Help with feed for Dalmatian

[Gooby]

My parents have just rehomed a 5year old Dalmatian. Having never owned this breed before we are on a steep learning curve. Having done a little research I have learnt that we need to be careful with his diet as there are certain proteins (purine I think) he should avoid as his body cannot break it down properly. It seems there are a few dried food diets made especially for Dalmatians and dogs who need a low purine diet.

Does anybody have any experience/advise that may help us? Or suggestions of what I should be looking for in the ingredients/nutritional analysis to make sure what we are giving him is right?

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[whisp&willow]

my friend has owned dalmatians for years, and had never fed them any specific dog food- no ill effects to report.

eta: the only thing diet related to mention is... portion control! Dals are greedy... and learn to steal very quickly... xx

 

[dalidaydream]

I've had dalmatians for 16 years now. Never feed them dried food - they have big appetites and small stomachs, a recipe for colic as the dried food expands rapidly in the stomach. If you must feed dried food make sure it is soaked through before feeding.

I've always fed mine on tinned Chappie with a tiny bit of small bite mixer mixed in well to slow them down a bit and they've always been extremely healthy. My old one lived to 13 1/2 and my current one is a 12 year old puppy

You should be looking to keep the protein level below 17%

 

[Gooby]

I will feed the info back to my parents. He doesn't seem to be that interested in food at the moment but I think this is a combination of being passed around the last few months so his diets probably changed a lot as well, he is a bit under the weather with kennel cough and he has only been with us a couple of days so is still settling in.

Thanks for the replies

 

[Cinnamontoast]

You're right about the purine. If you find Dally banjo on this forum http://www.petforums.co.uk/members/dally-banjo.html

she'll be able to tell you about the purine issue as well as any other issues you have questions about.

 

[Blanche]

I've had dallies for years and only had one who had stones but only very mildly. Some do form very big stones and it is very painful and then surgery is needed. Some can go for years before a problem becomes apparent so it is best to be aware of the symptoms. There is a traffic light list that tells you which foods to avoid ,red -high-avoid ,amber-moderate - careful and green - low -ok. I can't find my list anywhere at the mo but if you go to www.britishdalmatianclub.org.uk and join the forum there ( lost my password and can't actually remember my user name!)someone will probably point you in the right direction . They are very friendly and will be able to help with any other dally type query.I think we will have to form a dally group on here as we have the spangle massive and the gsd mafia and I feel we are missing out! And I have to commend your parents on their good taste in dogs.

 

[Gooby]

I actually found the traffic light list last night and printed it out. I went round today and put it on the fridge! Good to know it isn't just a load of rubbish and we should be ok if we follow it.

Haha we actually have 2 spaniel/collies of our own hence why we didn't take him ourselves. My boyfriend has always wanted a dalmatian so he is in heaven, every time we see him he just fawns over him saying "he's so pretty!" lol. He is a lovely boy and I wish we had the room for him but at least he is in the second best home! He has a grade 3 heart murmur as well so god know how long he might have been left in the rescue or who might have taken him, he'd already been brought back once because 'he shed too much hair' - some people are just beyond me!!

Thanks for all of the advise

 

[DallyDoop]

I have a Dalmatian He's fed raw, I use the traffic light list to make sure I keep him away from harmful purines. He's mainly fed chicken, but he also has tripe and fish, lamb makes him sick. Game isn't really advised but he does have the odd rabbit/pigeon. If you go the raw route veggies are advised because of the amount of purines in offal, although my lad gets a bit of liver very occasionally. Stay away from peas and cauliflower though a they contain purines.

Lots of Dally owners are turning to raw as it's much easier to know what food they are getting.

 

[Gooby]

Just got a call from my Dad, he had to take him to the vets today as he was struggling to wee. He has stones he will be having an op tomorrow to remove them. I was starting to wonder if he might have them and that's why he originally ended up at the rescue.

Thanks for all of your advise and hopefully now with us making sure he has the right diet he won't have to go through this again

 

[lochpearl]

Dare I admit it but my dal bitch was fed on pedigree chum and mixer and anything else she stole only in her last few years did she have chicken/rice/pasta as she got colitis. She was pts at 14.5, he back legs gave up but her heart and everything else was still very strong.

Not sure if this will help in your case but my Labrador gets struvite crystals, which I believe can turn into painful stones that need operating if get too big etc. We used a prescription by Hills for her, I think the one that dissolved the crysals/stones was SD and now we have her on a preventative diet of the Hills CD. You can get it in 'wet' tins and biscuits. We haven't had a problem since she went on the CD so it might be worth speaking to the vet. Then buy it online as cheaper

 

[Andalusianlover]

I have two Dalmations, one will be 14 in february (I hope) and the other one is 12 at the end of this month. They've been fed Omega Maintenance for several years now with no ill effects whatsoever. The eldest has an iron stomach but the other one is not as good. Pedigree Chum is a no no for the youngest as are most other rich dog foods.

 

[Blanche]

Gooby ,how is the 'rents dally after the op? Haven't posted for a while but have been wondering how he was getting on .

 

[dominica]

Just got a call from my Dad, he had to take him to the vets today as he was struggling to wee. He has stones he will be having an op tomorrow to remove them. I was starting to wonder if he might have them and that's why he originally ended up at the rescue.

Thanks for all of your advise and hopefully now with us making sure he has the right diet he won't have to go through this again

This is a huge problem within the breed, my mother has been the main campaigner here in the UK for helping the breed with this problem, please check out our web site www.tyrodal.co.uk and look up the NUA information regarding this and for feeding advice.