Tag Archives: diet

Kibble, Grain-Free, or Raw? What Your Dog’s Diet Says About You

A man feeding his dog
Puppy owners are overwhelmed by food choices available for their new family member, according to a recent survey. This feeling might be in part because dog owners have to make all the food decisions alone: dogs lack the ability to order their own food on UberEats or communicate their preferences in a helpful way! Several recent research publications highlight factors impacting dietary choices for dogs. I’ll discuss those findings in the blogpost below.

Mineral Imbalances in Pets: How to Avoid Deficiencies and Excesses

A small dog during a veterinary exam
For decades, the marketing of Wonder Bread, with its added vitamins and minerals, claimed to build bodies eight ways: muscles, bones and teeth, body cells, blood, appetite, growth, brain, and energy. Pet food contains many of the same vitamins and minerals as Wonder Bread to build your pet’s body eight ways. This blogpost will focus on why minerals are so important in your pet’s diet.

Why Labradors Gain Weight Easily: Insights from New Genetic Research

A labrador receiving a pet in a kitchen
In both humans and pets, weight gain occurs when too many calories are consumed and/or not enough are burned. This sounds simple, but the equation gets complicated by factors intrinsic to the pet, owner feeding practices, and/or a lack of exercise. This blogpost will focus on some of the drivers of canine obesity with a focus on new information on obesity in Labrador retrievers.

Why is my dog’s fur color changing?

A pug with fur color change due to the canine melanoma vaccine
Skin and coat disorders are common reasons dogs make a trip to the veterinarian’s office. This makes sense since skin is by far your pet’s most visible organ, and skin disease is one of the most common diseases in dogs, according to pet insurance data. Fur color changes may also indicate an underlying issue with your canine companion. I’ll discuss some common reasons for skin color changes in today’s blogpost.

The Dangers of Homecooked and Raw Diets for Pets

A dog with a bowl of raw food
A recent study investigated the diets of pets with a cancer diagnosis. The results were interesting. 71% of dogs seen by board-certified oncologists ate commercially prepared pet food, compared to about 90% of randomly surveyed healthy pets. Instead of eating commercially prepared food, 11% of dogs with cancer were fed homecooked or raw homemade diets. These numbers beg the question, “Are homecooked diets safe for pets?”