Hey Master, you might want to cut back on your tooth brushing, I like to smell a little stronger breath!How was Dugan the Dog able to attain his majestic stature? Quite simply put, he ingested massive volumes of organic materials (AKA dog food) and water and his magical Irish Wolfhound body assimilated this stuff, converting it into dog matter such as bones, muscle, guts, etc. on the largest scale almost beyond comprehension. There were some weeks between Vet visits that his weight gain averaged a pound per day! The Vet was concerned; his bones were growing too fast and had the potential for problems with weak bones and joints. The Vet had me take him off Large Breed Puppy Food and put him on Large Breed Adult Food. We didn’t need to be in too much of a hurry, the giant breeds take about two years or more to grow to full size so we throttled his growth rate back. Strenuous exercise is discouraged during the first 18 months or longer to prevent damage to joints, so we did not encourage a lot or running and jumping.
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Depending on how hot it gets outside Dugan the Dog eats about 40 pounds of food in a month. He slacks up a little if it is during the hottest part of summer. We have always put his food bowl up higher so he doesn’t have to reach to the ground to get his food. This is recommended for large and giant breeds to prevent medical problems i.e. eating disorders. He gets fed morning and evening, about every 12 hours. When I was a Scoutmaster, we would comment that hungry boys could eat “with the gusto of hound dogs” (that’s something to visualize isn’t it?). He has never been one to bolt his food down like most hound dogs, which I attribute to not having another dog to compete with at meal time. Most of the time he lets part of his food fall out of his mouth onto the porch, and often leaves food in his dish till the next meal. He will bolt down leftovers from masters table, but we usually throw them to the chicken. If he leaves food in his dish, he gets shorted on the amount I put out next meal, so he doesn’t get extra. I figure he has about the right amount of fat on him, and it is too much trouble to get an overweight dog back into form.
We used to keep water on the back porch for him, but with his noble looking beard, we soon tired of him coming into the house with water drizzling off his muzzle, especially as he got taller. Now we keep a water bucket out in the middle of the yard next to the chicken pen. This allows him time to drip off the water if he heads to the house after a drink. We always kid Dugan about drinking “chicken water”.
For a few weeks earlier this year he had a distressing problem with gas (Dugan didn’t seem too distressed, just the people in the house), and loose stools. After some experimenting with different food we gave him some probiotic pills called Culturelle (they are really for people). They keep the live cultures encapsulated until it gets into his intestines and away from stomach acids. They worked! He doesn’t need the pills now but I keep some on hand for emergencies. Your dog could have these problems if they have been on antibiotics. Dugan also eats a large raw carrot every day, and now his stools are well formed and solid, making for easy cleanup. (Those “pudding piles” are bad, especially if you need to clean up on a walk in the neighborhood!) Some people give their dogs raw apples or canned pumpkin to keep things firmed up, that works too.
1 comment:
What a good dog. Our dog loved lettuce, mushrooms, fresh pineapple, celery, cabbage and apples in addition to the usual cooked foods that people sometimes give their dogs. Mostly he had to settle for dog food, but he was always right there waiting if he thought someone was making a salad.
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