- hot (right from stove) food, as well as cold (right from refrigerator), or pungent, or salty, or fatty, or sweet, or smoked food;
- river fish. One may feed a dog with boiled sea fish and never freshwater fish or uncooked sea fish because in may be infected by helminthes;
- don't give bones instead of ordinary food. Despite the rooted belief, bones for a dog are evil. First, dogs can't digested them. Second, bones may cause constipation, perforation of intestine, or volvulus. Tubular bones are especially dangerous, because may split into parts with sharp edges. Bones also favor quick teeth grinding off;
- one must not feed a dog only with macaroni, legume products, white bread, potatoes, peas or stuff made of wheat flour;
- a dog should not know what is sausage or ham. We are familiar with those owners that are able to do everything for their pet and are ready to spend any money and stand any difficulties to make pleasure to their dog. Here these movements are totally useless, because sausages are poison for dogs. They adversely affect liver, and a dog risks to perish in early years. After all, we can hardly know what additions are put into sausages to give them an attractive look;
- a puppy should not know taste of sugar and candies. Sweets put off appetite and upset digesting. Besides this, they impair teeth and are extremely harmful for eyes, which start watering;
- one must not feed a dog with pork, fatty mutton and uncooked chicken meat;
- don't put spices - pepper, bay leaf, pungent tomato sauce - in dog food;
- don't feed with spoilt stuffs.
The regime of feeding a puppy
Till 2 months feed a puppy 6 times a day each 3.5 hours (6.30 - 10:00 - 13.30 - 17.00 - 20.00 - 24.00). From 2 to 4 months feed him 5 times a day each 4 hours (7.00 - 11.00 - 15.00 - 19.00 - 23.00). From 4 to 6 months - 4 times a day. From 6 to 10 months - 3 times a day. From 10 months - 2-3 times a day, like an adult dog.
Food for your pet
Dog is a carnivorous creature, that's why protein stuffs is to be the main food: meat, mainly fresh meat, dairy produce and eggs. Porridges and soups won't be enough to grow up your puppy. They favor a friable constitution, but cocker must be robust.
Meay. Beef is recommended, mainly uncooked. Many dogs don't like smell of blood and decline to eat uncooked meat. In this case one should pour boiling water on it or fry it slightly. Till one year a puppy needs meat 50 grams per each kilogram of body weight. For an adult dog 200-250 grams of meat daily is enough. Liver, kidneys, heart, udder contain many useful substances, but should be given after they are boiled well. Always add in meat food vegetables cut in little pieces. Never give bones. But there is an exception for this rule concerning small portions of soft cartilages. You may give coiled chicken throat crushed with hammer.
Dairy priduce. Curd is of cause the first place as the main source of digestible calcium. Till the puppy is one year old one should give him curds reach in calcium, which can be prepared at home. For that put 2 tablespoons of 10 per cent calcium chloride solution into one half liter of milk. Put ready curd into sieve. After the whey flows down, cool the curd and give to a puppy. The whey you may use as a drink or pour it into oat flakes and give them in next feeding.
Milk is food and not drink. It's very useful but may cause diarrhea in some dogs. Yogurt and curdled milk have good influence on digestion and are very useful. It's good to add grated cheese in porridges and vegetable mixes. One may also use it as a reward during training.
Eggs. Highly nourishing food. Raw yolks are best to give mixed with dairy produces or porridge. Raw whites are undesirable, anyway, they are not assimilated. One may give eggs boiled or as an omelet. In case of regular meat feeding one-two eggs a week is enough.
Cereals and bread. These produces can't be the main food for a cocker, but in small amounts one can and even to use them. Nutritive value of different cereals is different. Oat flakes are on the first place. One should soak them in yogurt, whey, broth or milk. It is better not to boil them, and to an adult dog always give raw flakes. One may cook porridges with rice, buckwheat or millet for a puppy. Pearl barley irritates stomach of puppy, and should be given only in small portions, or better to be excluded from the ration of puppy. It would be good to put cabbage, carrots, pumpkin and other vegetables, except for potatoes during preparing porridge on milk. It is necessary to offer an adult and young dog crackers made of rye bread.
Vegetables. Carrots, cabbage, pumpkin, turnip, squashes, beet and other vegetables are useful when cut into little pieces or grated and mixed with a little portion oil or sour cream. Fresh cut greens such as parsley, lettuce, onion and garlic green, fennel are an excellent vitamin addition to the main food. Vegetable mixture may go as an independent dish for a puppy. Fresh berries, fruits both fresh and dried are useful for a puppy. Boiled pumpkin in porridge is good as a food rich in vitamin and as a vermifuge. When organizing a feeding for puppy, take into account the fact that you should accustom him to eating milk products (especially to curds) vegetables and fruits from early age.
Garlic. Fresh minced garlic (1 clove) on the piece of bread with butter is useful to give both to a puppy and adult dog weakly as a vermifuge.
Raisins, dried fruits, cheese. All this is appropriate and useful to apply as an encouragement during training.
Salt. Dog needs much less salt than human. Therefore one needn't to salt food for dog. It's enough to give a piece of herring once a week.
Chalk, coal. These apparently needed for a puppy during the period of intensive growth and development of skeleton. Pieces of chalk and coal should be easy to access. As far as he needs, a dog will gnaw them.
In the period when teeth change (from 3 to 7 months) it's recommended to give 2-3 pills of calcium gluconate or lactate to a puppy daily.
Rough ration for a two-month-old puppy
First version:
6.30 - curds enriched with calcium, warm milk
10.30 - porridge with non-concentrated meat broth mixed with pieces of boiled meat and grated carrots
13.30 - 1 tablespoon of very small pieces of uncooked meat mixed with pounded boiled vegetables (or fish instead of meat)
17.00 - curds enriched with calcium, warm milk
20.30 - porridge with vegetable broth and meat and vegetables added
24.00 - boiled meat and milk porridge
Second version:
6.30 - curds with curdled or fresh milk. Alternatively add some honey, raisins or yolk
10.00 - oat flakes with vegetable oil
13.00 - grated or cut into small pieces vegetables with oil or sour cream
17.00 - uncooked meat or boiled fish mixed with fresh vegetables
20.30 - grated cheese mixed with steamed oat flakes, milk or curdled milk
24.00 - meat mixed with greens and vegetables
As the dog grows the number of feedings decreases and the amount of one portion increases. Though in the morning an adult dog might to be given curds and oat flakes. Cheese and vegetables served with vegetable fat - in the afternoon, and meat in the evening.
No doubt that this is a rough ration. Taking into account the actual conditions one might be unable to follow it in most cases. So it's necessary in respect to means and abilities to choose the goods that contain all the necessary substances that maintain normal growth and development of puppy. This is of particular importance in the first year of dog's life. An adult dog is less fastidious. You may often cook salad consisting of different vegetables and wild grasses as well, and the rest may consist of handful of oat flakes and some protein product - meat, cheese, eggs or fish. Add a little vegetable fat in to salad. Usually cockers eat this meal heartily if, of cause from the early years they are used to vegetables.
Dog menu is absolutely needn't to be verified. If your pup develops normally and has a smooth and sparkling hair, if his digestion is normal and you are sure you provide him a well-balanced food you shouldn't bother. Besides, you shouldn't feed you puppy mainly with meat, as some owners often do. You can give him fish, cheese or curds instead and add more vegetables. Remember that an adult dog will readily eat only the meal he is used to.
ENGLISH COCKER T.Blesskina, R.Kadike, V.Novitski
Translated by Tatiana Karpova (Moscow)
(MSU, Biology faculture, Dep. zoology and ecology).