I had a Lhasa Apso named Sandy who lived with my family for 14 years. Sandy died 4 years ago and it’s taken my wife and I all this time to consider getting another pet. I’m sure those of you who have lost a pet fully understand where I’m coming from.
7 weeks ago, we found Max (or Max found us) at a pet rescue in Palm Beach County, FL. Max was just over 6 months old at the time, and we were going to be, including the pet rescue, his 4th home.
Max is a Maltese. He now weighs 5.5 lbs and is the cutest little thing. My wife calls him Mini-Max. Of course he is a little high strung, plays the Alpha Dog thing with our grand dog, Kona (my younger son’s Shih Tzu), and barks (yips) at anyone walking outside really because he wants to be everyone’s friend. We’re going to start an 8 week obedience training program for him, beginning this evening.
The experiences I gained with Sandy will be put to good use in raising Max. First and foremost is the fact that I’m not giving Max any human food if I can avoid it. The first reason why not is because Sandy came to expect human food and every time we sat down to eat, she would jump on us expecting her handout. The second reason is because human food, while healthy for humans, is really not all that healthy for dogs. Of course there are times where giving human food can be a benefit. For example, dogs with diarrhea can be given rice with boiled hamburger, or mashed sweet potatoes.
Dogs are omnivores. We know they eat anything. However, in the wild they don’t eat greasy, fried, salty, or fatty foods. They shouldn’t be eating those foods as our pets. Besides, there are certain foods that can be harmful to a dog. These include raisins and grapes, onions, chocolate, and certain nuts. Not only that, but some foods such as chicken can pose health hazards to dogs if the dog gets hold of a chicken bone.
Want to do your dog a big favor? To help keep your pet healthy and trim, exercise your dog regularly and feed your pet a quality dog food where the first ingredient is meat or meat meal. Try and stay away from dog foods that list grains as the primary ingredient.
A premium dog food to use is Eat Great. Be Well. The first five ingredients of Eat Great. Be Well. include chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, oat groats, and salmon meal. And because Eat Great. Be Well. doesn’t include wheat or corn, it is also a premium dog food for dogs with food allergies.
For more information on the importance of feeding your dog nutritious pet food, read our dog food article on PetHealth101.
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