General Considerations

The Dalmatian diet is influenced by a unique urinary system, one that cannot process uric acid efficiently. This problem can lead to urinary "stones", very similar to bladder or kidney stones, and as a result, it is important to limit the amount of "purines" your Dal ingests.  Complicating matters, there is some correlation between foods containing quality sources of protein, essential for health, and high levels of purines, although not all low protein foods are low in purines. Check out the DCA's discussion on the fallacy of low vs. high protein diets.  Therefore, feeding your Dal requires a balancing act of providing the appropriate level of protein while keeping puric acid levels low. Fortunately, commercially available chicken and turkey based foods are high quality protein sources with moderate levels of purines. Beef based foods should be avoided. The DCA has compiled a list of common foods and their purine level.  

Dals should be fed twice a day and should always be fed with water added to their food. This provides the added benefit of taking in a larger quantity of water than normal which usually results in flushing the urinary system more often, helping to prevent sediment buildup in the kidneys and urinary tract.
  

Raw Diets

As commercial dog food has become popular and convenient, many veterinarians, breeders, and owners have noted several health problems. Most dog foods have cereals as their main ingredient, which have been attributed to a range of problems such as allergies.  Dr. Ian Billinghurst noticed that farm and stock dogs as well as companion dogs in Australia were not living to as useful an age as before and seemed to have far more health problems. The one big change in their lives seemed to be commercial dog food, which has not been popular in Australia as long as it has in the US and Europe. He began suggesting to clients that they change the dogs back to raw, natural foods and many of the health issues seemed to improve. His subsequent book, "Give Your Dog A Bone", formalized the Bones and Raw Food diet, or "BARF". Anyone contemplating a switch to a BARF diet should read "Give Your Dog A Bone". Other sources of information include: