Doglicious Blogs About Feeding A Dog

 

 

 

 

Woof there!

My name’s Doglicious and I just love to eat and eat and eat and eat! Actually, I’ll eat anything if you let me. But, my” person” is very particular about what she puts in my bowl and gives me for treats…and I sure am glad she is! 

She has a website and a blog…full of pages about the fascinating subject of Feeding A Dog (I’m her mascot). There you’ll find Good Foods, Bad Foods, Homemade Foods and Recipes, Dogisms and there’s even a DogMall. You can go to the website by clicking here: Feeding A Dog

The reason I started this blog is because I want to share with my doggie buddies’ persons everything I’ve ever learned about feeding a dog a healthy and nutritious diet. I want my doggie buddies to be able to get all the pawsitive benefits of both a safe and a nourishing diet of really delicious food, just like I do. They all deserve to be and stay healthy too and, as my person always says about me, be “full of beans”!

Since I don’t want to overwhelm everybody with a whole lot of detailed information, and because the subject of dog nutrition can be somewhat complex and difficult to digest all at once (like the metaphor?), I’ll be blogging about only one important issue in each post. I want the information I share on this blog to inform, empower and motivate you dog persons, so that you can make the very best food choices for your dog.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the vast array of different kinds of dog foods available in the stores for feeding a dog….here are just some of them: Commercial (dry, wet or moist), Generic (store or chain store labels), Organic (natural), Holistic (whole), Premium (high quality or boutique), Super-Premium (even better than premium?), Niche (everything from puppy to senior or skinny to  fat or performance to pampered), Prescribed (for ailments by vets), Raw, BARF, etc., and then there’s Homemade (my personal favorite!…but that’s for later). Yikes!…it all makes me dizzy! 

With hundreds, if not thousands of different dog foods offered, along with some very clever marketing gimmics by dog food manufacturers, it’s not at all surprising if you’re confused, or even get lost when you walk through the “jungle” of dog food displays or try to find your way in the “woods” of supplements and vitamins on the shelves. Through this blog, I hope to be your “seeing eye dog”….so come, follow me and I’ll show you the way to find optimal nutrition when feeding a dog….

Commercial dog food is a real convenience for a great many dog persons and most of my doggie buddies seem to like it, too. However, concerned care givers, who want only the best for their dogs, are constantly bombarded with both a perplexing assortment of choices and the gross exaggerations (sometimes even blatant lies!) made by dog food manufacturers. So, how can you know what the best foods are for feeding a dog?….as I said before, it’s a “jungle” out there in those stores!

In this post, I’ll be giving you just a short description of what’s frequently in the different foods dog persons can purchase in bags or cans…you may be shocked! And, in future posts, I’ll give a much more detailed analysis about each of the various ingredients contained in them. Also, I’ll woof  (ooops, I mean blog) to you later all about homemade dog food and share with you some yummy recipes my person gave me.

So here below (in somewhat general terms) is just a short description of store bought commercial dog food and what’s commonly in it…..

Ingredients:

I’ll bet you have visions of delicious juicy whole roasted chickens, choice cuts of rare beef, fresh whole grains, and all the beneficial nutrition your dog will ever need when you think about commercial dog food; and that’s exactly what you’re supposed to envision. These enticing images are what pet food manufacturers portray on TV, in magazine ads and on the packaging of their products, and they are images of the ingredients they want you to believe you are purchasing in their products. The truth is very far from it!

The thing most dog persons don’t know is that the pet food industry is an adjunct to the human food and agriculture industries And, Pet food provides a very lucrative market for slaughterhouse and grain processing plant waste. Grains like ground corn husks or wheat dust swept up from storeroom floors and considered “unfit for human consumption, along with other disgusting refuse, are turned into profit for the dog food manufacturers. This waste also includes, but is not limited to lungs, intestines, cow udders, esophagi, and pawssibly diseased and cancerous animal parts that are sent to rendering plants to be converted into “by-products”….Yuck!!!

There are many suppliers (also known as renderers) who even accept other revolting things such as road kill, euthanized shelter dogs and cats, and other equally disgusting ingredients; render or process them, and then turn round and sell these processed (or rendered) “byproducts” to the dog food manufacturers. These items are not supposed to make it into our dog foods and are “supposedly” converted only for the manufacture of fertilizer, livestock feed, and industrial use. However, there have been numerous reports of these, and other disgusting things, being used in our dog food (watch the video below). The Center for Veterinary Medicine, a branch of the Food and Drug Administration, admits that dead dogs and cats are commonly rendered, and although there is no legal prohibition against using dogs and cats in pet food, they claim they do not “condone” the practice

All the large, reputable pet food manufacturers certify that they do not use these repulsive substances in their products. However, there are far too many poor quality commercial dog foods on the market that don’t meet even minimal standards of adequate nutrition and are reported to be using them. And while many brands on the market tend to be similar, not all pet food manufacturing companies use such poor quality or potentially dangerous ingredients. There are also some pretty good ones out there too, but in order to find them you’ll have to carefully search through the shelves and know what to look for on the labels.

So, if you want to find good dog food with decent nutritional requirements for feeding a dog, you’ll need to know how to read dog food labels, and even more importantly, how to decode them. Some of the ingredients listed can be very misleading, so it’s critical you understand the labels.

That’s what you’ve got me for…I have a pretty good nose for finding things. In future posts, I’ll sniff out the truth for you and let you know what the listed items actually are and I’ll be woofing (I mean blogging) in detail about some of the deceptive terminology dog food manufacturers use on their labels to mislead uninformed dog persons.

So, here are six things you can do, right away, to start working on a healthy diet for your dog?

* Visit my person’s website: Feeding A Dog…and learn more now…you’ll see me there too…I helped her with it.                                                                                

* Purchase a good quality dog food with meat (chicken, beef or lamb) listed as the first three ingredients on the label, until you have a very good understanding about what else you can do to provide a safe and nutritious diet for your dog’s overall health and longevity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

* If you need to feed dry food to your dog, be sure not to let it get wet. Do not mix dry food with canned food or liquids. All dry foods have bacterial contamination on the surface and any moisture will permit it to grow (some are dangerous and can cause vomiting and/or diarhhea).         

* Most important!…supplement with organic raw meats, if you can….(the meat should be frozen at -4F for 72 hours, then thawed prior to use; be sure to follow safe meat-handling procedures at all times). Add lightly steamed and then pureed or finely grated vegetables (otherwise your dog won’t be able to digest them very well). If you wish, you can also supplement with tofu and cooked whole grains.

*Stop buying any commercial dog food, at all. Or, if that is not pawssible, purchase a high quality food, reduce the quantity of the commercial food and supplement with fresh foods (just don’t let it sit out too long because of  the potential of bacteria contamination). This will boost the healthy benefits provided in food when feeding a dog. Note!… any changes to your dog’s diet should be done gradually and your dog should be watched for any allergic reactions or other issues.

*Remember!… have fresh water available to your dog at all times, especially in the warmer months, as they can easily become dehydrated.

 So there you have it…that’s just a quick primer to get you started.

Please leave a comment and be sure to come back again soon for my next woof (ooops, I meant post).

    Watch the video below, it  will make you want to do all you can to avoid bad food and keep your dog healthy!!!

 

  Here’s a link to “Secret Dog Conspiracy”

 See you back here soon…

Your Buddy, Doglicious

Dogs Rule!

 

Important Notice! Although we are long time dog enthusiasts and dog advocates, we are not veterinarians or professional animal nutritionists. Our purpose is strictly to provide you with information, so that you can make your own informed decisions. Any and all information contained within or stated on this blog is provided for general information purposes. The information provided is not direct veterinary advice and should not be construed as such nor substituted for a consultation with a veterinarian or dog nutrition professional. Every dog and situation is different. If you have any concerns about your dog’s health, please contact your veterinarian’s office immediately. We all love our dogs and want the best for them!

“In Dogs We Trust”

 

 

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