What trendy dog food and products have you heard about lately? What have you seen on social media, heard about at pet shops, or seen ads for… items that will fix this, cure that….
It seems every week there is a new product or food that is supposed to be the best, beneficial, good for what ails our pets…some of these suggestions are based on long term knowledge, and that is a good thing. But we have to respond in the best way.
Example: Pumpkin can help with diarrhea or constipation. This is certainly not a trend. The idea has been around for a while, and it can definitely help in many cases.
There are a couple things to keep in mind, though.
First, we should try to figure out the cause of the diarrhea or constipation. If it is just a fluke thing or our dogs ate something they shouldn’t, it may resolve within a couple days and pumpkin can help normalize things. But if there is a deeper cause, like parasites, IBS or IBD or something else, we need to address that in order to get a real solution.
Second, because the pumpkin solution is now more well known, companies are offering things like pumpkin supplements or powder… they are making it a trendy ‘cure’ based on the popularity of the idea.
My point is, a food or product may work sometimes or many times. But if it becomes a popular solution, then we pet parents will be the target of a lot of marketing to buy it, whether we need it or not.
Does that make sense?
Now, on the other side of the coin… new information, research and knowledge is always coming out. Some of this is very important stuff, and the more we know about what really helps, the better off we and our pets will be.
But we should always examine the situation before we jump into a trendy fix. We need to look at our individual dog’s situation, and go from there.
As always, please reach out to me for assistance, and visit my Services page for ways I can help you create a truly nourishing, simple and non-trendy diet.
Thank you,
Sarah
PS – Do you have a golden retriever? You may enjoy my other site, GoldenRetrieverDiet.com