FOOD

Food is the single most important thing you need to get right for your dog.   I consider their diets carefully - if you put good in, you’ll get good health out!

All my dogs are spoilt as I feed them on a natural, raw diet (including fresh salmon every week!).  My dogs eat a very well balanced diet including; chicken, turkey, salmon, sardines, rabbit, lamb, beef and tripe, supplemented with vegetables and table scraps.

There’s a well known phrase, which says it all...

"as fit as a butchers dog"

...and my dogs are very fit and healthy!

They do not have any of the skin problems I know other pug owners complain about, they do not have bad breath, their teeth are sparkling white (even though I gave up attempting to clean them with a toothbrush along time ago), they rarely break wind, they will run and walk for hours... and most of all they are happy and love their food!

 

Commercial dog food, generally has a very low meat content and is bulked out with a high level of carbohydrates with a very high calorie content.  Basically, it's junk food for dogs, it gives them all the same problems that junk food give people.  Take a look at the ingredients list on even the more expensive brands of commercial dog food and you will see labels such as, "Contains Minimum 4% Meat", the fact that the can claim to provide a nutritionally balanced diet for a carnivorous dog with such little meat content is unbelievable. 

 

If you'd like to find out more about feeding a healthy, natural diet (also known as BARF) I would suggest reading "Work Wonders: Feed your dog raw meaty bones" by Tom Longsdale, although there is also lots of information all over the internet, just search for "BARF" or "Natural Raw Dog Food".

 

 

8 week old, happy pups with a turkey neck

WORMS and FLEAS

I worm my dogs every 2 months with a prescription wormer and treat them with Frontline Prescription Flea Treatment every 2 months to prevent them from having fleas and ticks.

Click for more information about Worms and Fleas 

 

IMMUNISATION

My dogs are vaccinated with a booster every 12 months to prevent diseases such as Parvovirus, Distemper, Canine infectious hepatitis, Parainfluenza and Leptospirosis.