You Are What You Eat Applies to Your Dog Too

A good diet with healthy nutrients will save you money on vet bills and ensure that your dog stays healthy and happy.

But What To Feed Your Dog? Kibbles? Raw? Homemade Food? Which One Is Best?

We are all trying to do the right thing to keep our dog healthy. There are so many choices, it can be hard to pick the right one. Some people never give variety and feed the same type of food usually kibbles every day. Others only go raw and some take the time to cook for their dog. Who is right?

Your dog will tell you if the type of food you are providing is not working for him. It will show with:

• Allergies
• Scratching and eating the fur on the paws
• Loose stool or constipated
• Lack of appetite
• Excess vomiting
• Ear infection
• Lethargic and lack of vitality
• Poor overall health
• Dull coat

The above symptoms are not always connected to food. So you want to check with your vet if your dog show any of the above symptoms.

I have seen dogs looking gorgeous and be extremely healthy with kibbles, raw or homemade food. I have seen dogs being sick no matter what they ate. Others do fine as long as they are on a very strict diet. And I have seen dogs looking wonderful eating people’s food. A little bit of everything from everyone.
I truly believe dogs are like us. Some of us can have more junk food and get away with it. It will not show on the waistline or health and some of us have to watch everything we eat. Others have so many allergies that meal time becomes a nightmare.

It is the same for our dogs.

So what to feed your dog?

I always like to say: The best that your money can buy. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing food for your dog.

1 – There are no regulations as far a dog food go. So do not let pretty labels and clever marketing fool you. Read the ingredients. Keep in mind that ingredients are always listed  in descendant order. So when you see, meat or vegetable byproducts as a first ingredient it is an indication of a cheaply made food. You may want to stay away from it.

2 – Dry and can foods are cooked at very high temperature which destroy enzymes and vitamins. They are also coated with flavor enhancer to make it more appetizing for the dogs. Are all kibbles bad? I don’t know.  I look at it as the equivalent of eating pizza all the times.

If you decide to go with dry food, make sure to have plenty of water available and read the ingredients very carefully.

3  – If your dog’s coat look dull it’s a sign that the food does not provide the right nutrients. Look for something else.

4 – Dogs have taste buds, likes and dislikes. Alternating flavors add variety to their food. Some dogs will eat what you put in their bowl no matter what. But if you have a finicky eater it could be that he is not liking the flavor of the food you are giving him.

5 – Remember that food can keep your dog healthy or make him sick.

Here is my personal opinion about dry, raw and homemade food.

With dry kibbles and commercially made food,  I am never really sure about the quality of the ingredients. It is a processed food and I will never be a big fan of processed food. I am a Chef by trade. So fresh and natural ingredients have always made sens for me. I feel I have more control over the quality and freshness of the food. I do not use raw food because Bear does not like it. For me homemade food was the route to go. I like cooking for my dogs because I know what I put in their food.  With commercial food I have control over the quality, the cooking temperature of the ingredients and that means a lot to me.
and …. I also like to the look on  their little faces while they watching me cooking for them.

Having say all of that, I occasionally buy dog food from the store. Because it’s handy and sometimes circumstances don’t permit me to cook.

I realized that not everyone enjoys cooking or cooking for their dog. In the end you have to use what work for you and your dog.

Here is an interesting article on pet food from the Wysong website

I would love to hear your comments about dog food. What do you feed your dog? What is his/her preferred food? Thank you for sharing

Tags: food, nutrition