I wish I am the expert on my dog's health

Donna has only come to us for about two month, but has been to the vet far too many times, for kennel cough, for ear infection and for allergic reaction to some insect bite. The vet was also of the opinion that while her weight is fine, she should not put on more, and that was when Donna was 15kg. At that time, she had first landed in the household and was extremely picky about her food. She would NOT eat kibble and would pick out every piece of kibble from the kibble and can food mix loaded in her bowl. A month later, she was 16kg having decided that she was amenable to moistened kibble with canned food after all since we did not give her any better. It was take it or leave it, until you are hungry enough missy. Vet had the same advice, this weight is ok but she should not put on more weight.

Lean dogs live longer, healthier lives than those who are overweight. A 14-year study showed that dogs fed 25 percent fewer calories than their free-fed littermates lived nearly two years longer, showed fewer visible signs of aging, and needed treatment for arthritis a full three years later.

At the same time, our cousin was looking to change her mongrel’s kibble diet because as she puts it, Doudou sheds hair like snow.

I previously thought Donna’s diet of half of the can food and half of the kibble recommended for her weight on the packages, as advised by the vet should give her the protein, fat and other vitamins and minerals she needed. But Donna did itch terribly, and she was always licking, scratching and nibbling her ears, her sides, her legs. The vet had advised that once her ear infection cleared, the itching should stop. But that did not seem to be happening. So perhaps a change to better kibble will be good for Donna too.

I did some research and decided there was no reason to change the 50% canned food and 50% kibble she was having. Kibble is the more processed food of the two, so the inclusion of canned food will ensure that she gets a greater amount of protein and better nutrients than if she were on kibble alone. My next step was to upgrade her kibble to a better quality grain free brand, with the main meat ingredient differing from the kibble she was having previously. This was not only because enjoying a variety of different foods make mealtime interesting, it was also because I read that dogs that have been fed consistently on just one food have greater potential of developing allergies to the food.

I made a shortlist of different better quality grain free brands of kibble with different main meat ingredients that I can still afford, i.e. not the super premium type that can be significantly more expensive per kg or per pound. But today, I found that most of these brands belong to Diamond Pet Foods, which had their food recalled in the last year. So I just have to keep a watchful eye out.

I am not a nutritionist so I wouldn’t even dream of homemade diets for her. I don’t even cook for myself much. I am aware that in trying to manage her weight gain, it cannot be just a matter of cutting back on the recommended kibble or can food amounts, as I would not know if this will cause her to get less of other essential nutrients outside of protein and fats.

So what I can do really is to try different commercial dog foods and watch her reaction to them. And more and more, I am considering to be not so myopic in what sort of food Donna has access to. That is, supplementing her diet with fresh food to ensure that she does get the quality protein from fresh meat, and nutrients from fresh vegetables and fruits – carrots, berries – and other healthy foods like plain yoghurt, honey and salmon oil.

Just today, Donna’s dinner comprised her regular canned food and kibble mix, a boiled egg and a frozen cube of natural yoghurt with minced strawberries and a blueberry. She went for the familiar commercial food first, licked the egg yolk, finished the commercial food, then scarfed down the egg and finally decided that yes, unlike breakfast, she would like dessert after all!