Your dog is your buddy. In some cases the best friend. They offer you unconditional
love and company. Some breeds live to please you. They can brighten up your day when
you get home after a long day of the office with how excited they are to see you. It is a
known fact that having a dog can improve your mental health and offer companionship
for many people. Dogs can be trained to do a number of things, they can be trained to be
a Seeing Eye dog, police dog, and even clown dogs. They can do tricks such as dance
with your, sit, play dead.
I love my dog. He is a 2 year old dopey golden retriever who is my protector and my
buddy. I love the greetings I get from him when I walk in the door. I love the fact that
when he wags his tail, his whole body shakes back and forth. I spoil my dog and to be
honest I never gave much thought to what I was feeding him, or even how important it
was. My whole life I have had dogs. You would think that I know all about their diet and
how important it is for them to have a good diet.
Well I don’t, or at least I didn’t up until a short while ago. I was one of those dog
owners who didn’t give my dogs diet a second thought. I bought whatever dog food was
one sale that week and never read the ingredients. I listened to my vet advertise brands of
dog food and sometimes took his advice but other times didn’t because I knew he was
being paid to promote the food. I could tell because of all the free samples he was trying
to get rid of.
I wasn’t however, one of those people who fed their dogs leftovers from the dinner table.
Those are the people who fall for the puppy dog eyes that our dogs seem to have
mastered. That is not to say I didn’t toss him a taste every now and then, but for the
most part, I never fed him. Some of the food we eat can be toxic for a dog, and greasy
foods, or fried food, forget it. Have fun cleaning up after him after that mess!
It wasn’t until I noticed my dog’s coat not looking as shiny as it once did. Other dog
owners have said it wasn’t until their dogs began scratching themselves silly or not have
much energy that they notice something was the matter. One person said it wasn’t until
their dog’s stomach grew so much from him being overweight did they realize their
might have been a problem with the food.
Dogs are mammals, just like us. If we eat too much and don’t exercise enough we are
going to get fat as our dogs. If we eat food that is not good for us, we tend to feel
lethargic afterwards and do not want to move. Eating unhealthy for us can cause a whole
slew of problems from heart disease to diabetes. We can make our skin look unhealthy
and our hair and when we go to bathroom. Well let us just say that it can be pretty ugly
sight.
Dogs are no different. If they eat too much and get no exercise they become overweight.
If they eat food that is not good for them, they to can feel lethargic and have no energy.
