By Emma on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply

BETTER FOODS TO FEED YOUR PET AND WHY
If your dog has diarrhea mixing rice with their food and even some unflavored Metamucil helps to firm up stool. Pedigree is really not a very good food to begin with. Neither is IAMs Beneful Purina or any of the other foods you have usually heard of. The first several ingredients are usually corn (we know what happens when our body gets corn, we poop it out and don’t use it, same with dogs) meat by products (the take the meat off of whatever it is and you get the bones, feathers, coat, feet, beaks, etc) and white or brewers rice (no nutritional value, just a filler) because of this our dogs need to eat more to get the nutrients they need and poop a lot more too. Also…science diet and eukanuba are not very good foods either. They used to be but they were bought out by other companies who, to save money, changed the ingredients to fillers and by products. These foods cost about the same as the all naturals foods and you are getting pedigree quality food. You can check all the ingredients yourself. Stay away from the first 3 ingredients being corn, by products of any kind, and white or brewer’s rice. Go for foods with chicken, chicken meal, or any meats that don’t have by product after them, and BROWN rice. These are good foods. Try going to a specialty pet store and ask about a better food. Precise, Royal Canin, and Verus are all really good foods. When you look at the ingredients they will be along the lines of Chicken, brown rice (the only rice with nutritional value for dogs), and usually another protein source such as chicken meal (chicken meal is just dehydrated chicken, very good) your dogs will eat much less of the food so even though it cost a bit more you go through less food and it ends up saving you money. They also poop less, live longer, and are overall healthier. I have four shih tzus and I feed them Royal Canin dry food. 10lbs of that food last us over a month. 4 adults dogs eating only 10lbs of food between the 4 of them is pretty good! These foods are also all natural and organic so they are never involved in any recalls; you know your food is always safe. Go to your local pet store and ask about these brands (Precise, Royal Canin, Verus, Wellness, California Natural, Innova, Canidae, Merrik) many stores, such as Pets Plus, will even give you your money back for the dog food if your dog doesn’t like it and has programs such as buy 10 bags get your 11th free. It’s worth a try and trust me your dogs will love it.

By Shadrach on Sep 20, 2008 | Reply

Personally Emma, if you’ve read this blog at all you’d know feeding a dog ANY kibble is not a natural diet for them. Feeding a raw meaty bone diet is the diet to feed a carnivore - which is what a dog is. A dog is an opportunistic scavenger carnivore so why feed them grains of any kind in the first place?

ANY kibble can be a problem. I know people who are having health problems with their dogs right now with some of the foods you suggested they feed above. Maybe they are a little better than some of the others but kibble is not a natural diet. Please read this blog to learn what IS natural for a dog to eat. That is what this blog is here for.

Here are some articles to read and shows to listen to…

Articles to read on Feeding:
http://aspenbloompetcare.com/2007/08/canine-cuisine.htm
http://aspenbloompetcare.com/2007/09/food-choices-for-our-dogs.htm
http://aspenbloompetcare.com/2006/01/what-are-we-really-feeding-our-pets.htm
http://aspenbloompetcare.com/2005/11/dispelling-the-myths-of-raw-feeding.htm
http://aspenbloompetcare.com/2008/06/the-raw-truth.htm
http://aspenbloompetcare.com/2008/06/parasites-obesity-and-paw-chewing.htm

Educational websites:
http://www.rawfed.com
http://www.rawlearning.com
http://www.rawmeatybones.com with our friend veterinarian Dr. Tom Lonsdale

Animal Talk Naturally shows to listen to on feeding- in order:
http://www.animaltalknaturally.com/2007/09/18/kibble-poop-show-1/
http://www.animaltalknaturally.com/2006/11/14/no-grain-no-pain-show-62/
http://www.animaltalknaturally.com/2007/03/13/raw-fed-cats-show-84/
http://www.animaltalknaturally.com/2007/04/10/the-silent-spring-of-dog-cat-health-show-88/
http://www.animaltalknaturally.com/2007/04/24/the-raw-feeding-dilemma-show-90/
http://www.animaltalknaturally.com/2007/05/08/the-bone-afide-truth-gettin-meaty-with-it-show-92/
http://www.animaltalknaturally.com/2007/09/11/what-is-the-right-food-for-our-pets-debunking-the-bunk-show-111/
http://www.animaltalknaturally.com/2007/10/09/those-raw-meaty-pearly-whites-show-114/

Thank you.
Dr. Kim