Dog Food & Snacks

There is no right or wrong dog food. I spent a lot of my waking hour the first year trying to find the "Right" dog food and apparently there isn't any. Infact, a friend of mine once told me, "In the past, before humans came into dogs' lives, dogs used to eat almost anything and everything just like other animals that try to survive in the wilderness." Now, that's not saying let's give our dog doses of our sinful delicious chocolates. I won't do that. However, I did go and find something that my dog liked that I did not see bad as well. The one thing my wife and I looked out for when finding the right dog food was chicken or any kind of animal by-products. Dog food such as Science Diet and other major dog foods have animal by-products in it.

What are animal by products?

These are the things other than the meaty muscle tissue. This in reality is a deadly mixture of contaminated animal heads, toenails, bones, pus, intestines, chicken feathers, stomachs, hair and lungs.

http://www.ahimsarescuefoundation.org/glossary_ingredients.htm

So, when my wife and I looked through the many products Pet's mart sells, the store rep suggested us one kind of dog food that didn't have animal by products and is healthy for pets. Unfortunatly, I don't remember the name of the dog food but Daisy wasn't a big fan of the flavor. We eventually found a dog food called Farm Stand Selects which has no animal by products in it and has real dried vegetables as well.

We also at times mix real vegetables in with her food, such as dicing up tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, as well as sometime mixing in rice. Don't misunderstand. I don't give her all these at the same time; we're not creating a salad bar for her. Just a couple times a week we give her one of the vegetables mixed with her food as well as sometime even adding in a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil (said to keep a dog's coat shiny).



I remember the night we first got Daisy into our lives, she had no appetite. We were given a puppy dog food from the breeder which Daisy wasn't in the mood to eat. I think the overall shock at the time was too great so my wife, who's had dogs all her life, decide to make a hard boiled egg and crush a quarter of it with rice and her dog food. The good smell and flavor got Daisy to eat her food. Ever since then, hard boiled eggs (we only give her egg whites) and rice have become one of her favorite mixes with her food.

As for snacks, Daisy, like most dogs love milk bones. On top of that, she also loves fresh vegetables (tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, etc), ice cubes and fruits. Although we don't give her much fruits, I personally don't think it's too good for her. Especially since grapes don't digest in dogs stomach.

Daisy doesn't beg for food. Infact, when we eat meals at the table, she never begs for food at all. We trained her well but when we open the freezer, she always comes to us hoping to get an ice cube.

I as well as other readers would like to hear your comments on what kind of dog food and snacks you give your dog. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts :)