Thanks for taking the health check on our home page. If you are on this page then you ticked one or more 'NO' boxes. For information on weight issues, or assessing whether or not your dog is lean and fit... Click here Bad breath and body odour are both signs that the diet needs some fine-tuning. A healthy dog should not have a 'doggy smell' or unpleasant breath. Both these problems can indicate that there is a build up of waste in the dog's system. This waste can accumulate if the diet is not suitable (e.g poor quality, contains non-nutrients like colourings or exceeds the dogs needs). However, even on a good quality diet if the dog is fed too much food these problems can occur. If your dog has flaky skin or dull dry coat which moults all year round he/she may not be as healthy as they should be. Again, be careful to stick to the recommended feeding amounts as overfeeding will cause these symptoms. Contrary to popular belief this type of problem is not normally caused by a deficiency. This type of problem may also indicate a dietary intolerance and we would recommend speaking to one of the Burns nutritionists to find the most suitable diet for your dog. How can you tell if your dog has vitality?! Is it excited to go on a walk? Does it run and play or is it a chore to peel your dog from his/her basket? If your dog plods after you instead of enjoying exercise then a change in diet should be considered. When veterinary surgeon John Burns started in general practice in 1971 he found himself becoming convinced that many common problems affecting skin, digestive system and general vitality were aggravated by the type of food that was readily available. "For a number of years," says John "I recommended my veterinary practice clients to avoid feeding proprietary pet foods but instead to feed a home-made diet of brown rice, vegetables and chicken, fish or meat sold for human consumption." Although a number of people were able to follow this recommendation and achieved remarkable improvements in the health of their pets, many found that preparing food at home for the dog was simply too daunting a task. "Now that I have a dog of my own," says John "I realise what a burden this is and I doubt if I would be able to do it myself. I am sure I lost many clients in this way. "I eventually decided that to manage health through diet, food would have to be convenient and readily available. Burns Real Food is based on the home-made diet which I used to recommend. There are no secret or magic ingredients; there are no added pharmacologically active supplements or ingredients. "As the name implies, Burns Real Food is just that; a simple food which is intended to allow the body to function as it should. Burns is not intended to intervene in order to alter the normal metabolism of the body. The aim is to stand back and let the body get on with what it does best; to maintain the organ systems. "This is in contrast to medicinal products which are intended to have a direct therapeutic action." And the rest is history, as they say! For information on how to check if your dog is the correct weight follow this link. For other factsheets concerning health issues click here