After 10 years of practicing traditional medicine in my veterinary practice, I slowly discovered that health was not to be found in my drug cabinet or inside the many bags of prescription diets stacked on the shelves in my hospital. As a natural health nut myself, making the change to recommending more natural diets to my patients was just a matter of time, or should I say just a matter of Rose, my new white Boxer puppy.

So it all began when my beautiful new pup began to challenge my veterinary skills to put an end to her diarrhea.

When switching her to a prescription diet failed to bring us relief, out came the medication. The pills did seem to help, but stopping them always guaranteed another episode of misery for both of us. I became even more concerned when she failed to show the proper weight gain for her age and medical diagnoses like Boxer colitis and inflammatory bowel disease started me thinking of her more like a new patient than my beloved canine pal.

Fortunately, my intuition started kicking in and I noticed that Rose was always a lot more interested in whatever I was eating and often had to be coaxed to eat whatever I was pouring into her bowl. Unable to resist the stare of her dark brown eyes, I soon started giving her real chicken, also known as "people food." Seeing how happy she was to be my new dinner guest was enough of a reward to make me challenge the number one sin of pet owners; Don't feed your dog people food!

Soon Rose began to refuse the kibble (the sign of a very smart dog) and wait for our dinner hour together. Not only did her bowel problem resolve itself, but she started gaining weight. I was thrilled to cancel further medical tests I had scheduled, discard medications, and donate open bags and cans of dog food.

So, what is so bad about feeding dogs people food? Nothing! If you know how to eat a healthy, well balanced diet you can apply that same principle to feeding your dog. Only the ratio of meat to carbohydrates and size proportions will change. The problem is in thinking that dogs need to eat differently than we do and that all their nutritional needs can be scientifically formulated and packaged into neat little bags. No freshness, no variety and no taste. Does that sound like good nutrition?

Worse yet is that pet food manufacturers are allowed to buy meat and grains that are rejected by the U.S.D.A. for human consumption. Our government has protected us from eating harmful foodstuffs, but the same protection does not apply to our pets! It is time we invite our hungry hounds back into our kitchens. If you can boil water, you can become a dog chef too! See the simple feeding guidelines below and start cooking for your hungry hound too!

Chow for now,

Paula Terifaj D.V.M.

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