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The subject of
dog food has been given much attention during the past several years and with very good reason. Prior to, let's say, 10
years ago the majority of breeders and nearly all dog owners relied
on what the pet food industry told us as to what was good for our pets. Rrecently, thanks to some very informed and
caring individuals, what we feed our four legged friends, food information has been "stood on it's ear".
I'm nearly 66 years old and for most of those years the main ingredient in all dog food was CORN and all the pet
food manufactures assured us they only used the very best ingredients in their products. I'm not talking about a few
obscure companies, I'm talking about companies, including the makers of Science Diet, Purina, Mainstay, Come & Get It,
Kennel Ration, Gravy Train, Pedigree, Atta Boy, Old Roy and just about every other label you can think of. Corn, to
a dog's system is nothing more than"hollow calories" which not only tend to make your dog fat but is used
in pet food to create volume. This is one reason that a 30-40 pound bag of regular Purina Dog Chow costs around
$23 - 28.00 while 30-40 pounds of a truly good dog food will cost in the neighborhood of $45 - 60.00 dollars (depending where
you buy it). Your getting the same weight either way but with the purina, your may only be receiving somewhere
around 18-20 pounds of efficient dog nourishment. With the "good" food, your beloved friend will surely be
receiving about 70% or better of essential nutrition. This can translate into being able to feed you pet less
per meal.
PLEASE, read the ingredients on any food you may consider feeding. Ingredients are listed in the
order of their volume so, the first item listed is the ingredient of highest volume. If the first item is "Venison
meal" for instance, that would mean that probably around 55-70 % (depending on the brand) of the 40 pounds
in the bag is Venison meal. If that same first ingredient is CORN, guess what?????????? Right! 55-70
% CORN!!! How often do you think any wild canine searches out a CORN field and sets to eating 70% of his
meal each morning and evening? CORN IS NOT FOR DOGS! Corn, wheat, soy and even beef have a strong history
of not only causing skin problems but the corn, wheat and soy, in more than trace quantities, will surly aid in making you
dog FAT! Fat dogs and you feeding your dog "meat fat" is the leading cause of diabetes
in our four legged friends. NEVER, NEVER feed you pet meat scraps, meat fats or the juice from any meat that may contain
fat. Meat fats can cause inflammation of the pancreas gland (the gland which produces insulin) and continued inflammation
will lead to the reduction in that gland's ability to produce insulin, hence diabetes. You would be surprised at
how many dogs suffer from disease to one degree or another and most of the time it is caused by feeding table scraps
and allowing your "supposed" beloved friend to become overweight!
Here at La Terra Dios Ranch our
West Highland White Terriers and guard dogs are fed Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance (Limited Ingredient Diet) Lamb meal
and Brown Rice formula kibble (dry food). Van Patten
has another Natural Balance (Limited Ingredient Diet) labeled Venison and Sweet Potato formula.
All Natural Balance foods use Canola oil as their fat content. This is the best, following Olive oil.
. Another Good quality food is "Nutro" Natural Choice Venison
and Brown Rice Formula. We used this food for years and found it to be a very good food for most dogs.
There are several other brands out there, with more coming onto the market all the time that are very good feeds.
What ever you decide to feed you friend, be sure to carefully read all the ingredients and the order in which they are listed
(most quantity first - least last) and remember that all protein must have some sort of fat to be digested but animal
fat is not for your dog. Canola is probably the single best and will not damage the pancreas gland.
I hope this has aided you in understanding the need to feed a "good"
food to you loving friend who will always be there for you --- you need to always be there for him/her also.
If
there are any questions you may have concerning this writing please contact me. I'll be more that happy to assist
in any way I can. Thank you for taking the time to read, what I feel to be, this very important information.
Rodger Morales
La Terra Dios Ranch Up-dated 6/15/09
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