Dogs diet!

I've recently been helping a friend out who runs a doggy day care and bording business and, not being particularly doggy trained, consultant my guides on the right things to do.

From behaviour training, understanding their emotional needs and diet, I thought I'd give you an insight into some of their guidance.

To start though, I'd like to share some of my observations about what I have noticed. With so many 'specialist' telling people different things, it's hard to know what the right thing to do is. Most dog owners are well intentioned and will do the best they can within their budget.

This is by no means telling you what you should or shouldn't do, just a few pointers on what to avoid, and what to add. In addition to this, helping you relax around things you may perceive as being gross or damaging.

Let's start with poo. I have observed that a couple of dogs like to munch on poop 💩 yuck! According to safety inspectors that provide licenses, this contains damaging bacteria for dogs and must be promptly picked up to avoid ingestion. Of course, this happens however, I asked my guides if this was harmful and got 'NO'. Is it because they're nutrient deficient? 'YES'. If they had the appropriate diet, would they eat it? 'NO'.

I guess that in the wild, if no other sources of food was available, their instinct would be to consume any available source of nourishment which they sniff out. A dogs senses tell them what's good and bad, including water (have you ever noticed how dogs prefer puddles and river water rather than tap water?)

This leads me to my next point. I have noticed that the dogs love digging and munching on insects from mud and soil, as well as eating grass. I asked my guides if this was good for them 'YES'. Is it the minerals in the soil? 'YES'. if you think about it, vegetables are grown in soils which provide minerals to the plants. When sun hits the soil, the seeds develop into plants providing VITality, or VITamins, this is why they eat grass.

In addition to this, when I asked what I should know before starting this blog they spelt out 'JOB TO FRIEND WREN' and 'WREN RENT DIET FROM DOGS'. I asked if a dogs diet is similar to a Wrens and got 'YES'.

Another thing dogs love to do, is chew sticks. Now, many owners are scared of this and it's good to make sure that sticks don't get stuck in their mouths however, being a holistic therapist and delving into the wonders of Bach remedies, I'm starting to understand that flowers and trees play an important role in emotional health.

One day a dog was particularly anxious and I asked what I could do to 'CHEW STICK'..... AHH of course. I have recently been taking Beech extracts and Dowser said it was for 'CALM'. So do all woods have calming properties? 'YES'. So it's not just the motion of chewing, they actually provide positive e-motion.

I noticed that out of all the diets owners provide for their dogs, the wholefood diet seems to be the one dogs most enjoy. This is a mixture of cooked meats, vegetables and good quality fibre. I asked if the raw food diet was good for dogs 'NO, CONTAINS MITES'. I asked because most dogs I've noticed tend to pick at their raw meat and only when very hungry. This is especially true because it lacks variety of nourishment that plants and fibrous sources provide.

From my own experience of them training me in what to eat, variety is a main theme. My guides prefer humans to be plant based for full longevity and vitality. I asked if dogs could live on a vegan diet and got 'YES', is this and optimum diet for a dog? 'NO'. Should meat be in their diet? 'YES'.

Just like humans have evolved from apes, dogs have evolved from wolves. However, as we evolve our diets evolve with us and humans are no longer the savages that we were when we were neanderthal man. Just like dogs are no longer scavenger wolves.

To rap this blog up, here's a few suggestions on general diets for breeds.

Raw should be avoided, opt for wholefood. If you haven't time to cook from scratch their are many prepacked versions available.

Avoid kibble if possible. However if your budget only allows for this then choose one with clear ingredients and non vague listings such as 'meat derivatives'. Look for ingredients you understand. Also, I noticed a dog one night renching up bile, I asked my guides what this was 'SICK OF DRY FOOD, NOT ENOUGH WATER'. If feeding kibble it's best to add hot broth. Not only will this make the food tastier, it adds the water required that they'd get in a regular meal. We know that eating dry oats is harder to digest than porridge. Adding hot fluid will make it more digestible.

Grains can be good but too much grain can cause allergies over a period of time.

Working breeds who use high energy can have more grain than non working breeds as this converts to sugar which is used for energy.

Lazy and overweight dogs require additional vegetables.

A good guide is 40% meat, 40% veg and 20% fibre.

And remember to mix things up. Choose different meat, fish, veg and fibre for each batch 🐕🙂