Rotate Your Tires & Your Pet's Food

My trusty mechanics (shout out to Hay Tire) have kept my car running great for years. One of the best things I have done is have the tires rotated regularly. So what do tire rotation and pet food have in common? They both save on wear and tear.

Let's say your car pulls to the left, over time the left side of your tires will wear down. When you bring home a new dog you choose a food. You feed that food day in and day out. Then sometime down the road your dog begins to show signs of wear and tear. You notice: itchy skin, eye goop, flaky coat, or maybe the smell of Frito's. There can be a number of reasons for these symptoms (check with your vet), and one easy place to start looking is the food.

At Dolittle's I often see dogs that show signs of internal wear and tear. It even happens with quality food, after too much lamb and rice the dog's system can become intolerant of lamb and rice. I offer a change of diet to every one of my customers. The results are almost always the same. Things improve. Comments come back like "changing my dog to duck and potato did the trick." What some customers will overlook is that it is not just the food helping but the rotation. Given time these customers could be back in the same situation where their dog starts to show wear and tear on duck and potato. What's the answer? Again, rotation.

Dog food companies would LOVE for you to feed their food for the life of your pet. They even say so right on the label with phrases like "ABC the only food your pet will ever need" or "XYZ for life." What makes these foods right for your dog? Yes the dog likes it and it meets AAFCO standards, but so what? Every dog food company strives to make a food your dog will like. And as far as AAFCO feeding trials, they only last 5 weeks so why make a lifetime commitment?

So how did you chose your dog's food in the first place? Was it a TV commercial? Vet recommendation? Breeder suggestion? Dolittle's? Why did you choose to feed it for the life of your pet? What about the thousands of other foods out there? Aren't they just as good? Could they be better? With so many excellent choices today, I would hate to deny my dogs the opportunity of trying them.

By rotating diets you give your dog's body the chance to process different protein sources, different vitamin content, and even different regional ingredients. With rotation you help create a tolerant digestive system, one with reduced wear and tear.

Go ahead, try something new

Ric Sommons
Owner - Dolittle's
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