When it comes to the body structure or physique of your pet schnoodle, it doesn’t matter if he looks ‘thin.’ They should in fact look sturdy and not fluffy or bloated. They should be active, capable of running fast, and walking without catching their breath too much. If ever youyou’re your pet breathing heavily after running or walking, then it’s best to consult your vet. When giving nutrition for your pet, just make sure that you never feed your pet more than the amount he/ she needs. Consult your breeder and you’re your veterinarian for advice on whether your schnoodle needs more food or maybe additional supplements and vitamins, but do not feed him or her additional food just because he appears to be thin – looking.
Most keepers switch foods once their pups hit nine months. It’s still best to consult your breeder or vet so you can ensure what age is appropriate to change their diet. Some people introduce adult food earlier than nine months, while some do it a little over ten months which is why it’s best to ask your vet/ breeder about it as they already have knowledge and experience regarding this matter.
BARF stands for Biologically Approved Raw Foods; it’s one of the best types of dog diets today, and it’s also better than just feeding your pet with commercial food brands. The main question of newbie keepers regarding the BARF diet is this: “Why feed raw?” Well, you really can’t argue with Mother Nature because dogs have eaten natural food for thousands of years. Simply put, a natural diet such as the BARF diet doesn’t contain any sort of preservatives that’s usually found in commercial dog foods which can cause digestive problems or other health issues in the long run.
Some of the benefits of BARF diet include cleaner dog teeth and fresh breath, lean weight, improved digestion, healthy coat and skin, lessens the risk of food allergy, harder, and less stinky stools/ improves bowel health, more stamina, increased mobility, help maintain a high energy level, strong immune system, improves liver, and pancreatic health. On top of all this the main benefit of a healthy dog is the money you’ll save due to fewer trips to the vet.
Some keepers think that these canine animals are omnivores because they eat both veggies and meat which is a fact but that’s only because they would pretty much eat anything. However, by nature, dogs are carnivores. Their digestive system is naturally set to digest meat since they have strong and powerful digestive juices. Dogs in general are designed to eat flesh meat. If you study their anatomy, dogs have short intestines, have strong jaw bones, and sharp teeth that are meant to cut and rip meats. So that only means that even though they can eat other type of foods like vegetables or human scrapes, their primary diet should be carnivorous.
This is where BARF diet comes in; the main ingredients of a BARF diet are bones, raw meat, veggies, fruits, organs, and supplements.
The ingredients you’ll need can all be found in a local supermarket. We list some of the ingredients you can try below for your pet schnoodle:
Meat:
- Raw chicken with bones (small/ bite – sized/ large; depending on the age/size of your dog)
- Frozen Minced Turkey
- Frozen Minced Chicken
- Egg (1)
- Beef chunks
Veggies/ Fruits
- Carrots (at least 1)
- Apples (1 to 2 apples sliced)
- Broccoli (just a handful of chooped broccolis)
What you can do with the ingredients listed above is to blend first the couple of veggies like the carrots, apples, and broccoli. You can go ahead and chop it up to a few pieces, mix it with a bit of water, and blend it. Then you can place the minced turkey/chicken on the food bowl as ease, and pour in the blended veggie juices. After doing that, you can just slightly mash and mix the veggies juices with the meat. You can then add the egg because it’s also a great source of protein for your pet. And the last step is to add chicken with bone on top of that. Now of course, the amount you’ll give should depend on your pet’s current size. It’s best to consult your vet with regards to how much do you need to feed your schnoodle if you’d like to provide him with a BARF diet. You can also add in dog multivitamins once or twice a day depending on what your vet tells you. Usually though, you don’t really need to give vitamins to youd pet if you’re giving him a BARF diet but some keepers still likes providing vitamins just so it can supplement their dog’s diet.
You can also buy a ready – made mixed fruit and vegetable and add it on your minced turkey/chicken, chicken bone, and egg so that you won’t have to chop up individual veggies or fruits. In addition, you can also use the egg shells because it’s also a great source of calcium. Some keepers just leave out the egg shell but it’s much better if you crunch it up using a mortar and pestle so that it can easily be digested by your schnoodle. Just sprinkle it on top, and give it all a nice mix.