The Role of Protein and Fats in Your Cairn’s Diet By: Diane Jessup - DanBar Ranch Cairn Terriers I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that your cairn terrier is not an “ultra athlete” canine. The diets of say, sled dogs or racing greyhounds is one thing and the diet of the average house pet is another. Even playing at agility or barn hunt on weekends does not really qualify your cairn for a “working dog” diet. So, we are going to talk about “pet diet”. Within the cairn breed, there is a category of pet dog which requires “better” nutrition than the average house pet, and that is the breeding female during her time of breeding, pregnancy and nursing pups. This will be addressed at the end of the article. The pet food industry sends millions on trying to convince the public that they need to feed whatever the latest “fad” food is; be it “high protein”, “soft, human looking food” or “breed specific diets”. All these fads are based on nonsense and advertising inventiveness. Remember that commercial dog food is only about one hundred years old – dogs have done pretty well for eons on table scraps. Protein When you see a dog food bag marked “high protein” you may think this is a food which will give the dog “extra energy”. The reality is, dogs get their “energy” from fats; protein plays a role in providing energy, but generally only in endurance situations. The main function of protein for your dog is to provide the amino acids required to repair, build and maintain muscles, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, skin and fur. Protein is necessary for hormone and enzyme production and immune system health. It used to be said that the older a dog was, the less protein it needs but current scientific evidence is pointing to elderly cairns needing just as much protein but of a higher quality, making it easier for the animal to digest. Looking at a bag of dog food you will find protein and fat as the first two ingredients listed by percent by dry weight. Based on the standards set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, the minimum protein percentage for adult dog food is 18% crude protein. They list for “growth and reproduction” (puppies and breeding females) a minimum of 22.5%. Now mind you – that is bare bones, just keep the dog alive type minimums. For good management of your pet cairn we want to find the optimum level for your dog’s activity level. In my experience this usually ranges from 26 – 30%. Can a dog eat a vegetarian diet and thrive? I think the best answer is “they can survive but not necessarily thrive”. Corn is probably the best non-meat source of protein for dogs but no plant-based protein will contain the higher amounts of necessary amino acids that meat provides. My research into historical dog management in the United Kingdom indicates that the large kennels of hunting dogs kept by British royalty up until the 1900s ate primarily oatmeal gruel spiked with some animal-based products such as blood, guts and bones. One condition that appears to have been prevalent during this time were poor coats – a symptom of protein lack. PRO-TIPS: • When buying your dog food, check the first three ingredients making up the food. At least the first two listed should be meat based. • Don’t be afraid of corn as an ingredient; the anti-corn argument was strictly marketing nonsense. While it should not be the first or second ingredient by volume, it is an excellent source of plant-based protein for dogs. • Be realistic about your dog’s activity/work level. Don’t feed a 35% protein feed to a pudgy house dog whose only exercise is a walk around the block once a day… you WILL cause health issues by feeding your dog “too hot”. • If your dog is chronically thin, has muscle loss, poor coat or is slow to heal wounds, consider bumping up the protein percentage a couple points. Fats Fats are absolutely critical to dogs, taking the place of carbohydrates in the human diet by supplying quickly accessed energy when needed. You absolutely do not want to cut the fat off any meat you feed your dog. Fats are a concentrated energy source for dogs, providing over twice the energy of proteins of carbs. Fats provide essential fatty acids (linoleic acid, Omega 3 and 6) which the body requires but cannot produce. As well fats support immune function, skin and coat health, nutrient absorption (especially fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K), cell health, nerve impulse transmission and reduce inflammation. One very important job of fat is keeping a dog warm in cold weather and providing a reserve of nutrients during time of illness. Now obviously too much fat leads to obesity and can cause pancreatic issues. But if you have to go too high or too low – go too high. Dogs fed a diet with less than 15% fat will show a decrease in skin and coat quality and certainly not thrive. PRO_TIPS: • Don’t hesitate to add bacon grease to your dog’s food. For a cairn sized dog you can easily feed a tablespoon worth a day but remember to decrease kibble to even out caloric intake. (Free-feeding avoids having to make this type of calculation). • If you cut the fat off your meat (which you should not) either when it is raw or cooked, throw the trimmings in your dog’s feed dish. • Raw marrow bones are a good source of fat. • If your dog tends to be overweight, you are better off to increase its activity rather than cut down on fat content of food. Breeding Females The stress on a breeding female is tremendous. Every single thing needed to “build” all those pups inside her has to come from HER body. That includes their bones, fur, muscles – everything! For this reason, a female used for breeding should be fed a higher quality diet year-round as she needs to have all the nutrients she needs in place before, during and after the breeding process. A female dog should never look drawn down or thin during or after nursing a litter – that is only caused by poor management. She should not have to sacrifice her own health for that of her litter. Breeding females should be fed a 30% protein/20% fat diet with whole milk given daily. No, whole milk will not make your dog sick. Your mamma dog needs calcium, so consider giving Pet-Cal tablets which provide calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D in correct proportions. End Note When folks feed too high of a protein content to their cairn terriers, thinking to “do well by them” as dog food commercials are prone to suggest, they run the risk of negatively impacting their cairn’s health. I’m a fan of feeding your dog well – but well means appropriate. Every single time a puppy buyer has called me concerned their veterinarian saying their dog had “crystals” in its urine – the dog has been on a food with far too high a protein level. Once they put the pup/dog back on an appropriate feed, the crystals disappeared. I have found veterinarians to be rather clueless concerning high protein and kidney issues, which is discouraging to say the least. If your vet talks about “urate stones”, “struvite stones” or “calcium oxalate crystals” get your dog on a lower protein feed for a few months and in every case I’ve seen, the problem resolves itself.