Feeding Your Dog
Puppies should be fed 3 to 4 times a day. At 6 months old they should be fed at least 2 times a day for life. Feeding once a day is not healthy. An animal can not retain all the vitamins and minerals they need from just one feeding. Some of the vitamins and minerals pass right through the animal before being processed by the body, depriving the body of much needed nutrients. To avoid this feed your pet the same amount of feed but divide it up between 2 or 3 feedings that day.
It is best to feed larger breed dogs at chest level. This means that you should elevate their food and water bowls to where they head never drops below their front shoulders when they eat.
Table foods are not good for your pets. The more table scraps you feed your pet the more years you take off of their life by making them over weight. You are not doing them a favor by making them over weight. If you are worried that your dog will become bored with eating the same dry dog food day after day (which they will not) then buy some can dog food and mix a little in with the dry food one day a week or so. That will give him some variety without giving him fattening table foods.
I hear many people say that their dog is over weight because of being spayed or neutered. This is not true. If it were true I would have a bunch of over weight dogs and cats. Most of the time the dogs become over weight because their activity has decreased but not their food consumption. If your dog is not as active as he use to be then cut back on his daily food consumption.
Do not give your dog bones unless they are the thick bones you buy in the pet store just for dogs. Even steak bones can splinter when your dog chews on it causing him to choke.
This is very important and many times over looked, clean those water and food bowls once a day. I don't mean rinse them out. I mean put them in the dishwasher or hand scrub them using dish detergent.
Copyright © 1999 - 2005 Thunder
Hill Great Dane Rescue TM
All rights reserved. No part of this website, either text or image may be used
for any purpose other than personal use. Therefore, reproduction, modification,
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or otherwise including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system, for any other
than personal use, is strictly prohibited. It is illegal for individuals, other
websites, publications, or organizations to copy any or all of the information
contained within this site without the written permission of the Authors. Please
report unauthorized use and other inquiries to the webmaster
at [email protected]