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Question
Dear madam,

I own a female pit bull(about 16months old) and I would like to ask you some questions concerning the dog nutrition.
1) I know that dogs must to eat sweet stuff because they will disease from diabetes. But as far as I know they can eat fruit and fruit is sweet as well. So I assume that they are allowed to eat fructose or lactose for example, but they cannot eat sugar.
I would like you to specify me what kind of hydrocarbons are harmful and which is not.
2) It is said that dogs that exceed some age do not need to receive vitamins. I give my dog food that I cook (pasta or rice with meat, meanly, or eggs some times). I give her vitamin pills as food supplement regularly and I stop it for a month and I start again.
What is your opinion,is it bad for the dog or it is just unnecessary(I do not mind the cost)? And should I continue giving the vitamins? If so, till which age and if I have to make her some time off?

Thank you for your time

Answer
Dog nutrition is one of the most controversial subjects among dog people. Some are adamant that dogs should be fed a high-quality kibble only (I am one of these), some prefer BARF (or raw food... a handful cook the meat because of possible contamination), while some prefer a combination of kibble and raw. My viewpoint is that very, very few of us are animal nutritionists, and really haven't a clue how to feed a dog properly so that it has optimum nutrition; I would rather pay the dog food manufacturer to do that for me. (Now this is assuming that the owner feeds the best food for his dog that he can find and not just one of the many garbage foods that are out there... for me, the best is Eagle.) Just following a raw diet plan that someone came up with from who-knows-where is totally wrong, in my opinion. Anyone doing this should have that diet analyzed to make sure that it is completely nutritional and balanced and not lacking in some way before putting his dog on it.

Now, that said, diabetes is a disease with a hereditary predisposition, particularly in some breeds such as mine (miniature schnauzers). The primary trigger seems to be overweight dogs, not sugar.... but sugar really isn't any more healthy for us than it is for the dogs. All it really adds to food is taste. Too rich or fatty foods can also trigger pancreatitis in many dogs; this can be deadly.

Pasta is basically a bread product (flour/wheat), and it is more fattening than nutritious. And if a dog has food allergies, wheat is the #1 allergen, followed by protein (particularly beef). Rice, particularly brown rice, is a better food to feed. Eggs are a good food, as they sustain life, but the whites should never be fed raw as they will tie up biotin in the dog. Feed them scrambled or boiled with no salt.

I do not believe in supplementing with vitamins unless it is a complete vitamin/mineral supplement. Anything less will unbalance the dog's diet as not all products are complete. However, if one is feeding a great dog food, no supplementation should be necessary, in my opinion, as it is already complete. Dogs need complete nutrition at all ages, but I feel that it is particularly important as they age and may not be digesting food as well as they did when younger.

I think that too many owners fall into the habit of giving their dogs store-bought treats... most of which are nothing more than expensive garbage that lack proper nutrition and put excess weight on their pets. I don't give any treats here, except maybe for ice cubes or chips, which the dogs adore. When I am training a dog, I use part of that dog's daily ration of kibble for my training treats, and I tell people that feel the need to give their dogs treats to do the same.... just set some of the dog's daily ration of kibble aside and offer that throughout the day.

Now people can make many claims that their way of feeding is the best, but one of our girls just turned 15 today (and she was running in agility up until two years ago), and I have a male who will be 17 in two months; several other dogs here are in the double-digit age bracket. And I always try to maintain everyone slightly on the thin side and give them plenty of exercise. It would be extremely difficult for anyone to convince me that my way is the wrong way.

Karen