All About Food!

Happy Thanksgiving!

While we hope that people spend today reflecting on thankfulness and blessings, let’s be honest – most people are thinking about FOOD!

What about your dog?  Have you given much thought to what he/she will eat today?  Or any other day for that matter?

I’ve had the pleasure of working with several different veterinarians in my teens and early twenties.  Clients would often ask them what they should be feeding their dogs, and their response was usually something to the effect of, “whatever works well for your dog that’s a decent quality.”

There’s a lot of ambiguity there – and I can understand why.  The number of feeding options available for your dog is immense – and knowing what to choose and why can be difficult.  It is also worth noting, as the veterinarians did, that each dog is an individual, so what works really well for one might not work at all for another.

My parents’ dog, Kalli, does really well on the PetSmart brand – Authority.  As a puppy, my parents really struggled to find a good food for her that didn’t upset her stomach.  I believe they were quite surprised when that brand ended up working the best!  My dog, Tucker, on the other hand, is a different story.  He has IBS and acid reflux issues, and he did not do well on ProPlan, which is what Leader Dog was feeding when he was in their care.  I switched him to Wellness Core Original, which is grain and gluten free, and we have spent far less time in the vet’s office with explosive diarrhea!

I was recently made aware of a new dog food guide prepared by Reviews.com.  Using a variety of different criteria, they have come up with a guide to the best dog foods available.  Even if their top picks are out of your price range, the questions they raise and research they present may prove quite useful in evaluating the foods that are possibilities for you.  Hopefully, this page will make you take a closer look at the ingredients in your dog’s food!  It appears they have genuinely taken an unbiased look at over 3,000 formulas using their research driven methodology.

Link: Dog Food Guide

Side note:  Tucker and Ellie eat Wellness: Core Original and Wellness Complete Health Grain Free Puppy.  In the original post from reviews.com, Wellness was excluded from their list because of associations with recalls when under different management.  In this new, updated guide, I cannot find their specific formulas, but I think they would both have been eliminated in the “garlic” round.  All I can tell you is that for Tucker, this food has been a big improvement on his quality of life and he’s had enough blood tests done in his few years that I am not currently concerned about any potential side effects from the garlic.

So enjoy your Turkey Day feasts, but don’t forget to evaluate your dog’s menu, too!

This will forever be one of my favorite “Thanksgiving” pictures of me and Tucker.  Leftovers, cuddles, and proof of what good training and boundaries can allow!