I went to see a dog trainer today for the first time with my rescue dog Gypsy owing to her boisterous behaviour and lack of training. The trainer was a very no- nonsense, opinionated sort of person who was very much under the impression ( I think) that she knows everything. She told me to feed my dog Burn's or James Wellbeloved and launched into a bit of a tirade about how if I couldn't afford to feed her good food I shouldn't have a dog, before even asking me what I feed her. I have up until recently fed her on Burn's or James Wellbeloved anyway! But I've now decided to feed her a homemade diet. She seemed critical of this even when I told her what I use- brown rice, meat and veg. My dog loves it, probably because it actually looks and smells like food, and I actually think she is slightly calmer since I've been feeding her it. My family have agreed with me on that, and yet the trainer's main arguement for feeding her Burn's was that it will help with her behaviour. I looked at the ingredients and found that they are exactly the same as what I feed her anyway- only homemade stuff in a more appetising, unprocessed form. Convenience is the only difference.
If you go on the Burn's website you'll find that Mr Burns, as a vet, originally recommended a homemade diet of exactly what I am feeding her, only he found many clients didn't have the time or motivation to do that so launched his own pet food. He also mentions the quanitities of each ingredient on the FAQ page and I am doing nothing wrong according to his advice. He also mentions that it is perfectly feasible to feed homemade and achieve the right quanitites of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals without adding supplements.
The trainer also mentioned I should never give my dog potato, garlic or onions. Now onions I know are bad for dogs. However I don't see how potatoes are, since even one of Burns' foods is 'Potato and Pork.' The only way they are poisonous is if you feed large quanitites of raw green potatoes or the actual plant. Garlic as well can be very healthy for dogs, used as capsules, or fresh in their food in small amounts- it would take about 50 cloves I have read to actually cause the type of aneamia that is associated with it. Richard Allport (alternative vet) recently praised it in a recent dog magazine I have read. I was so fuming inside as she was preaching to me- as I'm an intelligent person, despite being inexperienced with dogs, I read a lot, care a lot, and am training in Vet Nursing, so owing to the evidence I've mentioned above I was sure I knew more than she did, but being quite a shy person I don't really have the confidence to bite back.
She also seemed to think a Bullmastiff was a dog bred for fighting, and when it locked it's jaws doesn't let go. Slightly confused perhaps...I tried to argue but she cut me short. It's Bull Terriers isn't it?
Anyway- what do you think- who's right? Should I say anything to her next time, and continue feeding my homemade diet?