What in the name of heaven is in your dog food, anyway?! This was the question I asked in my e-mail to a particular dog food company. No wonder my dog wouldn't eat the food! When I opened the dog food can, the foul odor was so strong it was very offensive to me and my toy poodle. I never did pursue my initial inquiry, but chose to just not offer that food to my precious pet who is a member of my family.

Shortly after that time, the news came out about the poison substances found in dog food. It seems the guilty culprit came from China. My dog had enough sense to know that if the food smelled that badly, he would not eat it. Thank God my little sweet bundle of joy made the decision on his own (before I knew the pet food was tainted) to not eat it.

It seemed more acceptable to his palate for me to just cook his food for him, which I did without hesitation...if for nothing else to save his life. Now he enjoys a scrambled egg for breakfast, and a boiled chicken breast for dinner. He loves his new menu and gobbles it up!

Another concern I have about dog food is that it contains food dye. My "little boy" had stains that came out through his tear ducts onto his beautiful white hair, also around his mouth, on his feet, and even came out his rectal area. When I stopped feeding him dog food and switched to eggs and chicken, the stains from the dye gradually disappeared as the dye worked its way out of his system.

Later, we had a visitor at our house for a couple of weeks (a female poodle in heat), and my male poodle sneaked and ate some of her dog food. When the food dye penetrated his digestive system, the stains began appearing again from his tear ducts, around his mouth, and on his paws. Now I have to "detox" him again and get this dye out of his system so that he can flaunt that beautiful white, gorgeous hair of his once again.

Take it from me and my experience if you have a white dog and do not want to have the ugly stains on his/her face and feet. Just take a few minutes and prepare his/her food, using human food that is low fat or fat free, and is free of food dye. After all, aren't they a part of our family and are so faithful to us that they deserve that special care!

Learn more about this author, Pat Stallings.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Pet food: Questioning what it contains?
We want to hear your view. Write now!