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Dog Food

What is Dog Food = Food

Robert CabralIACP Hall of Fame trainer2 min readMarch 6, 2016

What is Dog Food

Whenever I hear people telling me that they are feeding their dog “Dog Food” I stop and wonder, “Just what is dog food?”  Isn’t food just food?  I think we’ve simplified life so much that it’s actually become more complex.  The idea that we categorize food as human food and dog food makes me wonder if people think about the differences.  Since the “dog food” that most people buy is so much cheaper than human food (think 40 lbs for $20) doesn’t it reason that the food must be of lower quality?  Can you buy 40lbs of human food, including meats for $20?  If so I wonder where you might shop.

See: online dog training

The other day I was with a friend at a big warehouse store where he showed me the food he normally feeds to his dog.  It was a huge bag and looked good to him till I read him the ingredients.  The first ingredient was salmon meal.  Sounds good, right?  Well the idea of feeding the whole animal to the dog IS a good idea.  For example a dog would eat the organs, meat, fat and bones of most anything he kills, so what’s wrong with the “Meal” idea contained in most foods?  The key issue with this is that the meal doesn’t consist of equal parts.  In other words you can take the bones and scraps from any animal and just feed those as “MEAL.”  This is not a balanced nutrition for the dog.  There is a reason they can make dog food so cheap.

Bottom line when you ask yourself, “What is dog food?” answer the question simply – Dog food is food.  Your dog will eat much of the same foods that you eat, Meats, Veggies, Grains, Fruits, etc.  I saw most because there are some toxic foods that can harm your dog and I suggest you look into a quick internet search.

The above image is one of my home prepared meals for my dog.  It contains:

Organic Raw Meat
Organic (cooked) Brown Rice
Organic (steamed) Broccoli
extras include: spirulina, kelp, turmeric, calcium, omega 3,6,9 oil and a vitamin supplement

Robert Cabral with a shelter dog
About the author

Robert Cabral

Robert Cabral has been training dogs professionally for over 20 years. He started in shelters, working with dogs nobody else wanted, and was inducted into the IACP International Hall of Fame for his work in shelter advocacy and canine rehabilitation.

20+Years training
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