Feeding tips for dogs

 
· Find out how much your dog weighs. The easiest way to do this is using your bathroom scales. Weigh yourself first (you don't have to tell anyone). Them pick up your best friend (your dog) and weigh both of you. Subtract your weight from the both weight to equal the dogs weight.

For Example: I weigh 80kg and we both (dog & I) weigh 105kg.
105kg - 80kg = 25kg. My dog weighs 25kg.

If you don't have bathroom scales or your dog is too big to pick up, you can see if your pet food store or vet has scales that you can use.

Knowing what your dog weighs is very important. The amount of food he needs is based on how much he weighs. Also, worming tablets, frontline, heartworm tablets etc are all measured on how much your dog weighs.

· Measure out how much food your dog needs. All foods have a recommended feeding guide based on the weight and age of the dog. It is usually measured in cups or grams. Sounds easy enough but how many different size cups do you have in your kitchen, and are your kitchen scales accurate? When you use a cup, make sure it is 250ml. You might be surprised at how small a standard cup really is. Pick a cup and use that just for your dog food.

If you don't have a cup, you can usually get one from your pet food store.

Measuring your dog's food is very important. You need to know how much your dog should be eating. If you feed too much, your best friend will gain weight and you will be wasting money. If you don't feed enough, your dog will lose weight and be hungry. Hungry dogs will go searching for food and will eat more next time you feed them (more on this is regular meals).

· Keep lots of clean, fresh and cool water available all the times. Your dog needs access to lots of good water all the time, but especially when they are eating. Dry dog foods are designed to be eaten with water. The water helps to soften the food and start the digestion process. Also, the food swells up when water is added, triggering the stomach to say when it if full.


· Feed your dog one regular meal per day (puppies need 2-3 meals per day). Decide on a time of the day (say 7am) as the feeding time for your dog. Feed your dog only at this time and allow 10 -15 minutes to eat all his food. Older dogs may take more time, younger ones less. Once finished remove the bowl and any food left over. Establish the habit of feeding once per day when they will eat all of their food.

This allows you to monitor their eating habits. Not eating is the first sign of lots of problems so it is important to know if that happens. Dogs that are able to graze all day long could have a problem that cannot be detected as quickly. This is also particularly effective strategy for dogs that like to stray, as they will always be there at 7am to get fed.

Remove leftovers. Food that is left out will attract flies & ants, at the least. Cane toads will also appear for a free feed as well as birds and chooks. The neighbourhood strays will be happy for a feed hurting your back pocket.

· Reduce the amount competition your dog faces to get fed. If you have more than one dog to feed, feed them at the same time, but in separate locations. The best of friends will be more aggressive if they feel they have to compete for food. They will also eat more than they need to in case they lose the next battle. Make sure the neighbour's dogs and cats are not around to compete with yours for food.


· Buy 10 get 1 FREE. Eukanuba & Iams dog foods have a rewards program for feeding your dog their highest quality products. After buying 10 bags of food, your next bag is absolutely free. This is a great program, but trying to keep track of receipts and then send it in to claim that bag, can be tricky. At Citifarm @ Kelso and Len's Feed Shed, they take care of all that for you. They keep record of your purchases and give you the free bag. They put the receipts together and claim it from the pet food company. It's brilliant.

· Worm your dog every 3 months. There is nothing that dogs love to more than eating someone else's poo, and licking each others butts is how they say Hello! So it is so important to keep up with intestinal worms. Untreated worms make your dog feel real crook and you don't want to be feeding the worms as well as the dog. Not all wormers are the same and many claim to be all wormers and don't do all worms. Drontal is considered the best in the industry and Canine Allwormer is a generic brand doing the same job. These tablets or yummy chews need to be given every 3 months (more for puppies).

· Dogs love bones because they are tasty and they keep them occupied. Dogs will spend ages licking, chewing & breaking them up, as well as hiding them in the garden for a rainy day. Taken straight from the freezer, they make a great ice block on a hot summers day. Be careful though, you should not feed cooked bones (particularly chicken) as they become brittle and can splinter and hurt your dog. Roo tail bones are very popular, so popular they can sometimes be hard to get hold of.

· Chocolate should never be fed to dogs as it can be fatal. This means chocolate cakes, cookies, icing, cocoa etc. The richer the chocolate worse it is. Keep these for the people not the pets. Other problem foods include avocado, pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core pips, potato peelings, rhubarb leaves, mouldy/spoiled foods, alcohol, coffee, cigarettes (no smoking dogs), raisins, grapes, yeast, hops, broccoli.