Canine/Dog Appropriate Diet - How to check?

An ancient Ayurveda proverb reads:

"If the diet is wrong, medicine if of no use. If the diet is correct, medicine is of no need."

This encapsulates the importance of diet in any animal's life. And, nature knows the best when it comes to guiding us on what is good and what is bad for our stomach and the digestive system. Unfortunately, we as human beings are losing that consciousness of choosing and eating the food which is good for us. No wonder, our health expenses are on the rise with every passing generation. Thanks to Capitalism!

Fortunately though, a lot of other living species including dogs understand the difference between Good, Bad and Inedible. But the 'kibbles' culture which started in the '90s are building the human-like wave in the dog food industry too! The glorified labelling, marketing and branding hides beneath them: 'Junk and Waste Foods' for our furry friends.

To understand what is a balanced and complete diet for dogs, it is important to understand their evolution and anatomy. Dogs have evolved from Wolves and are very closely related to them (so much so that some breeds can interbreed with wolves!). Hence, they are carnivores despite of being domesticated for so many years. Evolution is a many thousand years process.

They have not evolved to eat a lot of Carbs. Their bodies are designed to eat High Protein and Fats. The pH of a dog's stomach is extremely low - 1/2 and hence it's extremely corrosive and can destroy all the pathogens. Another testimony of them being carnivores, apart from their teeth structure which is designed to grind meats and foods.

Hence, it is important for dog-parents to stick to these fundamentals before choosing any dog-food. I strongly advise to stay away from processed food such as kibbles, and home cooked foods as they lack basic nutrients. With the ecosystem developing, there are many brands including TailBlaze which are making foods appropriate for dogs and are completely Raw, Organic and Un-processed making it an ideal food for Dogs.

I will talk about Choosing the Right Food in more details in my upcoming blog and will also shed some more light on the kibble and commercial food industry or glorified waste product industry as rightly put up.

Manaal Maniyar,

A proud pet-parent, A concerned dogs activist and A certified canine-nutritionist