Food

Sometimes, the deficiency is discovered when a blood test is performed for the purpose of analyzing the dog’s nutritional status (although, in my opinion, there are some problems with this methodology (see “Blood Testing for Deficiencies,” next page). In other cases, a dog owner might know that the diet he feeds is deficient in a certain nutrient, and he supplements rather than changes the formulation of the diet. For example, dogs who are fed a diet based on raw meats and vegetables, but who don’t receive fresh ground bones, are more than likely to be deficient in calcium.

The following is an excerpt adapted from a new book that can help you make smart decisions about what to feed your dog.

There have been pet food recalls before, and there will be recalls in the future, but the event of early 2007 will probably be recorded as the costliest pet food recall in history. However, it’s our hope, and the opinion of many, that the lessons learned from this infamous event should prevent any similar large-scale pet food disaster from happening ever again. Below, seven pet food company executives explain how the operations of their companies have changed since the recall, and what dog owners can do to protect their companions, should disaster ever strike again.

Ingredients are listed by weight, so you want to see a lot of top quality animal protein at the top of the list; the first ingredient should be a named" animal protein source. "Meat" is an example of a low-quality protein source of dubious origin. Animal protein "meals" should also be from named species (look for "beef meal" but avoid "meat meal")."

What's the best food for your dog? It's a question that only you can answer - because you are the only one who is in a position to gauge, on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis, how your dog responds to what you feed him. That said, we can give you some tips to guide you into the right section of your local pet supply store - that is, past the lowest-cost, lowest-quality foods; past the higher-cost but still low-quality posers; and into the area where the top-quality foods are found. Take note: They are expensive, perhaps prohibitively so, especially for families with several large dogs to feed. But you can't expect to pay hamburger prices for filet mignon, and it's the quality (and thus price) of the ingredients that set the top-quality foods apart. Dry food is not the healthiest diet for your dog. If you want to provide the very best, most natural diet possible for your dog, you'd feed a well-researched, home-prepared diet comprised of fresh foods. Or, next best, a well-formulated, commercially made frozen raw or dehydrated diet. Next best would be a top-quality wet food; even poor quality wet foods usually contain a higher percentage of animal protein (and a much lower percentage of grain) than good dry foods. Of all of these forms of dog food, kibble is probably the least natural for the dog. But its popularity is mainly based on three factors: It is relatively stable and therefore very convenient for the owner to buy, store, and feed. It's usually less expensive, calorie for calorie, than other forms of food with comparative ingredients. And most dogs do fine on a dry food diet.

Why pet food industry lobbyists spend small fortunes to influence regulators about the definition of chicken.

The following pet food companies not only offer wet dog foods that meet our ingredient selection criteria, but also provided Whole Dog Journal with independent, third-party laboratory nutritional analyses of their dog foods – analyses confirming that their canned dog foods are not just formulated to meet

premium / natural / holistic pet food makers.üToo many choices? Never! It's good to have options

It's an inescapable fact that quality pet foods cost money – and the highest quality dry dog foods cost a lot of money. As much as we may want to buy the best" food for our dogs

We’ve got some good news and some bad news for dog owners who are interested in feeding raw diets. First, the good news: Some...

Many people (and even many veterinarians) believe that all foods that are labeled as “complete and balanced” contain approximately the same amounts and levels...

Good Timing This is just a heartfelt, appreciative, giant, THANK YOU for an article in the January 2005 issue, "What Promotes Bloat?" We have lived with...