Special dog diets
We will not deal here with the various diets needed to treat obese, nephritic, or diabetic dogs. For these conditions, consult your veterinarian. (Veterinarians today have access to a variety of special, commercially made diet foods that are used for treating dogs with kidney disease, dogs with delicate stomachs, and dogs recovering from illnesses, as well as for bitches nursing puppies.)
You can protect your dog from obesity by keeping it on a strict diet, and not feeding it table scraps.
Indeed, in a recent article on diets, it was emphasized that the greatest number of obese dogs are those that are fed on table scraps or whose rations are prepared at home by owners with little or no knowledge of canine dietetics.
Such dogs grow accustomed to begging for-and receiving-bread, chocolate, sugar, and a host of other undesirable foodstuffs, both at mealtime and at other hours of the day.
As a result of their owners' indulgence, these dogs fall prey to a variety of deficiency-related diseases, not the least of which is chronic eczema.
Although we ourselves sometimes deviate from sound eating habits, we should not cause our dogs to do likewise. Proper feeding is one important way of caring for your pet.
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