Food is important for all living things. It nourishes you and keeps you going every day. You've probably heard of the adage "you are what you eat". If you want to be healthy, you have to eat healthy. And this concept applies to our pets as well.
HOPE advocates home-cooked food for all our rescue dogs. It's the healthiest and safest option for our furry companions. After all, if you're the one doing the food preparation, you'd know exactly what's in your pet's next meal. The same cannot be said for commercial kibble or canned pet food.
Did you know that, unlike human food, the pet food industry has little to no regulation by the government? This means two things:
- The labels on the packaging may not be accurate and may not include a full list of ingredients used.
- Ingredients that are listed may not be safe.
The bottom line is, it's difficult to be sure that commercial pet food is actually safe. Are you willing to take that chance and gamble on the health of your pet?
In a bid to make their products more "nutritious" and thus more “attractive” to consumers, some companies add vitamins and minerals into their kibble or canned food. But this often makes things worse instead of better. Our pets' bodies are not designed to break down these synthetic vitamins, and so they build up as toxins in the liver and kidneys. Over time, it may even lead to organ failure.
These packaged food are produced with profit-making in mind; thus an extended shelf life would be ideal to generate more earnings. Can you imagine the amount of chemical preservatives that will go into these commercial pet food in order to extend their shelf life? If we ate instant noodles or processed food day and night, it would only be a matter of time before our organs start failing due the accumulations of toxins and chemicals – the same applies to our furry friends! Assurance of premium quality does not make a kibble any less of a kibble.
Then you might think "Well, I've been feeding my dog the same brand of food for 5 years, and he's still in the pink of health!" While our dogs may look healthy now, it's when they get older that we'll begin to see the negative health effects brought on by the synthetic ingredients they've been fed their whole lives. This might also mean increasingly expensive vet bills to deal with their health problems.
The only way to be absolutely sure that your pet's food is safe and healthy is to cook it yourself. It's easier and less time-consuming than you might think!
Written by: Wee Yen
