What Am I Feeding Fido?

Through out my life I have always had a dog. It just seemed natural to always have a pet to care for and love. Watching the ads on television with a healthy looking dog romping and playing because they ate a certain brand of dog food, would coach us into the store to buy what we though was a safe and healthy food choice for our pet.

But were we really giving Fido something healthy? We thought so.

Did we place too much trust in these advertisers and the dog food manufacturers? The recent pet food scare has brought many pet owners to question the validity of what is actually in the food that we are feeding our pets.

We pet owners want the best we can offer for our pets. Now we are not sure what we are feeding our pets. Reading the labels does not make it any easier to understand what is in the product either. Turning to all natural ingredients may be a safer choice for our pets.

We value our pets as a part of our families. We would not give unsafe food to our children or spouses nor do we expect any less for our pets. There were over 100 brands of pet foods recalled beginning in March of 2007. Keeping track of a couple of brands of food is one thing but 100 that is more than any one person can remember.

I try to stay with name brand dog food like "Kibbles and Bits" and never had any issues, luckily for us. But I am still unsure that I am giving the best food I can for my dog. Every time my dog acts a little strange I wonder.

The problem is, knowing who is manufacturing Fido's food. Most pet food is made at a main manufacturer and then distributed under different brand names. Menu Foods Income Fund made the pet food recalled last spring but sold under nearly 200 brands.

I know Fido is just the family pet and we pet owners get a little crazy when it comes to caring for these little creatures, but our pets look to us for protection and taking care of their needs. We want to know what we are feeding our pets and we expect what we are buying is safe and healthy. Are there going to be stronger regulations put in place now to insure safe pet foods or is Fido not that important?