Dogs Breakfast?

Since I have owned dogs I have been constantly complemented on my dogs coats, and their physiques. I have had Rottweilers and my Labrador- both breeds are prone to becoming "table tops"; they love to eat and have a tendency to get chubby. I take pride in the fact that I have always exercised my dogs (even at 3:30 am before a day shift-dedicated or mad?), but equally important is what I feed them.

One thing that gets overlooked by a lot of pet owners is the food they are putting into their dogs. I am not here to tell you what to feed your dog, but just to make you look at the ingredients a little closer. I have always fed my dogs foods that meat is number 1 on the ingredient list. If I wouldn't eat it, my dogs won't eat it. I feed my dog Orijen currently and am super pleased with the results. The ingredients are as follows:

(from Orijen website http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/about/)

ADULT

Deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, lake whitefish, chicken fat, sweet potato, whole eggs, turkey, salmon meal, salmon and anchovy oils, salmon, natural chicken flavour, sunflower oil, sun-cured alfalfa, dried brown kelp, carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes, apples, psyllium, dulse, glucosamine Hcl, cranberries, black currants, rosemary extract, chondroitin sulfate, sea salt.

TONIC HERBS AND BOTANICALS
Chicory root, licorice root, tumeric root, funugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, zea mays, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosehips.

ORGANIC MINERALS
Iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate.

PROBIOTIC MICROORGANISMS
Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.

PREMIUM VITAMINS
Mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E), choline chloride, vitamin A, vitamin D3, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12, folic acid, biotin.

All the ingredients are wholesome and minus the salmon (ewwww) and a few other minor ingredients, these are all foods I include in my own diet. I used to show my Rottweilers and people would ask me what I bathed my dog in, or what products I used to treat their coats; My answer was always NOTHING. I just fed them right and it came naturally.

I feed my dogs the odd raw chicken back, and tend to stick to natural treats. I can't get away from the odd GHETTO treat like Marrowbones, however, for the most part they eat good food. There are foods that are much more expensive and not extruded into dog kibble, but Orijen has more that met my satisfaction. The results of the quality are in my dogs excellent health, boisterous energy levels, and silky/shiny coats.

When choosing a dog food make sure you know what you are putting into your dogs body, and how much. In light of the huge Pet food recall that resulted in dogs dying its time to take a few minutes and turn over that bag of dog food and read the ingredient list.

Good nutrition + lots of exercise = a long, healthy lifetime of tail wagging and sloppy puppy kisses ;)