Why Quality Dog Food?
I am often asked, “What should I feed my puppy? What do you recommend?” I have always researched the dog food and looked at the first few ingredients, as I was told that these were the most important and meat should always be the first one. The guaranteed analysis was the next important criteria. We have been feeding some of the most well known Dog Foods for Decades and we have found that two of our favorites our Royal Canin and Life’s Abundance Dog Food for puppies. We are constantly so impressed by the quality and high standards of this two dog foods and the amazing testimonials from the customers and field representatives of both of these companies that we decided to recommend both Royal Canin and Life’s Abundance. If you are getting ready to own a NEW PUPPY let me be clear because of the Pandemic certain dog foods are very difficult to get due to the explosion of the pet market. Our mission at Smoky Mtn. Labradors is to improve the quality of the Labrador Retriever Breed and offer our customers beautiful, healthy, and sweet-tempered puppies that they can enjoy for years to come. It is possible because of Supply and Demand over the first year of your puppy you end up using both. Remember this all puppies get extremely bored with the same food.
This line of pet products was formulated by Dr. Jane Bicks, DVM. She has been a holistic vet for over 20 years. She has served as President of the American Veterinarian Association of New York City, earned three Presidential Citations, appointed by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to help establish one of the largest animal shelters in the world, the author of three books on responsible care and treatment of pets, and has appeared on 48 Hours, Good Morning America, CNN, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and more. She has also created a non-profit foundation where a percent of her product line is contributed toward rescue and care for pets.
Needless to say, I was pretty impressed. I learned that pet food was developed around World War II. It consisted of left-over grains that were rejected for human consumption. It was recognized very quickly that grains alone were not providing adequate nutrition, so protein was added, again with the source being rejected meat for human consumption; dead, diseased, dying, disabled, or drugged animals met the criteria.
Did you know that our pets genetically can live to be 20 years old, but the current average is 13-15? While many factors help the longevity of life – environment, health care, etc. nutrition is one of the most important factors. Many of the ingredients in our pet food today causes a shorter life span due to the ingredients that cause stress on their kidney and liver functions which include; wheat, corn, and soy. These are also major allergens to our pets.
By-products such as chicken heads, duck bills, fish heads, chicken and turkey feet, bones and diseased & contaminated slaughterhouse meat can also be included in our pet foods! BHA, BHT, which harms our dog’s liver and kidneys and are known carcinogens. As well as Ethoxyquin, which is used to stabilize rubber can also be used. All these chemicals are added to provide a longer shelf life, for months, even possibly a couple of years.
We are now feedings our dogs Life’s Abundance Nutritional System and Agility Formula and raising the puppies on this food and supplements to help ensure a long and healthy life, as well as provide our puppies a healthy start.
While this dog food “seems” more expensive up front, the cost is about $1.88 a day for a 70 pound adult dog. Americans spend more than that on their Starbuck's coffee every morning! You feed less dog food, but they receive more nutrition! They are able to digest and utilize the dog food more. And you are ensuring a long and healthy life for your pet when you feed them quality nutrition! Isn't your precious puppy worth it?