What A New Dog Owner Must Get Used To: Exercise and Grooming

Exercising and grooming with your new way is not only essential to their ongoing health, but can be a great way to bond with your new dog - here’s why.

Exercising Your Dog

All dogs need exercise, especially young puppies. And it is very unlikely for your dog to get the sufficient amount of exercise he needs just by sitting around the house, which is what most dogs do when they are left alone for many hours at a time.

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High Oats from Burns Pet Nutrition

Burns High Oats Recipe can be helpful in the control of Obesity. Oats have higher fibre levels than rice based diets which means the food is more filling than other diets.

Like the other Burns Adult formulations High Oats is low in protein and fat. The high digestibility means that the dog can feel satisfied by a small volume of food. Burns is intended to ensure excellent general health and part of that is ensuring the weight is correct.

Vegetables (cooked and raw) can safely be included to help fill the dog if you think that is needed

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Are you looking for the ideal natural diet for your dog?

High Oats from Burns Pet Nutrition is higher in natural fibre which is recommended for the overweight or diabetic dog.*Available in 2kg, 7.5kg and 15kg.

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50 Great Tips To Give Your Dog A Longer, Healthier, Happier Life

Dog Years. We all know the expression, most of us know the maths – 1 human year = 7 dog years (roughly). When you put it into a different context and say; ‘for every day you live, your dog has lived the equivalent of a full human week’ it’s quite a frightening thought.

Especially when you consider how much can happen in your life and with your health over the course of a week. Never fear, we’ve come up with 50 great hints and tips to keep your dog in top-shape and hopefully keep their tails wagging deep into old age…

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What’s the Deal With Lifestage Dog Foods?

Nutritional Nirvana or Masterful Marketing?

It is a simple fact that what you put into your dog is reflected in how they look, act and feel. Getting the right balance of nutrients is not entirely simple and depends on a seemingly endless amount of variables such as breed, activity level, age and medical condition. Life stage foods are quite a modern phenomenon, developed to offer a more tailored approach to feeding your dog.

The theory behind life stage foods is that they go much further than simply satisfying the nutritional needs of a dog in a particular age group. So do they really work or are they a marketing gimmick? Are you ignoring life stage foods to the detriment of your dog’s health?

What are canine life stages? For the purposes of pet foods, life stages are split into three groups, and then divided again to make allowances for breed size and activity level. Whether you plan to feed your dog a natural diet or follow the advice of pet food manufacturers to the letter, you need to be aware of how different life stages effect the nutritional requirements of your dog.

The nutritional needs of dogs may also change with changes in lifestyle or function. If energy needs decrease in a dog but energy intake does not decrease accordingly, the dog is at risk of becoming overweight and developing health problems. By providing a diet that conforms closely to the requirements of the pet, it is possible to improve health and performance.

Diet Calculator: Whichever breed, age, size of dog you have, our diet calculator should help you see if you are giving your dog the right balance of nutrition.

Puppies: The fact that puppies are always growing is the main consideration when feeding. The need for protein, calcium and energy is at it’s highest at this stage in the dog’s life. Since puppies have smaller stomachs, the nutritional quality of their food needs to satisfy the requirements of a growing dog, but be delivered in a smaller quantity. Claire Robinson-Davies explained why the nutritional requirements for a puppy depend on the breed as well as the age.

“Large breeds grow at a slower rate, so less energy in the form of protein and fat is needed to support the slower growth rate, whilst still enabling the dog to reach its full growth potential. Conversely small breeds grow at a faster rate and hence need increased fat and protein levels to support this . Some small breed puppy formulas also contain increased levels of B vitamins to support their high-energy metabolism.”

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The Role of Water in a Dog’s Diet

Your dog’s body is made up of 70% water. He can live even if he loses all the fat and half of the protein in his body. However, he will die if his body loses even just 1/10 of his water.

In order to survive, a full-grown dog requires, at the very least, two milliliters (mls) of water for every pound he weighs every single day (keeping in mind that there are 30 milliliters of water per 1 ounce).

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Feeding Advice for the Active Dog

Proper Nutrition For Your Working Dog

Dogs that lead a very active lifestyle demand a more comprehensive diet than average dogs require. Examples of these hard-working dogs are those that participate in agility competitions as well as those that team up with law enforcement on a search-and-rescue mission.

These dogs require nutritional needs that are different from an average household pet. Most of these sporting and working dogs participate in intermediate activities as well. These are activities that require low to moderate duration and intensity. Examples include: Competition or agility, service, search and rescue, tracking or hunting, police or guarding, detection, and even managing livestock.

Essential Nutrients For The Canine Athlete

Because your dog is always on the go, you need to provide him with larger doses of food and certain types of nutrients. This is especially important in times when they are most active. A typical working dog would need about 2 – 5  times more calories than a sedentary dog.  These extra calories are converted into energy that helps our canine athletes perform better.

Below are four key nutrients for busy dogs.

1. Carbohydrate: Once your dog reaches adulthood, he has less need for carbohydrates in his diet. Protein is the main building block in the canine diet, however for those dogs who are constantly working, carbohydrate in take should be carefully monitored according to work load.

2. Protein: Protein contains amino acids, which are the building blocks for hormones, tissues, and enzymes. This nutrient provides energy and helps develop muscle mass for extra size and strength. Keep in mind, however, that too much protein in your dog’s diet can lead to excessive protein breakdown. A busy dog should have a diet that includes high-quality protein, enough to provide for muscle and structural repair.

3. Fats: The main source of energy for intermediate athletic dogs comes from fats. This nutrient contains about twice as much energy as carbohydrates and protein provides. Adding more fat to your dog’s diet is the best way to increase his energy and strength. A diet high in fat is more appealing to your dog while at the same time providing him with better endurance. Therefore, it is very important to supply him with adequate amount of essential fatty acids along with saturated and unsaturated fats.

4. Water: A hard-working dog normally loses more water during laborious activity so it is very important to provide him with an ample supply of water to keep him hydrated. This is even more important when your dog is under extreme temperatures (both hot and cold weather).

Canine Obesity: A Silent Killer

Obesity is one of the most common health related problem to affect dogs, especially older ones. An overweight dog is generally an unhappy dog and subsequent health problems can drastically reduce a dog’s life and render his later years void of any real quality.

All dogs relish a tasty treat and they are an excellent way to reward good behaviour, but if overused your dog could end up suffering from obesity before you even realise you are spoiling him. It is important to pay close attention to your dog’s diet for many reasons, but particularly if your dog is overweight.

A balanced diet is essential to keeping a dog fit and healthy.

Modern prepared foods contain an adequate supply of essential nutrients without too many calories, as do many home mixed diets.

Complete, dry dog food is popular today, as it is an easy to prepare meal which contains a good supply of all the right nutrients - provided you do your research and select the most appropriate food for your particular dog and their individual lifestyle.

Commercial canned foods, whether mixed or on their own, are a good source of nutrition and are easy to prepare and store. Some dog owners favour a nutritional supplement to add to the dog’s meal, rice is a good source of carbohydrates and is easily mixed with other foods.

Certain treats make a nutritious supplement to a meal and also serve as a good reward for him, but dog biscuits alone to not offer adequate nutrition to be served as meal on their own.

The majority of young, healthy and active dogs are at a low risk of becoming overweight as the majority of their calorific intake is used during play.

If you have ever taken your dog off his lead in a large forest or field you will have noticed that he will always do more miles than you because he runs off and comes back as you are walking. This is one of the reasons that he is so healthy. But there will come a point in his life when he is unable to do as much exercise so it is important to control his diet accordingly.

However, during his more active years it is still important to take care of his diet to ensure that he is receiving a good balance of protein and other valuable nutrients. Your vet will be able to advise you on this matter should any uncertainty arise.

You may not notice it at first, but should your dog become obese there are certain tell tale signs apart from the obvious physical weight gain. A diminished level of activity not conducive to his age is always a cause for concern, but a likely cause is that he has put on a little weight.

Another symptom is laboured breathing. If your dog struggles for breath after an activity which he once could do effortlessly then perhaps it is time to get the scales out. As a dog owner it is often difficult to notice if your dog is putting on weight because you see him every day. But paying close attention to other elements of his physical state may enlighten you to any weight problems.

As the majority of dogs become I their later years it is often difficult for them to loose weight through increased exercise, so it is up to you as a dog owner to monitor and control what the dog eats. A good way of doing this is by simply reducing portion size.

It is often the case that a regular portion of dry or complete dog food offers more than enough nutrition and therefore it is quite possible to reduce the meal sizes without affecting the nutritional intake of the dog. You should have a target weigh in mind and plan thoroughly the weight loss programme so you can monitor his progress. One advantage of a dieting dog is that he will never sneak a biscuit on the sly so you can keep an exact record of what he has eaten.

As a dog owner it is important for you to be disciplined. Your dog will probably not notice the reduced size of his meals. But you will, so be sure not to sneak him a treat and hope it does not affect him, because it will, and you will be doing him no favours. So no matter how hungry he looks it is imperative that for him to loose weight you must stick religiously to the diet, or there will be absolutely n point in even starting it.