You are standing in front of the store shelves in your supermarket's pet food section, overwhelmed by the selection, scratching your head and not really knowing what type and brand of food to buy.
If the price is right, the quantity enough and the question of whether to take dried or canned is sorted out, nothing else should you back from purchasing this week's dog food supply.
Is there really nothing else to consider? Do you know exactly what your dog's favorite food is made of? Are you sure it's healthy? Didn't your vet mention just recently that you should drop a urine sample from your pooch in next time you come in?
The fact is that we as pet owners don't really know very much about the quality of dog food ingredients. Dogs seem to have distinct preferences for different brands. We wonder why food kibbles A taste better to our pup than the canned version of B - Do you really want to find out by tasting?
So, it is all based on trust.
You make the decision about which brand to buy depending on how well it is presented to you by commercials, vet advice, vet-nurse weight clinics or recommendations by dog breeders and club members.
You also judge by how quickly your dog will empty her food bowl, if she is energized and active, and by how shiny her coat looks after a few weeks.
On the other hand, there are more and more dogs suffering from the same diseases we get such as diabetes, tooth decay, heart problems, cancer, and arthritis. Medical research has learned that all these well-known human health conditions have basically appeared due to our nutrition and life style.
Now it is not hard to put one and one together: most of these common dog health problems in our Western world are caused by feeding industrially produced dog food that is available in large quantities relatively cheaply.
Many canine health problems generally develop later in a dog's life. As a dog owner you want to make sure you know what you feed your dog, especially as she gets older.
