. There is also a school of thought that says a dog’s entire daily ration of food can be handed out a little at a time in response to good behavior or as part of a training regimen. You can find an article on that method here.

Timed feeding advantages

1. Dogs are creatures of habit. Feeding on a schedule plays directly to your dog’s habit patterns.
2. Feeding after a specific event, specifically exercise, probably feels natural to your dog. Some animal behaviorists believe you should only feed your dog after a long walk or run to simulate how dogs work for food in the wild. Many behaviorists and trainers believe your dog should be required to do something to earn his food, such as respond to an obedience command before eating.
3. Timed feeding is the only option available if you feed moist, quickly-perishable food to your dog. In fact, if you feed moist food to your dog, you should not only feed at a specific time, but also limit the time the food sits at room temperature to less than 2 hours.

Timed feeding disadvantages

1. You have to be available at a specific time of day to feed your dog.
2. Some dogs do obsess over food when it is not readily available. When a timed meal is placed down, many dogs tend to bolt food as though there is no tomorrow.

Some dogs respond well to free feeding while others seem perfectly comfortable receiving food once or twice a day. In some cases, what you feed your dog will dictate when to feed. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Truth be told, dogs are such adaptable creatures that no matter which method of feeding you choose, your dog will eventually get used to it. In the next article, I’ll discuss how to feed your dog. There will be a few pieces of information in that article that may surprise you.