"Are you cookin' chicken for supper?!" "No, it's for the dogs." Feeding my kids (animals).

What can I do to ensure that my pet lives a long and healthy life?

That is one of the most important questions that often crosses our minds as owners of dogs, cats, horses...big or small, we love them all, and want them to be in our lives for a long time. A good thing to start contemplating is whether or not your pet's diet is suitable for their individual health needs. Each one of my animals has a specific diet, and this is my (insanely long) list of what each animal eats:

Whisper: Brome hay, SafeChoice feed, and Horseshoer's Secret supplement.

Wildfire and Willie: Brome hay and SafeChoice feed.

Mercy: Alfalfa hay, SafeChoice, Horseshoer's secret, and Weight builder supplement on occasion (17 hand high horse who is so hard to keep weight on!)

Molly: Natural Balance Potato and Duck L.I.D. formula, and multivitamin.

Rory: Science Diet Prescription I/d formula.

Kandi: Natural Balance Ultra formula, and Hip and Joint vitamin.

Stuart and Simon: Science Diet Prescription C/d formula.

Lady: Science Diet Prescription I/d for cats formula.

(It continues for a while).

The reason my animals are on separate foods is because of the allergies that some of them have, or intolerances. If soy made you sick you wouldn't want to eat it, would you? One of my dogs can't tolerate soy and she pants and sheds uncontrollably whenever she does eat it. She also almost instantly gets an ear infection.

Don't let your dogs eat free range!! I can't stress this enough. It costs more money and causes too many fights and weight issues. If you feed your dogs every day twice a day in different spots, they will get down a routine. One of my dogs eats her meals on the couch (sorry to all those who disagree with pets on furniture: it's an old sofa and they're family to me so I don't mind) and when she hears me getting her food ready, she runs as fast as possible to the couch, and it works out well. I recommend using resealable bags, and portioning your dog(s) food for the week. It saves time, and you can always reuse the bags like I do. :)

Also, feeding your dog only twice a day makes it easier to train them to a "release command." Put the bowl down, and don't let your dog go after it's meal until you say "ok!" or "free!" This is so helpful if you want to have an obedient companion. :)

My recent boss has a dog that is 17 years old, and I believe this is why: a good diet is so important to your dog's longevity.

Thanks for reading!

Jess

~I only wish to be as good of a woman as my dogs think I am.~