When it comes to feeding my best friends, my dogs, only the best will do! I remember as a child any pets we had were fed the left overs off the dinner table. I do not re-call visits to the vets, I had not even heard of Cancer in dogs and all my pets lived a long and happy life. Whats happened, whats so different today? As a young adult who had left home, the time came for me to bring home my first puppy. His name was Charlie and he was a Border Collie. I purchased what I believed to be the best food that money could buy, tins and mixer. That little boy was plagued with ill health. I seemed to go 2 good days followed by 2 bad days. On the 'good days' I tried to feed him up and I would give him extra portions of his food! Needless to say it was like a vicious circle. The up shot was that Charlie lived to be 10 years of age and he died with Cancer of the pancreas. At the same time as having Charlie I had another 2 dogs. Beau who was a mixed breed lived until she was 11, and died of, you've got it, Cancer. The other dog was a little Jack Russell Terrier called Callie who lived to be 18! It occurred to me in later life what had been little Callies 'secret'. Well, that little dog was such a fussy eater that she would simply not touch prepared 'dog food'. She was actually fed from my dinner table, not just the scraps, I used to cook extra for her! It dawned on me,albeit too late for poor old Charlie and Beau, that animals too can fall victim to the fast food culture that is so damaging to human health.
So what have I done that has altered the health and longevity of my pets today? I source my animal food from a pet supplier that specialises in natural organic food. It would be totally out of the question to cook my own food, and this would not be advised as there would always be a deficiency of some thing from their diet, so I leave it to the specialists. I am also very particular on the ingredients and how they are packaged. I also believe that variety is the spice of life and therefore vary the meals, taking care to 'change' their food gradually. This policy is serving me well, all my dogs are fit and healthy and trips to the vets are relatively rare.
As a little foot note, I always make sure that they drink pure filtered fresh water!
I remember when I was growing up we never heard of tinned dog food, the dog had whatever we had and I never remember him going to the vets except at the very end when he was old.
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