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WHAT’S ON THE MENU?


by Wendy Bedwell-Wilson If you would like to incorporate a


varied diet into your dog’s eating routine, here are five expert tips for doing so safely and successfully.


1


Choose different main ingredi- ents: If you’re primarily relying


on a chicken and rice diet, switch the pooch to something completely different, like a duck and sweet potato or bison and barley diet, ad- vises Veterinarian Sean Delaney.


turers have developed a food line designed to rotate among items, you can always try out different brands and formulas. Stick to the high-qual- ity mixes for optimal nutrition, says Veterinarian Tracy Lord.


2


mercially prepared diet, consider buying a new blend each time you shop, advises Veterinarian Rebecca Remillard.


3


slowly increase the amount of new food while decreasing the old, counsels Lord. The process should take about a week.


4


good way to ensure that a dog stays youthfully slim and trim is to cal- culate an appropriate calorie count and portions of the new foods.


5 18 San Diego Edition www.na-sd.com


Take note of portions and cal- ories: Delaney advises that a


Switch slowly: For a smooth transition between foods,


Change the menu regularly: If you plan to rotate a dog’s com-


It’s okay to change brands: Although some food manufac-


Shopping for Choices Dr. Tracy Lord, a holistic veterinarian based at the Animal Clinic and Well- ness Center, in Williamsburg, Virginia, says that older theories once claimed that dogs would become picky eaters or experience indigestion on a varied diet, but that perspective has since been questioned. To the contrary, variety brings excitement and interest to the table— or the bowl. For instance, Lord points out, “If you feed your child a dinner of chicken, broccoli, brown rice and cantaloupe, you can pat yourself on the back for providing a well-balanced nutritious meal. But if you feed this same meal to your child three times a day throughout his life, you would start to see nutritional deficiencies.” Plus, no one would be surprised to hear that the child is tiring of it. The same holds true for dogs, she


says. Their bodies appreciate the differ- ent sources of nutrition, while their taste buds respond to delicious change-ups. One popular type of varied diet centers on taking commercially pre- pared, top-quality, frozen, canned or dry foods and simply rotating them, as long as the owner provides a consistent number of calories. This approach will ensure that a dog receives the right bal- ance of nutrients, says Remillard. She explains that, “Federally regulated, commercially prepared foods have processing methods and quality assurance programs that limit the po- tential for food-borne illnesses in pets and offer guarantees, a nutritional pro- file and bioavailability of nutrients. Remillard further notes, how- ever, that not all products are equal when it comes to highly desirable ingredients, so as with


any other processed food, consumers must read labels. Varied diets also may be prepared


at home. That’s where home chefs can get creative with different types of meats, grains and vegetables, but they should follow guidelines prepared by a trained nutritionist, Remillard cautions. “Unless properly formulated by a nutritionist, diets developed at home are not likely to be complete and balanced,” she says. “The nutritional profile of any diet—including homemade diets—de- pends on how the recipe was formu- lated, the nutrient content of the ingre- dients and how the owner prepares the food. Homemade diets may also contain contaminants and food-borne microbes if the owner isn’t careful.”


Sometimes, just adding a little something special to a dog’s bowl will give him the variety he’s craving. For example, “If we’re making something our dog loves, like grilled salmon or ahi, we’ll cook a little piece for her and give her a little less kibble in her dish,” relates Alyce Edmondton, who lives in Redmond, Washington. “We always share our dog-safe leftovers with her. We figure that if it’s good for us, it’s good for her, too.”


Wendy Bedwell-Wilson’s healthy living pet articles regularly appear in national and international magazines. Her latest of six books on dogs, Shih Tzu, is part of the DogLife series. Connect at PetWriter@live.com.


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