Feeding Your Dog

We recommend the use of commercially prepared complete diets (tinned or dry). A well balanced diet is especially important during the growing phase. Many of the big brand names (Eukanuba, Hills and Pedigree to name but a few) produce good diets for dogs at all life stages. Mineral and vitamin supplements are never necessary and can be harmful.

Avoid home made diets as these are expensive, time consuming and rarely give the nutritional balance your dog requires.

Water should be available at all times.

There is no harm in the occasional dog treat or chew as long as you don’t let your dog become overweight.

As pet owners we do get a lot of satifaction from rewarding our pet for good behaviour, or just plain 'spoiling' them with some extra goodies.  Unfortunately these treats are often very high calorie (see below for a couple of the more popular treats), much higher than you would realise, so even just a couple a day on top of your dog's regular diet can really affect their waistline!

Dentastix            Small - 49kcal       Regular - 70kcal

Jumbone            Small - 270kcal     Large - 560kcal

Gravy Bones      Small - 35kcal       Large - 80kcal

Even small dry biscuits can be 20-40 calories each

Being overweight can have a serious impact on your pet's health, increasing the chances of developing or worsening issues such as joint problems, diabetes and heart and lung problems, therefore even reducing your pet's life expectancy.

A medium sized dog (spaniel) should have around 700 calories a day.  so even just one treat can be a significant proportion of that daily allowance.

A dog will only get fat if they are taking in more calories than they use, ie eating too much.

To help reduce the extra calories from treats you could try:

• Using lower calorie treats, eg a small piece of carrot
• Reducing the amount of your dog's regular diet a little to accommodate the odd treat
• Use a proportion of their daily food as treats during the day with 'special' treats only very occasionally
• Break the normal treat into small pieces - it's the taste that counts!
• Encourage your dog to 'work' for their food, eg hide food in a kong toy or feeding cube.

Mostly your dog wants your love and attention more than a treat so don't give a treat every time just mountains of praise!

Contact us for more information on feeding, or how to manage weight problems with your dog.