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.
I think you’re right. My Dal, who lived to be 14 1/2 grew up on Puppy Chow, then Dog Chow, until she needed K/D for her kidneys. Got to tell you though, when I started looking for another dog about 6 months after she died, someone from Dal Rescue read me the riot act over what I’d fed. She told me that’s why Penelope had knee trouble. She told me that’s why Penelope had such bad teeth. She told me that’s why she ended up having kidney failure. It was an awful thing to hear so soon after her death.
Because Lilly was so sickly as a pup, I wanted to feed her something “really good,” so we looked around and settled on a private label Purina Mills brand. It’s about $35 for a 40# bag, which lasts us 1 month feeding both dogs. Plus, at our local feed store, we get a free bag for every 6 purchases.
Both dogs have done great on it. That’s why I felt such a terrible deja vu when that holistic vet told me I was feeding “crap.”
*sigh*
We all just need to do what we think is best, what we can afford, etc.
I believe that most dogs do very well on commercial kibble. My dogs have always been fed either Purina Dog Chow, Purina ProPlan or Purina ONE and have had lovely coats, clean teeth and survived well into their teens. And my vet is the one who cautioned me to refrain from feeding high protien diets even though my dogs are very active compared to the average pet dog. She also didn’t feel she could recommend a raw diet simply because of the increased possibility of feeding contaminated meat.
I’ll go with what’s worked for several decades now, has been clinically tested and has the added benefit of being convenient, easy and relatively inexpensive.
Thanks. That’s one of my favorite pictures because I believe it shows her real personality … not the fearful, anxious, shutdown girl that she sometimes is.
People ALWAYS comment about how shiny her coat is and how athletic and strong she looks, so I must be doing something right with her diet. She gets a fair amount of people food too, but I’d be terrified about making sure it’s all balanced, so she mostly eats a good quality kibble for her meals.
I love your blog and the picture of Lilly. You can see her personality in this. I also go out of my way to buy quality dog food for my pets. I even cook people food for them for dinner. I think your doing great and more people should care to learn about what they are feeding their pets so they can live longer and not die of terrible diseases. Lilly has such a good owner and she looks very healthy.