aney. “Feeding a dog food that’s not commonly used in the pet food industry—a food that he’s naïve to—reduces the potential that the animal will develop an allergic reaction to it.”
Shopping for Choices
Dr. Tracy Lord, a holistic veterinarian based at the Animal Clinic and Wellness Center, in Williamsburg, Virginia, says that older theories once claimed that dogs would become picky eaters or experience indigestion on a varied diet, but that perspective has since been questioned. To the contrary, variety brings excitement and interest to the table—or the bowl. For instance, Lord points out, “If you feed your child a dinner of chicken, broccoli, brown rice and cantaloupe, you can pat yourself on the back for providing a well-balanced nutritious meal. But if you feed this same meal to your child three times a day throughout his life, you would start to see nutritional deficiencies.” Plus, no one would be surprised to hear that the child is tiring of it. The same holds true for dogs, she says. Their bodies appreciate the different sources of nutrition, while their taste buds respond to delicious change-ups. One popular type of varied diet centers on taking com- mercially prepared, top-quality, frozen, canned or dry foods and simply rotating them, as long as the owner provides a consistent number of calories. This approach will ensure that a dog receives the right balance of nutrients, says Remillard. She explains that, “Federally regulated, commercially prepared foods have processing methods and quality assur- ance programs that limit the potential for food-borne ill-
nesses in pets and offer guarantees, a nutritional profile and bioavailability of nutrients.” Remillard further notes, how- ever, that not all products are equal when it comes to highly desirable ingredients, so as with any other processed food, consumers must read labels.
Varied diets also may be prepared at home. That’s where home chefs can get creative with different types of meats, grains and vegetables, but they should follow guide- lines prepared by a trained nutritionist, Remillard cautions. “Unless properly formulated by a nutritionist, diets de- veloped at home are not likely to be complete and balanced,” she says. “The nutritional profile of any diet—including home- made diets—depends on how the recipe was formulated, the nutrient content of the ingredients and how the owner pre- pares the food. Homemade diets may also contain contami- nants and food-borne microbes if the owner isn’t careful.” Sometimes, just adding a little something special to a dog’s bowl will give him the variety he’s craving. For ex- ample, “If we’re making something our dog loves, like grilled salmon or ahi, we’ll cook a little piece for her and give her a little less kibble in her dish,” relates Alyce Edmondton, who lives in Redmond, Washington. “We always share our dog- safe leftovers with her. We figure that if it’s good for us, it’s good for her, too.”
Wendy Bedwell-Wilson’s healthy living pet articles regularly appear in national and international magazines. Her latest of six books on dogs, Shih Tzu, is part of the DogLife series. Connect at
PetWriter@live.com.
54 Collier/Lee Counties
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com
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