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fast food
Meat, meat-vegetable and other preserves nowadays are widely used for dogs' feeding. They provide wholesome nutrition, convenient to store, and take not too much time to prepare. These products usually contain vitamins and minerals increasing ingredients' value while ones may lose vitamins during technological processing.
There are three main types of fast food:
— Dry food
Dry food is the most economical and can be used either dry or adding some water, though due to low level of fats better add some chunks of meat to increase it's nutrient value. Dry food disadvantage is that absorbing water it becomes gluey and adheres to dog's palate, as well as has poor taste.
— Half-wet food
Half-wet food is consumed with greater pleasure though usually contains more conservatives than other products do. Sometimes it causes allergies manifested by scratching and biting skin. In this case better refuse this type of food.
— Canned / preserved food
Preserved food is the most popular between dogs' owners. It may be added to dry or half-wet one. As it's also the most expensive one, there's no need to give it every day, 2 or 3 times a week will be enough. Continuous consuming of preserved food favors dental scale formation.
Optimal variant of dog feeding is combined one based on several types of fast food.
Choosing one or another type of food for your dog thoroughly examine ingredients written on the label. They are listed in descending order considering their content value in the product. Protein component shall be listed in top three. Do not buy preserved food with more than 75% of water contained. It's waste of money. Compare several types of food and make sure you've chosen nutrient and well-balanced product.
Using additives (minerals, vitamins, proteins) first think what ration you are going to supplement by. Fast food usually requires no additives as it's content and production in the USA and EU (EC) countries are strictly ruled by base legal documents of food production what excludes any chance of dogs' insufficiency sicknesses if this food is designated for these dogs. So fast food shall be enough for feeding on any life stage, including reproductive and growing periods.
Use of fast food guarantees sufficient calcium and phosphor provision without any additives. So, rottweiler puppy weighing 22 lbs (10 kg) demands about 30 oz (850 g) of wet and dry food mix fifty-fifty. Considering base average values of nutrient content, calcium intake will be 1/3 oz (9400 mg), while phosphor intake will be 1/5 oz (5950 mg) (while 1/10 oz (2450 mg) required). Calcium/phosphor relation then will be 1,6:1. Any calcium additives supplying this ration lead to excess of calcium.
What is the best — to buy ready food or to prepare it by one's own? No one decision is optimal. Exactly for the dog in-house kept for 10 thousand years and appreciably depending on human considering feeding base, healthy food hardly can be composed by fast food only. Though in the cities as well as for not too much experienced owners fast food may greatly help. Fears about vitamins insufficiency due to their probable destruction during production are empty. So, non-heat-proof vitamins are added in excess so that remain quantity is enough to supply organism needs. Using home-made rations necessity inadditives, calcium and phosphor especially, is almost a must.
Calcium/phosphor relation shall be more thoroughly balanced in home-made rations for puppies and during reproductive period for adult dogs. So, to supply energy needs of 3—4 month old puppy of «big breed» dog, as rottweiler is (adult dog weighing 132 lbs (60 kg), puppy 22 lbs (10 kg)), approx. 27 oz (760 g) of food a day required, considering food composed by 60% of fresh tripe and 40% of vegetable meal. This amount contains 1/30 oz (870 mg) of calcium and 1/20 oz (1520 mg) of phosphor, calcium/phosphor relation is about 0,6:1. However puppy's daily need in calcium is 1/5 oz (5200 mg), in phosphor — 1/10 oz (2450 mg), while calcium/phosphor relation may differ from 1:1 to 2:1. So it lacks about 3/20 oz (4 g) of calcium and 1/30 oz (1 g) of phosphor. This situation is fraught with danger for bones development, so ration demands additives. If a dog gets about 12/5 oz (40 g or about 2 full table spoons) of mineral meal, then this additive shall contain about 10% of calcium and 2—3% of phosphor. Consuming of large amount of mineral meal is barely possible in practice as dog will simply refuse a meal. So additives with lower level of calcium don't fit this ration.
Similar results will be got if home-made mixed ration is considered to have no bones, meat-bone meal, fish meal or any other products with bone components. Milk products like curd or acidophil milk do not contain enough calcium to satisfy needs of growing puppy, but feeding bones to puppies isn't recommended due to danger of digestive tract traumas and constipations.
• criteria of fast food type selection
What food is better — dry or canned? To compare content of nutrients for both types of product check label for relation of nutrient value and dry weight. For example, «wet» food label announces 7% of protein with 18% dry weight (82% humidity), while dry food label shows 24% of protein (88—92% dry weight — humidity usually isn't announced as on percentage below 14% it isn't necessary). Then relating to dry weight canned food is better in protein (38% protein in dry weight) than dry food (about 27%). More accurate compare is possible if calculate relation of nutrients and caloric content. Actually simple compare to dry weight is enough excluding special fat food as for working dogs or dogs with kidneys disorders.
General estimation of dry food nutrient value is approximate and usually can't be applied to all products. Considering dry weight canned food has higher caloric content but less carbohydrates and ballast components. Energy content of dry food greatly differs: recently as food with rich ballast and less caloric products as high-caloric food (usually enriched by fats) could be found.
Many owners state that dogs suppose wet food as more tasty. Generally, selection or combination of food types depends on dog's breed, age and energy spending. Inclined to obesity dogs shall get ration partly in dry food rich by ballast with low caloric content. Conversely, for dogs with poor appetite select especially tasty and caloric food.
Use food with high energy value in reproductive period, especially during lactaion, when energy spending may be heavy (more get — up to 3,5 times heavier energy spending). So heavy energy spending of lactating bitch may be recovered adding several table spoons of oil.
Three conclusive tips — if you decided to use fast food:
1. purchase it in the petshops only — not on the market — buying in the shop you can check food certificate, ask qualified person for tip (petshop workers usually really love pets and own job).
2. check expiration date (better take with not less than 3—6 months remained till expiration date).
3. prefer «superpremium»–class food of well-known brands only.
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