Friday, November 5, 2010

The most difficult part of owning a dog

When I was a child Frosted Flakes were considered a healthy part of a good breakfast and dogs were fed dog chow. As a teen I learned about Science Diet and I was totally sold on it being the healthiest food around for pets. My cats have always received the healthiest food I could find at the pet store.

While I was looking for Marley I discovered a friend's dog was allergic to corn and they were experimenting with premium food. Also, the "Massive Pet Food Recall" occurred and I realized I had to be more cautious about the food I purchased.

Currently, I feed Marley a variation on the rotation diet. I'm rotating between dry, canned and raw. I try to rotate brands and protein source. I also add a variety of toppers to dry and canned food, such as yogurt, fruit and veggies.

I would like to feel confident feeding raw; however I'm not sure I totally understand dog nutrition. I am currently learning as much as possible by reading a few books, Whole Dog Journal and asking as many questions as possible. A great friend is sharing her dog nutrition knowledge in her new blog, Around the Dog Bowl.

I appreciate any advise or suggestions for reading material.

1 comment:

bc_lover said...

We're all in this together!

We like these books: Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats by Richard H. Pitcairn DVM, PHD and The Nature of Animal Healing: The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat by Martin Goldstein, DVM.

Not only do they have sections on food, they offer unique perspectives and helpful information on the whole health of companion animals.