English Setter Nutrition II

"There are several pages in ThePetCenter.com that you may find useful. Do a search inside www.ThePetCenter.com for "best dog food" and there are links in that page, too.

The real problem has arisen due to the words we humans use to describe what we are thinking and these words often fail us... as in this case. The use of the words "undernourish" or "restricted access to food" to help "keep the pups from growing too fast" has absolutely no basis in fact since growth rates are directly influenced by the endocrine system's hormone release, especially GH (growth hormone) and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). IF a pup is undernourished, though, it may suppress the entire endocrine system and undermine protein synthesis and the entire individual suffers adverse impact on all tissues.

The words "restricted nourishment" or "reduced protein" to help prevent rapid growth (which is normal anyway... who decides what is too rapid as opposed to normally rapid growth?) really should be words that refer to "calories from carbohydrates". Dogs thrive on diets rich in protein (38 to 42% of a dry formula containing about 10% moisture) and fat and low in carbohydrate. Those are facts verifiable any time someone wants to research intelligent data done in a scientific manner... as opposed to someone's observation who "really knows a lot about dogs". The words KEEP THE DOG FROM GROWING TOO FAST should have been KEEP THE DOG FROM BECOMING OVERWEIGHT. Excess calories from protein, in canines, is NOT deposited into fat stores like carbohydrate calories are. (Some people fall into the trap that awaits those who erroneously assume the canine metabolic processes are identical to a human's.)

What we need to do is this: provide all pups with the best diet we can that is consistent with a meat-eating canine; feed only an AMOUNT that does not allow the dog to become overweight. It just isn't much more complicated than that. Trying to restrict a pup's growth is entirely different, and dangerous, than is trying to restrict calorie intake to prevent an overweight condition. We need to restrict becoming overweight, not the rate of growth.

Dogs don't need cranberries, blueberries, kelp, flax seeds, chunks of bone, ground peanut hulls such as in some formulas, grass, or garlic in their food IF the food is correctly formulated from the start. Dogs do thrive on meat, poultry, eggs, and a few cooked vegetables... some raw vegetable chunks such as from carrots or raw potatoes can cause discomfort or blockage of the GI tract and are poorly digested. (Grapes can be toxic but we don't yet know why.)

The FEEDING GUIDE on any pet food label has suggested amounts to feed relative to the dog's present weight. These amounts almost always suggest feeding too much food (too many calories) per pound of dog.

For some unexplainable reason we humans always want our dogs to eat like what is displayed in the totally unrealistic TV commercials where the food is enthusiastically inhaled! Dogs' digestive systems and body physiology evolved consistent with a meat eating predator, which, simplistically stated, is consistent with consuming a high protein food source on intermittent occasions separated by days of no food at all. (Certainly our selective breeding for tiny dogs has generally been pointing toward more frequent feedings so that they do not develop hypoglycemic episodes.)

Feeding dogs properly is very simple if we stick to established facts and feed according to what the species would consume "naturally". This does not mean we should feed raw bones (by bones I mean the skeletal structures only... not the attached tissues such as connective tissues, fat, muscle, etc.); raw foods and bones are another story that needs explaining. See http://www.thepetcenter.com/xra/bonecomp.html for more details on "bones".

Contrary to popular myth, diets rich in protein ("high protein levels") do not cause kidney damage. Research done decades ago indicated that rodent kidneys were adversely affected by diets high in protein... and misguided researchers extrapolated that data to apply to the canine. There is no evidence that feeding dogs and cats diets rich in or "high" in protein actually causes kidney damage or disease. Some day this myth will be finally be put to rest. In fact, there is ample research and well documented studies that prove that dogs and cats thrive on diets with levels of protein consistent with a meat-eater's (carnivore) natural prey selection.
Additionally, documented research on dogs indicates that reducing dietary protein levels in older dogs may be unwise; however, if kidney damage is already present to the extent that the BUN levels are 75mg/dl or above, some restriction of dietary protein may be beneficial for metabolic reasons... not renal reasons. "...restriction of protein intake does not alter the development of renal lesions nor does it preserve renal function." (See KIRKS VETERINARY THERAPY XIII, Small Animal Practice, W. B. Saunders, page 861). Restricting dietary protein may be helpful to those patients whose BUN levels are rather high and that are already in advanced kidney failure."

I hope this helps.
T. J. Dunn, Jr. DVM

T. J. Dunn, Jr. DVM
Director of Veterinary Services
ThePetCenter.com Member:
American Veterinary Medical Association
Dog Writers Association of America
Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association
American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition
International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association

Licensed to practice in Wisconsin and Florida