Based on seminar by Jan Bo Larsen – specialist on dog nutrition and feeding

Dog anatomy – feeding consequences

Jaws and digestive system tell us a lot about nutrition needs and way of digestion. Let’s start form jaws – dog can’t use its teeth doing horizontal movements, so it can’t grind food as people do. Dog’s jaws can only move vertically which means that dog can bite, tear and swallow but it can’t chew or grind. In dog’s saliva there is no amylase, an enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of starch into sugars, or any other enzymes. The only function of dog’s saliva is to lubricate food to make its transport to the stomach easier.

Dog’s digestive system is very short, about 80% of digestion process takes place in the stomach, which also stores food. The full stomach can weigh even about 50% of dog’s total body weight. To fill the stomach, an adult dog must eat about 4-5% of its total body weight. When the stomach is empty – it shrinks.

 

 

Inside the stomach, on its walls there are special inserts, which secrete digestion enzymes when they are touched by food. If the stomach contains kibbles (dry food), the stomach is not full and, as a consequence, enzyme production is insufficient or it is not activated at all and pH of stomach acid is about 3-4. Regular pH of dog’s stomach acid should be 1 – only then the dog’s organism can handle with bacterias and digest big chunks of meat and bones. Dogs fed with natural raw food have got pH of stomach acid 1.

Digestion process of natural food (raw meat and bones) lasts about 24 hours, digesting kibbles is much shorter. In dog’s body the liver does not work at the same time as stomach. If the digestion process continues all the time – when the dog is fed 2-3 times a day – the liver has no chance to work and does not “transform” fat into energy.

With a full stomach there is a smaller chance of GDV – twisted stomach, as full dog has less need for running and in the stomach there is much less space, which prevents twisting.

Meat is digested in the stomach, vegetables and fruit in intestines. Dog can’t digest cellulose (component of plants) so this part of meal should be grind as much as possible. In nature dog/wolf eats vegetables and fruit mostly in form of stomach content of herbivores, where plants are partially digested.

BARF versus kibbles

The only advantage of kibbles is the fact that it can be served in an easy way, but let’s compare two ways of feeding – kibbles and barf (raw meat, bones, vegetables and fruit).

• As there is no amylase in dog’s saliva the leftovers of dry food remain on dog’s teeth and are not decomposed. On not cleaned teeth tartar appears, gums illnesses develop and it opens way for bacterias which can infect the whole organism easily. Meat and bones give no leftovers and additionally eating bones help dog to clean its teeth. Dog has not got bad breath.
• If in kibbles some elements are missing or they are in impropriate proportions they are missing in every meal that dog receives. An advantage of barf is its diversity – we feed dog with different kinds of meat, vegetables and fruit. The diet is balanced within a week, not as a daily meal.
• The main ingredients of kibbles are grains. Proteins from animal sources are 5 times more better assimilated by dog than proteins from plant-based sources. So even if the amount of protein in kibbles is appropriate it is not fully assimilated by dog anyway. What is more, kibbles contain carbohydrates unnecessary for the dog and the process of digesting them overloads intestines and rises up the blood pressure.
• Raw meat consists about 60% of water, kibbles do not have any. It means that dog fed with kibbles drinks more water which dilutes stomach enzymes. It also means that to feel full dog would have to eat much more than it really needs. Barf meals have got bigger volume and dog really feels full.
• Natural food is almost completely assimilated so faeces are smaller than in case when dog eats kibbles. What is more faeces are more natural and firm, they clean dog’s anal glands. The faeces decompose outside in about 2 days.
• Every dog has a natural need of tearing, biting, tugging. When dog eats bones and meat – it can fulfill this need – if not it will fulfill it anyway- on its owner’s sofa. J
• Dog eating meat has got low pH of stomach acid. Thanks to it dog can drink water straight from the puddle or eat bad meat – its stomach can handle with bacterias. Dog eating kibbles does not have such immunity.
• When gnawing bones dog’s nose and brain are stimulated. Dog has to find out how to gnaw the bone, how to take the marrow out, how to keep the bone. Kibbles do not stimulate dogs.
• Although there is a label with ingredients on the bag of kibbles, the owner can’t really control what is inside. Feeding dog with natural food we have better control over it.
• Another advantages of barf are: strong pigmentation, healthy coat and skin, no allergies, healthy pancreas and kidneys, better immunity and higher energy, less aggressive and fearful behaviours (meat contains tryptophan - well-known for its role in the production of nervous system messengers, especially those related to relaxation, restfulness, and sleep).

Feeding and behaviour

To answer if food and feeding have got an influence on behaviour just remind yourself how you feel when you are hungry. You are easily irritated, excited, nervous. After the meal, when all energy from the body is moved to digesting you are relaxed and satisfied.

The similar thing happens to dogs. That is why dog eating kibbles, when its stomach is never full, can be more excited and overactive. It also presents behaviours which would be used in hunting – tracking, chasing, catching, biting… These are natural behaviours for predators, and our beloved Max is one of them. In nature the rabbit would not serve itself ready-to-eat but the process of hunting it would be a tough work – it would take from 10 to even 20 hours. If dog receives a bowl full of kibbles it does not have to “work” at all, but the behaviours typical for predators remain and must be fulfilled somehow. It usually happens in ways not accepted by humans – chasing bikes or cars, destroying furniture, tracking pedestrians…

We offer the way of feeding dog which resembles the natural one. Instead of feeding from the bowl, you can hide food in the garden for dog to find/”hunt” it. Additionally, you can create tracks for dog (put a piece of meat into a plastic bottle, pour warm water in, shake, leave for few minutes and then, pouring the water out, create the tracks), hide bones in a box or a basket (put the dog’s toys on the top – dog must remove the toys to find them). When dog has eaten out all marrow from the big bones you can use them as a natural Kong toy – just stuff it with some grind meat or vegetables with fat, freeze it and give it to your dog – it will have at least one-hour work.

All the ways of feeding, when the dog can use its nose and brain will make it feel fulfilled and more relaxed.


Secrets of kibbles

When you read a label on the bag of kibbles you believe that it tells you what is inside – it is a mistake!

• The label on the bag of kibbles is valid for 5 years, even if the producer has changed the ingredients he can still legally use the approved labels.
• On the bags weighing less than 10kg there is no need to put information about all the ingredients.
• If the last producer has not added any preservatives to the kibbles he can put “no preservatives” information on the bag, but it does not meat that they are not inside, actually. It only means that the last producer has not added them, but a supplier of semi-finished products could do it (so meat used for producing the kibble could have preservatives but we can’t find this information on the label)
• Guaranteed nutritious value is within the norm of 500% - so it can legally be different from the information on the label up to 500% .
• Declared content of the ingredients on the label concerns food before boiling/baking it. What does it mean? As meat contains a lot of water after it vapours in a production process there must be something added to complete the product.

 

	before boiling		after boiling
	weigh g	protein %	weigh g	protein %
meat	600	60%	231	23%
bone meal	160	16%	308	31%
corn	140	14%	269	37%
additives	100	10%	192	19%

 

As you can see % of meat proteins decreases drastically, corn is the main ingredient. (This example is quite optimistic – most of the kibbles have declared amount of meat of about 20%)

• To put the content of the ingredients after boiling/baking on the label the producer need a special permission!
• Kibbles can content preservatives which are scientifically proved to be carcinogenic and their usage is forbidden in human food production. The list is long, but the most dangerous are: BHA, BHT, E320, E321, E324.
• Meat in kibbles is usually in the form of chicken meal, so in fact these are pieces of chicken impossible to sell – feathers, combs, beaks. To check if in the kibbles is meat or feathers look at amount of ash on the label – up to 3% - chicken meal could be made out of the whole chicken, more than 3% - chicken meal is produced out of waste.
  

Playing with words – what these expressions mean:

Includes chicken = up to 4% of chicken (for example feathers)
With chicken = 4 – 14% of chicken (for example feathers)
Rich in chicken = 14 – 26% of chicken (for example feathers)
Paste of chicken = 26 – 100% of chicken (for example feathers)
Made of chicken meat = it really consists chicken MEAT not waste

How to feed with barf

Changing food
If you want to start feeding your dog with barf after feeding it with kibbles, you should start from grind tripe, cow tripe or sheep tripe (for allergic dogs). This stage should take from one to two weeks and it helps to create pH 1 of stomach acid and support the production of stomach enzymes. After that the dog’s stomach can handle with bones and big chunks of meat. After completing this stage we can start regular feeding.

How many times should you feed the dog?
Food remains in the stomach up to 24 hours before it is digested. After that time the liver activates, it works shortly but intensively, changing fat into energy. When dog is fed too often its liver has no opportunity to work. That is why eating more rarely but bigger amounts of food is natural for the dogs.

• Puppies 3 weeks-6 months need to be fed 2-3 times a day.
• Dogs over 6 months need to be fed once a day.
• Dog should be fed every 27-28 hours (24 hours for digesting in stomach,4 hours for liver to work), so it gets 6 meals during 7 days.
• Dogs that are over 2 years old – can get 3-4 meals a week, 10-15% of their body weight for a meal.

How much?

• Puppy 0 – 6 months: 2-3 times a day, 10% of its body weight (for example: 10-kilo puppy – 1kilo of food a day, 25-kilo puppy – 2,5 kilo a day)
• Dogs 6-12 months (large breeds up to 18 months) – 5% of its body weight
• Dogs over 1 year (large breeds 1,5) – 2% of its body weight

Proportions:

3 weeks – 1 year:
50% - meat with bones and cartilage
30% - tripe (from 6 weeks)
10% - offal
10% - meat

Additionally:
15-20% of vegetables and fruit (1/3 fruit 2/3 vegetables)

Over one year (1,5 large breeds)

35% - meat with bones and cartilage and meat bones
15% - tripe (from 6 weeks)
20% - meat
10% - offal

Additionally:
15-20% of vegetables and fruit (1/3 fruit 2/3 vegetables)

Flaxseed (linseed) oil – one spoon per 10kg a day

Meat bones = turkey, chicken and ostrich necks, beef ribs…

Feeding plan – examples

Puppy, weight 5 kilos, one week proportions:
10% of weight = 0,5 kg of food a day = 3,5 kg a week, including:

1,75 kg- meat with bones and cartilage
1 kg - tripe
0,35 kg - offal
0, 35 kg – meat
0,75 kg – vegetables and fruit

Puppy, weight 10 kilos, one week proportions:
10% of weight = 1 kg of food a day = 7 kg a week, including:

3,5 kg- meat with bones and cartilage
2 kg - tripe
1 kg - offal
1 kg – meat
1,5 kg – vegetables and fruit

Adult dog, weight 15 kilos, one week proportions:
2% of weight = 0,3 kg of food a day = 2,1 kg a week, including:

0,7 kg- meat with bones and cartilage or meat bones
0,7 kg - tripe
0,2 kg - offal
0,4 kg – meat
0,4 kg – vegetables and fruit

Adult dog, weight 15 kilos, one week proportions:
2% of weight = 0,3 kg of food a day = 2,1 kg a week, including:

1,5 kg- meat with bones and cartilage or meat bones
1,5 kg - tripe
0,4 kg - offal
0,85 kg – meat
0,8kg – vegetables and fruit

 Edyta Ossowska