| If you're like most dog owners, you probably | | | | subsets. How do these 10 dogs fare in their |
| assume that commercial dog foods with brand | | | | lifetimes when they eat cheap kibble every day? |
| names that are easily identifiable - Purina, Iams, | | | | How about those 12 dogs who are getting a |
| Pedigree, etc. - must be good for your pets, | | | | vegetarian diet all the time? And what happens to |
| right? After all, millions of pet owners buy them | | | | those 25 dogs who are being given a raw meat |
| and feed them to their beloved pets, and surely | | | | and bones diet? These are the types of questions |
| they wouldn't all give their dogs something | | | | I've asked as I've dealt with large numbers of |
| harmful. Unfortunately, this may just be the | | | | dogs and their owners or keepers over the |
| case.Now, before I get any further along, let me | | | | years.These have in no way been controlled |
| make it clear that I am not a veterinarian. I do, | | | | experiments, and I would never attempt to pass |
| however, have a science background and | | | | them off as authoritative or as adhering to any |
| education, and I've had more dogs in my care in | | | | strict interpretation of the scientific method. In |
| one year than most people will have in a lifetime. | | | | other words, take my conclusions with a large |
| As an observant and naturally curious person, I've | | | | grain of salt. I'm really just out to get the wheels |
| paid close attention in the past 20 years to the | | | | turning in the minds of all dog lovers who read |
| general health of my pets and those I've had in | | | | these words. |
| my care through a rescue shelter I was involved | | | | After all of this careful observation and tracking, |
| with for several of those years. I've also picked | | | | clear patterns have emerged time and time |
| the brains of several top vets in my state in my | | | | again...Using Commercial or Wet FoodDogs that |
| quest to get to the heart of the matter | | | | eat commercial kibble or wet food have lots of |
| concerning the best dog diet.What has become | | | | health problems later in life and tend to die |
| abundantly clear is that one type of diet stands | | | | youngest. This is even true when they've been |
| well above all others in terms of fostering good | | | | fed "premium" dog foods, sadly.Using Vegetarian |
| health and long life. More on that later...I've seen | | | | DietDogs that are fed vegetarian diets do better, |
| dogs fed commercial foods, both wet and dry, | | | | but must be given large amounts of alternative |
| from the cheapest brands to the so-called | | | | protein sources to make up for the lack of it in |
| "premium" brands. I've also seen dogs who were | | | | standard vegetarian fare. A purely vegetarian diet |
| fed vegan or vegetarian diets, as well as those | | | | is difficult to provide that will satisfy a canine's |
| fed raw meat and bones (known popularly as the | | | | basic nutritional needs, but it is healthier and leads |
| BARF Diet). While individual dogs will do just fine | | | | to slightly longer life spans than any commercial |
| on any of these widely divergent diets, what I've | | | | brand diet. |
| looked for are general trends in population | | | | |