A Sensible Dog Food
Roadmap for Good Health

Hey, time for one of my favorite topics, dog food! Throw a dog a bone? Ok, I do love a bone, but we’ll get to that later.

For now, five points of dog-sense:

#1 - You Want Us to be Healthy

I have to admit, I used to have a weight problem.

If there was an audition for a new TV show, Biggest Doggie Loser, I would’ve been right there. So, first and foremost, do not overfeed us!

#2 - The Great Debate – Commercial vs. Homemade

There are many different recommendations on what diet is best for us.

Some people argue that we have done well with leftovers and scraps from our owners for years and that commercial dog food (which has been available for the past century) contains poor-quality meats, additives, and other ingredients that are bad for us or that commercial dog food is simply not a nutritionally sound choice.

Different homemade diets are often recommended, from those consisting primarily of raw meat, to vegetarian diets consisting only of nutritionally balanced vegetarian ingredients, to mixtures consisting of ingredients such as brown rice, brown pasta (I love pasta and rice), meats (YESSSS!), eggs, and vegetables.

A problem with homemade diets, often mentioned by veterinarians (thank you Doc), is the difficulty of providing us with a consistently complete and balanced diet. This is the challenging part of providing a diet that is superior to the higher quality brands readily available at your grocery and pet stores. But, don't ignore homemade, particularly if you feel led that way or if you have some sort of a unique dietary requirement as directed by your dog's Doc.

Like everything in your dog’s life, there are trade-offs. If you decide to go with commercial dog food, it will save time and may, or may not, save you money. Homemade, depending upon how crazy you get, will indeed be less convenient for you and may even cost more.

Consider your lifestyle before investing a lot of time and money in homemade dog food. If commercial food is that bad for us, we would all be kicking the bucket before our time and those companies would be out of business! Just like you, we simply need a good, balanced diet and plenty of exercise.

#3 - Are You Trying to Kill Me or What?!?!?!?

Be sure to keep the telephone number for the National Animal Poison Control Center handy (888-426-4435) in case you need it. If your dog ingests something you're not sure about, you can call the APCC for an expert consultation, for which you may be charged a $60 fee.

Some of us (and we know who we are) will eat just about anything! We need you to protect us and keep us healthy!

#4 - Keep Us Disciplined about Food

If your dog is not kept under control, no matter how cute you think he is, he will annoy your house guests to death! Our noses are very powerful and we love people food, so keep us under control and don’t allow us to abuse your guests for food!

#5 - But, What About the Dog Treats?

Consider the total amount of meal time food and add in the impact of treats to make sure we’re not over-doing it. And, it will be a special treat for both of us if you have time to make a few simple homemade treats!!!

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