Nothing like Homecooking
the truth about Momma's cooking
Ah, the minefield, feeding your dog. If you ask five people what to feed your dog, you will get six opinions. No topic seems to offer more options or more people who are adamant that the product they feed in great and everything else, questionable or worse.

Ah, the minefield, feeding your dog. If you ask five people what to feed your dog, you will get six opinions. No topic seems to offer more options or more people who are adamant that the product they feed in great and everything else, questionable or worse.

Raw Diet is an effort to replicate the diet of the ancestors of your dog. It is work to educate yourself on the nutritional needs and then to implement them with foods you'd get at your favorite market. Lots of people swear by it and if you want to make the commitment, you should definitely do the research.

SuperPremium Dog Foods are recognized by price and statements like "Natural" ingredients, baked not extruded or the additional inclusion (and cost) of supplements to cover those that would have been destroyed by the cooking process. These are in all likelihood exceptionally good foods. Whether your dog likes them and whether they deliver what you want would be more difficult to determine. Absolutely, they can give you some peace of mind if you want to feel you are providing the best for your dog.

Premium Dog Foods deserve some applause as they how we became aware of 4-D animals (dead, diseased, dying and disabled) and the feet and feathers that were used in making dog food of the regular variety. Premium Dog Foods typically include many of the same benefits as the Super Premium Dog foods but may not be as finicky about the ingredients being natural (in these days of GM food, antibiotics and pesticides, you can be sure lots of it finds its way into pet foods unless otherwise stated) but typically do include meat Meal versus a meat by-product (code for feet and feathers and such). The other nice part is that grocery stores often stock some Premium Dog Foods so convenience is there as well.

Ok, the other stuff at the grocery store. The mainstays, the stuff that most dogs eat. Now is the time for some education. Most standard dog foods have some grain as the first ingredient. Without any evidence that dogs were ever meant to eat grains. In fact, those dogs that exhibit allergies are often reacting to grains like wheat and corn which are often the first ingredient in standard dog food. Next, the chicken by-products or beef by-products are things you probably don't really want to know. This is not to say that dogs can't get some nutritional benefit from them. In fact, if you eat alot of fast food, they could eat standard dog food and be addressing their nutritional needs at least as well as you do since both are heavily processed with added chemicals and fillers to help make them more appealing and less expensive. As a result, you typically have to feed more (and get more droppings) to maintain your dog's weight and health. Does it end up saving money to feed a better quality food? Probably, to the point that it makes sense to feed the best food you can.

It's true enough that you are what you eat. The same is true for your dog. Dogs with optimal nutrition will have better immune systems and maintain good condition into their senior years.

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