Dogs, just like everyone else, have specific nutritional needs. And, to complicate matters, the needs of individual dogs vary. Your dog’s behavior, happiness, health, longevity and overall well-being are inextricably intertwined with what you feed him. You do need to know some basic concepts but we are not trying to turn into an expert on canine nutrition.

In his best-selling book, Pet Allergies: Remedies for an Epidemic, Alfred Plechner, D.V.M., paints a dismal picture for the future of our pets. The most common and most visible symptoms of nutritionally caused deficiencies are allergies of one kind another.

Animals are being programmed for disaster, for extinction. Because many commercial foods are woefully deficient in key nutrients, the effects of feeding such foods makes the dog hypersensitive to its environment. Many of them are biochemical cripples with defective adrenal glands unable to manufacture adequate cortisol, a hormone vital for heath and resistance to disease.

Recognizing nutritional deficiencies will save you a great deal of frustration and allow you to make the necessary adjustments in your dog’s diet. Allergies can be, and often are, unrecognized deficiency diseases.

If cells are going to continue to live, the exact composition of the body fluids that bathe the outside of the cells needs to be controlled from moment to moment, day to day, with no more than a few percentage points of variation.  All of these nutrients need to be in the correct proportion for the necessary chemical reactions of digestion, absorption, transportation and elimination to occur. When these nutrients are not provided, cells die, and this contributes to premature aging. 

Next: Choosing the Right Foods