Sunday, September 4, 2011

Does Your Dog Eat Natural Dog Food?

I am careful about the type of food I eat. I try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, palm kernel oil, high sugar and high fat content in my food based upon the health issues I see developing in the older members of our family. I figure if we follow this kind of diet now, Husband and I won’t have those health problems until we’re 90.

I like it here.
 I am even more meticulous about Blitzkrieg’s food than my own. Dog food is not regulated like human food. Oh sure, there are pet food guidelines but those are merely suggestions.  There is nothing to stop a dog food company from using rancid people food to make dog food. In fact many, but not all, dog food companies do.

To avoid this, I buy the natural brands of dog food. The brands that are corn and wheat free and use human grade food ingredients even though they are more expensive. Blitzkrieg’s health improved dramatically once we educated ourselves about dog food production and made buying a whole food ingredient dog food a priority.


Husband and I decided to go with a grain free dog food after Blitzkrieg developed colitis after his knee surgery. Our vet agreed a grain free dog food would be better for Blitzkrieg.  Thanks to research and your suggestions, I switched to Fromm. Which just so happens to be the most expensive dog food our yuppie puppy store sells.

Blitzkrieg with his champagne taste (just like his people) likes the duck and salmon in Fromm. Operation Rebuild the Household Emergency Fund would like something slightly less spendy while still staying with a brand that is corn, wheat, and grain free and uses real food ingredients.

If I can buy it at a store closer to home that would be spiffy too.

September’s One Small Green Change is to buy Wellness dog food from Petsmart.

Petsmart?

Yes! Petsmart!

Petsmart carries brands of natural dog food, including Wellness, which many of you recommended to us. Wellness is corn, wheat, and grain free. Blitzkrieg selected Wellness Complete Health Super5Mix Chicken Recipe Dog Food. I slowly added the new dog food to his old dog food at meal times. I gradually increased the percentage of new dog food to old over the course of a week. This makes it less likely Blitzkrieg will experience any tummy upset during the transition.

Some kids wanted to pet me while Lisa took pictures of me at Petsmart for this post. She said no because we were working. I said the kids could give me some salmon steaks instead. I didn't want them to feel bad because Lisa told them no. 
 
I had no idea. I used to shop at Petsmart when Blitzkrieg first came to live with us.. I stopped when we found Blitzkrieg has food allergies. At the time, Petsmart did not have food or treats Blitzkrieg could eat. On the other hand, maybe they did. It’s a big store. I guess I should have looked a little harder and not let the Martha Stewart pet toys distract me.

I'm 100% OK with Lisa letting the Martha Stewart pet line distract her while shopping. 

I know many (most?) of you read Condo Blues for Blitzkrieg’s antics based on his fan mail. Yes, my dog gets fan mail. Me? Um, pretty much never. It’s OK. You are not the only people he has under his spell.

I will give you updates how Blitzkrieg is doing on Wellness throughout the year. So far, he likes the switch to the chicken flavor although I like how the fish oils in his previous dog food kept his coat nice and shiny. We will see how it goes. Wellness has a flavor that contains fish which we may try too. As part of this experiment, Wellness agreed to sponsor a generous giveaway in October to celebrate Adopt a Rescue Dog Month!


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Disclosure: Petsmart and Wellness supplied Blitzkrieg with dog food to facilitate this review. As much I try to thoroughly research everything I review, I draw the line at personally tasting dog food.  I'm leaving that part up to Blitzkrieg.

6 comments:

Anna H said...

I agree with you natural dog food choices, I, however have 2 dogs, one weighing in at 140 lbs, and the other at 60 lbs. The cost is very prohibitive for the "high quality" ones. I do read the labels and try to find the best price with the least "bad stuff". If I had a smaller dog it would not be so difficult! Thanks for your research.....

Krista said...

When we decided to get a dog, we researched foods and decided to use Natural Balance - Limited Ingredient Diet, Small Breed Bites. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/allergy.html My girls love the sweet potato and venison. I order it through Amazon Prime, but I have grabbed a bag at the pet store when needed. We even use the sausage as treats. Good luck!

Laina27 said...

I add olive oil to my cats' gluten free dry food to make sure their coats are shiny. You could try it with Blitzkrieg. I just spray it on with a bottle, and use "light" so it is not so expensive or too flavorful for them. Hope this helps.

LadyCiani said...

Growing up, I had a Boston Terrier who had horrible skin allergies. He had a special fish and potato based food. It was expensive, and we could only get it from the vet. Such a pain to buy

So when our new dog started having skin problems I was very happy to switch him to Blue brand Wilderness Salmon for little dogs (smaller kibble). He LOVES it.

No regular biscuits, only liver treats. And for faster improvement on his skin we gave him olive oil in a little dish. When he got picky and stopped eating the oil, I started sprinkling liver treats on it.

Mary said...

What? Martha Stewart has a dog toy line? Don't let my pups know or they may turn up their noses at the tennis-ball-in-the-old-sock toys that currently litter the yard;)

Melissa O said...

My golden has really bad allergies and can only eat grain free food plus she is allergic to beef and chicken products. I was trying the wellness brand but then my local pet store suggested Taste of the Wild which was cheaper and basically the same as the other brand but minus some of the ingredients that my dog doesn't really need. She has been so much better since I switched her food. The Taste of the Wild food is still pricier than most other dog foods but a lot cheaper than the $400+ vet bills that I was having to pay for her allergies.

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