FEEDING AND SUPPLIEMENTS

RECOMMENDED FEEDING OF
                PUPPIES

When you receive you puppy from us, if in person, we will supply you with enough of the same food he/she has been eating, since beginning to eat solid food, to last about a week. This will allow you time to secure your own supply locally. We feel the brand and type we use is best for your pup but, this will ultimately be your call. If we fly your puppy to you, we will advise you days ahead of his/her arrival, of the brand and type we suggest you secure. Should you decide to change to another brand or even a different type of the same brand, this should be done gradually. Puppies' digestive systems are very delicate. Changing food to quickly will result in considerable irritation to the intestines and an unhealthy amount of bleeding in the bowels WILL occur. ANYTIME food is changed, especially concerning puppies, but also with adult dogs, some slight traces of blood probably will be noticed in the stools for a couple of days and the stools generally will be looser than normal. This is not cause for concern. The key word here is TRACES. You may see what appears to be a red line or two in the stool. This is normal when changing foods even if done properly as described below.

CHANGING FROM ONE FOOD
           TO ANOTHER

When changing foods, it is very important to follow these steps to avoid intestinal upset. For this example, we will call the "old" food "A" and the "new" food "B".

Day one and two of the change-over:
Combine and feed 3/4 amount of food "A" with 1/4 amount of food"B"

Day three and four:
Combine 1/2 amount of "A" and 1/2 amount of "B"

Day five and six:
Combine 1/4 of "A" and 3/4 of "B"

Day seven an from there on:
Feed all of the new feed "A"

FEEDING SCHEDULE FOR
       WESTIE PUPPIES

Young puppies need a lot of food to supply the needed nutrients for their accelerated growth. They can add as much as 8-12 oz. per week to their body weight. Until your puppy is at least 4 months old, we recommend "free feeding". This simply means that his/her puppy food and clean, cool water be made available from the moment they awake in the morning until around ten (8-9) pm in the evening. The reason you will want to remove the food and water at this time is, over night they don't need it and if you remove it at this time there will be less "pooping" going on between then and 5-6 am. This will in no way harms your pup and may make for a little less clean-up in the morning.  The "free feeding" practice may need to be altered as your puppy gets older. Some Westies do fine on free feeding while others will over-eat and put on too much weight.  The one thing you do not want to happen is for your puppy to become overweight. Overweight dogs suffer from the same physical problems as we humans do. Joint problems, heart problems, respiratory problems, diabetes and more.

Puppies will tend to be a little on the chubby side while under 4 months of age. Their bodies need massive amounts of fuel to grow on, but nearing the 4-5 month stage, you will want to begin doing what I call the "rib check". Place the pup on a table and run your fingers along both sides of his/her rib cage. You should use about the same amount of pressure (fingers to ribs) as you would to check the ripeness of a nice ripe tomato, if that makes sense. You should be able to feel the ribs. They should not be buried in a deep layer of fat nor should they "bump along" under your fingers. You should be able to tell where each rib is as you slide your fingers along the sides.

Many Westie adults (over 9 months of age) will not over-eat and their food can be made available all the time but, some will so, these dogs will need to be placed on a regulated feeding schedule. Any schedule may need to be adjusted to a particular dog but, below I have outlined what I consider to be average. (revised 7/8/08)

A PRACTICAL FEEDING SCHEDUAL
           FOR A WESTIE DOG
                (over 9 months of age)

We urge you to continue to feed PUPPY FOOD until nine months of age. It contains higher levels of protein and other needed ingredients to produce a healthy, strong Westie. After the nine month period, a change to adult food is fine but, please read the section above (in red) dealing with how to make that change.

1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup at dinner time will keep most adult Westie fit and trim. Keep in mind that this is only a guide. Each dog has a slightly different metabolism and activity level. You may need to increase the amount to 3/4 of a cup each feeding or even decrease it somewhat. You'll need to do the "rib check" and kind of play it by ear. Nothing is ever set in stone when it comes to dogs. Seldom will a Westie, even a large one like our "Rio", require more that 3/4 of a cup per meal.

One thing we have learned over the years is Westies sometimes build excess stomach acid over night. This can lead them to regurgitate. It will appear as a clear-to-yellowish liquid that will have a very nasty smell. The reason this happened seems to be their stomach becomes empty, acid builds and when it becomes too much, up it comes. The best way we have found to resolve this problem, in most cases, is:
At bedtime, place (depending on the food size) 20-30 pieces of dog food within the dog's sleeping area as a late night snack. This, along with water, should releive the problem.

Once in a while, a Westie will regurgitate for no apparent reason at all. It could be because of some little thing he/she ate out in the yard (a small stick, grass, a bite of a plant, a pebble or any number of things) may cause this to happen. Lawn fertilizer can cause this problem and you should consider that it is quite TOXIC to dogs, cats, children and even adults. It needs to be very well watered-in for several days (10-20) times prior to allowing children, dogs and cats to play on it and it. It is best, even after all that watering if the grass is dry. Remember, children, dogs and cats have exposed skin to the ground and lawn chemicals easily pass through skin just as a "stop smoking patch" sends nicotine through the skin. Even though dogs' feet pads seem hard, "sweat" passes out through them so, things can pass in also.  Fertilizers are bad stuff folks. Let's be very careful with it. If you have one of those "lawn services" that seem to like to spray fertilizer on your lawn four to five times per year, it would be very wise to ensure they only do it ONE time in the spring. It could be the difference between a healthy child/cat/dog and one who is being continually poisoned.

A strong warning about a material we all know as "Vinyl". Many pet toys are made of this material and are poisoning our beloved friends daily. Vinyl is made using a chemical which we can detect by smelling the toy. This chemical is what makes vinyl soft and flexible but the gasses it releases and the release of the solid form of this chemical into the noses and mouths of our children, our pets and ourselves has a poisonous effect on theliver. This chemical is totally banned in Europe because of it's poisonous effects but our government is so tightly controlled by BIG MONEY, including that of chemical companies that, even though this stuff is killing us, our children and pets, it has not been banned here. IF IT SMELLS LIKE VINYL DO NOT EXPOSE YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS TO IT. This poison works very slowly but itis there and it dose do much harm! No matter what the label says, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "SAFE, NON-TOXIC VINYL"! !

SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENTS FOR
                   PUPPIES

If you're feeding high quality food as we recommend, there is no need to add general supplements to the diet. In fact, adding things such as "doggie vitamins" like "Pet Tabs" could actually overdose your loving friend on some of the "oil soluble" vitamins. Excess "water soluble" vitamins will pass through the dog's system via the urine, but "oil soluble" ones will not and will build-up in the body and can cause a variety of problems.  Some could be severe. Feed good quality food and stay away from the vitamin tablets. MORE IS NOT BETTER!!!

We do however, highly recommend the use of PURE UNFLAVORED COD LIVER OIL until the puppy is 9 months of age. Cod liver oil contains good levels of EPA and DHA (Omaga -3 ) which support mood and cardiovascular health as well as healthy joint functions and, the main thing we like about this oil, is the high levels of vitamin A and vitamin D. While the oil itself is great for the coat, Vitamin A is crucial for good eyesight (especially night vision) and reduced susceptibility to infection. Vitamin D is essential for the absorption and deposition of calcium and phosphorus in the teeth and bones. A deficiency of vitamin D tends to lead to "Rickets. Cod liver oil is taken from the liver of the cod fish. This is not the same as fish oil taken from fish muscle. Fish muscle oil does not contain Vitamin A or Vitamin D in any usable amounts but Fish muscle oil has its own very important ingredients as we will discuss in a moment. The fact that cod oil has vitamin D and readily assists in the delivery of calcium to the bones and teeth is why we highly recommend it for puppies.

COD LIVER OIL DOSAGE FOR PUPPIES

Twice per week, combine approximately 1/4 teaspoon of cod liver oil and 1/4 teaspoon of pure, finely ground oyster shell calcium (which we grind ourselves and supply with your new puppy) with a heaping tablespoon of yogurt. This combination delivers an optimal amount of useable calcium, other natrual sea minerals (from the oyster shell), Vitamin D (from the cod oil) for strong bones and teeth while the yogurt supplies enzymes for good digestion and for females, even if they have been spayed, the enzymes contained in yogurt aids in keeping a proper balance of the correct bacteria in the vagina to deter infections. Even after you puppy becomes an adult and throughout his/her life we advise feeding a tablespoon or two of yogurt twice per week.  Our Westies prefer strawberry or strawberry/banana flavored.

OCEAN FISH MUSCLE OIL FOR
                 ADULTS

After you Westie reaches 9 months of age, his/her bones have acquired most of their mass and strngth so, the need for the extra bone building materials have decreased considerably. Now is the time to place your efforts on things that will secure, hopefully, a long and health life.

Ocean fish muscle oil is taken from the muscle (meat) of the fish and offers a different type oil then the liver of the cod fish. Muscle oil has very small amounts of Vitamin A which the puppy needed early on in life but it contains a form of EPA and DHA which is much more readily available for the body to use. Cod oil has EPA and DHA (Omega-3) but the type it contains must be converted. Through this conversion
process it LOOSES nearly 70% of its available value while muscle EPA and DHA needs no conversion and is 100% available for the body to use. Just for your information, plant derived Omega-3 fatty acids (like Flax Seed Oil and others) must go through a similar conversion so, fish muscle oil Omega-3 is the best for our dogs and ourselves. Always be sure the oil comes from FISH MUSCLE. Most any ocean fish muscle oil works very well but be sure it is certified to contain NO DETECTABLE AMOUNTS OF HEAVY METALS OR TOXINS.

Not only dose ocean fish muscle oil contain the much more useable "long-chain" EPA and DHA Omega -3 but it also contains a healthy portion of Omega -6 fatty acids. Together, these two, in proper amounts, promote optimum health and overall vitality. As of the time of this writing (5/11/08), there are two brands of this oil we recommend. They are:  Wild Alaskan Grizzly Salmon Oil and Sea Pet Omega-3 fish oil. The Sea Pet is derived from the small anchovie fish. We mainly use the Alaskan Grizzly but either one will greatly enhance overall health, improve skin conditions, create glistening coats, act as a natrual anti-inflammatory agent and help to reduce sheding somewhat.

I hope this information will be helpful to all who have taken the time and caring to read it. All of it works. We, at La Terra Dios Ranch have proven to ourselves that it dose. We receive no compensation what-so-ever for any product we indorce. We simply advise using them because we do and know they work.

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