Dog Observation Essay

When it comes to our furry four-legged friends, it’s our duty as owners to provide them with the right nutrition requirements for them to live an active and healthy life. Sounds easy, right? Not in my case. Maddox quit licking your paws. Kona leave those ears alone, this is the frustration I regularly go through if I dish out food that negatively reacts to my dogs. I have two German Shepherds, which are known to be prone to allergies, so it is important that I find the food with the ingredients compatible with their systems. Finding the proper diet can be challenging since their bodies can have adverse reactions to many different ingredients. Though many dog foods pack an excellent source of nutrients, they do have some differences when it …show more content…
Most people get the impression he’s this big scary dog, but in all reality, he doesn’t have an angry bone in his body, he’s a real pleaser, this guy. Maddox and dry food just don’t mix. Well, that’s dry food with grains I mean. I started out feeding him dry food, it was the Costco brand made by Kirkland. Well, about a little over a year he seemed to scratch and lick his paws regularly. I finally took action when I saw that he was losing his hair on his legs from excessive licking. After doing some research, I came to find out that the food I was feeding him was not 100% grain free. Grains are products such as wheat, soy, corn, rice, and gluten. This food was wheat, corn, soy, and gluten free, which I thought were the main culprits of food allergies when it comes to German shepherds. Rice was the lone ingredient to wreak havoc on Maddox’s system, after a year or so of consuming. So what is the solution? It is grain-free foods. There usually found at pet stores like Petco, Pet Smart, etc. You can also find them at your local vet. After some time with the grain free food, Maddox’s itching started to dissipate, and his feet were back to the furry things they used to be. With a sigh of relief, this grain-free food has done wonders. Not all dogs have the same allergic reaction, which brings me to my next …show more content…
When I picked her up, the breeder gave me about a weeks’ worth of food. I didn’t want to change her diet just yet. She’s at such a young age her digestive system is still quite sensitive. I decided to buy another bag of the same food the breeder had been feeding her. Three weeks later, I noticed Kona shaking her head and scratching her ears. After taking a closer look at her ears, I noticed this dark gooey substance with a foul smell. I thought “ok she has an ear infection, it’s not unusual for puppies to get an ear infection.” An ear infection it was, but this wasn’t just an ordinary ear infection. It was a yeast infection caused by the proteins in her food. Ok now I’m confused, isn’t dry food supposed to have lower levels of protein. While this statement is true for most dry foods, puppy foods have higher levels of protein dry or wet. Proteins can also activate allergies similar to grains. Only they result in a buildup of yeast causing smelly black patches on the skin or in the ears. If this poor puppy has allergies this bad now and it only gets worse with age, I needed to find some answers. After multiple vet visits and some help from my little friend “the internet,” I found my answer, Hydrolyzed Protein. This type of protein can be for all dogs with food allergies. Though, it may put a dent in my pocket book, just a few days of feeding Kona Royal Canine her ears are as clean as a whistle