Making choices as to how to feed Buddy

Excessive Licking or Chewing

  Setting the Stage for Successful Training

preservatives is a shorter shelf life — no more than three to four months
(provided the food is stored in a cool, dark place around 40 degrees, refrigerated
or frozen).
Making choices as to how to feed Buddy
You have several options for feeding Buddy — from using commercial dry
dog food (or beefing up a commercial food diet) to using the natural and raw
diets to making your own. All the options have their pros and cons, so only
you can decide which option is best for your lifestyle and comfort level.
Having bred, raised, and worked a lifetime with dogs as well as training thousands
of people with different breeds has had a profound effect on our way
of thinking about the best way to feed dogs. Even so, we’re realists. You’re
probably a busy person and may not even cook for yourself, much less for
your dog. Fortunately, you can take some shortcuts to safeguard your dog’s
health. Any of the options listed in this section will work and will keep your
dog in balance nutritionally. Obviously some are better than others, but the
choice is yours.
When choosing a food for your dog, be sure you forget about the following:
✓ Advertising: Disregard what the ads say about how good a particular
food is for your dog. It may be okay for Buddy, but perhaps it isn’t. You
have to look at the food’s ingredients.
✓ Price: This works both ways. Just because one brand of food costs
more doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better than a less expensive variety.
There’s truth in the saying, “You get what you pay for.” A correct and
balanced raw food diet is going to cost more than commercial kibble.
That’s because the ingredients are a lot more costly. However, you save
in the long run because your dog rarely gets sick. So no more expensive
visits to the veterinarian — you just have to take Buddy to his annual
health checkup.
As you can see, neither of the previous statements is a valid criterion for
selection. You need to make the decision based on what’s in the food and
based on your dog’s nutritional requirements.
Feeding Buddy commercial dry food
Your first option is, of course, feeding Buddy a commercial dry kibble diet
that you buy at the pet store or grocery store. Dry kibble has been the staple
of the dog food market. It is now being challenged by many of the natural or
organic foods on the market. You have a huge variety from which to choose.