Healthy Dog Food = Healthy Cocker Spaniel!

I'm often asked, 'Why should I bother feeding my dog expensive healthy food when he'll eat anything I put in front of him?'

It's not that they don't love their pet. They're trying to save money and keep their hard-earned cash. If money is tight, feeding your dog on table scraps may be tempting if it means saving money.

Healthy food may be more expensive than table scraps; however, it is much more nutritious and will keep your dog healthy. You will save more money in the long run, particularly on vet bills, because a healthy Cocker won't need to see his vet so often.

Your Cocker Spaniel's diet is essential to his well-being.

Nothing but lip-smacking healthy dog food for me!

Feed your pet healthy, nutritious dog food.

It will give your dog all he needs to grow strong and healthy and help him develop to his full potential, both physically and mentally.

The English Cocker Spaniel Diet and Behaviour

It's the same with our children; we must feed them a balanced diet to ensure they grow strong and healthy. In addition, a poor diet can often explain many behavioural problems.

Feeding your Cocker Spaniel dog food that is good quality, well-balanced and rich in nutrients will ensure his diet meets all his growing needs.

If your Cocker Spaniel has behavioural problems, improving his diet not only improves his health but can also help to improve his behaviour.

That's a win-win situation, don't you agree?

Organic dog food is farmed responsibly and won't contain artificial chemicals or preservatives and is an excellent example of how we can improve our Cocker Spaniel's diet.

The terms organic and natural are often misused interchangeably, but they're quite different. Natural dog food isn't necessarily organic but is still the same high-quality, often human-grade food.

Quality Dog Food and Food Allergies

Occasionally our pets may be allergic to certain foods.

If your pet has a food allergy, feeding him a healthy dog food diet may help prevent or eliminate the allergy. At the very least, it may help alleviate his allergy symptoms.

Before deciding on a particular brand of dog food, it's always best to check the manufacturer's ingredients label to understand precisely what goes into the food we give our pets.

Look for dog food that lists meat or protein as the main ingredient.

Avoid brands where the main ingredients are fillers, such as wheat or corn, as they're unlikely to contain enough quality nutrition for your Cocker Spaniel's diet.

The same applies to foods containing soy, gluten, added sugar or sweeteners, added salt, artificial colours, additives or by-products; leave them on the supermarket shelf!

Not only can fillers and additives be problematic for your Cocker Spaniel's digestion, but they're also often the cause of food allergies in our pets.

The good news is, if your dog is an allergy sufferer, you can now buy hypoallergenic dog foods in supermarkets and pet stores.

Raw Dog Food Diets

You could feed your Cocker Spaniel a diet of raw meats and vegetables (no cereals) to help prevent allergies. A  raw dog food diet can be healthy for your Cocker Spaniel.

Although it may be more expensive and a little more time-consuming to prepare, the benefits will soon be evident in your Cocker's improved appearance.

Another benefit of a raw food diet is that your pet is less likely to become overweight by eating a simple diet of raw meat and vegetables.

If you'd like to see how your Cocker feels about raw dinners, here are a few dog food recipes using raw ingredients; watch that little tail wag!

Prescription Diet

If your Cocker Spaniel has persistent health problems, your vet may suggest you give your dog a specially prepared prescription diet.

Each prescription will differ according to the specific health issue.

The good news is that prescription food is now widely available (and cheaper) at most good pet stores.

Just look at how shiny this Cocker's coat is!

Healthy Dog Food & The Vegetarian Diet

Although vegetables are very healthy, feeding your dog a vegetarian diet (no meat at all) is often controversial and thought by some to cause ill health.

However, many vegetarian Cocker owners feed their pets a vegetarian diet, and their dogs thrive on it.

A word of caution, a vegetarian diet is not suited to all dogs.

If you're thinking about changing your Cocker's diet to vegetarian, you should chat with your vet first to get his approval.

Healthy Dog Food: A Holistic Diet

The word 'holistic' in holistic dog food relates to caring for the entire dog, both his mind and body.

Holistic dog food will nourish your dog's entire body from the tip of his cold, wet nose to the end of his little wagging tail!

What is the Best Diet for Cocker Spaniels?

What's the best food for a Cocker Spaniel - homemade or commercial?

That's down to personal choice; either way, you must ensure his diet is nutritious.

You may like the idea of feeding your Cocker Spaniel homemade dog food, and many owners make all their pet's meals from scratch.

His meals can be made in batches of three or four and kept in the fridge until needed, but of course, they could be frozen too.

It feels good to make your pet's meals, and it needn't be time-consuming, especially if you are preparing batches of meals in advance.

Healthy dog food equals healthy Cocker!

I like to keep a watchful eye on my Cocker's diet. I often cook rice for Max (sometimes with a few tablespoons of chicken stock added to the water) and throw in chopped leftover vegetables, meat, or a boiled egg.

I keep the proportions to 25% meat and 50% vegetables, and 25% rice. However, I should probably drop the protein a little because he's been castrated and getting on in years.

He's 10 years old this year and not as active, so he's not burning as many calories as he used to!

I always make sure Max's diet is varied to ensure he gets all the nutrition his little body needs, and I love watching him eat what I've cooked for him! He's so enthusiastic about it!

If you'd like to try a bit of home cooking for your Cocker Spaniel, you'll find a few great homemade recipes here and here!

Healthy Dog Food And Food Aggression

While we're on the subject of healthy dog food, I wanted to mention food aggression.

Dog food aggression is when a dog becomes quite anxious and aggressive when anyone (or another dog) hangs around their food bowl while they're eating.

You won't be able to stroke a dog while it's eating if he guards his food in this way, as it can be pretty dangerous!

If your dog becomes aggressive around his food, don't worry, it's not the end of the world; it can be addressed. It just takes patience and a few simple changes at dinner time.

This page will explain food aggression in dogs, what signs to watch for, and how to remedy that aggression.

Even if your pet isn't showing any signs of food aggression or guarding his food, I recommend you read this article. It will explain how to prevent food aggression from happening in the first place.

Dog Treats

I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that there is little nutrition in your dog's treats.

I class dog treats as the equivalent of a burger or fries in our human world; junk food for dogs.

How can I get this treat without burning my nose?

However, they can be a safe treat for your pet in moderation.

Your dog deserves an occasional treat, so I've added a couple of links to homemade dog biscuit recipes; making your own means that you know exactly what's in them!

Max's favourites are these peanut butter treat recipes; he'll do anything for them!

Healthy Dog Food - Summary

Table scraps aren't the best diet for Cocker Spaniels, mainly because you can't be sure they contain all the nutrients your dog needs.

You need to be aware that there are specific foods toxic to dogs. Understanding which foods could harm your dog is essential; you must avoid them at all costs!

There's not much more to be said other than feeding your Cocker Spaniel food that is the best quality you can afford, human-grade if possible, will pay back dividends.

Feed your best friend a good selection of nutritious, healthy dog foods, such as lean meat or fish, organic or natural, and plenty of fresh vegetables.

It won't be long before you see the difference it can make to his appearance and well-being!

The saying, 'You are what you eat,' doesn't just apply to us humans; it applies to our dogs, too, so what are you waiting for?

Put a smile on your dog's face and a spring back into his step today!