Are you still making these dog food mistakes?

1. Not checking the expiration date. Dog food comes with expiration dates, just like human food. Make sure the date goes far enough into the future to last until all the food is consumed. This is important if you buy the bigger bags that take a few months to finish.
   
   

2. Trading cost-savings for good health. Larger bags of dry dog food are more economical, but can become spoiled before you reach the end of the bag. Luc’s food is very expensive; he’s got allergies and the food I buy has to be special ordered through our vet. Because of the high price tag, it’s cheaper for me to buy the larger bags of food. It’s also convenient not to have to make as many trips to the vet. According to many articles I’ve been reading lately, the longer food is exposed to oxygen after the dog food bag is opened, the faster it will oxidize and the food can become rancid. This makes sense.
   
   

   Because I live in Florida where insects are a way of life, I’ve always stored pet food in air tight containers, so I’ve never had a problem with his good going bad. Until recently. For some reason, I didn’t store the last bag of dog food in the container as I usually do, and after a few weeks, Luc stopped eating his food. Anyone who knows Luc knows that this never happens - he NEVER turns down food. I learned the hard way to always keep the dog food bag in the air tight container to keep it fresh and safe.
   
   

   For those of you with finicky eaters, have you tried air tight containers or smaller bags of food to ensure that it stays fresh? This container below is what I use and it’s worked really well for me. It holds larger bags of food and it’s BPA free so I don’t have to worry about the possibility of dangerous chemicals from the plastic container.

   

   BPA-free air tight container.
   
   

3. Buying dog food from your grocery store. It’s likely that any dog food bought in a grocery store is basically just junk food - low quality, and low in nutrients. Check the ingredients. Yes, the food is cheaper, but in the long run, the low quality food will cost more in your dog’s health care.
   
   

4. The food you’re buying contains byproducts. Byproducts or unnamed animal protein are basically empty calories that don’t provide any nutrition.
   
   

5. You feed unhealthy table scraps. I know, food is love, right? We love our dogs and want to see them happy, so what’s the harm in giving them some tasty human treats? Well, it’s the same harm that can happen when people eat unhealthy food – we get heart disease, diabetes, joint problems, and dozens of other problems resulting from obesity and poor nutrition. Human food is often healthier for our dogs than commercial dog food if it's balanced and provides nutrients our dogs need.
   
   

   There are so many healthy choices you can give your dog instead of a cookie or piece of processed cheese. What about carrots, apple slices, sweet potato, or peanut butter? Small pieces of cooked chicken or turkey are okay as long as your dog isn’t allergic like Luc. I’m so thankful that Luc’s favorite food is carrots – it’s so cheap, easy, and healthy!
   
   

   Some of you may have seen this photo I posted on Facebook of Luc stealing carrots out of the refrigerator. His mission in life is waiting for me to screw up and provide him with an opportunity to find food. Such a sneaky boy!

   

   Don’t forget the list of foods to stay away from. You can find the list here.

1. Canidae
2. Natural Balance
3. Iams
4. Wysong
5. Kirkland
6. Evangers
7. Ol’ Roy
8. Hills
9. Big Heart
10. Royal Canin

Celebrations:

Happy Birthday Wishes:

Happy Birthday to all our Coton friends who celebrate birthdays in July and August:

July

Name	Gender	Home Town	Birth date
Suzie	Female	Seattle, Tucson	7/2/05
Coki	Female	Morristown, NJ	7/2/11
Triscuit	Female		July 2
Chloe	Female	Cobourg, Ont, Can	7/2007
Gracie	Female	Northport, NY	7/4/10
Maxine	Female	Glenview, IL	7/4/10
Chloe	Female	Canandaigua, NY	7/8/10
Minnie	Female	National City, CA	7/10/10
Daisy May	Female	Clarence, NY	7/11/11
Giuseppe	Male	Lincoln, MA	7/13
Rosco Cole Train	Male	Clarence, NY	7/14/11
Pamuk	Female		7/17
Kirby	Male	Redding, CA	7/21/10
Huckleberry	Male	Malvern, PA	7/21/14
Moose	Male	Folsom, CA	7/23/11
Abby Lynn	Female	Buckeye, AZ	7/24/12
Boomer	Male	Quincy, MA	July 2006
Maverick	Male	Roseville, CA	7/25/11

August

Name	Gender	Home Town	Birth date
Nala	Female		8/1/12
Teddy	Male	Surprise, AZ	8/4/03
Tully	Male	Escondido, CA	8/7/11
Poppy			8/8/11
Biscuit			8/8/12
Sadie	Female	Parksville, BC, Canada	8/9/11
Sophie	Female	San Juan, PR	8/10
Ozzy	Male	Rossville, GA	8/14/09
Mia	Female	Jacksonville, FL	8/14
Petey	Male	Newport News, VA	8/15/11
LuLu Belle	Female	Spartanburg. SC	8/16/10
Casper	Male	Spartanburg, SC	8/16/10
Bailey	Female		8/16/10
Cassidy	Female	Cherry Hill, NJ	8/19/07
Cotton	Female	Florida	8/19/10
Lola	Female	Jordan, NY	8/21/12
Emma	Female	Ontario, Canada	8/22/11
Socrates	Male	Rochester Hills, MI	8/22/14
Connie	Female	England	8/22/11
Socrates	Male	Rochester Hills, MI	8/22/14
Soffee	Female	Grantwood Village, MO	8/27/10
Griffin	Female		8/28/09
Nina	Female	Riverton, WY	8/29/11
Chewie	Male	Kettering, OH	8/29/12

Want your Coton to get special birthday attention? It's easy; just join our Birthday Club.

Coton Connection

Meet the Cotons

Stop by and meet the new Cotons here. You can brag about your Coton any time.

Coton Videos

Coton Questions

Join us on Facebook

Missed a previous Newsletter?

Thanks for sharing!

Cool Coton Products

Coton Products

Disclosure: I sometimes receive commissions on products or services I recommend. I always do my best to recommend products that I've either used myself or that align with coton-de-tulear-care.com’s content, purpose and values.