There are so many choices of dog food. And more coming out everyday, it seems. For someone with a "healthy" dog, they can just pick up some brand at the store and be done. For others, like me, it is a challenge!
Some of us aren't "health" conscious, and don't look at the ingredients. We see an ad for the food that tells us how great it is, and we go buy it, without doing much research. My dogs eat better than I do (at least one of them does...more on that in a bit). I pay more attention to what I give them than to what I give myself. Now, I do read ingredients and I do try to stay away from HFCS and hydrogenated oils, as well as artificial preservatives. However, I have my usual breakdown for an occasional Twinkie or cinnamon rolls or pancakes or Doritos.....you get the picture!
The "worst" food my girls have ate was their puppy food. I chose to go with Science Diet lamb/rice puppy food for them (the large breed version for Keys). Probably more for simplicity than rationalized thinking. I also "believed" it was good for them. Which it wasn't bad, just not the best. Looking back and knowing what I know now, I would not have fed them that. That particular line of their food is given 2.5 stars from a website that rates dog foods (okay, maybe it is bad!).
With Keys' allergies, we have tried many different limited ingredient foods. Prior to that, they both moved from puppy food to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. It is a 4 star food. However, back then, I chose it from the Whole Dog Journal's review of foods. Plus, it was made in Missouri! Other brands we have experimented with, Natural Balance (3 star), Nature's Variety (4.5 star), Blue Buffalo (4 star) and California Natural (4 star). She just started on Wellness Super5 Mix - Whitefish (4 star) and her allergy symptoms seem to be getting better (knock on wood).
Unfortunately, Gracy is on a prescription diet at this time due to the issues that she had over the summer. I have agreed to keep her on it, for a bit, but in return, they (the vets) have to listen to my sarcastic comments about it. Since it appears to be a part of Gracy's recovery, I will keep her on it a bit longer. I don't want her to be a one hit wonder. I call it zebra doo (it is Science Diet z/d). They don't even give it a rating..........
So, you might ask, where do I get these ratings? Dog Food Advisor (www.dogfoodadvisor.com). It is a wonderful website that is not jaded with advertising nor is he swayed by any particular brand. He looks at all of the ingredients in the food and then gives it a star rating of 1-5, 5 being the best. I discovered the site a couple of years ago and I love it. It has been a great resource for me.
I am not here to change your mind about what you feed your dogs. Some dogs thrive on 1 star foods and some dogs suffer on a 5 star food. Just look at my dogs as an example. Even though Keys was eating a 4.5 food, she was allergic to something in it, probably the salmon or pork. And sweet Gracy is eating zebra doo and it is a 0 star, and she is thriving. Also, and apparently in my world, feeding a better dog food does not keep your dogs issue free.
I am here to offer you a resource to help you make informed decisions about your dog's food. Again, www.dogfoodadvisor.com. I challenge you to look up your dogs food and let me know what star rating it gets, if you like. But more importantly, find out why it is given the rating it is given. I believe that anything 3 star are better is good eats, although, I prefer 4 or better! You can find plenty of 3 star foods at your local retailers, without too much cost added to your budget.
Thanks for reading this week! I will be taking the weekend off from writing! However, explore the above website and bookmark it. Also, don't forget to like our facebook page, www.facebook.com/itsnotjustadog. Enjoy spending time with your pups this weekend. Spend some extra time snuggling with them. After all, It's NOT just a dog!
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