Question re feeding dry food

[ferky1]

I frequent a Shih Tzu forum at:
[url]http://forums.doghobbyist.com/forum.php?catid=149[/url]

Someone started a thread asking for advice on getting their Shih Tzu to eat dry food after being on a special soft diet due to an illness. It was always my understanding that short of BARF (or a similar fresh-food diet), high-quality dry kibble was the best food. Below is a post from a well-respected member of that Shih Tzu forum and it didn't sound right to me. Nobody has questioned her advice and I was wondering what you dogomaniacs think about it:


Let me ask a question... why do you want her to eat dry food? It's not really good for dogs, and the only reason we use it so much is that it's cheap and convenient for us.

Fresh homemade is best if you can do it, but if not, a quality canned food would be better than kibble.
-----
Christie
Caber Feidh Scottish Deerhounds
Holistic Husbandry since 1986
[url]www.caberfeidh.com/[/url]

[imported_Kat]

I disagree with her and no doubt there will be people that disagree with me because we all have opinions on what is best to feed.

If someone has the time to prepare fresh meat every night then well and good but then again a lot of fresh meat is not good for our domestic dogs and can bring about hypoallergenic reactions and rashes as well as unstable body mass fluctuations.

In my opinion there is certainly nothing wrong with feeding dried food and most of these dried foods nowadays comes with a moist texture and is not completely "dry" as in the sense of the word. Dry food is such a huge market mostly for its convenience and desired odourless nature in comparison to canned food. Everyone is different but dried food mixed with the odd bit of potato and veggies has never done my lot any harm, and my Golden girl Zoe will be 13 years old tomorrow and is still bouncing :wink:

[courtnek]

O agree with Kat. I have always fed my dogs dry food mixed with canned or leftovers. they are both fit and healthy

[TDG]

[quote]but then again a lot of fresh meat is not good for our domestic dogs and can bring about hypoallergenic reactions and rashes as well as unstable body mass fluctuations.[/quote]

i do indeed disagree with this statement, because highly processed, rendered proteins are far more likely to cause allergies or sensitivities than fresh, unprocessed meats, regardless if raw or cooked. i guess the "hypoallergenic" in there was a typo, otherwise it wouldn't make sense at all. :)

if you read literature of veterinarians who have done their own research on nutrition and not just taken elective classes that are sponsored by the big pet food companies like hill's, purina or waltham, you will find more info on this topic. a dog's digestive system is designed to handle large amounts of proteins and fats but lacks the makeup to break down carbohydrates, yet all commercial dry foods consist of at least 50% and up to 85% grains. due to their adaptive nature, dogs can live on such a grain heavy diet, but it is done for the convenience of humans and far from the truth that dogs eating a diet that includes large amounts of fresh animal protein are more prone to allergies and body mass fluctuations. statements like these are usually found in industry sponsored materials and hardly unbiased.

as for the canned food - it is certainly a much better feeding option for animals that are prone to a number of health issues, especially kidney problems and urinary tract infections (here's the reference to shih's, which are predisposed to both, so many shih tzu experts recommend canned food rather than dry), where you want to keep fluid intake as high as possible, especially when the animal is not very motivated to drink. it is also the better option for dogs who tend to become overweight easily, because it fills them up more and causes less glycemic fluctuation than products that are high in carbohydrates.

last but not least, canned has a lot less preservatives, stabilizers and other artificial additives than dry food, since the canning process seals the food into a sterile environment. in most cases it also has more fresh ingredients rather than rendered products compared to the dry products of the same line, so more nutrients are preserved during the manufacturing and the food is overall of a better quality.

i'll also address the "canned food is bad for the teeth" argument. there is not much difference between the condition of teeth of a dog eating wet or dry food. dry food is recommended as "abrasive" and "removing plaque", but i have seen on my own dogs how badly dry food (especially oven baked varieties!) can stick to the teeth and causes tartar buildup worse than any wet food (canned or home prepared) would. this is a very individual, genetically linked thing, just like in humans. some people brush their teeth only once daily and have healthy teeth all their lives, othes brush three times a day and still have problems. the answers aren't as cut and dry as just feeding one food type rather than another. :)

[courtnek]

[quote]as for the canned food - it is certainly a much better feeding option for animals that are prone to a number of health issues, especially kidney problems and urinary tract infections (here's the reference to shih's, which are predisposed to both, so many shih tzu experts recommend canned food rather than dry), where you want to keep fluid intake as high as possible, especially when the animal is not very motivated to drink. it is also the better option for dogs who tend to become overweight easily, because it fills them up more and causes less glycemic fluctuation than products that are high in carbohydrates.
[/quote]


OK I can read that and understand it. However, my dogs (all of them, over 30 years) have eaten dry packaged food, and done well on it.
Both purerebred's, and mixes...

[Shenanigans]

I've had a terrible time with dry food sticking to my GSD's teeth before we switched to raw. We were thinking about having his teeth scaled the year we switched, but after a few rounds of raw bone, we realised there was no need. My mothers Shelties are fed dry kibble and their teeth were in terrible condition, that is, until I was watching them for a couple of weeks and gave them some soup bones to chew on. ;)

[courtnek]

I give mine rawhide to chew on. I am there when they chew, there is no "chewing without me" for obvious reasons; The vet says their teeth are "excellent".. and, yes, they eat kibble..


there are many alternatives..

[TDG]

[quote name='courtnek']
OK I can read that and understand it. However, my dogs (all of them, over 30 years) have eaten dry packaged food, and done well on it.
Both purerebred's, and mixes...[/quote]

different dogs, different requirements. i know where you are coming from, i've fed mainly dry food for 22 years and my dogs never had problems either. that doesn't mean that it applies to [i]all[/i] dogs out there tho. :) especially the types that [i]are[/i] genetically predisposed to certain health issues. and to be honest with you, after doing all the research i did, i definitely cut down on kibble to where i'm now only feeding less than 1/4 of the amount i used to feed. the US pet food industry is just not regulated well enough to be entirely trustworthy, and especially certain findings in the past 10 years have been downright scary. also don't forget that many brands were of far better quality before the corporate giants bought them up.

last but not least there is no knowing how many dogs (obviously not yours or mine) in the past were euthanized due to poor health or died early because of a poor diet. it hasn't been long yet that the "average joe" invests a lot of money in veterinary care and research has advanced a lot as well. i don't think 20 or 30 years ago you would have seen a person investing thousands of dollars to have a dog diagnosed and treated for kidney disease to give him a few more years. those pets were put to sleep.

[imported_Kat]

Sorry that was a typo.. should have read hyper allergenic reaction in my post.

[Shenanigans]

If rawhide works for your dogs great. :) I tried it once upon a time, my dogs (then Shelties and BCs) had a nasty reaction to it, so I never tried it again.

[katetsai]

I was always told to not feed dogs raw bones, because the chewed bone chips might tear up their stomach. but here i read it's okay... which way is it?

my dog have bad breath, and regularly chew raw hides. any idea how to get rid of her bad breath?

[TDG]

bones should never be fed cooked, because that's what makes them brittle and causes them to splinter.

[imported_Kat]

My dogs would never get rawhide bones, only the roasted bones. Raw hide bones don't fully dissolve in the dog's gut and can become trapped if ingested in large chunks. There is also a link to cancer that has been under investigation for the last lot of years.

[Guest Anonymous]

[quote]my dog have bad breath, and regularly chew raw hides. any idea how to get rid of her bad breath[/quote]
[b]katetsai[/b],
I would first take the dog in for a complete physical including checking the mouth and teeth for gum disease etc. rule out poor dental health first. If its not poor dental health then I would have the vet do a full blood panel to check for any internal disorders.
There are many health issues which can cause bad breath.

[Guest Anonymous]

katetsai,
Here is some information you may want to read regarding bad breath.

[url]http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=0&cat=1276&articleid=1121[/url]