Expert: Kaza - 3/9/2010

Question
QUESTION: i have a very fussy  and overweight bichon,, he is 2yrs old since we have had our patterdale pup he walks and plays much more but he preferes our food to his own, for his healths sake i need him to eats less. i have got him on burns dried food which i feed him 3 times a day with a dog gravy topper  and a bit of cooked chicken or cheese on the top so he will eat it . can you please help, he does like raw carrot and apple

ANSWER: OK this is common and must be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Dry foods (all ) are sprayed with fat to encourage dogs to eat it after all wouldnt you need some enticing, so it isnt the best food for these breeds and has been known to lead to stones, oxylates and struvites even some cats develop these when on dry foods.
At his age he should be on 100 g dried foods but better still 175 g of a natural diet and fed only 1 per day. He is simply being over fed.
Suggest changing to a raw food diet and this will alter his need for food.
This must be introduced over 3 weeks slowly.

Food for the day use as you wish.
100 g raw (chicken OR Beef OR Lamb OR turkey OR Tinned drained pilcahrds) warmed in microwave (45 seconds is enough)
1 raw meaty bone (NEVER give a dog a cooked bone not even ones from shops)
1 raw carrot grated or juiced mixed with his food or as carrot batons thru the day
1/4 apple sliced
25g green beans or garden peas
25g ground oatmeal  mixed into his meat

give this diet for 6-12 weeks then go to www.eurobichons.com  and look up raw diets and recipes.NO SNACKS AT ALL for 6 weeks unless it is a raw carrot baton.

Good luck

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: why do you give your dog raw meat and is it ok to cook it first, what type of meaty bone do you suggest,should the beans and peas be raw as well, thanks.

Answer
A dogs digestive tract and system is made to accept this type of diet. You may warm it through as this is how a dog would prefer to eat what it finds naturally. Yes but juicing it allows the dogs oral enzymes start working immediately, remember a dog does not have the same system as we humans and its digestive process is very short in comparison.IE it needs to extract nutrients quickly from its intake.