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WHAT CAT OR DOG FOOD DO YOU RECOMMEND?
We feed Homeward Bound dogs and cats IAMS® food. However, if you'd like to change brands of food for the cat/dog you adopted, you are more than welcome to do so. Make sure you make the change slowly over 7-10 days by mixing it in with the new brand or you are asking for an upset tummy! We feed a chicken based dog food because it is more digestible, and therefore means less poop to clean up. Trying to find a high quality food for your pet is much more complicated than you would think because much of what is available for your pets is not good food, even if the ads sound good. We thought we'd make it easier for you by including some information about pet food and how to determine which food is best for your beloved pet. From now on we'll refer to the food as dog food since we get more dog food related questions than cat. Don't despair if you are looking for high quality cat food though, as much of the information applies to cat food as well. We do NOT recommend feeding your dog generic and store name brands sold at most supermarkets or chain department stores (Ol' Roy, Purina, & Kibbles 'n Bits, for example). True, the store name brands are cheaper and convincing commercials, but for the cheaper price, you compromise quality and you'll pay more for it in the long run with high medical costs (such as dentals). These cheap foods are made with preservatives and poor quality filler ingredients that can actually leave your pet malnourished. This is because cheap foods are filled with filler ingredients which have very little nutritional value and are not very digestible, the most common being corn, oats, flour, millet, and wheat. In other words, they excrete the junk out, leaving the animal unable to absorb the vital nutrients that they need. Besides having to poop more, cheap dog foods also cause the poop to very, very stinky. Ol Roy is notorious for causing extra stinky poop with their excess protein in food. Also, since generic food is packed with grains/fillers, a dog must eat twice as much of it as they would with high quality food. Don't assume that just because a food advertises that it is "Veterinarian Recommended" that it means it is quality food. Please keep in mind that vets receive benefits from the dog food companies for recommending certain brands. Also remember that food brands get bought and sold by larger companies, so what was once a respected and quality brand of food might now be using more filler ingredients or rely much more on what they can buy at food rendering plants. The standard name brands at the supermarket are an improvement from the generic brands but they still aren't great. Pet supply stores such as Petco, however, provide a better selection of higher quality premium foods. A high quality brand of dog food will increase your dog's immunity, help dental hygiene, manage weight, decrease the amount of excrement, etc. Frankly, purchasing high quality dog food saves you money in the long run because it has preventive maintenance working for you and your pet every time they eat. This will save on vet bills because they presumably won't get sick or require dentals as much as the animals eating junky generic food. We are not exaggerating about the problems of cheap foods - we get dogs in all the time that have horrific teeth (even if they are really young), dull coats and flaky skin, are malnourished, are either really fat or too thin, have developed allergy or hypersensitivity to foods, are prone to urinary related infections, intestinal upset, hot spots, skin infections, etc., Much of this is simply due to cheap, junky food. For instance, corn and wheat are the number cause of food-related allergies and intestinal upset - junky brands tend to list corn or wheat as one of their top ingredients. Cheap foods cause urinary crystals, stones and urinary disease because of their high level of protein, calcium, phosphates and other minerals. This is especially common with males (for more info, go to www.executec.com/urolith.htm. Kidney and liver failure are on the rise, as is cancer. Please click on the links below to read about the importance of feeding your dog high quality food, to see how your dog food rates, and how to
choose a high quality food for your dog, how to read food labels, etc. Your pet will thank you for it!
Compare Dog Foods Brands & Recommended Dog Food Brands:
Food Brands We DO NOT Recommend:
Obese Pets:
Bloat, a Deadly Threat for Large and Extra Large Dogs:
Miscellaneous Food Information:
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