Feeding the dog!

A couple of issues have come up over the past few days in relation to feeding your dog and the problems it can bring! Firstly the idea of leaving food down for your dog to graze on whenever it wants it. This idea generally works and the dogs don`t seem to gorge themselves, eating only what they require but I have a few issues with it myself!

Firstly, feeding your dog is of significant importance to him/her as it is a life essential for them. This gives you the opportunity of being the great provider and showing clear leadership over your dog by your sharing the gift of food with him/her. This can help in dominance issues, insecurity etc.

Secondly, if your dog helps itself, how will you know when the dog is unwell. You may never see it eat, so you would not see it not eating its food. A dog that doesn't want food may be poorly and it can be a clear sign of ill health which you could miss!

The meals are a time you can reward your dog for good behavior and can also be a great training time, using the food to reinforce certain behaviors for reward. So take some of the kibble and ask your dog to sit, stay stand, down etc. and reward it with the food and then a double reward of the bowl!

Your dogs overall health can be gauged by its poop! Horrible I know, but if your dog is solid and healthy then it is a good guide that it is in overall good health. By feeding at set times and maintaining a healthy regime, your dog will have less problems with its poop and will be in good shape, plus its easier to pick up and bag!

My advice, always feed a proper complete dry dog food to an amount that doesn't cause the dog to become loose, whatever that amount may be and to add a few teaspoons or for big dogs a bit more of pilchards or Tuna as a flavour enhancer and added Omega 3 from fish oils. This is cheap to do and allows the biscuit to clean the dogs teeth without being boring, as dry kibble is!

Hope this helps! Cheers Steve