doggie diet

Question
Hi Catherine,
           I would like to spruce up my dog's meals. My yellow Lab is six months old and healthy. We feed him with boiled lamb, chicken, broken wheat, whole wheat bread, milk, fruits and dog food. He enjoys his food but seems to be bored sometimes. What else can we feed our dog? He is ready to gobble up almost anything.Will an occasional piece of cake, cookie or sweets do him some harm? We never feed him chocolates as they are known to be poisonous.

Answer
Hi Richa,

Well, at six months old and a large breed, your dog has very specific nutritional needs, which are not likely to be met on this diet. What are you adding for calcium? For iron, copper, zinc, Vitamin D, iodine?  I never advise a home made diet for any puppy unless it has been formulated by a professional. My advice is to switch this dog to a high quality premium food asap, and after he has finished growing, switch back to a home made diet. You can spend the interim time learning about canine nutrient requirements and how to provide them. I personally follow the 2006 Nutrient Requirements of Dogs published by the National Research Council, and endeavour to make sure all the required nutrients are present in the right amounts in the diet.

If you are really opposed to kibble, and are going to keep feeding this way, you will need to add a calcium supplement, and also the above mentioned nutrients; I suggest kelp, salmon, sardines, organ meat, eggs, remove all the wheat and replace with rice, use sweet potato (cooked and mashed) and replace the milk with yogurt. Again let me stress, pups have very large requirements for nutrient, and you are much safer using a premium food this first year. If damage occurs such as skeletal deformity from incorrect mineral/excess energy intake, you can't undo it later. Adult dogs have much more forgiving systems - and you still need to be careful with them.

Let me know if I can help more. I'm not trying to scare you, I just got the impression you aren't aware of how critical it is to balance everything while they are growing, and especially large breeds who can grow too rapidly.
Catherine