Healthy dams of good breeding produce healthy offspring. The probability of producing healthy, vigorous puppies can be improved by breeding animals from lines known to be free of genetic problems, by avoiding inbreeding, and by breeding bitches between 2 and 6 years of age. When these criteria have been met, success depends primarily on the [...]
The first week of the puppies’ lives is the most critical to their survival. Newborn animals are physiologically immature; body fat percentage is low — 1% to 2% compared with 12% to 35% in adults — and they do not develop adequate glycogen reserves until after the first few days of nursing. Puppies have rapid [...]
Healthy adult dogs have relatively small nutrient requirements compared with those in the reproductive stages of life. They may be maintained for years on a wide range of commercial or homemade diets with apparently little consequence. This adaptability maybe an explanation for the fervent belief of some owners that a seemingly peculiar diet is beneficial [...]
After reproduction, work places the greatest nutritional demand on dogs. Dogs engage in guard and police work, racing, and hunting. Hard work increases all nutrient needs. For most “weekend athlete” dogs, these increases are proportional to the increase in energy needs, so they can be met by eating more of the same diet. Studies of [...]