"Dog" Food For Thought The title of my book is "Dog" Food For Thought. The tagline is The Good, Bad, and Ugly of What You are Feeding Your Pup. The purpose of the book is to give people who own dogs an overview of foods that people eat normally and have a tendency to include in their pet's diet without considering whether they are beneficial or harmful to their animals. When their pets become sick, or they find it necessary to visit the veterinarian often because of a chronic condition, they don't understand that the condition could have been derived from a poor diet. The people that will be reading this book are people who are concerned about what Fido needs to be a healthy pooch but don't have the time to spend hours researching the subject, or even know where to look to find answers. There are few competing books such as this one to be found on the market: Give Your Dog a Bone by Dr. Ian Billinghurst, The Lucky Dog Weight Loss Plan by Vicky Marshall, and Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet by Steve Brown. The content in these books, however, is not at all similar to what this book is all about. The premise of the book is not to tell people what to do, but give them the pros and cons of specific foods or ingredients, and let them make their own choices, thus the title "Dog" Food For Thought. Dogs depend on you to feed them correctly. They can't buy food; they don't have money to spend on food, they might have money in some cases, but they don't have pockets to keep it in if they did. So, if you want a healthy dog that doesn't have to go to the vet frequently, be conscientious about their diet. Taking your dog to the vet often can be very expensive. We're going to get into foods that are beneficial and foods that are harmful. We'll examine the pros and cons. Because dogs are carnivores, meat is very beneficial to them: beef, buffalo, salmon, sardines, organs, fish, pork, turkey, venison, lamb, and tuna just to name a few. The leaner the meat is, the more beneficial it would be. Feeding a dog fat trimmings, or excessive fat can cause overweight problems or be hard on their heart. We'll also get into raw vs. cooked. Some people say that you should cook everything, while others say that feeding your dog raw foods is the only way to go. We'll go through both kinds, thus leaving you choices as to what you feel is best for your companion. We'll also go through organic vs. not organic. Feeding your pup what's on the market and easy, but perhaps not healthy, or taking the time to make your own pup's food. There are so many different varieties of foods for dogs out there; it can make your head swim. Some people say that they don't have time to put together food at home for Fido, it's so much easier just to open a can or a bag, fill up the food dish and be done with it. I would say to them, "Is that what you do for your family, or if you live alone, all you do for yourself?" There is an old saying, "You are what you eat, that simply means eat junk and you will suffer, eat well and you will prosper. People don't realize that a healthy dog will have to go to the vet less, so if you are concerned about the time and expense it might be to buy quality ingredients to feed your dog, think about how much that vet bill might be if your pet gets sick on crappy dog food. There are many good websites out there that have great recipes that you can put together, whether you prefer doing a raw diet or a cooked one. You will find that some people don't believe in adding vegetables, but rather supplements, while others believe in the benefit of adding vegetables. Whatever you decide, it's always your choice. The purpose of my writing this book was always to give you a choice. I am only supplying you options. In the end, you have the opportunity to make the final decision, for better or worse.