Day 37 A.M. & P.M.

We are motivated to feed our dogs well — we are tricked by advertising into thinking that must mean kibble.

It does not.

Kibble is a highly processed food. It is convenient and there are certainly better brands than others — but it is not the only or even optimal way to feed dogs.

If you are at all shocked by that assertion, the dog food industry is happy to know their advertising dollars work.

I consider myself a middle-of-the-road dog food type because compared to extremes on both sides of the raw vs. kibble continuum, I am pretty darn flexible in terms of a dog’s diet.

You want to feed raw? Okay — go for it.

You want to feed primarily kibble? Okay — just pick a good one and be willing to add normal, whole foods as toppers.

But I actually do not think either of those ways of feeding dogs has the corner on Optimal nor do I think there is evidence establishing the one true way to feed a dog. That makes things tricky.

In humans, we should aim for a variety of whole foods in moderation — since dogs evolved with humans and therefore are used to a similar diet to ours, I think this is a reasonable approach for dogs as well.

Therefore, I feed a homemade diet to the dogs plus some kibble and occasional raw food.

Variety!

I stumbled across a product/business that not only helps generate recipes for homemade diets but also has a quality product to ensure balance; it is aptly named BalanceIt.

Developed by a UC Davis veterinary nutrition guy, this product is recommended by veterinary nutritionists and in spite of no advertising or marketing, their business is a booming one.

The Wildflowers will be eating recipes supported by BalanceIt — with the approval of their veterinarian. A homemade diet for dogs is really not all that wacky — or hard.