Give Your Pups a Special Dinner Time Treat

When you think about how much we all invest in fine china, monogrammed silverware and silk napkins, it becomes pretty apparent that the way our food is presented to us is important. We often joke that our pets would eat their dinner off of a trash can lid, having a special bowl, plate or dish to eat from means a lot to them, too. We may not realize it, but our pets need items and places of their own, and that is reflected in how possessive most dogs are of their food dishes. While no one expects you to go out and buy fine china for your pet, a unique and specialized food dish or bowl can be the perfect way of showing your dog that you understand that meal time is, in fact, a special time for them.

A specialized dog dish can also send a clear message to your dog that this is the only place they should be eating from. A recent spat of news stories have been hitting the wires over the last few weeks of apparent dog poisonings in public places like dog parks and on walking paths. The stories are spread out all over both Canada and the United States, which shows that while this may be a rather bizarre problem, it isn’t rare. It can be tempting to accept treats from strangers, especially if they are walking their own dog, but you wouldn’t take an unwrapped treat from a stranger and mindlessly feed it to your child, so why bother doing the same with your dog? Only consider feeding your dog store bought treats or home made treats (a great value) made by yourself or close friends. You can never be too careful when it comes to protecting the health of your special friend.

Here are some other helpful mealtime tips. Make sure that you are feeding your dog food that is correct for their age and their body type. A puppy that is chowing down on adult dog food isn’t getting the nutrition they need to grow, and feeding an adult dog puppy food is likely taking in too many calories and is risking obesity. You should also make sure that your dog is getting both wet food and dry food every day (same for you cat owners out there.) Finally, make a point of feeding your dog at the same time every day. Dogs crave routine and changes in that routine can really upset their psyche.