The following diet has been suggested (after years of study and diet trials by us) in an effort to provide a complete diet for your giant breed dog across the lifespan with minimal supplementation.
The total cost of feeding your saint should not exceed $40.00 per week. It costs the same to feed a puppy as it does an adult due to growth and number of feeds required per day.
Cheaper dry food are available but the need for supplementation and food mass increases. This may have deleterious affects on the growth, skin, coat and general vitality of your Saint.
Hills is a top quality dry food that has high bioavailability. This means that what your Saint ingests is utilised to its maximum resulting in reduced stool size, odour, flatulence and a happy healthy Saint.
8 - 12 weeks
0700: 150 - 200ml Warmed Biolac Milk - 1 tbsp Goats Yoghurt - 1 tsp Honey
0800: 50 - 100g Hills Growth Formula - 1/2 - 1cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew - 1/4 Keylomin Calcium Tablet
1300: 50 - 100g Hills Growth Formula - 1/2 - 1cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew
1800: 50 - 100g Hills Growth Formula - 1/2 - 1cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew - 1/4 Keylomin Calcium Tablet
2200: 150 - 200ml Warmed Biolac Milk - 1/2 - 1cm Tuckertime
3 - 6 months
0800: 100 - 200g Hills Growth Formula - 1 - 1 1/2cmTuckertime - Warm Stew - 1/4 Keylomin Tablet
1300: 100 - 200g Hills Growth Formula - 1 - 1 1/2cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew
1800: 100 - 200g Hills Growth Formula - 1 - 1 1/2cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew - 1/4 Keylomin Tablet
2100: 1 - 1/2cm Tuckertime - 1 tbsp Goats Yoghurt with Cultures
6 - 9 months
0800: 175 - 200g Hills Growth Formula - 1 1/2 - 2cmTuckertime - Warm Stew - 1/4 Keylomin Calcium Tablet
1300: 175 - 200g Hills Growth Formula - 1 1/2 - 2cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew
1930: 175 - 200g Hills Growth Formula - 1 1/2 - 2cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew - 1/4 Keylomin Calcium Tablet
9 - 18 months
0800: 200 - 250g Hills Growth Formula - 2cmTuckertime - Warm Stew - 1/4 Keylomin Calcium Tablet
1800: 200 - 250g Hills Growth Formula - 2cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew - 1/4 Keylomin Calcium Tablet
1 1/2 - 6 years
0800: 250 - 300g Hills Maintenance Formula - 2cmTuckertime - Warm Stew
1800: 250 - 300g Hills Maintenance Formula - 2cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew
6 years onward
0800: 200 - 250g Hills Senior Formula - 2cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew
1800: 200 - 250g Hills Senior Formula - 2cm Tuckertime - Warm Stew
Please Note: the above quantities are to be used as a guide only - always adjust quantities of food to suit the growth pattern and dietary needs of your Saint. Start at the lower amounts for each time frame/age and increase or decrease quantities as and when necessary.
THE STEW:
500g mutton mince - lamb mince - ox cheek
1kg vegetables - mixture of carrots - broccoli - cauliflower - pumpkin -
3L water
2 x Oxo stock cubes (crumbled up)
Place all ingredients into a pot and boil for 1 1/2 hours. When cooled mash up the stew and store in fridge. Use enough stew each meal to cover biscuits in dish. Heat the stew first so that meal is warmed. There should be enough stew for 2 -3 days food each time.
DO NOT USE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN THE STEW
PASTA AND RICE - starch is of no use to your saint - rice can cultivate toxic bacteria
POTATOES - starch is of no use to your saint
CABBAGE - produces gas in the stomach and can lead to Bloat
ONIONS - causes Anaemia in dogs (never feed onions to dogs)
PEAS - produces gas in the stomach and can lead to Bloat
RETAIL OUTLETS FOR DIETARY ITEMS
KEYLOMIN - CITY FARMERS
HILLS SCIENCE DIET - YOUR CHOSEN VETERINARY CLINIC
BIOLAC - CITY FARMERS - MOST VETERINARY CLINICS - SALES REP FOR W.A. JENNY BOELKMAN
TUCKERTIME / BREEDERS CHOICE - CITY FARMERS - MOST VETERINARY CLINICS
A WORD ABOUT TUCKERTIME
Tuckertime also produces another product called Breeders Choice. Whilst Tuckertime is a Veterinarian line only, Breeders Choice is available from City Farmers. Both are of equal value to your saint as they both possess digestive enzymes. There may be a slight difference in price. It comes in 1.5kg or 3.0kg rolls and can be stored in the fridge for up to three months if unopened or frozen for convenience.
CALCIUM
Hills Science Diet has been specially formulated as a balanced dog food. The small addition of supplemental Calcium is to balance the Phosphorous/Calcium ratio. The extra Phosphorous comes from the cooked meat in your saints diet so a small amount of Keylomin (not the Greyhound formula) is recommended. Keylomin is a protein bound Calcium supplement which means it bypasses the bodies natural regulatory systems which can make it detrimental to skeletal growth and may calcify major organs if given in large quantities.
FEEDING DO�S
- Cook all meat prior to consumption to reduce the risk of intestinal parasites
- Ensure that your Saints feeding bowls are washed after meals
- Remove all uneaten food straight way to avoid fly strike
- Ensure that there is always plenty of fresh water available - keep water bowls clean
- Keep salt and sugar intake to a minumum - honey may be given if you suspect a lack of glucose in the diet.
- Feed small regular meals as per diet sheet. Your Saints GIT is too short to digest a large meal and gain adequate nutrition from it. Also feeding large infrequent meals can increase the risk of Bloat.
- Warm all meals by heating the stew. Feeding dry meals will cause an osmotic pull on fluids from other body compartments causing dehydration and increase the risk of Bloat.
- levate feeding bowls to avoid your saint having to bend down to eat as this adds additional strain to front joints.
FEEDING DON�TS
- Don�t give bones - rawhide chews are very effective for cleaning teeth and exercising the jaws
- Don�t give your Saint chicken during its formative years. Chicken is too high in protein for a St Bernard.
- Don�t allow your Saint to become overweight but rather keep your Saint lean (not thin) to allow for proper musculo-skeletal development.
- Do not supplement the diet unless you suspect a deficiency of essential nutrients too much is as detrimental as too little.
CALCIUM - essential for proper musculo-skeletal development - signs of over supplementation are the front legs turning east-west. Undersupplemented signs may include the Saint being down on its pasterns. With Keylomin NEVER give more than one tablet per day.
VITAMIN C - you may give 2 x 250g per day if you so wish. Dogs synthesize their own Vitamin C and the body excretes that which it does not use. Vitamin C assists with wound repair, collagen synthesis and tensility of connective tissue. There is no evidence to support the claims that it prevents HD. Too much Vitamin C may lower the urinary pH and scald your Saints urinary tract.
BREWERS YEAST - may be given for added health and vitality. It contains B vitamins and assists with a healthy coat and skin. Most ingredients in brewers yeast are contained in Eagle dog biscuits.
EVENING PRIMROSE OIL - contains essential fatty acids and may be given if a lack of EFA�s is suspected. Eagle dog food contains the necessary EFA�s.
ZINC - is important for would healing and is used by almost every cell in the body. Deficiency of Zinc may be suspected if your Saints coat is dull and the skin is itchy and smelly.
MULTIVITAMINS - may be given if your Saint appears out of condition but if the dietary regime is adhered to, supplementation should not be necessary.
