Lee Dobbins asked:


Dry dog food has been recommended as the best diet for dogs, however this is quite untrue. While dry dog food can be included in your dog’s diet in a limited way, most products are very high in simple carbohydrates, relatively low in protein and of inferior nutritional quality. Furthermore, it is very bad for dogs to eat food that doesn’t contain natural moisture.

The heavy use of commercially prepared dry dog food by dog owners is a leading cause of rising incidence of canine diabetes and associated pancreatitis. Doing a search on “dry dog food” on the internet will lead to a lot of websites and articles encouraging the use of this product, yet the purpose behind these articles is to sell dry dog food. So how reliable is this information really? The only safe and healthy dry dog food is likely to also be organic and contain high levels of protein and include complex carbohydrates in the form of whole grains. It will also contain dried vegetables and be very low in sodium and not have chemical additives. Even so, organic dry dog food should still be used sparingly. It should not be all that you feed your dog.

To maintain good health, dogs need a largely natural diet. The best diet is a raw diet that also incorporates healthy scraps from the family and raw dog bones. If this isn’t possible, feeding your dog commercially prepared organic food from a reputable company can provide most of your dog’s nutritional needs. Organic dry dog food can be added to this diet or given your dog as a treat, but should not be the only thing you feed your dog.

We have become a very convenience oriented society. We are busy and often stressed by the demands of earning a living and raising children. It is so much easier to pour food out of a box or open a can (and even then we’d rather have ring-pull cans) and we can fall into the trap of living on autopilot and feeding our animals and our families food that is of poor nutritional value and that can actually be a health hazard. Let’s switch back to manual control and pay attention to what we are doing. Our family – both four legged and two legged members – will look and feel better and even if they don’t thank us, we’ll know who they have to thank.



Agnes

mandy asked:


What healthy,dry or other dog food is the best. I’ve heard you should buy it from the vet.

Tara

Linda Kajda asked:


Dog Food: If Your Feeding Your Dog Dry Food, Then Go For “Premium Kibble”

As to choosing between dry, canned or semi-moist, you’ll probably do just fine whatever you decide on those. Dry foods offer economy and convenience, but some dogs don’t like them. Canned and semi-moist foods are very pleasing to the canine palate, but they are more expensive – and some have sugars and dyes that aren’t the least bit necessary for your dog’s nutrition. Even though pets prefer canned food, if you start your puppy on dry food, you shouldn’t have a problem with finicky eating, which is a behavior that’s mostly taught by humans.

Dry foods help keep your dog’s teeth cleaner, but if you’re brushing them and having them cleaned regularly, your pet’s teeth should be fine on other diets.

If you’re house-training a puppy or dog, you may want to feed kibble only, at least until the task is accomplished. The water content of canned foods can make a dog need to urinate more frequently. This consideration is especially important if your dog is left home alone for several hours at a time, like while you’re at work.

If you prefer canned food, you can always change after the puppy’s a little older and able to “hold it” longer, or your adult dog understands completely what the house rules are.

My own preference is to feed an appropriate, premium kibble from a reputable manufacturer, and nothing else. By “appropriate,” I mean puppy food for puppies, food with lower fat and protein for older or overweight dogs, and performance food for highly active dogs.

Why a premium kibble? It’s a little more expensive than some other dry foods, but still competitive when compared to canned or semi-moist. Premium kibble also results in a lower volume of stools than is produced by many other foods. Both of these concerns are not major if you’ve got a Chihuahua, but they may be if you’ve got a Great Dane.

Ask your veterinarian or other animal-care professional – groomer, trainer, or reputable breeder – for a recommendation, and stick to it after you’re satisfied it’s working well for your dog and that he likes it. Dogs don’t need variety, and they don’t get bored with the same ration day after day. When a healthy dog is a picky eater, it’s usually because the owners taught him to be that way, by adding tempting tidbits at the least sign of reluctance to eat.



Terri

dave asked:


Ive been curious as to how much retailers generally pay a wholesaler and how much retailers generally hike up the price. For example, say I own a pet store. How much money do I usually make when I sell a bag of dog food? And can just anybody buy from a wholesaler. If not, how do you go about buying from wholesalers?
Why would a wholesaler not sell to everybody?

Ramon

mandy asked:


Right now we’re feeding Eukanuba, mostly because we were nearly out of the Nutro stuff and couldn’t make it to Petsmart. Now, I know neither of these are very good, but we were instructed that the Nutro stuff *natural choice* was the best at Petsmart.

I know of four places to get dog-food. Grocery store *no* pet store *no* petsmart *no* and the vet *aparantly no, too*

Now, I guess I should go ahead and ask what the BEST food for my 4-ish month old papillon puppy. So put that in question form and answer it.

And then, all important, WHERE can I buy it? Internet is an option, I s’pose.

Ricardo

fierfairy42 asked:


what is the best kind of dog food for a puppy and full grown dog that has a high nutrition value in it please help i need to know asap!?
what store would i be able to get it from? can i get it at petco, petsmart, or walmart????

Catherine

bubbles L asked:


I have a 4 month old Maltipoo SOO cute and I really want to give her the best and healthy CANNED dog food.

Catherine

horsegal08 asked:


We keep our dogs in a kennel in our barn with our other animals. Winter is approaching and I would like to know what I can do to keep our canned dog food from freezing. We mix half dry and half canned, and our barn isn’t heated.
Ok , i live in MN and winter is coming and our dogs are outdoor dogs and stay outside. We built them a nice kennel with dog beds( buy them large at walmart) and straw, to keep them warm. So I am making the records straight, they are NOT freezing! And I DONT abuse animals, does mixing dog food half and half sound very abusing?? i just need to know if there is like a thing you can buy that will keep dog food at room temperature so it won’t freeze or get really chilled during winter. our barn isnt’ heated , but is well insulated with hay bales on the inside and outside, so it is cozy and bearable.

Andrea

Lori Matthews asked:


We all know the dangers of eating junk food or living on a diet of foods that are processed. We know about them and most of us make a point to avoid them. We also make sure that our children avoid them. This is often because hyperactivity and an array of behavioral problems have been closely linked with the diets of sufferers.

What many pet owners fail to see, is that by feeding our dogs a diet that mainly consists of processed, poorly prepared dog foods or the equivalent of junk food, they may be causing many of the behavioral and severe illnesses that are found in dogs today. Basically, the diet that you are feeding your canine companion could not only be making him aggravated, hyper or plain old mean it could possibly shorten his life span.

A well balanced diet provides quality nutrition and in turn keeps the cells, tissues and organs healthy. This enables an animals’ immune system to stay in top condition to fight any invaders.

The same holds true for behavior. If you ate fast food and candy bars everyday, eventually it will affect your energy level and your mood.

Because we love our pets, this may be a little confusing for those who think that they are doing the right thing, say, feeding their pets dog foods out of the can. Admittedly, not all dog foods are bad. However, many are and contain ingredients that are difficult for your pet to digest and can make him sick. So how do you weed out the good dog foods from the bad?

In order to give your pet the best life, you must make sure that he has the best type of lifestyle, just like us humans. Before buying pet foods, check the label to see what is in the food. Basically, the first five ingredients are important. Foods that list 2 or more grains in the first 5 ingredients may have more vegetable protein than animal protein which means less nutrition and more clean up.

Canned food can also be full of preservatives, to keep the food inside from going bad. Dog foods containing preservatives should be avoided. Not only has the pet food been filled with preservatives that could cause your pet harm, the pet food has been boiled at high temperatures in the cooking process causing any of the useful nutrition found in the food to be lost anyway. Proper cooking of pet foods will ensure that no preservatives are needed to keep it fresh.

Keep in mind that canned dog food mainly consists of water so feeding a canned diet alone will not give your pet the proper nutrition they need to live a healthy lifestyle.

So let’s look at the things that should be avoided when buying pet food:

• No Preservatives. Avoid foods that contain chemicals in them such as BHT or BHA. If these preservatives are found anywhere on the label, give the food a miss, as these chemicals can be harmful to your pet.

• No by-products. By-products are the parts of meat that are unsuitable for consumption, such as the feet, necks and intestines of other animals. As you can imagine these parts of animals were not made to be digested by humans, dogs or any animals for that matter.

• Beware of grains. Soy, corn, corn gluten and wheat gluten are often used as protein sources; however, they are generally inferior and difficult to digest.

Give your pet the chance at life that he deserves, feed him with a good nutritious premium dog food, free from preservatives and additives that are not meant for dogs. A great way to decide what is suitable for your dog to eat is ask yourself if you would eat it? If your answer is no, don’t feed it to your pet.



Darren

kitkat1640 asked:


My son has a dog that sheds so bad I have to vacuum the carpet 3 or 4 times a day. I heard it could be food related. Any suggestions?

Christine