Don, what do you feed your dog Muppy?

Don, what do you feed your dog Muppy?

 By Don Hanson, PCBC-A, BFRAP

< A version of this article was first published in the August 2020 issue of Downeast Dog News>

< Updated 2025-05-11 >

< The link to this page –  https://forcefreepets.com/DonWhatDoYouFeedMuppy/ >

 At least once a week, someone asks me, “Don, what food do you feed your dog?” Usually, they expect me to say, “I feed my dog brand X because it is the best food for all dogs!” I will NEVER say that, but sadly, that is the response they hear far too often from other pet care professionals.

I tell them, “I feed Muppy various types and brands of foods. Every time I purchase food, I switch to a different protein source. I also add moisture to whatever food I feed, either water, bone broth, or goat’s milk. I do not believe that there is a single brand of food or formula that is or ever will be the “best” for all dogs.”

When I got my first puppy, Trivia, in 1975, I was a teenager. I knew nothing about dogs except that I liked them, so I fed her dry food (kibble) based on the recommendation of her veterinarian. When my wife and I could afford our first home in the early ’80s, we continued to feed our dog’s kibble.

In 1991, Paula was a vet tech, and we had just purchased our second home and a Cairn Terrier puppy whom we named Gus. Paula’s boss taught us that not all kibbles were the same, so we started Gus on a premium kibble. However, Gus soon developed health problems that led to his becoming the catalyst for our continuing education on pet nutrition. [ FMI – Pet Nutrition-Our Story with Gus – https://forcefreepets.com/petnutritionourstorywithgus/  ].

Most of the first commercial pet foods were canned meat. Dry food or kibble was developed during World War 2 when steel for cans and meat for dog food were in short supply. It was not brought to market because it was the best type of pet food, but it was a survival ration in a time of mass shortages. Today, kibble is the type of food most fed to dogs. Dog food companies promote kibble as a dog’s best source of nutrition. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Kibble exists because it is cheap to manufacture, convenient to feed, has a long shelf-life, and is less expensive for the consumer than fresh food. Kibble meets the “alleged” minimal nutritional requirements so that your dog will survive. However, it does not provide optimal nutrition to help your dog thrive. I have put the word “alleged” in quotes because I believe it is incredibly arrogant for us to presume that we know one hundred percent of the nutritional requirements of any species, when every year the dietary requirements for humans seem to change.

In 1998, we learned about the benefits of raw diets. We traveled to San Diego to attend a seminar with Dr. Ian Billinghurst, a veterinarian advocating the BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) diet for pets. Based on what we learned from Dr. Wysong and Dr. Billinghurst, both veterinarians, we started exploring feeding our dogs fresh, whole food.

In 2002, we started selling commercially prepared, frozen, raw food in the store. We had five dogs at the time, so economics dictated that we fed kibble in the morning and raw food in the evening. When we were down to two dogs, we switched to feeding 100% raw. Since then, other options, such as freeze-dried and lightly-cooked diets, have also become available. They are also vastly superior to kibble. While we still primarily sell kibble in the store, we also sell several food brands in the non-kibble category. More and more of our clients are feeding these non-kibble options at least part of the time.

Like you, my budget affects how I feed my pets. That’s why we fed half a ration of fresh food and half kibble when we had five dogs. We knew feeding a raw diet only a few times a week would still be beneficial. Our Golden, Tikken, lived to be sixteen, far longer than typical for the breed. When Tikken passed, and we looked for a new dog, we chose Muppy, who was half Tikken’s size. One of the reasons we chose a smaller dog is so that we could always afford to feed her the best.

I believe the best diet for a dog is composed of muscle meat, organ meat, and bone. The food should contain no soluble carbohydrates, as the dog does not need them. That’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.  Even the best kibble contains carbohydrates; some formulas contain over 50% carbs. However, I add a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to Muppy’s food (apples, blueberries, carrots, kale, pumpkin, and pineapple), not for the carbs but for the natural vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients found in fresh food.

There are still those opposed to feeding dogs a raw diet; however, it is the fastest-growing segment of the pet food industry. It is also well supported by science. At the end of 2020, Dr. Connor Brady published Feeding Dogs – The Science Behind the Dry Versus Raw Debate. This book examines what peer-reviewed scientific studies tell us about feeding a raw diet or ultra-processed dog kibble. It also lists all of those references to those studies at the end of each chapter. Natural and fresh food is a winner, just as it is for humans. We all know we will be healthier eating fresh food such as meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and dairy than we will eating the processed food in the center of the supermarket; mac and cheese in a box may be cheap and convenient, but we know it’s not healthy. So, before you let anyone talk you out of feeding raw, insist they read Dr. Brady’s book. 

As much as possible, ingredients should be human-grade, which is rare in kibble. For example, when you see chicken on the ingredient list of a bag of dry dog food, you may envision a whole roast chicken, but what is probably in the food is a chicken frame. A chicken frame is the bones and cartilage of a chicken, containing the meat that was not removed for use in human products. Chicken frames are also often used in frozen raw diets. Nothing is inherently wrong with a chicken frame, but it is not what most consumers think is in their pet’s food when they see the word “chicken” on the label. Three foods we sell were recently recognized for using human-grade ingredients: My Perfect Pet, Northwest Naturals, and Steve Real Food for Pets.

When Muppy joined us in 2013, we started feeding her various types and brands of food. Today, one meal every day is raw or freeze-dried food. Her second meal may be the same type of food, but it is a different brand and protein. It may also be freeze-dried or canned food, and occasionally a high-quality, low-carbohydrate kibble.

I primarily rotate among six brands of food for Muppy: My Perfect Pet, Northwest Naturals, NutriSource, Primal, Steve’s Real Food, and Vital Essentials. Between March 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, she consumed fourteen different proteins: beef, chicken, duck, kangaroo, lamb, pork, rabbit, salmon, sardine, turducken, turkey, venison, whitefish, and wild boar. To learn more about why dietary rotation is so important, go to https://forcefreepets.com/rotatingwhatyoufeedyourpet/

I always add moisture to Muppy’s food as water, bone broth, goat’s milk, a raw egg, or some blended fresh fruits and veggies like apples, blueberries, pineapple, broccoli, carrots, or kale. If she lived ferally, she would look for food sources, like mice and other rodents, mostly water. If kibble, freeze-dried, or dehydrated food is fed without adding water, your dog could suffer from chronic dehydration. FMI – Our Pets Most Important Nutrient – Water – https://forcefreepets.com/wateranimportantnutient/

So that is how I answer the question, “Don, what food do you feed your dog?” Of course, what I would recommend for your dog depends on their nutritional needs, your concerns, and budget.