Derision & Dog Food
I’ve written a fair amount about canine nutrition in my career. I even went to a weekend-long international conference a few years ago with a couple hundred specialists in dog allergies. I learned a ton about the role of the digestive system in causing and treating allergies from contact, inhaled or eaten sources. I like to think I’m fairly versed in what’s good about dog foods.
So happy am I with my choice of food, I cut out the nutrition label from ours and brought it with me when I consulted with a holistic veterinarian about Lilly’s behavior ages ago. Proud as punch, I tried to hand over the label, but he wouldn’t take it — pronouncing all commercial dog food “crap.” (I believe that’s the word he used, but it’s been a while.)
I still feed that same food because I think both Lilly and Ginko do well on it, and I think it’s of quality. But, I have many friends who feed otherwise or who feed raw or who cook straight-up people food for the dogs. Perfect for them, perfect for their situations. I’m happy that everyone is happy.
Still, there’s a semblance of derision in the market (veterinary, performance dog, or otherwise) reserved for brands sold at grocery stores. This wisdom says that if it’s affordable and sells in quantities high enough to earn shelf-space at a national grocery store chain, then it must not be very good.
As one veterinarian I recently interviewed told me, some dog foods are like those printer-scanner-fax combo machines. Sure, they can do all those things, but they doesn’t do any of them particularly well. It was her way of explaining foods claiming to be good for all life stages, all dogs.
One size does not fit all, for sure! And, with prices of everything going up, it’s understandable that some people can only afford to feed certain brands.
So, when I got to chatting with a writing pal and fellow blogger (Charmian Christie over at Christie’s Corner: Real Food. Real Life. It’s not always pretty.) about my recent dog biscotti issues, I had a good laugh at this entry of hers from 2006, from a trip to New Zealand, where it seems chubs of fresh ground meats for dogs are sold right there in the cold cases next to the people food.
For all those, like me, who make special trips to specialty stores to get their dog food, it’s amusing to consider that someday foods considered somewhat “fringe” (like raw) might sell in grocery stores here in the U.S.
Somehow I doubt it.
Someday, Christie might guest blog here at Champion of My Heart, if she has any dog ideas. In the meantime, I enjoy reading about her food adventures. I hope you’ll check it out. She’s a good gal. She helps me a ton in my career by critiquing magazine article ideas and article drafts before I send them off to editors.