Understanding Pet Food
Your Doberman’s Diet

Diet will play a key role in the health of the Doberman as it does in all breeds. A premium quality food is essential for optimum health. It should be pointed out that the sub-standard foods such as those which are available in the grocery stores should not be fed. The main ingredient in those foods is a grain such as wheat, soybean or corn. These grains are common allergens in dogs and are frequently responsible for skin eruptions, shedding and itchy, dry skin. They also can be the cause of loose stools, vomiting, gassiness, dandruff, dull/matted fur, bad breath, digestive problems, lethargy, lack of appetite, face-rubbing and foot-licking as well as that offensive doggy odor coated breeds can have. Coat, skin and overall health will suffer over a period of time as a result of a poor diet. Feed a good diet and you may be amazed at the difference in the quality of life that your pet has. Their coats will be plush, they will have fewer allergies, fewer medical problems and a much healthier personality.

Commercial dog food has only been around since the 1930’s when cereal companies were trying to find something to do with their rejected grains--grains which were rejected for human consumption due to mold, rancidity and contaminants. Coincidently, the meat industry faced the same problem. The idea of mixing the rejects together and calling it “pet food” occurred to someone and the commercial pet food industry was born.

A food with no corn, wheat or soy is recommended. Meat should be your two top nutrition sources. The best commercial foods contain MINIMAL grain (preferably rice), no ‘by-products’ or ‘animal digest’, no artificial preservatives like BHA or BHT, ethoxyquin, no fillers such as beet pulp, rice flour or brewer’s rice.

Canidae, and Natural Balance are two foods which contain no offensive grains. The best foods for a dog include fresh chicken, turkey, beef, fresh vegetables and fruits, fresh brown rice, oatmeal, yogurt, eggs and cottage cheese. Lean meat scraps and the usual dog biscuits make delicious snacks that the dog will look forward to receiving.

We can also recommend NU Vet Plus. It has been proven to help prevent or reduce many of the problems dogs face such as poor coat, allergies, arthritis, digestive disorders, heart disease, and tumors. It has also been found to be effective in strengthening ear cartilage thus reducing the ear posting time after cropping.

In addition to a healthy well balanced diet, we recommend that a natural vitamin, mineral and antioxidant be given. This is especially important if you are feeding a commercially made dog food which contains corn, wheat, soy, preservatives or other additives which have been known to cause skin and coat problems, dangerous formation of cancer causing free radicals and a number of other ailments.

Count The Cost:

One study tested 10 different brands of dog food ranging from Econo-brands to Super-Premiums. It found that it doesn't pay to feed a cheap-quality dog food. The better the quality of the food, the less it takes to feed our dogs. In other words, the better quality the food, the better the value.

The Premium foods studied had an average of 22% crude protein and 10% crude fat. The Super-Premium dog foods examined had an average of 27% crude protein and 15% crude fat. The Economy brands averaged 20% crude protein and 8% crude fat. The Super-Premium foods suggested feeding an average of 1-3/4 cups of food per day for a 40 lb dog. Premium brands recommended 3-1/4 cups, while the Econo-brands instructed feeding 6 cups a day.

Feed 'em Right

It costs an average of 24 cents a day to feed a dog a Super-Premium brand, compared to 26 cents a day for a Premium brand, and 31 cents a day for an Econo-brand. The Econo-brand actually costs you 7 cents more a day to feed your dog than a Super-Premium does. In order to give your dog the nutrition it needs, it has to eat 3-1/2 times more of the Econo-brand than the Super-Premium food. Thus, the big difference is in the waste: The seven cents more that you spend on an Economy brand buys you more waste in the cleanup department!

Something else interesting turned up in the study. If you have a giant breed, such as an Irish Wolfhound, you would have to feed your dog at least 12 cups of an Econo-brand for a cost of 64 cents a day. On a Super-Premium, he'd eat only 4-3/4 cups of food for a cost of 62 cents a day. That means the top quality food costs two cents less than the low quality food to get the same nutrition.

Money Talks (and what it says is morally repugnant):

Difficult as it may be to believe, millions of dead American dogs and cats are processed each year at plants across North America. Eileen Layne of the California Veterinary Medical Association states "When you read pet-food labels and it says meat meal or bone meal, that's what it is - cooked and converted animals, including dogs and cats."

Road kill, slaughter house rejects, animals that die on their way to meat packing plants - all are acceptable ingredients for pet food under the "4D" rule: Diseased, Disabled, Dead and Dying! Steroids, growth hormones and chemicals used to treat cattle for infestations - including insecticide patches - end up mixed into the final product. Meat from grocery stores past its final due date is also added to the mix, as are the Styrofoam trays and plastic wrap they were packed in.

Chemical Cocktails:

The addition of euthanized pets goes beyond morally repugnant - it also introduces a host of chemicals not listed on pet food labels. At the rendering plant, time cannot be spared to remove even the green plastic bags the pets came wrapped in, let alone the insecticide laden flea and tick collars they were wearing. Even the very chemicals used to put these pets to death also find their way into the final product. "Facts of Sodium Pentobarbital in Rendered Products", a University of Minnesota research paper, stated that sodium pentobarbital, the barbiturate which is most commonly used to euthanize small animals, "survived rendering without undergoing degradation." When ingested, sodium pentobarbital has been shown to cause liver damage as well as kidney damage and failure. The pet food companies claim these chemicals are found in such low doses as to be harmless but make no mention of what the cumulative effects of years of ingesting them may be.

Before meat even arrives at the rendering plants, it has already been saturated with chemicals. To comply with government regulations, all meat rejected by slaughter houses must be "denatured" - a procedure designed to make it unpalatable to humans, thus ensuring it cannot be resold as human grade meat.

The chemical cocktail does not end there, either. To prevent rancidity, a fat stabilizer is added to the finished product. Dr. Belfield writes "The common chemicals used are BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytolulene). BHA and BHT are both known to cause liver and kidney dysfunction. Some European countries prohibit the use and importation of these preservatives. Another fat stabilizer often used is Ethoxyquin, suspected of being a cancer-causing agent.

Most vets agree that food allergies and toxic conditions are on the rise in modern day pets. When asked, many blame such possible causes as "environmental pollution" and "the stress of living in cities". It's an unfortunate fact that at many North American Veterinary schools, pet nutrition is touched on only briefly, usually during lectures that are presented by the major pet food companies.

In a lecture to the New Zealand School of Veterinary Medicine, Tom Lonsdale, DVM, said "The problem is in the main unrecognized and undefined by the veterinary profession. Veterinarians gain legitimacy and privileges as guardians of the public welfare in respect to animal health. The profession has failed badly in its duties." Little wonder that so many vets remain painfully unaware of the possible toxins our pets ingest every day, not from their environment, but from the very food we shop so diligently for.

So what is the conscientious pet owner to do?

Long regarded as setting the standard for natural pet care, "Dr Pitcairn's Guide to Natural Pet Care" sets out a variety of home cooked diets for healthy pets. Emphasizing fresh ingredients, raw meats, and balanced supplementation, Dr. Pitcairn's book addresses the nutritional needs of everything from pregnant dogs to vegetarian cats. But few of us, especially those with multiple pet households, have the time required to feed a fresh, home cooked diet to our pets. We want a food that's safe, but we also want convenience.

An answer may lie in the growing number of "holistic" pet food companies which are emerging. Many of these manufacturers are adamant about their commitment to using only "Human Grade" ingredients - that is, food sources which have been certified as safe enough to be eaten by humans. Candidae and Natural Balance are two foods which contain no offensive grains and NuVet Plus has been proven to help prevent or reduce many of the problems dogs face such as poor coat, allergies, arthritis, digestive disorders, heart disease and tumors. It may also help strengthen ear cartilage which reduces the ear posting time. Dog foods which use human grade ingredients include, Flint River (909)-682-5048, Abity, Aunt Jenis, California Natural, Innova, Wellness and Wysong Synorgon.

Several companies have combined the use of quality ingredients with enhanced packaging to preserve quality and increase shelf life, all without the addition of chemical preservatives. Wysong uses an ingenious packaging method of cartons that contain smaller, vacuum sealed bags of food. Solid Gold has also adopted this method of packaging and several other companies are planning to do so. Even more conveniently, Sojourner's Farms offers meal sized packages of pet food mix which includes steamed and raw fresh vegetables, grains, vitamins and natural source minerals. It needs only to be mixed with fresh meat and a little warm water to become a fully nutritious and all natural food.

The California based pet food company "Innova" was started by Dr. Belfield, DVM, after his years of experience as a USDA vet gave him good cause to worry about the connection between pets he treated in his practice and the food they were eating. Other "Holistic" companies making a similar commitment include Solid Gold, Cornucopia, Nature's Recipe and Natural Life.

Eager for your business, many smaller food companies offer a home delivery plan, saving pet owners from lugging heavy bags of food from store to home. This policy of home delivery often means fresher food. Rather than going from factory to warehouse to store and finally to you, many smaller companies ship their food straight to the consumer from the factory. As well, bulk buying and breeder discounts are offered by many companies comparable to the breeder programs offered by the major manufacturers.

It's Our Responsiblity:

As pet owners, it is up to us to learn just what it is we are feeding our pets and to decide what we can and cannot accept as ingredients. Make inquiries - most manufacturers print their customer service 1-800 number on the side of their bag. Ask them what they put in their food and, if you don't like the answer, tell them so.

Insist on food made from quality ingredients, sold in packages that are clearly labeled and tell them that you will only buy from companies willing to offer this. Those of us who breed can carry particular clout which we can exercise in part by recommending a food we trust to buyers who would otherwise be swayed by advertising. The fact that so many breeders are sought out to appear in dog food ads illustrates how much our opinions matter to the major companies so, when you call them, if you are a breeder, tell them so. Together, the pet owning public can flex it's financial muscle to a degree that manufacturers will have a difficult time ignoring and, together, we may be able to ensure no other family pet finds its way into a food bag or can.

How to Read the Labels :

Ingredients are listed by volume in descending order. Therefore, a food with chicken listed first should have more chicken than other ingredients. Look closely. If several grains follow the chicken, there may be more grain content than meat. Is this bad? Perhaps, perhaps not. Many weight loss foods or senior diets have a grain as the first ingredient with several types of meat listed next. But, for the average dog, you want to see how much meat comes before the grains or vice versa. When evaluating a commercial dog food, consider the following:

Bioioigical Value: The biological Values of the ingredients are a key to good nutrition. The biological value of a food is the measurement of the ammino acid completeness of the proteins contained by the food. Eggs are considered a wonderful source of protein because they contain all of the essential amino acids.

The first ingredient should be meat if you want a quality product. Crude protein should be no less than 30 percent and crude fat no less than 20 percent. The fiber content needs to be 4 percent or less. If you absolutely can't provide real, fresh food for your dog, whether raw or cooked, at least switch to a commercial diet which uses only ingredients which have passed USDA inspection. The best commercial diets also contain MINIMAL grain (preferably rice) and NO corn or soybeans which are difficult to digest. They will also contain no "by-products" or "animal digest", no BHA, BHT or ethoxyquin, and no "fillers" such as beet pulp, rice flour, or brewer's rice. Unfortunately, you will find very few commercial foods which meet all these criteria.

Meat/Meat Based: This is the clean flesh from a food animal. It may also include organ meats, tendons, blood vessels, etc.

Meat Meal: Rendered meat. It must NOT contain hair, hooves or stomach contents. Rendering is to extract all usable bits from the animal by heating such as removing oils from fats prior to making the end product available for dog food. Meal gives a better idea of true meat content because it is dried when used.

Meat by-Products: These are cleaned elements such as organs, bone, blood and fatty tissue. No hooves or hair should be in by-products.

Poultry By-Products: Clean parts of chicken like organs, feet and heads but not fecal material.

Poultry By-Products Meal: Rendered by-products with no feathers.

Meat and Bone Meal: From meat and bone but does not contain hooves, hair, blood, fecal material, hide pieces, stomach, etc.

Tallow: This is hard, white, wax-like fat which is hard to digest.

Animal Digest: Chemically broken down animal tissue. It does not contain horn, beaks, hair, hooves, feathers, etc.

Fish meal: Clean and dried fish. Great source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Salmon meal is great for both Omega 3 and 6!

Grains and other products: Common grains found in foods are corn, wheat and rice but dogs are not cows. There are concerns with allergies to corn and wheat. These grains are frequently responsible for skin eruptions, shedding and dry skin as well as the offensive doggy odor coated breeds can have. A food with no corn or soy is recommended because the quality of the grains used is suspect. Wheat grains are not only more digestible than corn, it is one of the most nutritionally balanced cereal grains. It is an easy-to-digest source of carbohydrates, fiber and energy. A combination of brown and white rice is good. The white rice for digestibility and the brown for its added nutritional value. A diet product that is 100% brown rice can be somewhat hard for some animals to digest. A combination of grains, like combination of meats, is better than just one source. Low quality fillers like wood fiber, corn cobs, peanut hulls, cottonseed, straw, soy beans or citrus pulp should be avoided. Fish is a prime source of a complete protein - it includes all the essential amino acids. it is rich in unsaturated fats (Omega 3 fatty acids), Vitamins A, and K and also contains iodine, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium copper and fluoride.

The good grain is reserved for the human market. What goes into the pet food bin is deemed unfit for human consumption due to mold, rancidity or contaminants. You might see a dog licking its feet or rubbing its face against the carpet, behaviors you might never think to associate with the grain in your dog’s diet, but that can often be the case. Other grains used may be brewer’s rice, soybean meal, sorghum and oatmeal. There may also be various vegetables in pet food as well as probiotics, glucosamine, lecithin, shark cartilage, cider vinegar, etc.

Preservatives: Most commercial dog foods need preservatives or they will spoil but not all preservatives are equal. BHT and BHA have raised concerns. Both cause liver and kidney dysfunction as well as bladder and stomach cancer. Ethoxyquin, is manufactured by Monsanto as a rubber preservative. The containers are marked POISON and the department of agriculture has listed it as a hazardous chemical. It has been linked to health issues but there has been no concrete proof of this. Nonetheless, breeders have put pressure on manufacturers and they have largely discontinued its use. Propylene Glycol is the chemical preservative found in some "safer for pets" antifreeze. It is not as bad as Ethylene Glycol which makes antifreeze deadly to dogs but it can still be toxic. Tocopherols sound scary but these are vitamin-based preservatives and are considered to be "safer" for pets. Most pet foods list these preservatives right on the bag, or can, but even when it doesn't say so, it's usually there anyway because a legal loophole allows manufacturers to list only what THEY themselves create and put into the bag. If they buy some of their ingredients from a supplier who has already added the chemical to the ingredients, they don't have to list them!

Colored bits and semi-soft pieces: To put it bluntly, these are no more than added garbage. They are high in colors, sugars, preservatives and are basically junk.

Vitamins: Some breeders recommend that dogs receive vitamins every day. An example regimen might be: 1500 mg of vitamin C, a couple of fish oil pills, vitamin E, antioxidant mineral chelates, amino acids (the building blocks of vitamins) and glucosamine.

FLAX: The different proteins in flax provide a high proportion base of unsaturated, essential fatty acids and dietary fiber. Flax is recognized for its potential in reducing the risk of some chronic diseases as well as improving the thickness and sheen of the hair coat. It provides a great benefit to oven-baked food by resisting oxidation from the baking process and improving product shelf life.

LECITHIN: Lecithin protects cells from damage caused by oxidation. Lecithin is largely composed of the B vitamin choline - with linoleic acid and inositol.

MINERALS: Minerals are chelated (bonded with protein) which makes them easier to absorb into the animals systems.

COPPER AND IRON: A deficiency of iron causes nutritional anemia. A small amount of copper will improve utilization of iron.

PROTEINS: Proteins are organic chemical compounds and a major component of the structure of all living organisms. Protein functions to build and repair body structure.

A good pet food should contain highly digestible protein sources that provide the essential amino acids in adequate amounts. Digestible food protein from several sources is more desirable than protein from only one source.

CARBOHYDRATES: Carbohydrates serve primarily as an energy source while giving bulk to the diet. Plant material is made up of a high percentage of carbohydrates.

FATS: Fats are complex molecules which are broken down by the digestive system into smaller molecules known as fatty acids. Fat is a concentrated source of energy and works toward making hormones, skins and coat oils, membranes and parts of body cells.

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS: Linolenic Acid (Omega 3). Linoleic Acid (Omega 6)

SUGAR: Not an ingredient most people would expect to find in dog food, but many
foods do, in fact, contain sugar, especially the semi-moist brands. In fact, some semi- moist foods contain as much as 15% sugar. The sugar adds palatability and moisturead aids in bacterial contamination prevention. Dogs do not need this amount of sugar which can stress the pancreas and adrenal glands causing diabetes. Completely devoid of protein as well as vitamins and minerals, sugar is literally empty calories.

SALT: Added to many foods as a meat preservative. Too much salt can irritate the digestive system and can cause a mineral imbalance because the salt itself can upset the calcium / potassium balance in your dog’s system. Too much salt can be life threatening for a dog.

WATER CONTENT: The amount of moisture in a food is important, especially when you are comparing foods. A food containing 24% protein and 10% moisture would have the same protein per serving as a food with 24% protein listed on the label but only 6% moisture. The thing to consider here is that your are buying water instead of food. This is why it is important to consider the saturation point of the moisture. The AAFCO guidelines are formulated on a dry matter basis, so that all foods can be compared equally.

Feeding a Pregnant Female:
Pregnant females which are fed a natural diet come very close to getting all of their nutritional needs met. It is important for a pregnant mother to get folic acid (the same as humans) and one of the best sources of this is raw beef or calf liver. Liver is also an excellent source of vitamin A and D. I would give it to females two or three times per week. If you feed cod liver oil on a regular basis, you may want to cut back on this during time that you feed extra liver. Just before the bitch whelps it is not a bad idea to modify her diet so her stools are a little softer. Liver and vegetables grown above ground help accomplish this. Cut out on the bones and below ground vegetables.

10 Things You Should Know About Dog Foods:

1. Pet food is NEVER mostly meat.

Many ads suggest that their's is but... In order to list a meat source first on the bag label pet food companies resort to a variety of gimmicks. Here are a few to get you thinking: Listing a "wet" ingredient in what ends up being an essentially dry finished product. Wet meat gets a lot lighter when the moisture is cooked out. This labeling loophole is blatantly deceptive to the general public. All ingredients should be weighed and listed in dry weight equivalents for you to know truly how much of each makes up the ration. If the label lists, "chicken" it means chicken weighed when wet. Drop 75% of the value. If, on the other hand, it says, "chicken meal" they play fairly. If it says, "meat by-product meal" or "meat by-products," it was never meat to begin with. Find another food.

Another gimmick is to "split carbohydrates" (grains) into multiple parts to get the "meat" to list first. Label ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. So, if you have 10 lbs. of chicken meal and 25 lbs. of rice, which do manufacturers feel should appear first on the label? Chicken of course! (if you want people to buy the stuff). Here's how it's done... 1st- CHICKEN MEAL, 2nd- GROUND RICE, 3rd- RICE BRAN, 4th- RICE GLUTEN.

Pretty sneaky and obviously deceptive unless you know the trick. Rice flour, Brewer's rice and Rice-a-Roni could also have been listed if they really wanted to be cute. A related tactic is to use a variety of grains with different names to get meat listed first. This is slightly more valid since they have different amino acid profiles and are truly different ingredients. Grains and meat "by-products" cost a lot less than meat. Both also have considerably less food value.

By definition, by-products may contain anything from the specified animal except (in the case of chicken) feathers and feces and (in the case of beef), hoof, hide and feces. Meat and fat are separated out first because they are costlier and are therefore not present in any appreciable quantity. What's left is the bones, tendons, cartilage, beaks, feet and innards....proudly displayed and masqueraded as meat. A pet food bag is not the proper place for dumping stuff of unknown nutritional value. Some foods even use the term "SELECT products". All these contortions serve one purpose: To make you think that you're getting more meat than you really are in your bag of pet food.

2. The cooking process used in pet foods kills off a vital component: enzymes.

In order to eliminate bacteria and make cutesy shapes which pets care nothing about, processing temperatures in excess of 160 degrees are used to extrude or bake your pet's food. This places the entire burden for digestion on your pet's pancreas to supply the enzymes necessary for breaking down nutrients for absorption. In nature, this is far from the case. Animals naturally follow the path of "least digestive resistance" in the wild.

Consider the fox who catches a rabbit. The first item on the menu is the contents of the intestines and stomach. Let the rabbit do the digesting and enjoy! The rabbit spent hours nibbling grasses and grains readying them for the fox's easy absorption of carbohydrates. Quick and cheap fuel. Then the fox buries or hides the rest. What we call, "turning rancid" the fox calls, "just getting better". In a couple days, the live enzymes in the rabbit meat have broken it down into easily digested protein. Notice how no fire was used in this process? For dessert, a little bone gnawing for the marrow, the calcium and teeth cleaning, and it's naptime. Left for the lower animals in the hierarchy are most of the by-products and the hide.

In puppies, the pancreas is usually robust and up to the task of supplying sufficient digestive enzymes to make dead food somewhat useable and fulfill it's other vital functions. With age, however, pancreatic function is weakened and often can't keep up with this undue burden. If the pet food you are feeding day in and day out is of low nutritional value to begin with, the taxing effect on the system will be all the greater and the pancreas will most likely give up that much sooner. Diabetes could be the result.

3. Giving "real food" aka "table scraps" is the RIGHT thing to do!

Forget the myth that you should only feed the stuff from the bag and nothing else ever. Unlearn that. Afraid that your pet won't eat the chaff manufacturers call "food" after tasting the real deal? Or that it will throw the delicate balance of their finely tuned "nutrition" out of whack somehow? Hardly.

Here's the scoop... Providing real food (not potato chips or other junk food) in its raw form counteracts some of the deficit that can be caused by only feeding commercially prepared pet food. It can provide the living enzymes to make digestion an easy rather than burdensome process. But, don't just go wild and throw everything in the feeding trough. Good bets for pets are raw carrots, broccoli, yogurt, cheese, garlic and meats. Cooked oatmeal, rice, corn, squash and the like are fine too. Don't feed raw grains, legumes, potatoes, onions, celery or chocolate which are either unusable or unhealthy. If you aren't comfortable with raw meat and fish, don't feed it.

Keep in mind, dogs aren't people and have an entirely different gastro-intestinal system than we do. Introduce new foods a little at a time about three times a week to start and give your pet's pancreas a much needed break.

4. Most "vet recommended" foods pay mightily for the "honor".

Does it matter that the majority of vets know very little about pet nutrition? The public is told to "Ask your vet". The vet is told by the pet food companies, "we'll send you to Hawaii for a week of golf if you sell and endorse XYZ brand pet food". In school, vets-to-be could ELECT to take an overview course in animal nutrition. Or not. There have been changes of late to make this required study AS IT SHOULD BE! You are miles ahead if you understand the pet food label yourself and take the time to learn some basic nutritional concepts. It's not that complicated! Find out for yourself, trust your own judgment and ignore what people say who are getting paid to say it.

5. The #1 vet recommended brand is probably the #1 worst pet food value.

Read the label! Compare it to the cheapest stuff you can find. There isn't a dime's worth of difference in most cases. How much does it cost them to make a 40 lb. bag of this stuff? How about less than $3 including the cost of the bag? How much does the public shell out for the bushel of corn and peanut shells most recommended by vets? About $35.

6. Feeding "Soft-Moist" diets will cut your pet's life expectancy in half.

Thankfully, these foods are on the steep decline but aren't gone yet. Perhaps killing your customers isn't a good way to develop long term brand loyalty. These toxic morsels are so loaded with chemicals to stay soft and prevent molding and so laden with sugar to cover the harsh chemical taste, they rip a pet's insides out. The sweetness is addictive and you'll hear owners say, "Fido just won't eat anything else". Well, then better buy the small bag because who knows how long Fido will be eating at all? Anyone feeding this should stop at once.

7. Many companies have stopped using ETHOXYQUIN.

The once popular preservative (antioxidant) called "Ethoxyquin" has been mostly abandoned because of "hushed" litigation and settlements with professional breeders. It formerly was championed by pet food manufacturers (and others) as an advanced and healthy inclusion in pet food in an attempt to hide the fact that it was never intended to be eaten, much less on a daily basis. It was originally formulated as a rubber stabilizer and a color retention agent. Tires stayed pliable and spices stayed red. Despite efforts to get it approved as a food stabilizing agent in people food, it is only allowed for extremely limited application with colored spices. There are innumerable instances of stillbirth, sudden liver failure, kidney dysfunction, permanent pigment changes, tumors and death thought to be caused by the addition of this wonder substance to pet food starting in about 1987. Much of the talk about ethoxyquin has quieted since the major pet food companies jumped off the bandwagon and switched to safer (and less legally troublesome) preservatives like forms of vitamins E and C.

8. Nature didn't intend for pets to eat dry food devoid of enzymes.

Convenience is paid for in reduced pet health. Where is it written that your pet's bowl has to be filled with chalk-dry nuggets of quasi-nutritious ground up brown stuff? We've been sold on a bad idea. We bought it because it made life easier. Until the real bill comes, that is. But doesn't kibbled food make their teeth shiny and their breath fresh? Won't their teeth fall out if they don't eat that stuff? Yeah, right. Ever watch your dog eat? Does it look like some kind of teeth cleaning exercise?

The truth about teeth cleaning is this...sticks, rocks, yarn, bones, toys and saliva primarily accomplish this task, not food. Commercial pet food has to be flavor enhanced with digestive and sprayed-on fat to be even remain attractive to your pet. Without these palatability modifications, the old dry kibble would just sit there and get dusty. People get paid big money to invent coatings to make your pet dive headfirst into the food bowl. Because then you smile and feel like it must be healthy and that Fido loves the food and you so you'll buy it again. Remember, the fox didn't go in search of a crunchy rabbit. It ate the soft one and it has a dazzling smile and a fully charged pancreas.

9. Some companies sneak sugar into pet food to hook your pet.

Watch out for these guys! They call it other things of course...(cane molasses, corn syrup) but it absolutely does not belong in your pet's food bowl. Processed sugars are foreign to dogs and, over the long term, can result in obesity, tooth decay and diabetes (along with other maladies). Until a few years ago, propylene glycol was being used as a sweet tasting preservative by those who must have cared much more about shelf life than about pet health. Thankfully, it has finally been banned.

Pet food companies will tell you that the industry is tightly regulated and that your pet's health is being fastidiously protected. Do you buy that one? The FDA can't even keep up with human food and didn't lift a finger on behalf of the pet owners during the ethoxyquin debate. The regulating body for pet food ingredients is AAFCO. The American Association of Feed Control Officials. But the rules and definitions they adopt are made by those with vested interests and are enforced through "voluntary compliance". The fox guards the rabbit hutch here.

10. Almost all manufacturers use stool hardening agents in pet food.

Convenience again triumphs over pet health. Stool modifiers make clean up easier and mask the effects of nutrient malabsorption. Who's going to buy a pet food if you've got to SCRAPE up after your dog? It's easier to just PICK UP those little piles.

Consider however the strain on your pet's innards. Would you put concrete mix in your pancake batter? How about sawdust? If you were dieting, would you mix ground peanut shells into your breakfast cereal? Well, they do all that and more for your pet. See if any of these made it into your pet food bag: Sodium bentonite, powdered cellulose, beet pulp, tomato (or any other) pomace, and ground peanut shells. The explanation for including these usually is that they are fiber sources "for your pet's well being". There may be a little truth there but not the real reason they are added. Whole grains provide great fiber content. A bit of bran would do well too. The real goal is to make you buy the food again because clean up time is so easy and enjoyable with brand XYZ's designer stools. Before you do this to your pet, try it yourself for a few days.

One question to ask a company representative is this: "Aren't there times when my pet needs to evacuate it's system rapidly such as when a toxin is ingested or when the doggy flu comes around?" You'll then likely hear mumbling about "Our research..." and "regulating intestinal transit time for optimal nutrient absorption". Do you buy that one? If the food is good and fed properly, stools will be fine without forcing your pet to work a brick through their digestive and excretory systems.

Your Doberman’s Diet

As you may know, each breed of dog has its own unique set of nutritional requirements which have been passed on from generation to generation down through the ages. Just exposing them to a different diet for a small amount of time or for a few generations will not change their genetic needs. The Doberman’s diet should contain nutrient sources which are similar to those found in the native environment of the breed’s ancestors and the proper balance of protein, carbohydrates, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals which match the breed’s specific nutritional requirements. One breed can require ten times what a different breed requires per pound of weight but this amount may simply be toxic to the next breed of dog.

The Doberman was developed in the shadows of Germany’s beer breweries. When compared to other breeds, it requires higher amounts of certain amino acids so the proteins you provide should be high in Phenylalanine and Thyrosine. Since the bulk nutrients of the area where the Doberman developed were high in these essential amino acids, this breed requires the same protein make-up today. Food sources found in the Doberman’s native environment included grain crops used for brewing beer with beef and pork as meat sources. Therefore, the best protein sources for Dobermans is a blend of beef, pork or horse meat. Conversely, the worst blend would be chicken and fish. The balance and amounts are not listed here because each individual animal can have different requirements depending upon such factors as sex of the animal, age, activity level, stress levels, medical conditions and other dietary factors (i.e. does the water supply contain high amounts of minerals?). The amount of vitamins and minerals the Doberman needs may have already been supplied or exceeded by the amount which is in most all-breed/any-breed commercial foods so owners should not supplement what may already be TOO MUCH. This can be toxic and just as harmful (or more so) than too little.

Good food is more expensive but owners who feed their Doberman CORRECTLY can save a lot of money. Many dogs are taken to the vet suffering from nutritionally related problems and the vet bills can be huge! So time spent learning about your puppies needs and then selecting the proper diet is like money in the bank. The basic idea here is to feed your friend "good food". When I say good food, I don't mean the type that costs about $5 for a 20 pound bag. When you look for a good food, fatty acids and oils are important. Test the food you are considering by placing about a cup of food in a brown paper bag for about an hour then check the bag. If the food has lots of oils in it, you'll see the evidence absorbed by the now oily bag. Remember the old axiom: You get what you pay for... and so does your canine friend.

Feeding Schedules:

Start your new puppy off with 4 daily feedings using the same brand of feed the breeder has used and, if you plan to change it later, begin mixing in a little of the new brand until the puppy has had time to adjust to the new diet. Paper training or housebreaking a puppy with diarrhea is not much fun and abrupt dietary changes can virtually assure you of not having much fun. At about 10 weeks, the puppy can usually tolerate a feeding schedule change to 3 times a day instead of four. You must feed a puppy regularly during those first 10 weeks because of its rapid growth and the resultant nutritional requirements of that growth. Obviously, a brand name puppy food is essential. Adult dog foods usually do not have all the nutrients the puppy needs. By 5-6 months, the puppy will more than likely be eating twice a day with a possible snack treat or two between feedings.