Why cook?

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Did you try it? Still thinking about it? Let's talk about it...

For some people, this might be a pretty hard decision to make; to cook your own food for your dogs. Dog food out of a bag, or kibble, we've been told by breeders and vets and super smart people, is not only the best thing but the ONLY thing you should be feeding your dogs. AND you should NOT feed them any "people" food, it will make them sick, they said. AND they also said not to switch up the food, don't try too may different brands. Get one food and stick to it. How could we possibly think we could do better than the severely processed, questionable ingredient food that was shelf stable for like 10 years and sold in 100lb bags?!

As Mavis McRae mentioned in her post "The not so silent third partner" it was the book "Foods Pets Die For" by Ann Martin that eventually convinced us all. She started investigating dog food companies to find out what they used for ingredients and found out that all of the major dog food manufacturers were owned by much larger companies that also owned rendering plants. A Rendering plant is a facility where most all animal carcasses go that can't be used in the human food industry. These are the the diseased, dying, or already dead and even sometimes chemically destroyed animals that were unsafe for humans to consume. She found out that even euthanized animals from veterinary clinics were making there way into dog food.

So what's with all the hoopla that dog food is the perfect food and should not be messed with?! Did you know that processed "dog food" was created after World War II? After years of depression and a lack of food, companies didn't want to waste ANYTHING so the meat processing industry created the rendering plants and pet food was born.

Due to the fantastic marking and advertising capabilities of the dog food industry, over the years, EVERYONE was convinced that dog food was the ONLY thing you could feed your dog. Dog food companies created the text book for Nutrition taught to Veterinarians, aggressively marketed to breeders and VOILA! you have the whole world of dog owners eating your dog food.

I'm not saying all Kibble will harm your dog. There are definitely some high quality kibbles, but your dog will benefit from variety and fresh cooked food, just like you do. I know some of you have a bunch of dogs or have some REALLY big dogs and home cooking your dog food might not only be intimidating but too time consuming and out of the budget. If you don't think you can home cook, try topping your dogs kibble with raw or cooked meat and some cooked veggies. And SWITCH IT UP. Don't stay with the same food, try different ones all the time to make sure the deficiencies in one might be made up in another. And try some good quality canned food too.

But I encourage you to try cooking your dog food, just once. See how easy and not much more expensive it is then decided what would work best for you and your dog from there. I PROMISE, YOU and CERTAINLY YOUR DOG will NOT be sorry.

Take care and talk to you soon,

Bonnie

Comments

[Kal Barteski]

I think that I took the longest to convince about cooking your own dog food. I didn't want the hassle or the mess. BUT NOW THAT I'VE DONE IT - 20 minutes chopping veggies with Dan, listening to music and having a good time is FAR MORE FUN than standing in line at Costco and lugging a 100lb bag.

The difference in Crash's coat is amazing.

I challenge other dog owners to give this a try.

[Shayla Vokey]

i take that challenge Kal!
well not until this weekend :)

good work bonnie, the blog is super
informative, fun to read and just darn cute!

i will get pictures in soon! everyone's dogs are so cute so far, it will be hard to pick one!

[Debbie Strange]

hi Bonnie:

I don't think the home-made food thing would work for us because of all the camping we do (with no refrigeration), but if you could come up with a kibble that tastes like Daisy's favourite Lucky Dog Biscuits (saskatoon and peanut butter), she would be a very lucky dog indeed! We're super-impressed with all the great info in your blog. Keep it coming!

love to you and all your "boys"
L&D