Febuary 2012
Whole Dog Journal's 2012 Dry Dog Food Review
How do you choose? Well, you have to start somewhere . . . and you are probably already feed your dog something, right? Analyze the food, assess your dog’s condition, and start to improve the diet.
Subscribers Only Here is Whole Dog Journal's Approved Dry Dog Foods List for 2012. In addition to our list of this year’s top dry dog foods we show you how to interpret the ingredient list on a dog food label, what ingredients are best, what the "best by" date really means, what to expect from a manufacturer's customer service department as well as ways to determine which of our top foods is best for your dog. Every year, new manufacturers enter the dog food market and established manufacturers come out with new formulations. Whole Dog Journal's Approved Dry Dog Food List analyzes each to determine which foods belong in the top tier of quality.
Hallmarks of Quality Dog Food (What to Look For)
Ingredients are listed by weight, so you want to see a lot of top quality animal protein at the top of the list; the first ingredient should be a “named” animal protein source. “Meat” is an example of a low-quality protein source of dubious origin. Animal protein “meals” should also be from named species (look for “beef meal” but avoid “meat meal”).
Finding the Right Pre-Mixed Diet for Dogs with Food Allergies
Deborah Allen and her guide dog, Hartford, participating in the 2011 “Race to Robie,” a half-marathon, in Boise, Idaho.
Subscribers Only Deborah Allen, of Boise, Idaho, feeds a dog food diet that combines a commercial pre-mix with raw ground turkey to her two Labrador Retrievers: Hartford, a highly active, 6-year-old working guide dog who weighs 76 pounds; and Lily, a moderately active, 14-year-old retired guide dog who weighs 53 pounds. Their veterinarian says both dogs are healthy, but they have begun losing weight and developing skin problems in the last few months. Hartford is about 4 pounds and Lily about two pounds under their ideal weights.
Whose Dog Food Standards? AAFCO vs. NRC
Subscribers Only When I compared a nutritional analysis of Preference plus turkey to the 2006 National Research Council (NRC) nutrient recommendations, the minerals zinc, copper, and selenium, vitamins D and E, and possibly some B vitamins were all low. This is because commercial dog foods are designed to meet nutrient profiles established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAF CO), which are based on older research published by the NRC in 1985.
Advice on How to Become a Professional Dog Trainer
You may be extremely talented at training dogs – but most of the “dog trainer” job is teaching humans to train their own dogs. This takes an entirely different skill set, including superior communication abilities, and a different knowledge base, especially of human psychology.
Subscribers Only Despite a lagging economy, the pet care industry continues to thrive, experiencing a steady increase for the past 17 years. According to the American Pet Products Association, we spent more than $50 billion on our animal friends in 2011. With an estimated 46 million American households owning at least one dog, many long-time dog lovers are considering a career partnership with man’s best friend. Regardless of what inspires you to explore a career training dogs, it’s critically important to recognize that, above all, dog training is a profession. As such, there are many important considerations and obligations to be aware of.
Been There, Doing That: Advice from Pro Dog Trainers
Subscribers Only I think it’s really important for dog trainers to get a lot of experience being a student before becoming a teacher. Take as many classes as you can, in numerous disciplines, with your own dog. You’ll learn how different classes are structured and what you like and don’t like about them. When not actively working with your own dog, observe the other students and see how the instructor works with a variety of dogs and people.
Training Your Dog to Prevent Unwanted Urination
Bonnie was about six months old when she was adopted from a shelter by Pat Miller and her husband. Bonnie had been surrendered as “impossible to housetrain” but was actually offering appeasement signals to communicate her total willingness to defer to her humans.
If you met Bonnie today, there’s a 95 percent chance you could greet her without having her pee on the floor. That wasn’t always the case. In fact, when we adopted the six-month-old Scorgidoodle six years ago her submissive urination behavior was so extreme I awarded my academy students extra credit points if they could greet her without making her pee. Only a few students earned those points the first year.
An Extreme Inappropriate Response
Many years ago, when I was a Customer Care Supervisor at the Marin Humane Society, in Novato, California, we received a frantic phone call from a woman who had glanced over her fence and noticed her neighbor’s adolescent Dalmatian tangled up in her tie-out rope so badly that she couldn’t move. Rushing to the address, the Society’s humane officer did, indeed, find the tangled dog, but there was something suspicious about the scene. The rope was coiled and knotted so neatly around the dog’s legs that it left no room for doubt in the officer’s mind.
“No” Power - Interpreting a Dry Dog Food Product Label
Nancy Kerns
While researching this year’s dry dog food review (which starts on the facing page), I was struck by the overwhelming prevalence of two big trends in marketing and formulation. I’m not sure any pet food company is immune from these tactics – and I’m not yet convinced they will prove a benefit to dogs or dog owners. The first tactic is the “No!” approach. You know, “No Corn, wheat, or soy!” How tame those claims seem now. I’ve seen dog food bags and pet food company literature that proudly proclaims products free of beef, dairy products, eggs, pork, potatoes, and yeast.
