Tuesday, August 26, 2014

You Do Not Have a Canine Athlete


Over at The New York Times, they interviewed Dr. Joseph Wakshlag, a professor of clinical nutrition and sports medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, N.Y., and the author of a comprehensive new review about nutrition for active dogs, published this month in Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice.

The bottom line:  
If your dog jogs a mile or two a day or speeds around the park chasing other dogs, or does agility do NOT mistake him for a canine athlete and start feeding him more food. Bagged kibble with a 15% fat content is fine, while treats can kill.
For dogs jogging along with you for 20 minutes a few times a week, a normal commercial dog food containing about 15 or 16 percent fat should be fine. But if you and your dog run five or 10 miles a day, that dog likely needs a slightly higher-fat diet.... The biggest health problem for most dogs is overweight. If you took your dog for a two-mile walk and reward him with a Milk-Bone, you’ve just given him more calories than he burned. A pat on the head would be healthier.

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