OVERALL MEAL PLAN

Number of meals for a dog:

A fully mature dog	(more than 14 months)	3 - 6 per week
An adult dog	(10 - 14 months)	6 - 7 per week
A brat	(6 - 10 months)	1 - 2 per day
A large puppy	(4 - 6 months)	2 - 3 per day
A small puppy	(2 - 4 months)	3 per day

A meal should be offered the dog only for a short period of time, such as 20 - 30 minutes. If the dog refuses the meal, it should be taken away (stored in the fridge till next meal time), and you should reduce the total number of meals you give the dog.

If the dog eats everything, you should increase the amounts fed per meal. If the dog gains excess weight, you reduce the number of meals; if it becomes too skinny, you feed more per meal.

Number of snacks for a day is unlimited, but

Total amount should never be more than 10% of a meal

If nutritionally unbalanced, the snacks must be accounted for in the total food plan

The dog should be allowed to rest for a couple of hours after each meal - no heavy exercise on a fully stomach!

Fresh water should be available for the dog every day, also on fast days.

A NATURAL MEAL

Maximum - the eight should be raw meat (preferably tripe), but also

Pork, veal, beef, chicken, lamb, turkey (no poultry bones!)

Fish, seafood

Kidneys, heart, spleen (these must never exceed 8% of the total meat portion!)

Cooked meat can be served occasionally, yet uncooked meat is essential for the dog's metabolism and should never be less than - of the weight of the meal.

Please note that no parasites can be transmitted to the dog from raw pork, beef, veal, lamb and seafood products!

Dogs have no problem with cholesterol and should preferably have fat as their energy source, not carbohydrates.

Products like milk, yogurt, cheese, and eggs are valuable as occasional supplement to the meat.

Minimum - the weight should be raw vegetables (including fruit), such as:

Potatoes, carrots, zucchini, squash, cabbage, rutabagas, corn

Apples, pears (including the cores), cherries, plums, peaches (without the pits)

Vegetables and fruit should not be peeled: the most valuable nutrients are in the skin! Be aware thought that imported fruits and vegetables may contain uncontrolled amounts of herbicides in the skin Ð so such products should be peeled before serving.

Vegetables may occasionally be cooked, by should preferably be served raw, since many essential nutrients are destroyed by cooking.

Approximately - the weight should be grain products (including bread), such as:

Buns, bread slices, whole grain bread, crumbs

Cereals, raw or hot

Pasta (always cooked)

Rice (always cooked)

Pancakes, waffles

Bread should preferably be whole grain and dry, not fresh.

Supplements to every meals:

1 - 2 spoonful vegetable oil, such as corn oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, or flax oil. _ - 1 vitabuns, bread slices, whole grain bread, crumbs, Mineral/herb supplement (Wolle's Horse-Power or similar) For puppies and dogs older than 7 - 8 years, 1-2 spoonful bone-meal per 30 kg body weight.

PUPPY SUPPLEMENT

Puppies should have one full natural meal per day - same recipe as for an adult dog, yet preferably ground or finely cut.

The additional daily meals should be rich in animal fat, carbohydrates, and fibre with only limited amounts of additional protien. Examples could be

Sour-milk or yoghurt with cereals for breakfast

Whole grain bread sandwiches with bacon fat or cheese for lunch

If the puppy refuses a meal, you eliminate the lunch meal first, later the breakfast.

WEEKLY SUPPLEMENT

1 - 2 big, uncooked, bones of beef, veal, pork, or horse.

Please note: no poultry bones, and no bones with sharp cut edges (T-bone, ribs, etc.), expecially from cooked meat and fish.

The bones should be so large that the dog cannot swallow them, and they should be partly eatable for the dog. Joints and neck bones are expecially suited.

When the dog is given bones on a regular basis, the bone-meal supplement becomes redundant for dogs between 1 - 7 years.

SNACKS

Snacks should only be given as treats for work well done.

Treats should be:

Very delicious for the dog (good candidates for most dogs include fried liver, bacon, and tripe)

Easy for the handler to bring along and to handle

Small enough to be quickly eaten without too much crumbling chewing

Treats may be given on fast days, although the total amount should be kept low (less than 5% of a meal).