Hart Ford
HomeColumns, Opinions & Misc.From the Comfy Chair: Fido food!

From the Comfy Chair: Fido food!

It was Saturday, mid-morning, and I was just about to settle into my “Comfy Chair” for a much-deserved nap, and my daughter called. I had asked her to do some research on dog food. I have not been happy with the current food I feed my doggies. She exclaimed, “Dad, I have been doing some analysis, and I have narrowed down the list of dog food to just a couple of choices.”

I thought about the last couple of months; I have caught my dogs eating garbage after they knocked over the trashcan. On walks, they consume anything that they happen to find along the way; grasses, stuff pitched out of car windows, rabbit or deer pellets, and yes, on occasion, even a gift left by another dog; of course, they smell it first. I asked her if there was anything wrong with the current food I was feeding them? She replied, “Dad, really, it has cornmeal in it. When we visit the horse barn, I thought to myself that they are joyously overwhelmed with the field of Milk bones ® that we call horse manure. With all of that consumption going on, cornmeal does not sound too bad.

“Our dogs are at the perfect weight; they seem healthy, mostly happy. Their eyes are clear, tails are wagging. I guess I’m concerned with their coats, they could shine more, and one dog seems to scratch too much, and her ears always need cleaning.

My daughter has many sides to her personality; she’s an excellent coach training people to ride and improve performance. She’s a terrific mom taking care of her son Kelton, who loves her job and the people she works with. In addition to all of that, she is a NERD! Enjoys science and doing research. As she went on to convince me, I was immediately enveloped in a tsunami of her college logic. She took a nutrition class and actually sold horse supplements for her first job out of college. I was informed that I should not feed my dogs too much protein or too much grain. After all, they are predators, not prey animals. They like meat such as duck, salmon, pheasant, and buffalo with slow-cooked vegetables with added vitamins, natural flavorings, and preservatives; (Wow, I should eat this good!) Their food should have the proper balance of calories, protein, fiber, and fat. You may include Chondroitin and Glucosamine, and natural probiotics. Each dog should have custom food if they are a senior, adult, low active, high active, or inactive. What exactly is inactive? Does that mean deceased?

“Okay Dad, I like this natural product its moderate protein and not too much grain. It has slow-cooked vegetables, and the protein is turkey, duck, and chicken. Really? it’s “Turducken?” And it’s only 70 dollars a 30-pound bag!” I quickly responded, “Great! We pay 100 dollars a month for our smartphones, I guess I can cancel them, and we can use that money to buy this gourmet dog food, right?” Next, we discussed the fresh food rolls in the refrigerated display right next to the filet mignon, and almost as expensive. We talked about the mail-ordered fresh food right off the farm. We spoke of several dry dog food brands named after various animals, places, and hard-to-pronounce words. Next, she shared with me the one she likes based on her research. “Dad, this dog food is my first choice; it’s made for your dogs!” It really is; this company has dog food mixed for different breeds. Okay, I’ll go buy some tomorrow. Thanks for helping and doing the research on this. She replied; “That’s okay, by the way, you are going to babysit so I can hunt Sunday night, right?” “Of course!” I replied, were family, we help each other!

“Remember, every day is a gift! Some are just a little more fun to open than others. – © Joel M. Vernier 11/04/2020 Author of: “The Guinea Pig In The Freezer.” joelmvernier@aol.com

Leave a Comment

###

UpNorthVoice.com is Northern Michigan's source for community news.

We cover seven counties including Crawford, Roscommon, Oscoda, Ogemaw, Iosco, Arenac and Montmorency counties in print and / or online.

We are also a full-service commercial design and printing house. Our specialty is custom commercial printing, as well as the creation of clothing, cups and other marketing products.

To submit information for publication, or for questions regarding promotion of your business through web or print, as well as promotional items such as hats or cups, please email info@UpNorthVoice.com, or call 989-275-1170.

Advertisement