Welcome to #BreedersTalk! A series dealing with important dog breeding matters, one article at a time. For each, we handpick a handful of influential dog breeders to share their interesting points of view with you. At the end, you should have enough substance to make up your own mind!

For our first article in this series, we wanted to tackle the issue of the best natural superfoods for dogs. Many will think seaweeds, others will think offals, but we’ve got amazing breeders’ opinions here. Superfood for thought…

Keep It Simple

Stephanie Yates, Caprilli Dalmatians

Beautiful Dalmatien bred by Caprilli Dalmatians

So you would like to know which foods I consider to be superfoods for our canine friends? NONE! The key is in variety.

If anything, I would consider water to be a superfood as 2/3 of the dog is made of water. If the water is contaminated or not enough of it available it has a huge impact on the overall health and can even lead to organ failure as well as arthritis as the cartilage would significantly shrink. My water of choice is filtered with an in-house filtering system which will not only remove contaminants but also add vital minerals back into the water.

Other than that, I follow some simply rules of thumb: feed at least from five different protein sources which should all be hormone, steroid, antibiotic and GMO free. Feed a balanced diet so no nutrition can possibly be missing:

Meaty Bones — 45%, 7 days a week

Tripe — 10%, 3 days a week

Offal — 10%, 3 days a week

Vegetable — 10%, 7 days a week

Muscle meat — 25%, 4 days a week

Extras (Supplements, Oil).

My regular supplements are all sourced from whole foods and include homemade goat’s milk Kefir, fermented vegetables and coconut oil. All other supplements are reactionary. What do I mean by that? Well with everything you do, you should always ask yourself the question “Is it actually working?”

So if your dog has yeasty ears or shows discolorations on the muzzle due to PH imbalances then, work on it by adding raw, organic apple cider vinegar. If the coat looks out of place then add a variety of cold pressed oils. If tumors and arthritis are the issue then maybe a little bit of golden paste or essiac tee is the answer?

Food and water are what we are made of, and if anything is out of balance, the trigger can usually be found within one of these two.

Balance Is Key With Raw Feeding

Sylvia Hammarstrom, Skansen Kennel

About 65 years ago when I was a kid I spent every summer volunteering to work in dog kennels all around Europe. There were no dry foods in bags available, so most dogs were fed leftovers from people’s table or just raw meat- the cuts no one else wanted. The dog population was overall very healthy and veterinary bills were rare except for emergencies.

Having bred and raised well over 1200 champions over the last 65 years, I am convinced that what you feed your dog is the most important factor for a long, healthy life.

The dog is a carnivore- just look at his teeth: no flat grinding teeth like ourselves or livestock animals such as horses. After all, a dog is a domesticated wolf and nothing has changed in his teeth (or his intestines) for at least the last 10,000 years. Yet we insist on being lazy and feeding processed grains out of a bag. Dogs need bones to crush and gnaw to clean their teeth and massage their gums- you do it daily when you brush your teeth. Bones have other great advantages- they are full of minerals and trace elements we don’t even know of yet.

It is not always easy to find a mixture of organ meats- liver, heart, and muscle meat- but if you can find a friendly butcher ask him to grind up his leftovers for your dog. Chicken and turkey are great, and any part (including bones!) is safe as long as it is fed raw. Venison, rabbit, buffalo and all kinds of birds are fine. You will quickly learn how to buy in bulk and most wholesalers will sell chicken parts for a great price if you buy 40 lbs. or more. Never cook or heat bones- that’s when they become brittle and dangerous so the dog cannot digest and break them down. Don’t worry about bacteria in the raw meat. Most dogs will pick up all kinds of dirty stuff like balls and toys, and that does not make them sick. A healthy dog has a very powerful digestive system. It is all the carbohydrates that make him sick, his digestive system is not meant to digest huge amounts of carbohydrates. And we all know that processed food such as food in a bag or a can has been processed and lost most of its nutrients.

Think of your dog as a wolf. I don’t think you will find many wolves, coyotes or foxes looking at a rice field and thinking “Wow! Rice would be nice for dinner.” Be sure to vary the sources you feed your dog. It is not healthy to just feed chicken- dogs also need red meat, organ meats etc.

The advantages of feeding raw are many. You have very few (if any) veterinary bills, and it is cheaper than commercial dog food once you start shopping in bulk. The stool from your dog will be much smaller, as he is now digesting most of it, and it does not smell.

The dog loves his bones- they are the highlight of his day and he stops chewing on your furniture. If there is a nice meaty bone available, you never have to brush his teeth. He will have pearly white teeth through old age- so no yearly cleaning of his teeth at the veterinarian, which is not only expensive, but because it includes the dog being anesthetized, a dangerous procedure for any dog and especially old timers.

Simple Raw Ingredients Of High Quality

Wendy Finlayson, Mayvale Borzoi

I feed natural as naturally that is what a dog would eat! My Borzoi hounds lead a very natural life-style here at Mayvale, with large fields for them to run in, rabbits to chase, grass to roll in, (cow poo too), streams to paddle in and the freedom to exercise at full speed when the desire arises. The Borzoi have available the grasses they desire to keep themselves healthy, including processed grass, all part of a naturally balanced diet.

Mayvale’s Borzois definitely know how to have fun!

The diet I provide for them consists of raw meats, chicken necks, beef, lamb, turkey, rabbit, hare, possum, bones (veal & brisket), heart, liver and green tripe. To this diet I add free range eggs, fish, fruit & vegetables/Vit. C, fish/flaxseed oil, along with the addition of some Orijen product, which I find to be an excellent all natural kibble.

One of the best ‘superfoods’ I feed I consider to be green tripe, the less processed the better, it contains valuable enzymes that help a dog get more value out of all the other food it eats. I also avoid giving my dogs town supply water and make sure they have fresh rain water daily.

I believe high quality natural foods help keep dogs healthy and sound both physically and mentally. The dogs coats shine, their eyes are bright and they are happy, these outward signs of good health are generated from within and of course from the care and love they receive. I firmly believe in progenetics, that when feeding a high quality, balanced, natural diet a dog has the opportunity to develop to it’s optimum and the quality of each generation improves.

There Is No Such Thing As Superfood

Jane Anderson, Bluegrace Portuguese Water Dogs

There are no natural superfoods for either dogs or humans. “Superfoods” is a marketing term coined by marketing people to help sell products. As soon as someone calls an item a superfood, I play the famous game of “follow the money”. And there is always someone or a group of people who have heavily invested in part of the food chain that ensures that they will have a major financial benefit. Eg: green coffee beans – and all those associated with it. Terribly laughable at the end. The term: snake oil salesman comes to mind.

Conclusion

We used the superfood word to get reactions from our breeders, and it worked. Whether pro or anti, each breeder has given you great pieces of information and you will most certainly start to change a few things from your dog’s diet after reading that. Green tripes, raw meaty bones and fish/flaxseed oils are always recommended along with a balanced natural diet.

We also wrote two comprehensive articles about Diatomaceous Earth and Kelp/Seaweeds, both are amazing additions for your dog’s overall well-being.