Silhouette weight

 

Walking across the field in the park, my shoes are wet from dew and the morning mist is still rising.  As the sun peeks over the trees we are hit by the warmth of it.  We are also given a beautiful shadow display; as a photographer it is something that I love, light and the magic of it.  Luke and Elsa look like their legs are four feet long; I on the other hand look like I've gained fifty pounds, hmmmmm.  Depending on how I stand and let the sun hit me; I can lose weight in an instant.  Nice.

This of course has me going over Luke and Elsa as far as silhouettes.  They are both very lean; Elsa is the picture of an athlete in peak condition.  The muscles in her legs ripple and she moves with ease; not carrying around any extra weight.  Luke is skinny, extremely skinny and if he was a young dog with strong legs I would be working to get weight on him.  But, he is not a young dog; he is fourteen years old on very shaky legs so carrying even five more pounds around would be a difficult challenge for him.  For Luke's condition, skinny is good. 

Most dogs I see out in the parks, fields, beaches and streets of downtown are overweight.  They are not hugely overweight but carry a few extra pounds.  A few pounds on a dog is much different than on us.  The ratio of what they should weigh, together with their size makes just a pound or two a big difference.  I have seen dogs that look overweight with just two extra pounds.  My little Jack Russell who is now gone could go from pudgy to lean and mean in the matter of a week.  But much like us, some dogs lose easily while others have more of a struggle to lose. 

 All dogs should have a waste; that indent where the ribs end.  Of course there will be a difference in breeds and mixes who are beefier types but they should all have a waste indent.  Food and movement is at the root of it all.  Sadly much of the food that comes in a bag is a big part of the problem.  Instead of a protein based diet which helps to build muscle; much of it is carb filled wasted calories.  Our dog's bodies are craving protein and getting little.  The other day when I was at the Veterinarians; a woman was at the counter beside me buying "diet" food for her dog.  I shudder thinking of what might be in the food that she was purchasing.  We are feeding our dogs the wrong thing and expecting great results.  "Diet" foods are not the way to go for our dogs or us. 

Lack of muscle is something else I see a great deal of.  More weight and few muscles make moving more difficult than it needs to be.  Exercise is the only way to grow muscle.  But even then our dogs need a great deal of protein to fuel those muscles.  Have a look at your dog, is there an indent?  Do they leg muscles bulge where they should bulge?  If not then it is time to cut back on food and get moving with your dog.  We owe our dogs at least that.   

Protein

As an avid weight lifter I know the importance of protein for muscle growth.  The other day I wondered what the actual numbers were for protein as far as dog are concerned.  What I found after much research is that there is no easy answer.   Much of the information out there is for protein in dog food which is measured by a percentage.  Whereas our protein requirements are measured in grams.  Measuring protein by percentage is assuming that all proteins are alike.  So I dug deeper. 

Much of what goes into dog food is unusable by our dog's bodies.  Of course the better the food you choose the better the ingredients.   But how do you know what is a good food and what is not?  Well, like I wrote yesterday, I'd stay away from the big guys first.  Next read the ingredient label.  This may sound easy but it is not.  Here is a great article on how to read the ingredient label. 

Reading the label

What I found after much reading was that dogs generally need 2 grams of high biologic protein per kg of body weight.  (Merck Veterinary Manual) High biologic protein refers to animal protein that can be used nutritionally.  Beaks, hooves and hair contain protein but are very low as far as usability.  They are not utilized well as they are digested.  They contain less value for a dog nutritionally. 

Trying to figure out the actual high biologic amount of protein in dog food is a difficult task.  There is the list of ingredients to decipher, moist content, actual protein ingredient to attempt to figure out and more.  Whereas the amount of protein you give to a dog fed in it's real form is a much easier task.  That said, most people feed dog food so when you do; do your research.  Do not take the percentage rates on the bag as a whole truth, dig. 

protein chart

Our bodies need protein to build and maintain muscle.  Of course there are other things involved as well, like exercise and other nutrients.  But protein is a big part of building muscle.  The more one exercises the more protein they require.  But even in quality proteins, they are not all alike.  The chart listed above will let you know what contains the most percentage per weight. 

The dog food project  This is a great link if you want to delve further.  About amino acids, protein etc. 

I could go on and on and get very scientific but I prefer to leave that to those who want to do the research.  I have listed several good links but there are more, you just have to dig.  There is much more to nutrition and muscle growth than just protein but protein is a big part.  Are we shorting our dogs?  I think much of the time.  Muscle will not grow without proper fuel and exercise, they go hand in hand.  We have been duped for far too long as far as feeding our dogs.  Time to look into it and see what you come up with. 

We eat what we eat and don't think much of it correct?  Yet when it comes to our dogs we must read the labels and try to figure out what is really in the bag.  Keep it simple, the fewer ingredients the better, just like your own food.  The big companies who are spending literally millions on advertising campaigns are not spending it on quality ingredients.  Next time you see a big ad on television for a new dog food or human food for that matter, think.