STEEL CROSS SHEPHERDS

YOUR DOG AND STRESS

Do remember that if your dog is exposed to stress, such as being put into a kennel, having surgery, going to dog shows, traveling, moving, accepting another pet or child into the household and so on, you need to increase the protein content to counteract that stress. Finding a line of foods that has differing protein levels is good, so the basic ingredients are the same but the protein contents are different. For example, if your dog is eating one kind of food that falls into the premium category, you could choose the performance food from that line during times of stress. It will contain the extra animal protein and fat your dog needs to counteract the stress. You could also add canned meat from that same company, instead of upgrading to the premium food. Adding the vitamin/mineral mix, vitamins B and C and a digestive enzyme, also helps your dog to adjust well to stressful situations.

Stress is also incurred when a dog is fed food that it cannot easily digest. Many German Shepherd Dogs and other European breeds cannot digest and utilize corn well, and they thrive on beef but not chicken. Feeding a chicken and corn based food to these dogs stresses their systems, which creates allergic reactions, an inability to gain weight, musculoskeletal problems, plus digestive system upsets.

The summary of this chapter will list several other guidelines for choosing the correct food for your dog. If you are feeding a commercial nonfrozen dog food, remember that it is a processed product, probably deficient in digestive enzymes and some vitamins and minerals. Most of the B vitamins, many of the minerals and all of the enzymes are killed by heat over 118 degrees.

THIS ARTICLE TAKEN FROM THE BOOK, THE HOLISTIC GUIDE FOR A HEALTHY DOG.WRITTEN BY WENDY VOLHARD AND KERRY BROWN, DVM. PAGE 90.

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