What am I feeding my dog?

These days there are a bunch of different commercials advertising "healthy" or "natural" dog food. These products claim to have no preservatives or fillers and the only choice to make if you truly love your dog. These foods and treats can be quite expensive and like most companies aren't telling the whole truth of what "all natural" really means. Are these products truly better for our pets' health? Are they worth the price?

My family feeds both my dogs a normal dry dog food. Both dogs are happy, healthy, active, functioning dogs. Personally, I don't think it's necessary to spend the extra money on foods such as these when their current diet regimen seems to be working just fine.

Normal dry dog foods are usually composed of animal skins, lots of times from pigs. Dog food commercials advertise that they put things like vegetables and "rich proteins" into their foods. But if I set a plain bowl of corn gluten and hog skins in my dog's food bowl, I doubt she would want to eat it and I wouldn't blame her.

A part of me feels guilty for not feeding my dogs the most natural and healthy products available, as I try to do the same for my own health. Is that the goal of these companies? If the goal is to simply guilt pet owners into buying so-called natural products, then are they really that much more beneficial to your dog's health? If a were a successful independent person with only one dog maybe I could afford to spend more money on my dog's diet and feed them less processed products and more nutrient-rich natural ones instead.

Some dogs have sensitive stomachs and only have one brand of dog food that won't upset their stomach. My grandma's dog has a sensitive stomach and she used to only be able to buy food for her dog at the vet's office. Do dogs' sensitivities come from all the preservatives or other ingredients in dog food? Would a natural alternative help these dogs?

So the next time you see a commercial on TV for such products or look across the shelves at all your options, don't consider yourself a horrible pet owner if you choose a normal dog food. If it wasn't safe for your dog, something would have been done about it by now. You can, however keep natural dog foods as an option or treat for your dogs if it is in your budget every week. We could all afford a little less of processed food and preservatives in our diets, dogs and humans alike.