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Malnourished Dogs
Malnourished Dogs
The poorest fed dog in America used to be the farm dog left to fend for itself for food. These dogs, undernourished bags of bones, were once so common they almost became symbolic of impoverished rural America. Today vast numbers of those small farms have vanished. With them, thankfully, have gone the gaunt, hollow-eyed hounds that greeted every farm visitor with a hungry, sad look.
The farmer has moved to the city, gotten a job as an employee or opened a small business, and become the suburbanite. With him have come his companion dogs. And, the suburbanite house-pet has replaced the farm dog as the poorest fed dog in America. A large proportion, perhaps 75 percent, of all dogs in the United States owned by private individuals are household pets. The remaining 25 percent comprise guard dogs, other working dogs (e.g. hunting dogs), and guide dogs for the blind and dogs for the disabled.
Most dogs kept as pets are overweight to some degree - some slightly overweight, and some obese - because the most frequent error made by pet owners is overfeeding.
Unlike their predecessors, today's poorest fed dogs are not underfed, but overfed.
So how can today's dogs be poor if they're actually overfed, I hear you ask? The irony is that, while our dogs may be overfed and overweight, they may also be undernourished!
Unfortunately, there is a widespread misconception among dog owners that any dog food that comes out of a can or box that they bought at the grocery store is adequate and nourishing enough for a dog. It is not!
This belief has led politicians, sociologists, and even some nutritionists to express the opinion that most American house-pets are better fed than most American humans. While these statements may grab sensational headlines, the accuracy of such a proposition does not stand up under critical exploitation. While it could be true that some house-pets receive far better nourishment than some people, it is also true that many dogs in this country are woefully malnourished.
And most of the dogs suffering from the greatest malnourishment are those eating the very item to which the politicians and sociologists attribute such grandiose performance - commercial dog food.
The sad fact is that the vast majority of commercial dog food is actually bad for your dog. Nowhere do pet owners need to evaluate the food he feeds more than he does when he is feeding canned foods and dry dog food to his dog. Yet, the number of pet owners who actually feed their dogs based on a critical evaluation of the content of the commercial dogfoods available to them is practically zero. The fast majority of us have been taken in by the dog food manufacturers and their slick advertising.
Don't fall into the trap of the masses - feed your dog a quality, premium dog food - and feed with it a good quality fresh meat and some fresh vegetables. Your dog's life will be enhanced AND lengthened.
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