The goals when feeding your adult dog are to maximize longevity and prevent disease. The food you feed your dog should provide the recommended allowances of all known required nutrients. Key ratios include calcium : phosphorus, linoleic acid : alpha-linolenic acid, and EPA : DHA.
A simple method to follow when balancing for your adult dog:
- balance amino acids,
- balance fatty acids,
- balance minerals and vitamins
- remaining calorie target is as close to zero as possible (-30 to +30 kcal)
Don’t forget to choose ingredients that are palatable to your dog. Remember that meat grinds (ground food) are good for mixing supplement powders, pureed veggies, etc.
A body condition score (BCS) is a method for assessing the dog’s body composition, particularly the percentage of body fat (% BF), and for estimating the degree of over- and underweight. A scale of 1 to 9 has been proven effective for dogs and cats (Laflamme D 1997a, Laflamme D 1997b).
Please refer to Step 3c for guidance on how to adjust your dog’s weight to compensate for a BCS that does not equal 4 or 5.
Stay away from the following foods.
Alcohol, Apple Seeds, Avocado, Candy, Chewing Gum, Toothpaste & Mouthwash, Cat Food, Chocolate (Cocoa powder, Unsweetened baker’s chocolate, Semisweet chocolate, Dark chocolate, Milk chocolate, White chocolate), Coffee, Tea & Other Caffeine, Cooked Bones, Corn On The Cob, Garlic, Grapes & Raisins, Hops, Macadamia Nuts, Marijuana and other drugs not recommended by your veterinarian, Onions & Chives, Persimmon, Peach & Plum Pits, Rhubarb & Tomato Leaves, Tobacco, Xylitol and foods containing xylitol, Yeast.
Although the database stores copper values for fresh, raw pig liver, it is not bioavailable. So subtract the copper added by this ingredient if you use it in your recipe. Our Pet Diet 365 line of products handles this automatically.
- Freeze meat for 3 weeks before using to help reduce pathogens.
- Store pet food separate from human food.
- Thaw frozen meat in fridge prior to feeding.
- Raw meat can keep in the fridge for up to two days. Raw fish can keep in the fridge for one day.
- Feed food in glass, ceramic, or stainless steel bowl.
- Do not leave food out for more than 15 minutes. If pet has not eaten then store the remainder in fridge until later that day.
- Thoroughly clean all surfaces and bowls with hot, soapy water.