(164) Newfie Diet

I’m exhausted! I’m overwhelmed and I’m tired of poor Maxie’s digestive issues. And how come sister’s know the right ways to do things and always have good questions that make you think more that you really wanted to in the first place. Kudo’s to my sister who has been leading me in a thoughtful way to understand that Max’s digestive issues may not be breed specific but individual dog specific. All last night and most of today I have spent on the computer reading review of different dog foods and the specific needs of Newfoundland dogs. Although Max is our third Newfoundland he is the first one to have a sensitive digestive system. When I read on a Newfie website that Newfoundland had special breed specific dietary needs I jumped on board. I read that because they historically lived in an Icelandic environment and lived on Seal meat, they need a diet rich in seafood. Seafood has high concentrations of Taurine which is an amino acid. Newfies have a higher risk of developing a Taurine deficiency than other breeds and Taurine is important for protection of the muscles including the heart. Nefoundland’s also need a higher amount of Omega 3’s where other breeds need equal amounts of Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s. Guess what a good source of Omega 3 is? You guessed it. Fish Oil, commonly found in Fish! The list goes on and on including higher levels of Iodine and other ingredients. A good Newfie website is:

http://newf-friends.blogspot.com/2010/01/nutrition-and-your-newfoundland.html

You can imagine that when I was through reading this site I started looking on line at the dog food that Max and Beeker are currently on and trying to compare it to the Newfie’s nutritional needs. First thing I discovered was that the dog food of choice is one that is made in Canada, and is a no grain Salmon food. Also the closest available retailer is in Bloomington. I have no idea what it costs but I imagine that it is expensive due to its high Salmon, low filler content.
Second, I talked to my sister (who, I remind you went through this exact problem with JJ), and she taught me that it is not only important to look at the ingredients in the dog food but to look at the ingredients that come before the fat content. A dog food may have 50 ingredients but only the ones that are listed before the fat content are significant. Anything after the fat (or oil), which is used for binding ingredients will be in the food in a significant quantity. So the main ingredients are the ones that come before the fat or oil.

Thirdly, meal is better or higher concentrated than just meat. For instance, chicken is less concentrated than chicken meal because the water has been extracted out and so is more concentrated. So if the label says meal you are getting a higher amount than just meat.

After all of this information I was ready to compare dog foods and to look for a better food for Maxie. I compared our current dog food, with the same brand but different mix (ie: salmon), and Juli’s dog food which had a number of the ingredients that were recommended by the Newfie website. Having figured this much out, I again talked with Juli about then challenges of obtaining a good food and about the cost of a specific need dog food. THEN she asked me the question that turned me around in circles. She asked me if our previous dogs, Belle and Beau had ever had digestive issues and what type of dog food we fed them. I had to admit that they had not had issues AND we had always fed them on a dog food that I had viewed on the “bad” dog food list. So she said quietly, “maybe Max’s issue is not a breed issue but a personal individual dog issue. Maybe Max just has a sensitive stomach and you need to just find out what he can tolerate and then supplement an average dog food with his specific needs.” Darn sisters! She is of course right. So we are back to square one. She also noted that Max is a picky eater on top of it so he is capable of picking the green beans out of the rice. That’s what he did this morning for Brad. So tonight, we’re back to the BRAT’s diet in a way. I’m giving Max only a few items to see if he can tolerate those items then we will get him a dog kibble and supplement it with those items that he likes and like him back. Tonight he ate all of his dinner which consisted of rice, beans, sweet potato and peanut butter. He was licking his lips like the Old Maxie! Yea!