Feeding guidelines processed food. How much?

Hi Darcy, I have a question I’ve wanted answered “forever” and I’ve had lots of answers, just none that satisfied me so far. Every dog food brand recommends a certain daily amount of their food according to their weight and that amount differs from brand to brand. They are all very close to the same amounts but they still differ. We like to use kibble and top it with a dollop of wet food ( approx 2 T ) w/a squirt of water to mix, then warm it up a bit in the microwave. I know all the above is probably more to our psychological tastes than his but still we enjoy doing this. Our 1 year old bearded collie is 40 lb and his average daily exercise consists of a 1-3 mile somewhat leisurely walk w/my husband and 1 day per week at Doggie DayCare where he plays for 1 hr, then goes to his kennel to rest for 1-1 1/2 hr, then back to playtime again (3X). Finally, my question : What amount of dry kibble, wet food, and lest not I forget his doggie treats ( healthy but still treats just the same ) should he be eating per day ? Again, I realize all dry and wet food & treats  are not equal, but do you have some sort of calculation that you could share and would help me better able to figure the amount of food he should be eating for a healthy diet ? Thanks ever so much ;0) Christie

Dear Christie, I’m not sure I can do any better than anyone else has and not knowing what info you’ve already received…I’ll make a stab at it with my own opinion.

Dog food makers know what goes into their food. They have certain regulations and guidelines to follow that the dog food powers that be set for them. Over time, some of them have figured out how to skew the ingredient list to fool the consuming public and so skewing also the analysis of the food. In my opinion, those regulations and guidelines are not stringent enough. For instance, I’m told by a trusted source that even in the human food we eat, a certain amount of contaminants like rat poop are acceptable so how much is okay in dog food? I know! Ick!

Dog food makers know how they make their food and what they put into it, exactly what their ingredients are. Some of the worst ones show analysis on questionable foods that can’t, in my opinion, be be called good and nutritious food for dogs, like feathers, wheat gluten, corn and corn syrups, cellulose powder which I’m told is sawdust, other fillers, colors, diseased, dying and down animals including medications or disease that may have been in those animals before and after death.

Consider what a raw or fresh diet consists of. Consider that if your dog was doing his own hunting, he would most probably catch and kill small living animals and eat the whole thing. Dogs are also scavengers so will eat what someone else has left behind after dining, too. Small animals are usually ingested completely, bones, brains, organs, stomach contents, and all. (Sans the feathers and some larger skeletal remains of larger prey; my dogs and our coyotes and other predators leave those behind, scattered around to show us what happened at the site of the catch.)  The small animals, before they become dinner, will have been eating whatever is in season. Before grain was stored by people, these small animals only had grain available during harvest season. Nature gives us logic when feeding our dogs, no added grains except to add fat and energy for winter. If our dogs live in our house with a heat source, they don’t need added fat to combat cold winters.

So the dog eating a rabbit or a mouse or a bird during harvest season would have grain in their diet. Grain adds fat which means the cold winter will be easier for the dog to survive, fat stores keep us warm. In spring and summer, rabbits and mice and birds eat greens, berries, fruits, and often they eat things with faces as sources of food, too. Don’t argue about that, I watched a mouse eat another mouse and a grasshopper one day. There was plenty of green around so it must have been a diet choice. Many birds eat meat and fish as well as things without faces. Rabbits often eat their own babies and whether that’s a food source or something else, it’s a part of Nature that I’ll never come to grips with but it happens so it’s part of the cycle of their life.

When a dog food maker makes food, they analyze protein, fat, fiber and moisture. Some do more than that but by rule, they don’t have to. So how much protein is there in sawdust? My sources tell me that it does raise the analysis of the protein content in the food as a whole. Is sawdust nutritious? I’d say no, not so much. Does it hurt the dog? I’d say no if it’s in small quantities like are used to hold some treats together but we’re talking regular diet here so I’d rather not have sawdust in my dog’s daily diet.

The maker can then look at their guides for what a dog’s requirements are, again based on the powers that be. Then they decide how much of their food your dog needs to eat to meet those daily requirements and add that amount as their feeding guidelines. Are they right? You got me. I don’t know. Some dogs can live on dirty food stained paper plates from the dump. Just because they stay alive doesn’t mean that they are healthy and thriving.

If your dog is doing well using the guidelines from your choice of processed food, he’s probably okay. Things to watch for are large soft poop, that can be a big indication of fillers in the food. Frequent diarrhea can mean there could be contaminants in the food or your dog’s system is so compromised by the bad stuff that their digestive system is fighting back and losing the fight. Anything less than bright eyes, a happy face, a wagging tail, skeletal stability, no pain, no extra weight, good quality energy, and sweet breath, are generally indications that your dog is not getting his best nutrition.

In my opinion, the better quality dog foods, including those that we carry at SitStay, have already been time tested and will sustain a dog for a lifetime. Adding the canned food is good, it has better nutrition than dry because it has less processing than dry. A better diet for dogs is raw or fresh foods that are in season, that’s Mother Nature’s design for a dog’s diet.

I’d suggest that you stop using the microwave to warm up the food, it can alter foods because of how it works. If you want your dog to have warm food, use warm water instead.

To know if your dog is satisfied, well, and doing okay on processed foods: Check for yeast infection in the ears and private parts. Smell his breath right at his mouth, it should be nice and easy to like, not stinky, what some people call “doggie breath”. Anal glands should be working properly to mark scent on his poop as he eliminates, not rubbed on your carpet. Poop should be firm, he should have a little bit of a push to eliminate as he cleans his own anal glands. Farts and digestive upsets shouldn’t happen as a regular activity. Eyes should be clear. No dandruff or sore spots. Dogs should be able to do activities based on age and breed without pain in joints, neck and spine. Smell your dog at the top of his shoulders. If he smells sour or “doggie”, his nutrition needs an adjustment. A well fed dog will smell like he’s just been bathed even if he hasn’t had a bath in a year.

A dog who eats a raw diet: Adult dogs will eat 2% of their good body weight each day. Puppies will eat 10% of their body weight daily.

Processed foods just really aren’t the ideal way to feed our dogs or ourselves for best nutrition and wellness. I rarely watch daytime TV but caught Oprah last week. The show was about Food Inc., a new movie that’s out. It was about the human food ingredients that we buy for our dinner tables but it’s a great indication of what happens to our processed dog foods, too. You can find it online for sale at about $9.99. I can’t recommend this DVD as I haven’t seen it yet and I have no idea how much info you’ll get but I did see some clips and agreed with each one as I saw it. Warning, it’s graphic.

Your dog is only 40 pounds so the majority of his daily food, including treats, should be highly nutritious for his best well being. I hope this helps. Hugs to your dog! – Darcy