I know some of you can relate to this. There’s that moment each evening when your family sits down to dinner and the dog parks himself near enough to catch any scraps the kids inadvertently fling onto the floor. Everything is going along great and then… someone says “Ugh, what IS that smell?”

…or in our case “Gross, Siren!” and you all suddenly feel the urge to flee the room with your dinner plate because your poor pup has such awful gas. Yea…we’ve all been there. Or better yet, the kids are in bed, you’re curled up on the couch for your favorite show (you know, the one you’ve been binge watching) with your furry friend curled up next to you when you start to notice that familiar raunchy stink. It ruins your cozy little moment and you give up and just go to bed.

We tried so many different store brand foods, from IAMS to Blue Buffalo to get rid of that gas. Grain free, fish and potato, even venison at one point. None of them worked! So, because Siren is my favorite dog (don’t tell the rest of the herd) and I knew that if she smelled that bad, she had to be uncomfortable as well, I started doing some research.

It turns out most of the readily available dog foods, even the high end brands, contain wheat and corn. These are two of the biggest allergens for dogs and can cause all kinds of digestive trouble for your pup.  Most of them, including the grain free ones, also contain byproducts. What are byproducts anyway you ask? They can be anything from ground up feathers, bones and beaks to slaughterhouse cast offs and euthanized animal parts. Bleh, no wonder Siren’s belly was funky.

Who would willingly feed that to their dog? While it is technically protein, and technically chicken, it’s definitely not very healthy or digestible.  Add to the byproducts, wheat and corn, a few artificial dyes and artificial preservatives and we’ve got ourselves a meal. Not a good meal, but a meal and like my kids, my dogs LOVE junk food. Siren would gobble down that beak and feather filled mess of dye and chemicals like it was going out of style, kind of the way I wolf down pizza and regret it afterward.

So, I made it my new mission to find a HEALTHY food to feed my herd of four-legged buddies that they would want to eat and that wouldn’t break the bank.  I wanted something I could be sure was good for my dogs and that I could recommend confidently to the families who take home my puppies as well. After all my research I wasn’t confident that my current food was a good bet any longer. It took some trolling on the internet and some further research but I finally landed on one that is working wonderfully for my dogs. I won’t say Siren NEVER has gas any more but I will say it has greatly improved and she no longer makes us gag at dinner time.

My dogs’ coats seem softer and shinier, their digestive troubles seem to have gone away and my poodle’s notorious “poodle ears” have cleared up and are looking great these days. The dogs LOVE the food too. I love that it contains no wheat or corn, no byproducts and no artificial dyes or preservatives. It’s guaranteed to be no more than 6 weeks old when I receive it, whereas most store brands have been shelved for 6 months to a year before they get to your dog. I can be confident recommending it to buyers and to all of you because it has never been recalled and the company has been around since 1999. That’s a pretty great track record considering nearly all of the major dog food brands have had recalls for safety reasons over the past several years. For me the biggest benefits have been the reduced gas my dogs have had as well as the smaller stools. We have sort of a lot of dogs and less poop to scoop is fantastic news! Plus, it really doesn’t cost much more per day to feed than the IAMS I was using cost. If you want more info on what I am currently using and how it can help your pooch, click the link.

Life's-Abundance-Dog-Food

www.lifesabundance.com/creeksidedoodles

If you aren’t convinced and aren’t quite ready to switch dog food brands just yet, you can also try adding plain yogurt to your dog’s food. The probiotics in the yogurt may help some with digestive troubles. If it’s a chronic issue you should obviously talk to your vet and see if there is an underlying reason for the problem.

You could also try cutting out the people food and grocery store dog treats. I am as guilty as anyone of feeding my dogs stuff off my plate once in awhile. I know it isn’t good for them but those sad eyes just get me sometimes. However, some of the things we might feed them from our plates could be causing digestive issues. There are several spices that we commonly use in our own food that are bad news for dogs. Garlic, which I love and use very frequently, is a member of the onion family and onions are toxic to dogs. Nutmeg is another common spice that is no good for your pup.

Cutting out these little “treats” could make your pup’s tummy a little happier. Overall though, just like us, their general diet is most to blame for our furry friends’ health and digestive concerns. Do some research, check out my dog food and tell me what you think. After all, it has a 30 day money back guarantee if your dog hates it so you’ve really got nothing to lose and a happier, healthier fur ball to gain.