Food and Nutrition

You are what you eat - or so they say

This section is under construction - and probably always will be, or will be for a good while.
So, how did I end up writing a section like that - not to mention look up all those tit-bits of information? Well, easy one... for one thing I was bored. I am a perfectionist and I have this habbit of always needing to know and understand everything within an area that caught my interest for whatever reason. This then raises the next question: How did I end up being interested in all this?
When my Henna came home I was given a bag of dry food and a bowl of home-made dog food. Since Henna had not been there long I had no intention of changing her diet again right away. When it was clear we would keep Henna, Ritva (her breeder) and me went shopping. Dog supply shopping. So I ended up in my car with a big green bag of dry food and my shopping basket full of various ingredients. So I began preparing dog food and Henna lived of part dry food, part cooked food for a good while - until early June 2007.
Fairly early on I started adding and changing some ingredients like eggs, ground flaxseed/linseed, a pinch of garlic, a pinch of herbs, when Henna had an upset stomache (which was often during her first autum with us) and so on.
Also, when living in Scotland I began to develop an interest in herb medicine. Maybe for a rather peculiar reason: I saw lots of herb supplements in the local chemist's. And then there was no holding back for me anymore. I was also interested in food and nutrition for the two legged variety of creatures, in part because I started unloading some emotional baggage of cancer deaths amongst family and friends and the alleged relation between certain foods and the development of cancer.
The next "revolution" in my interest in dog food was caused by Outi, Laika's breeder, who fed the puppies a food I found very interesting. And by exploring and learning and looking up all I could possibly find about dog food, dog nutrition, human nutrition, what labels on food mean and so on I found some things I thought might interest others as well. Hence this section.

• Dog Food Declaration Dictionary: I often spend a good while in front of my computer with a bag of dog food, dog treats, chocolate (for humans), jam, bread, various cooking sauces and so on. Just in regard to pet food I got really annoyed because there was no list showing more than half of the ingredients on the label. So I started writing my own list. And then I thought since I already have a list like that, maybe I could just as well share it and thereby make it available for others to read as well.

• Examples of dog food label translation: A while back I made this list for a friend, in case you are interested have a look! I have taken the labels of three adult dry food and two puppy wet foods and added the deciphered ingredient behind the name of the ingredient given on the label (e.g. Ascorbic Acid = Vitamin C)

• Vitamins: A list of vitamins, what they are for, what signs show can overdose and deficency, which foods contain them and how much the body needs

• Minerals and trace elements: A list of minerals and trace elements, what they are for, what signs show can overdose and deficency, which foods contain them and how much the body needs

• Proteins: What they are for, what signs can show overdose and deficency, which foods contain them, bioavailability of protein and how much the body needs

• Fat: What is it for, what signs show can overdose and deficency, which foods contains it, what are saturated and unsaturated fats and what's the thing about Omega 3, 6 &9 fatty acids

• Carbohydrates: What are they for, what signs show can overdose and deficency, which foods contains it, what kinds of sugar are there and what does the body do with them

• Human foods harmful or poisonous to dogs:
  updated 15 April 2008
  This is a list of foods that are potentially harmful for dogs. I have tried to come up with a list as complete as lengthy research on my part would give me. Since I am a person who always needs to know why something is the way it is I have attempted to find explanations of why a certain substance does what it does. However, that is an area in some ways not terribly clear in the literature. Hence this list is not conclusive and not complete and may well contain certain information conflicting with other believes I am not aware of.