You are what you eat.

You are what you eat; or at least you feel like what you eat.  The other day a good friend of mine and I were having a conversation about dog food.  We were remembering foods like Gaines Burgers; remember those?  Food that looked like a real meat patty but wasn't?  My little toy poodle use to eat these.  I clearly remember unwrapping the plastic package and breaking a half of one up for him.  

Gaines Burger advertisement from the 80s. 

We discussed how dogs can live a long life on very poor grade dog food.  In fact many people who feed their dog very poor quality food often state "my previous dog lived to be 13 years old on the same stuff."  Yes, true, dogs can survive on crap food.  They can survive on very little actual nutrition but do you want them to?  Nutritional foods are what fuel the body; I know that I try to eat as much good nutrition as I can.  I mostly follow the Primal diet guidelines; but when I veer off of that and have a high carb day, I don't feel good.  The more high quality food that I eat on a regular basis; the worse I feel when I don't.  

Is the whole idea of having a dog just to keep them alive?  Or should we be working on having our dogs thrive?  I vote for thrive and feel great.  But dog owners are fed all sorts of stories, advertising and brain washing from many different sources.  Dog food is the way to go; buy a big bag for next to nothing and you'll save, save, save.  Hmmmmm.

Dogs evolved from wolves; so it is pretty simple to conclude that they should eat a diet which consists mostly of meat.  It is bad enough that our meat is not what it should be but many of the dog food companies take the worst protein source and process the hell out of it.  By the time it gets to your dog's bowl; there is absolutely nothing to thrive on.  Oh yes, they will survive; but do you want your dog to simply survive?

The most important thing to spend your money on is food.  Spend more on quality food and less on fancy collars, designer beds and outfits for your dog.  Put your money where their mouth is.  Give your dog the chance to feel their best, to thrive, not simply survive.