Diet/Nutrition
Long before minimal vaccinations and raw diets for companion animals became mainstream subjects, I was feeding my dogs raw meat and vegetables, doing few vaccinations, and trying to keep them and their environment free of chemicals. Although our diet here undergoes periodic changes, updates and tweaks, the underlying principles have remained the same. Simply stated, they are:
Since I am a realist, I have never required puppy buyers to follow the diet I use with the dogs who live here. Potential buyers are provided with information and encouraged to do their own research. Happily, many if not most of those who have adopted dogs from here have elected to follow our diet and regime or a modified version thereof. Now that some of these ideas have become trendy, there are many products available for the dog owner who wishes to do raw feeding and/or utilize a high quality dry dog food. There are internet groups and many books also available on the subject. A lot of vets also have modified their vaccination schedules from annual vaccines to 3 year intervals and some offer to titer rather than just to vaccinate. (In the case of rabies vaccine, state laws dictate the schedule for vaccination.)
I have included our diet in detail. I would be delighted to hear that you have downloaded it and intend to think about following it or intend to do more research about raw or modified raw diets for dogs.
1. Canines are carnivores. They need to eat meat.
2. Canines are predators. Left to their natural inclinations, they will bring down their prey, eat it raw, (not broil or microwave it first), and their their meal will include vital organs and their prey's stomach with its herbivorous contents.
3. There are no negatives to providing dogs with "human grade" food and vitamin supplements. There might be considerable negatives to providing them with less than this, as the USDA standards for the contents of pet food have been known to approve inclusion of items such as sick dead animals and items of no nutritional value, like peanut shells and beet pulp. There are very minimal standards, if any, for supplements/vitamins sold for animals. I urge you to do your own research on these subjects.
4. Chemicals have side effects and need to be utilized very sparingly and judiciously, on a basis of benefit vs risk.
5. There are no foods that are perfect for every individual at all times, so variety needs to be part of any diet.
6. The goal of nutrition is health. To achieve good health, in addition to having luck in genetic makeup, what any individual requires to ward off threats to good health, is a strong immune system. Field Spaniels, are creations from a gene puddle vs gene pool, so many not be inclined naturally to have strong immune systems. Their diet and environment must be designed to try to maximize the strength of their immune system. (Teeny gene "puddles" form the basis in the creation of many purebred animals.)
