Improve Longevity of Dog

Lately, the longevity of all dog breeds has been decreasing. Why is that when a German Shepherd/ Labrador lived for over 15 years have their current longevity average is at around 10? Well, when I researched (reading articles, talking to people etc…) about dogs of earlier generation, and now, I found the following.

1. Diet
2. Environmental Factors
3. Irresponsible Breeding

Diet

Diet is the main reason for decrease in longevity. Most of us feed dog food (dry dog food to be precise) because it is cheap and convenient. When I was growing up back in India in the early 90s’ there isn’t any concept of dog food as such. What we eat, we used to feed the dog except for those spices. It’s a home made diet. Our dog (it’s a mutt) lived for 21 years. And how many vet visits did we have through out his entire life? May be 3–4. We used to go for jogs/ walk around farmlands. He never had any underlying medical conditions.

Dry dog food (kibble)

Any business irrespective of what it is, is meant to make profits. So does the dog food industry. There are very few pet food companies that really look of benefit of pet rather than their pockets. Pet food companies have a very huge and strong marketing and PR. Not only that, these companies have invaded institutions as well promoting their products. When a scientist/ Vet needs to do some research, they require funding in some cases very high. How are they going to get that? By slightly modifying the research outcome that favors those individual companies.

Let’s take a simple example. Dry food is the most sold pet food at least in the US. How is this food made? Food is processed via a process called extrusion (meaning dried up under tremendous heat). When food is heated to such an extent, the composition changes and loses all its nutrients.

In order to make the food palpable, companies use synthetic nutrients and lot of starchy stuff to bind everything. Who know if the protein used in making food is at least feed quality? Once the food is out in those heavy 30–50 pound bags, their shelf life is going to be at least 2 years.

When this food is fed day in and day out, the dog gets nothing. Literally nothing. Dogs really cannot synthesize synthetic nutrients. All their pet parent is doing is to keep the tummy full. They just survive and don’t thrive. Also, lot of people feed just the same stuff for the entire life of the animal.

Just to make it anecdotal, imagine a person eating fast food french fries through out their life. What happens? they get malnourished and will have all sorts of diseases and will have a premature death. Now imagine how a dog will be feeling.

Environmental Factors

Where and how a dog is raised will have a significant impact on how healthy the dog grows up. Dogs are social animals and they want to be that way. They want to be part of the family. Leaving them out on chains or putting them in sort of out door cages will mentally disturb them which is going to take a toll on their overall health. This easily translates to high mortality.

Every dog breed has a purpose. For example German Shepherds are meant for herding/ guarding/ SOS work. They like to have a job like nose work or training sessions to replicate herding/ guarding. When we let the dog do what they are bred for, at the end of the day, they will be happy.

Irresponsible Breeding

Because I have a dog doesn’t mean I have to make puppies and sell them. Just like humans, dogs will have their heritage and genetics that are passed on to off spring. If there are any genetical conditions when that dog is bred, there is a high likely hood that genetic condition is pushed on to off spring and the cycle repeats. There are so many puppy mills and back yard breeders that breed dogs without understanding a breed just to make money. This means, if the mother or father has any conditions, puppies will inherit them. Dogs are caged and continuously bred. And when they don’t make enough puppies, they are killed.

What I do to extend my dog’s life?

My puppy is 4 now and soon will be 5. As per AKC, the average life span of GSD is 9–10 years. But, I have seen back home in India dogs thriving into their late teens (17–19). What am I going to do beat the odds? The very first thing is understanding the dog’s needs and building up from there.

Diet

When I got my pup 4 years ago, I started him on Large Breed Puppy food (Origen). When I was researching about food, that was the best food I was able to find. However, after couple of months he stopped eating. I tried different foods and it never worked. During this time, he wasn’t even growing healthy. There have been several issues.

So, I started looking for answers. Researched a lot on how dogs were and how they are now. Found how bad I am feeding him and understood he is just surviving. I made a promise to myself that, I am going to try to give him the best possible in everything that I can afford. I talked to some of locally owned pet stores where they were very passionate about pets and gathered more information.

I started with cooking meals at home. Yes, it’s time consuming. But, I know I am giving him the best possible because, that is what I eat as well. Lot of people scared me about balancing food etc… I don’t give a crap to those conversations. Yes, its important to understand your dog and identify what is right and what is wrong. Fortunately, my pup doesn’t have any allergies to any proteins. I fed him chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, bison, venison. He is not a big fan of sea food.

As I rotate proteins and with each protein, I would add some greens so that he would get his micro nutrients. I change them based on seasons. Single meal may not be balanced. But, as I rotated every day, by the end of the week, he gets everything he needs.

After a while, with my work schedule, I wasn’t able to cook for him. So, I started researching again. I came across feeding raw. Initially I was very hesitant to feed raw because of all the bacteria etc.. However, after I talked to a holistic vet on how a dog’s gut is, I wanted to give it a try. So, I started feeding him Answers pet food (a little expensive but, they are environmentally friendly and raise animals with care).

As soon as I switched him on to raw, in 4 weeks, I saw a tremendous improvement on his fur tone. He became more shiny and more energetic. I went back to my cooked recipes to see what I was missing? It’s to do with adding more grains (all my cooked recipes have some sort of grain like rice etc..). It’s absolutely fine to have grains. However, like fiber with us, dogs will not be able to absorb all the nutrients from grains which means lot of energy comes out from the back :). There will be underlying health conditions in dogs where raw diet isn’t an option. The second best thing is cooking meals at home. Raw works for my pet so, I will feed it as long as he is happy and healthy and will switch over to cooked if it doesn’t work. I can clearly read his posture and body and in most of the time, I understand what his body says.

Now, for the last 3 years, my dog has been on a raw diet. I rotate his protein every day. He get’s bones to chew on twice a week and a whole boiled chicken once a month. I also supplement him with fish oil and glucosamine. He is a very happy dog. We go for 3 mile walks every day. And we deliberately walk slow so he gets lot of time to sniff all the way. He tore his muscle when he was a puppy and has a scar tissue on the left hind leg so I don’t allow him to play rough. But, with some mentally active games such as nose work, he get’s tired by end of the day and sleeps happy.

Proper Exercise

As humans, dogs need exercise to stay healthy. When I say exercise, it doesn’t mean playing fetch or hard games. They should be mentally exhausted. Also, they should have physical activity so that their skeletal structure and muscles will be in good tone.

I take my dog for long walks. During our walks, I let him sniff. This is going to mentally exhaust him as he has to process so much of information. Every now and then we jog. He is a very food motivated dog so, we do nose work at home as well. If its sunny out, I take him to lake for swimming. As my pup is GSD, he is pre disposed so several conditions like dysplasia, DM etc… Knowing that, I will not take a chance. Swims will help a lot in maintaining muscle tone and it doesn’t have stress on the bones (if the dog has dysplasia, this is a great exercise).

So far, the journey is great and my puppy is thriving and I expect to have memorable moments with him for the next 10–12 years.

I always think my puppy as my human son and make decisions based on that. Provide him with the best environment possible so that he can thrive. For a dog it means a healthy diet, good exercise and letting them be what they are.