Are You Feeding High Quality, Nutritious Dog Food? If Not, You May Be Killing Your Beloved Pet

High quality, nutritious dog food is the key to your dog's long term good health. You may be aware of this. Most food that we buy to feed our dogs is extremely low in nutritional value. If you are buying your dog's food in a grocery store or a pet supermarket, you may be slowly killing your dog.

Think about human nutrition. If we feed ourselves unhealthy food over a period of years, our bodies will begin to deteriorate. We suffer from a higher incidence of degenerative diseases.

The same thing is true for our dogs. An unhealthy diet (one lacking in good nutrition) results in gradual deterioration and increased disease in our beloved companions.

Why do you think that so many of our dogs are dying from kidney failure, cancer, heart failure, and other degenerative diseases? These diseases in our pets were almost non-existent before the advent of commercial dog food.

You are probably like me. I want my dog to live a long, happy, and healthy life. He gives me unconditional love. He is completely dependent on me. I owe him the very best nutrition.

You can see a picture of my dog, Romeo at the bottom of the page. Romeo is the one with the beautiful hair. I'm the one who doesn't have much. Romeo is a 6 year-old mutt. He has been fed high quality, nutritious dog food for 5 years now. He is the healthiest, sweetest, happiest dog we have ever owned.

Even when a company puts out a dog food product that is somewhat nutritious, it is probably 6-18 months old if it is sold in a grocery store or pet supermarket.

If you are told by a pet product store owner or employee that the food is fresh, they are probably being dishonest or don't know what they are talking about.

A pet supermarket may or may not sell its dog food fairly soon after it is received. But they don't know how long it has remained in a warehouse before shipment to the retailer. As it ages, the food and its nutritional content deteriorate because of mold, bacteria, heat, and other reasons.

Another major factor in determining a good dog food is the cooking method. It is best that the food is cooked at a low temperature and for a short period of time. If you find a food that that claims it is high in nutrition but is cooked at a high temperature or for a long period of time, most of the nutrition has been destroyed.

You possibly don't believe me when I say that, "you may be slowly killing your dog." I encourage you to read the article, "What's Really in Pet Food" which has been prepared by the Animal Protection Institute. You will find some "eye opening" information. You can read this important article by clicking here.

As the article states, most of the food we provide our dogs is "unfit for human consumption."

This includes both meat and grains. Is that what we want to feed our dogs - food that is unfit for human consumption?

You can't properly evaluate the quality of a dog food by simply reading an ingredient label. The label may say it is a "premium" or "top quality" food, but it may be far from that.

So here is what I recommend in finding a good dog food:

1. The food should contain a high percentage of meat. Completely disregard any product that includes by-products.

Don't be concerned if you see chicken "meal" or fish "meal" as one of the ingredients. Chicken meal and fish meal are great ingredients as long as they comes from high quality chicken or fish.

For example, water is removed from the chicken to form chicken meal. So if you see "chicken meal" as the first item on the ingredient label, you know that there is a lot of chicken in the product. If "chicken" is listed as one of the top ingredients, it may be much lower on the list of ingredients when the water is removed. The manufacturer may be trying to mislead the consumer to think that chicken is one of the top ingredients.

2. Make sure that the food is very fresh. I have found that the best and freshest dog food comes from an online source that delivers a very fresh, nutritious food to your doorstep.

3. Check out the cooking methods. The food should not be cooked at a high temperature or for a long period of time.

4. The food should contain no corn, no wheat, no dairy, no artificial colors, no artificial preservatives, no steroids, and no hormones.

Feeding your dog high quality, nutritious dog food will enable your pet to have a healthy, happy, and longer life. I personally feel that I owe that much to my little guy.

Scott Hubbard is a long time pet lover. For the last 40 years, dogs have been a major part of his family.

He has dedicated the last 5 years of his life to finding the best products for pet health. You can reach him directly by calling toll-free 877-878-4036 or by emailing him at scott.hubbard3@gmail.com.

Pet Food - Save Money Without Sacrificing Quality

Pet food can be expensive, particularly if you follow the current marketing trends and buy the fashionable 'natural', 'holistic' or 'lifestyle' brands. These have been created not only to fill the need for better quality pet foods but also to persuade pet owner to trade up to more expensive products with a better profit margin. It makes good commercial sense!

Yes, feeding a pet can be expensive, particularly if you have a dog or cat, and there's plenty of advertising and marketing pressure to get you to part with a lot of money to feed the many different foods out there on the pet shop and supermarket shelves. Add the words 'Natural' 'Holistic' or similar to a brand and watch the price go up!

Bear in mind that big brands such as Pedigree, Iams, Eucanuba and Royal Canin spend £millions on advertising, research and sponsorship through the year (How much does it cost Pedigree to sponsor Crufts? A lot!) This money has to be recovered, and that's through increasing sales but also larger profit margins - it's common sense if you think about it.

However, there are several ways that you can feed a good quality food and save a considerable amount of money.

Buying a 15kg bag of dog food works out cheaper per meal than buying a 2kg bag (Eucanuba Adult is listed on one site at £39.99 for 15kg, £21.49 for 7.5kg and £11.29 for 3kg - do the maths and see what you save.)

If you can't carry a big bag home then have it delivered - several brands and online pet shops offer free or minimal postal charges, and you get the food delivered to your door. Other pet shops have their own delivery service in their catchment area - check them out!

Some shops offer bulk deals - Pet Planet in Jan 2008 list Eucanuba 15kg as buy 2 save £20!! If you can store it and use it in a reasonable time, then why not save a few well earned £££s?

If you are feeding a cat, the same applies - many pet shops or online stores will deliver tins in bulk. Ask, and they should offer you a quantity discount that you can offset against the delivery charge if there is one.

Some pet shops offer their own brands, particularly on bags of dog food. Are they cheaper because they are poorer quality than the more well known brand? Not necessarily, because of two factors.

Firstly, they are probably made by the same company that makes the well known brand! A handful of pet food manufacturers make food for brands like James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange and Burns Pet Nutrition but also make food for hundreds of other companies and pet shops, using the same machinery, similar ingredients and following the principles of the trade organisation PFMA. There are only a few manufacturers around, and plenty of brands - you might think that the brand you buy is made by that company, but you may well be wrong, it could well be made by the company that makes your local supermarket brand!

The easy way to check is look at the ingredient list and see what the food is made of, then compare the cost between the shop food and the branded food - similar ingredients but £s cheaper? Then why not try the shop brand - if it doesn't suit, a good pet shop will replace the food.

Secondly there's the profit chain. Pet Shop brands are cheaper because there are fewer middlemen taking a cut of the retail price (A prime example would be the new premium Pets at Home food in its shiny new bag. A 15kg of dog food retails at under £30, up to £9 cheaper than some others for a recipe which is as natural and hypo-allergenic as any premium food on the market - and a money-back guarantee!).

Then there's the range of products around - check out the different brands, and you'll be surprised at what's out there these days and the opportunity to save money and not compromise on quality. Check out recommendations on brands

You don't need to buy expensive treats for dogs. Have you discovered the delights of giving them small pieces of carrot or broccoli/cauliflower stalk?

No? Why not, because they are cheap, natural and actually do your pet a bit of good, unlike some of the other stuff on the market. These are all naturally sweet, and many dogs simply love them!

The author, who originally trained as a food technologist has, in his time owned dogs, cats, hamsters and birds, sold pet food and spent the past decade marketing it. Now down to one cat, one dog and running Pet Food Choice, a website full of information on pet food choices, money-saving ideas and much more - http://www.pet-food-choice.co.uk

Pet Owners Improve Their Quality of Life With Dog Crates and Pet Carriers

What is a Dog Crate? Dog crates come in plastic, wire, wood, soft-sided and some heavy duty crates which are constructed from tubular steel. Since dogs are "cave" or "den" dwelling animals they actually enjoy having their own safe place in which they can find safety and relaxation.

Why do I need a Dog Crate? I am so glad you asked. Please consider the following reasons why pet owners, especially a dog owner, should seriously consider making a dog crate part of the household. These are not listed in order of importance. You must decide which benefit is most important to you.

1. A place of their own when visitors are present in the home-during any holiday season or family function we can expect to have house guests. Many pets get nervous when company comes. Many owners get nervous for their pets when company visits. Many times the pets end up locked in another room or outside. A dog crate provides your pet with a safe place of their own to retreat into while visitors are present while still within the family environment.

2. Food and holidays go hand in hand. You know what you want your dog to eat and what foods are restricted. Your visitors will not know what your pet feeding rules are. If your pet is safely in their crate then no unwanted food will be given to your pet that could make them seriously ill or worse.

3. Vacation time-How great would it be to have your pet riding with you in the car, in his dog crate, safe, secure, resting out of harms way and just enjoying life as you enjoy the open road.

4. Many people love camping and of course we always take our dogs along. Dog crates allow you to relax in the knowledge that your pet or pets are safe and secure in their dog crates when you are not exercising them or engaging in some other interaction directly with them. Your dogs know this crate to be their sleeping area, the same one they had at home, so they are comfortable in it. They will not wander away. They will not get lost. You know exactly where they are at all times.

5. If you show your dogs you probably already know how great it is to have your dog resting in his or her dog crate while you are watching the show or talking to other exhibitors, a great example for the rest of us.

6. If you have an older pet they want and require a place to rest that is safe and secure. If you have younger pets in the home this is often a problem for the older dog. Enter the dog crate, their own space, their bed, their safe place to rest away from the others that may want to jump and play instead of rest.

7. Now I will say just a bit about puppies and dog crates. There is tons of information available on crate training your puppy so we will not go into that here except to say that crate training your puppy will change your life and theirs for the better.

8. Unfortunately our pets occasionally require surgery for some reason. How great would it be to have a place where your crate trained dog could rest in safety while recuperating? That is just another very important use for your dog crate.

Pet crates and pet carriers are not punishment for your pet. Once you have successfully crate trained your pet they will enjoy their crate for the rest of their lives. Never use the crate for punishment. This is counter productive to your goals.

Bill Beavers is with http://www.CarryMyDog.com and looks forward to your visit to this informative website. We hope you benefit from the information. You will find top quality dog crates, pet carriers, pet strollers, dog harnesses, pet playpens and much more. Deep discounts on many products. http://www.carrymydog.com is a valid starting place for improving your pet's quality of life and simplifying yours. All the best...