There are three major factors that maximize your dog's chances for a long and healthy life: good genes; a loving, nurturing home; and proper nutrition.

Good genes

Fortunately, Bergamascos in the US have been carefully and selectively bred. They tend to be very healthy and do not suffer, as a breed, from any particular diseases or conditions. To help be sure that your dog does not develop individual health problems, you need to be sure the two factors below are also met.

Loving homes

The Bergamasco is a very sensitive breed. As shepherding dogs, they were developed over many centuries to be acutely aware of their environment. Bergamasco guardians are regularly amazed at how quickly their dogs sense danger, distress, or emotional changes in a person. A sideways, disapproving glance can send a Bergamasco slinking off, returning later to try to make friends, visibly worried that he or she has displeased you and eager to make it up. With their emotional depth and sensitivity, it is important that Bergamascos are touched, played with, and feel loved, included, approved of, appreciated. I believe that, more than any other factor, a loving home provides the best chances for a long, healthy life.

Proper nutrition

At Acadia Pastori Bergamascos, we have become increasingly concerned about the perils of feeding commercial dog foods. Research over the years has convinced us that you may unwittingly be playing Russian Roulette with your dog's health by feeding commercial foods. For instance, most of these foods contain 40 - 60% grain, which dogs' systems DO NOT NEED. Also, the source of the meat and other protein ingedients in many dog foods is something to be skeptical of. The labeling requirements for dog foods are nowhere near as stringent as you might think, and may hide all kinds of ingredients that you would never knowingly want to feed your dog.

For these reasons, we feed strictly a raw diet to all our dogs. This diet is meant to approximate the natural diet of dogs in the wild: what they would get if they ate herbivore animals, which is what their systems, as carnivores, are designed for. We start with restaurant-grade chicken, grinding muscle, bone, skin, organ meats, and a small amount of vegetables (such as the dog would get from the contents of the herbivore's stomach) into a meatloaf-like mix, which is frozen, then thawed and fed raw. Sometimes beef is used. Our dogs' diets are supplemented with generous amounts of Green Tripe (cows' stomachs, contents and all, untreated except for grinding and freezing), which contains phosphorus and calcium in the proper proportions for good calcium absorbtion, lactic acid bacteria, and a vast array of essential fatty acids (including Omega 3 & 6). We also supplement on occasion with mackerel, organic yogurt and organic eggs. Vitamin and mineral supplements are provided as well.

We are convinced that this diet offers the best chance for a long and healthy life. Cancers and other diseases in dogs have been rising at an alarming rate in the US. While there is no established link at this time between overprocessed commercial foods and the startling rise in canine disease, many experienced dog people are switching to the frozen raw diet, and many of those, whose dogs had previously experienced various health conditions, have noticed a marked improvement soon after switching to frozen raw.

You are encouraged to pursue this topic online, where there are many raw feeding chat groups and message boards where people can answer your questions and provide much necessary and helpful information on the raw diet. Don't expect any but the most forward-thinking vets to be able to address this issue: they receive precious little training in nutrition, and these days, many of them are actually taught by representatives from dog food companies! This is a case where the people are leading. The vets will probably follow: with the good results that many people are having with raw feeding, the wisdom in this approach is becoming more apparent every day.

Puppies from Acadia Pastori Bergamascos are from parents that have been fed a healthy, frozen raw diet. As the puppies are weaned, they are fed (frozen and then thawed) raw ground meats, fish, organic yogurt, organic eggs, and Green Tripe. Their mother is allowed to nurse them as long as she wants, which may continue to 7 or 8 weeks, although due to sharp teeth and claws, she generally limits feeding time to a few short minutes after about 4 weeks.

At 8 weeks, they are given a mix including ground bone, as well as the other ingredients discussed above. When you pick up your puppy at 10 weeks, it will never have had commercial dog food.

You don't have to make your own food to feed a natural raw diet: there are numerous excellent all-natural mixes, such as Oma's Pride -- available at the better dog food stores, or through distributors in your area.

It makes sense! We know as humans that the more natural and healthy diet we eat, the better our health is likely to be. Why should it be any different for dogs?

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