The Great Dog Food Scare is now one year away. In the first months a lot of websites and blogs were writing about this topic and many more people were searching for information to find safe dog food.

Menu Foods stock was sent into a free fall and faces more than 100 class-action lawsuits. Last month, many of the lawsuits in the US were consolidated into one class-action lawsuit.

The search is now over as is clearly reflected in the Google Trend. Pet food is also off the radar of regulators and other agencies.

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T-Nell, a semi professional photographer, she also happens to by my aunt

, has chosen a picture of Kensho to participate in a photo contest. This contest is held by Canon and you can vote as per May, 5th 2008. Please visit the photo contest website and help to get this picture of Kensho high up in the rankings!

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No dog food can cure canine kidney disease and expensive prescription diets cannot prevent kidney disease either. However, when your dog is suffering from renal failure a specialized diet can both extend his life as well as improve the quality of life. When your dog has malfunctioning kidneys the activity has dropped below 30% before you notice the clinical signs.

Visit the kidney disease dog food diet page on Best Dog Food Guide to learn more about the symptoms of canine kidney disease.

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Canine diabetes is becoming a lifestyle disease in dogs just like in humans. The risk for developing diabetes mellitus increases with age and weight.

Early warning signs include extreme thirst and increased water intake (and hence more frequent urinating), unexplained weight loss and depressed or lethargic behavior.

The usual treatment consists of strictly regulating sugar intake. This can be achieved by feeding a special diabetic dog food and feeding multiple smaller meals a day instead of one biggie.

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Due to complaints of sick dogs from customers - Timberwolf Organics Dog Food has voluntarily recalled two brands of dry dog food.Dakota Bison with ‘best by’ date of 12 February 2009Ocean Blue with ‘best by’ date of 20 February 2009 and 8 March 2009.

The reported symptoms in dogs include:

Dogs refusing to eat (just being smart doggies perhaps)DiarrheaVomiting

The problem is inconsistent as not every dog eating food from those dates/bag shows the symptoms and it’s not with every bag. “Better safe than sorry”, Timberwolf Organics must have thought as they have decided to pull the formulas produced with the above dates. Though initial testing has come back negative for problems it’s better to err on the side of caution. Further testing is pending results.

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Via the contact form of Best Dog Food Guide I received the following question:

My dog is overweight by at least 15 pounds. I have cut down on his food intake and also do more walks with him. The problem is I cannot go for long walks. Two back surgeries have limited me in walking very much. He is five years and like me of course he lays down in bed a lot with me because I have to. Is there anything else I can do for him. I tried dog walkers but reliability was a big problem for me so I gave up on that idea. He is a golden lab and the best dog known. I know that if he stays this way his life expectancy will be affected. I tried weight reduction foods for him but that did not work either. Is there something else I can try?

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The market for dog and cat food continues to grow. In 2007 the worldwide retail sales exceeded 45 billion US dollars (Euromonitor International). This represents a total growth of about 40% as compared to 2002.Of course this can’t go on at such rates though analysts predict the dog and cat food will continue to grow in the upcoming 5 years to 52 million US dollars in 2012.

There is a major difference between countries. The more mature markets (US and Western Europe) grow at a slower pace compared to upcoming markets such as Latin America (107% growth in 5 years time).

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When you think the humanization trend in the dog food world is at it’s top you’ll be surprised again. First we had special beer for dogs and now the American company Bark Vineyards produces wine for dogs.

This drink for posh dogs is not cheap but it does come in a bottle that looks just like a regular bottle of wine for humans. The same goes for it’s price! Names are different though as your dog can choose between Barkundy and White Sniff-n-Tail any many more.

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Kyle from the USA posted the following question to ‘Best Dog Food Guide‘:

“I’ve been told dry dog food is good for my dogs teeth. Is putting water in his food bowl all the time going to take away from this?”

Well, the short answer is a plain ‘no’. I’m assuming Kyle is worried about his dog’s teeth and gums. The best thing to do is brush your dog’s teeth and you don’t actually need tooth paste; water alone will be fine. Throw him an occasional bone or raw hide to chew on.

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Dog owners often run into the same issues and I can relate to them from experience. I have fallen for the same tricks when Kensho played them on me.

Question from a desperate dog owner:

“My 7 month old pup is more than picky when it comes to her food! She just doesn’t LIKE any of it, so she won’t eat very much. I’m to the point where I think if she’s hungry enough she will eat it!

I started with Nutro Lamb & Rice, she won’t eat that anymore, then changed to Chicken Soup… it gave her the runs… then to Canidae Chicken & Rice.. she wouldn’t eat it… now I have California Natural Lamb & Rice, which she will only eat if I mix in a little canned food (and even then she will only pick around and eat the canned food). It also gave her runny poop today.

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