Instead of just selling all natural dog treats, I would like to do what I can to educate you on why it is important to care about your dog's eating habits. I am just like you. I love my dogs. I spend ridiculous amounts of money on their happiness and health, ridiculous amounts of time trying to care for them and please them and ridiculous amounts of time talking to them and treating them as if they were humans.
I love dogs. I truly believe they are a gift from God and I see everyday why He gave them to us. I believe they can touch a human soul sometimes in a way that nothing or nobody is able to do.
I love dogs so much that I love doing projects and having jobs that involve dogs. When I was in high school I worked at a veterinary clinic as a kennel attendant. I learned a lot about dogs' health as well as developing this level of care needed when dealing with sick dogs or dogs who were simply in an unfamiliar place. My family has also always rescued dogs when possible. Our first came to us, Boomer. The best dog in the world, I promise. A black lab, showed up at our door. We couldn't say goodbye to him. I trained him and he became a therapy dog. But before we were able to really be involved, he was hit by a car. Even with Boomer though, we went through our share of foster dogs. We saw one puppy get thrown from the window of a car, one dog we found at a park tied to a tree in the middle of the summer (she had mange) and last year we found a pit bull dodging cars in town. We kept all of them until we could find them forever homes.
So after this small bio of my involvement with dogs, I would say I had felt fairly confident and proud of my care for dogs and their well being. Until I began on this adventure and realized that I was a blind consumer so was slowly killing my dogs.
Now, before you write me off, let me tell you that I am not about to tell you to start buying chicken breasts to cook for your dog. My mission is to simply share with you what I have found regarding dog food/treats.
False Impressions: So basically we all think, and brands lead us to believe, that our dogs are getting vegetables, quality meat and whole grains. Actually the opposite is true. The pet industry is actually an extension of the human and agriculture industries. What happens is that everything in slaughterhouses that is deemed "unfit for human consumption" is put into dog food. Which is kind of a brilliant idea right? Hooves, intestines, etc as well as diseased or cancer ridden animals and their parts which can not be used for human consumption, are not able to go to waste. They can still make a profit off of this waste by slapping a picture of a well groomed golden retriever with flowing hair on the front of a bag and calling it "quality dog food". No wonder there are so many recalls on pet foods??
Bacteria: Another issue which has recently been revealed to me, is that bacteria is a major factor to consider when buying dry dog food. And I would keep this in mind no matter what brand of dog food you use. Apparently, when dry dog food is exposed to moisture of any kind (milk, water, juice etc) bacteria multiplies and has the greatest risk of making your dog sick. So keep that in mind!!
My Companion: My companion through this whole journey has been Dr. Khalsa, VMD. Ok, fine, I don't know her and she has no clue who I am, but she has a book " Dr. Khalsa's Natural Dog: A Holistic Guide for Healthier Dog" by Deva Khalsa, VMD. I highly highly recommend this book!!
It helps you understand more about food. She does not spend too much time going into what all is bad in dog food today because let's be honest, we all know what that generic packaged dog food is garbage and we feed it to our dogs every day.
She helps open your mind to what dogs can and cannot eat and how it benefits them! Have you ever stopped to think how crazy we are when we "don't feed dogs human food!" Somehow we think, they are only able to digest and handle processed and packaged foods and are not made to consume human food. Sometimes I get mad by how much I see I am influenced by marketing, advertising and corporate lies.
She also breaks down the factors in processed dog food that are ailing your dog and gives some remedies and prevention techniques to help out.
This book is just great. Although sometimes overwhelming with everything I could be doing to help my dog, I have to take it one step at a time.
Basic Principle: We need to wake up and know the truth behind the information we are fed from corporations. I think this is true in all aspects of life, not just with pets. But especially with pets, children and ourselves when it comes to food.
I have always heard it said that something like 80-90% of cancer can be prevented because of the lifestyle you choose (what you eat and how you live). That is mind-blowing! Apparently the same is true for dogs and that they receive their cancer from food.
We all spend money on our dogs, we love them like family and spoil them rotten, so I don't think it is the money standing in the way of people improving their dog's diet. Like I said at the beginning, I don't expect you to convert to a raw food diet, cook your dog chicken and broccoli for dinner or brew them some tea to drink before bed, but I do think the reason is because people do not have the information.
I will do my best to help you understand as I am understanding. I do not have it figured out, but I am curious.
Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.
Samuel Johnson
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments