Dog Food etc.

Question
Hello there. Thank you SO MUCH for your service; for sharing your expertise.  I live in Thailand, and cannot find any highly rated brands of dog food here.  I am going to have to make my own.  Do you have a recommended diet for a Pyrenean Sheepdog ( I have three of them).  They are basically medium sized mountain dogs.  They aren't as active as they are when we are in Canada (we are heading back later this year - yay!). I can't take them for walks without being attacked by street dogs (I feel sooo bad for the street dogs here : ( )  so they run around on our property, which is a decent size.
They all seem healthy, though I catch them itching their skin a lot.  They don't have fleas or ticks, and I suspect that their skin is very dry in this heat.  Mine is!   They are not sunburned.  
I have heard that Flaxseed oil can help pets who have dry skin.  Do you recommend me giving them jelly capsules of Flax seed oil with their food?  
There are soooo many different websites with sooooo many different recipes for dog food.  I would love to have things narrowed down by an expert like yourself.  
Do you recommend using the barf diet?
How many times a day should I be feeding them?  
Thanks so much for taking the time to help out.  I truly appreciate it.  
Best Regards,
Leah Smith


Answer
The conflicting claims about dog chow are highly confusing.  Much of what you read is written with an objective other than helping you make a wise choice of diet for your dog.  In most cases, it is from somebody selling something, dog chow, ingredients, recipes, or a lifestyle.  If you go back and read my profile, you will see I am part of a large dog guide program.  They aren't selling anything, but giving away dogs after spending a fortune training them.  Nobody else has a much information about dogs care, the incentive to give their dogs the best care, and to give those caring for them, including me, the best information.  

Neither they, nor several other similar programs, feed their dogs any of the highly rated chows.  All the schools are feeding a common chow such as Pro Plan, Iams, Science, Pedigree, Eukanuba, Purina 1, or the regular Purina.  If you could find one of those, I am sure it would be a much better diet than anything you could prepare yourself.  I have seen thousands of dogs doing very well on the Pro Plan.  

If you can't, read what the American Veterinarian Medical Association has to say on diet at http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jan05/050115ww.asp  If you do have to prepare your own dog chow, I would trust their recommendation over any other source.  

I think flax oil as a diet supplement for dogs is just more marketing hype.  While flax oil makes the best paint, corn oil has more of the fatty acids dogs need.  It is readily available and inexpensive here, sold as liquid cooking oil.  Check the labels for one containing corn oil.  Soy bean oil is also good.  Just add a teaspoon a day.

If your dogs are over 6 months old, one meal a day is fine.  One of the biggest health problems for dogs is over feeding.  Evaluate the dog as illustrated in this link, http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx  You may want the vet to confirm your judgment. Adjust the dogs food and exercise as needed to reach its ideal body condition.