feeding

There are many opinions nowadays about what is the best way to feed your dog. I am not going to say one is best, but give you a range of options and you can decide for yourself.

A good diet is essential to maintain a happy healthy dog, and this is especially true of a growing puppy. When you get your puppy from a breeder you will be given some information about the diet that the breeder has weaned your puppy on, in most cases it will be a complete puppy food, numerous brands are available, some breeders feed a natural diet from weaning so you may have that to consider. If your breeder suggests a certain food make sure you get some, even if you intend to change it, change must be gradual over a matter of weeks so have enough of the breeders puppy food to last you a few weeks at least. There is a massive selection of puppy foods on the market so you are best to follow your breeders advice unless you have prior experience of a good puppy food you prefer. Any good breeder will give you a feeding guide but as a general rule puppies need fed 4 times a day for the first 3 months, then that can be reduced to 3 times up to about 8 months old.

Once your dog has matured it is time to decide what diet you are going to introduce them to, most people will have something in mind, normally what they fed previous dogs on, but in today's society there are numerous options available and it is worth considering what is the best for you and your dog.

The first option is a good quality complete adult dog food. Within this there are also choices, for example working dog complete, pet complete, natural complete with no additives etc. Most of these foods are a biscuit that can be fed wet or dry, and that is entirely up to what you prefer, personally my dogs get their breakfast dry and their dinner moist, the dry biscuits are good for their teeth, but they seem to enjoy it moist. Some foods resemble a bag of muesli with flakes or corn and oats, these are normally soaked. There is a massive choice and a massive difference in prices, just because its the most expensive doesn't make it the best. Food marketed as working dog food is cheaper as there is no VAT. I am not going to suggest any particular brand, but if you are interested in a particular food why not post a question in the chat forum and see if others have tried it. Look at the packet and take into account the fact that just like children, lots of additives can make your dog hyper, brands high in artificial colours and preservatives could make your Springer even bouncier, when you look at a complete food and its full of interesting colours, check the labelling to make sure all those colourful biscuits pretending to vegetables aren't just little balls of additives.

Meat and biscuits is another option, plenty of brands of tinned meat, which need to be fed with a mixer biscuit to make the diet complete. Easy to obtain on the supermarkets, but can cause wind in some dogs.

The pet food market has evolved with demands for more natural foods, and this has led to companies that offer naturally cooked meals in a convenient carton. Your pet shop will now do a wide range of entirely natural, fresh cooked complete meals, which normally include meat and veggies. These natural foods can offer the advantages of fresh food, in an easy to store and prepare package.

A diet becoming more and more popular is BARF, raw food, including raw bones, offal and veg, mixed with things like pasta and rice. The pet food market has evolved to take these diets into consideration and companies will now sell frozen bags of dog meat if your local butcher won't supply you.

The far end of the scale is a return to the diet dogs evolved eating, that dogs are in fact carnivores and should be fed as such. raw meat and bones, with a small proportion of the diet being table scraps of fruit and veg.

As I mentioned the choice is vast, and no doubt changing every day, if you asked 10 people what they fed their dogs, you would most likely find they all fed their dogs something different, and will try to convince you that their choice is the best. The choice is yours, but do your research, and find the best diet for you and your dog.

Here are some views of a few Springer owners on why they chose the food they did, and what benefits they feel it offers.

"Having fed dry food, wet food and BARF over the years, we realised that our dogs are in fact pet carnivores, we felt we should feed them as such. Their teeth are designed for dealing with raw meat on the bone.

A group of us at Dog Club discovered a book called ‘Raw Meaty Bones’ by Dr Tom Lonsdale, Australian Vet. We all read this and realised how easy it was to feed a diet of a few table scraps and raw meaty bones. We have not looked back since, and have fed this way for almost 3 years. In fact, we were so taken with it that we organised a Seminar for Dr Lonsdale, and have now set up a web site helping others to feed their pets in this way. (The address is www.ukrmb.co.uk.) No more bad breath, sloppy or smelly poop, dirty teeth, itchy skin or skin diseases, smelly skin, eye/ear infections, behavioural problems, anal gland problems, infestations of ear mites or other nasties, urine burn marks on the lawn etc., just a natural diet on which dogs have evolved from. After all, in the wild, dogs live well into their twenties with all the major organs still in tact." contributed by Debbie.

"Nutritional factors can have a huge impact on a dog’s health, behaviour and general well-being. There are dozens if not hundreds of brands of dog food on the market today, but when we were choosing a diet for Megan, we wanted to avoid anything that contained unnecessary artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives. We were also wary of highly processed dried foods, and wanted to give her a diet that was as natural as possible. She’s a very picky eater, so we also needed something she’d enjoy, and we wanted to be able to give her a variety of protein types to avoid the risk of sensitivities developing. Nature Diet seemed to fit the bill perfectly. It’s free of artificial ingredients, but unlike the additive-free dry foods that are available (which Megan assures us tend to taste of cardboard!), it’s got a solid, meaty texture. Nature Diet is a complete food which contains only meat, vegetables, rice, seaweed, vitamins and minerals, lightly steamed in sealed containers to keep the nutrients in. It looks like ‘proper’ food, it comes in a variety of flavours (including puppy and light diets), and Megan loves it. She was on a dry diet when she came to live with us, but we had terrible trouble encouraging her to eat it. We switched to Nature Diet gradually over several days, and she’s been eating it ever since. It’s kept her fit and healthy, and she’s got plenty of energy without being too hyperactive. One big advantage is the company’s home delivery service – while Nature Diet is available in many pet shops, we find it cheaper and much more convenient to have it delivered in bulk. Another point in its favour is that unlike certain ‘big name’ foods, Nature Diet isn’t tested on animals, and has the BUAV seal of approval. Its one slight disadvantage is that it doesn’t keep the teeth as clean as a dry diet might, but we’ve solved this by giving Megan raw, meaty bones to chew several times a week." contributed by Ann

The choice of foods is vast for the adult dog, and this has also started a trend in senior foods, foods targeted at the 8 years and over dog. These foods normally contain ingredients that are supposed to be good for the older dog, but in my opinion alot of the foods are packed and sit for so long that I doubt any fresh supplements exist by the time your dog gets it. I think if you want to include natural supplements to aid your ageing dog then you should feed their normal food and add the supplements yourself. Things that you may consider adding include Glucosamine, which is good for arthritis, or cod liver oil, which helps joints and keeps their coat in good condition.

If you are feeding a high energy food, then consider switching to something that is a bit lighter in protein so that your older dog isn't getting a high energy food that will just cause them to put on weight if they are not burning it off.

Maybe your older dog is struggling to eat the crunchy biscuits that it used to relish, then why not start soaking the food to make it easier to eat.

For titbit suggestions check out Willow's Kitchen - lots of yummy treats for your Springer