Dietary requirements for healthy dogs

Individual dogs have individual nutritional requirements, even within the same breed, their dietary needs require to be adjusted according to their lifestyle and environment and importantly, for each of the life stages.

There are 6 groups of nutrients.

• Proteins
• Carbohydrates
• Fats
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Water

Within these groups are the 45 individual nutrients that are needed by dogs in order to stay healthy.  The quality of the diet is determined by the appropriate blend of these nutrients not the ingredients that offer them, whilst the ingredients are important as they contribute to the palatability, digestibility and cost, it is the nutritional benefits that affect health.

Protein

• Puppies and juveniles require the essential amino acids that are broken down and absorbed during the digestion of proteins in order to grow physically and mature mentally.  Due to the accelerated growth at these ages, good quality proteins are needed more than at any other time during a dog’s life.  A diet that consists of 40% high quality protein is of greater value at this stage than a diet of 70% second-class protein as the conversion of the amino acids produces toxic waste, i.e. nitrogen compounds, which will cause excessive evacuation, thus taking other valuable nutrients with it.  By the age of 3 months and up to 1 year of age, a diet consisting of 40% of raw protein will give the adequate protein requirement after biochemical conversion of a 15% intake as long as the quality is still high.

• Once the dog is over a year old then the protein requirements need to be assessed according to the individual needs. This will depend on breed, level of activity and exposure to stress.  This assessment will require adjusting for lifetime changes, i.e. pregnant and lactating mothers, injury and illness.  In adulthood, approximately 5% less protein is required than during juvenility, the important thing to remember is that protein does not produce energy; as the carbohydrates do, and a high protein diet continued over a period of time will produce health problems later in life; with urea and liver functions being overworked in order to rid the body of the nitrogen compounds and other waste.

• Obese and older dogs will only require approximately 25% protein in their diet.  They require less in order to reduce the strain on the kidneys and liver and only require enough to repair viable damaged tissue.  As most forms of protein fed to dogs also has a high fat content, this is the time of life that dogs become obese if over fed protein, one of the most common misconceptions by feeders is that an older dog requires more protein to stay healthy, when in fact the opposite is true.

Fat

• Fat is an essential requirement in a dog’s diet as it stores and carries the fat soluble vitamins A and E, thus ensuring the omega fatty acids are utilised to maintain coat quality, breeding efficiency and internal organ functions.  As it only provides fuel for energy that has to be used immediately; and excess is only extra calories which will lay down fat layers in the body, it is important to control the amounts given in order to avoid obesity in later life.

• Puppies and juveniles require no more than 15% of fat in their diets, if too much fat is consumed, then less of the other essential nutrients are taken, resulting in young dogs suffering health problems due to vitamin deficiencies and other nutritional shortages.

• Adult and geriatric dogs will only require 10% to 12% of fat content in their diets unless the dog is very active.  The energy produced from fat has to be burned off daily and a diet high in fat content will put strain on the older dogs liver; due to the extra work asked of it in order to convert the excess fatty acids, the heart; due to the fat deposits being laid down in the cardiovascular system and obesity; creating breathing problems and overall poor muscular fitness.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates provide the main source of energy by being turned into glucose that the body needs in order to be active.  Extra glucose can be stored in the liver and muscles for later use; unlike the energy produced from fat, which has to be burned off daily.  The most important forms of carbohydrates are those that are easily digested by the dog.  Cellulose, whilst being a good source of energy, is not easy for a dog to digest and care is required in its preparation.

• Puppies and juveniles will require 50% to 60% of carbohydrate in their diets, of which 90% should be of easily digestible fibre, otherwise digestive problems will occur.

• Adult dogs require approximately 50% of protein unless they are very active working dogs when a minimum of 60 % will be required to produce the extra energy asked for.

• Adult dogs require approximately 50% of protein unless they are very active working dogs when a minimum of 60 % will be required to produce the extra energy asked for.

Vitamins and Minerals

It is important to be aware that there is a strong interdependency between minerals; within each other and also with certain vitamins. The most commonly known is that of calcium and vitamin D and calcium and phosphorous. The recommended daily allowance of all minerals and vitamins will be provided in a healthy balanced diet, often any deficiencies are only discovered when there is a problem with health.  Calcium and phosphorus maintain the strength of teeth and bone; calcium also helps with the clotting of the blood and helps nerve and muscle function.  Phosphorus helps the storage and transfer of energy throughout the body, low doses of both can cause skeletal deformities in growing puppies and juveniles, but high doses of both can also cause serious problems, i.e. excessive bone growth in puppies leading to problems in later life.

• Magnesium is required for healthy bones and teeth and for the cardiovascular system and acts as a catalyst for enzyme reaction throughout the body.

• Potassium helps the metabolism, nerve and muscle functions and the control of the osmotic balance of body fluids.

• Sodium also regulates the body fluids and whilst a deficiency can cause tiredness, fatigue and hair loss, too much will cause a greater amount of water intake and place strain on the kidneys, especially in the older dog.

• Iron and copper enhance the efficiency of the blood, cell and enzyme systems, a deficiency of either will produce fatigue and weight loss; even if iron is present in the diet, without copper then anaemia will occur due to the interdependency of these two minerals.

• Zinc maintains skin and coat and a deficiency can lead to poor growth rate in puppies, emaciation and in the adult and geriatric dog, testicular atrophy.

• Iodine keeps the thyroid gland and thyroid hormones in healthy production, the symptoms for too much are similar to those of too little, tiredness, apathy and poor reproduction.

• Selenium acts as an antioxidant and protects the cell membranes but can only work in conjunction with vitamin E.  There is a very fine line between a normal and a large dose and is very toxic.

• Manganese supports the carbohydrate and fat metabolism by helping the utilisation of produced energy; a deficiency will slow down the rate of growth in young dogs and affect the reproductive systems in adult dogs.

• Cobalt is a part of the vitamin B12 molecule and deficiency is unlikely if sufficient B12 is in the diet.

• Vitamin A assists vision, keeps skin healthy and helps replace coat loss after moulting.  It is toxic in large quantities but deficiencies are rare with a healthy diet.

• Vitamin D can be synthesised through the skin when exposed to sunlight and helps the absorption of calcium, deficiency can cause rickets; an illness of the joints and bone, but is quite rare.

• Vitamin E protects the cell agonist oxidation and acts with selenium.

• Vitamin K regulates the clotting of the blood.

• Vitamin B1 (thiamine) works with the carbohydrates and a deficiency can lead to severe weight loss due to the carbohydrates not being utilised in the body correctly.

• Vitamin B2 is essential for cell growth and repair; a deficiency can lead to skin disorders, eye problems and in older dogs testicular hypoplasia.

• Vitamin B6 aids the metabolism of the amino acids; deficiency causes weight loss, anaemia and kidney damage.

• Biotin is important for maintaining skin and hair condition and also helps in the metabolism of the amino acids.  A deficiency is rare but long-term use of antibiotic and steroidal drugs will cause a serious deficiency with symptoms such as skin ulcers, eczema and pruritus; all of which are often treated with more antibiotics and steroids!

• Folic acid is an important catalyst, providing many functions, the most important being the maturation of red blood cells in the bone marrow.  Deficiency; unlikely with a healthy diet, produces anaemia with it’s associated problems.  It is important to ensure that females have an adequate supply during pregnancy or post birth anaemia will occur, especially if there has been blood loss during whelping.

Breed specific diets available on request (including crosses)  Email: Kizkiznobite

Feeding the dog(s)… Part 5

http://www.kizkiznobite.co.uk/

Written for www.bdws.co.uk. Copyright © 2012 Kizkiznobite

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