The Dickson family, founders of
The Chihuahua Fanatics Club, are fed up with the dismal state of affairs in the commercial dog food industry. In fact, they are so upset that they and their fellow Chihuahua Fanatics Club members have taken matters into their own hands. They have begun collecting, analyzing and publishing the ingredients, labeling and marketing literature of brand-name, gourmet dog foods to highlight the widespread lack of quality and safety of these commercially prepared foods. But they won't stop there. They are also developing a complete set of Chihuahua nutritional guidelines, as well as an ever growing collection of whole food recipes that are good for the entire family, dogs as well as humans.
"Like most Chihuahua owners, we care deeply about the health and well being of our Chihuahuas", says Vicki Dickson, co-founder of
The Chihuahua Fanatics Club.
"It was devastating to hear, yet again, about the loss of so many precious pets because of the poor quality of the food that is available for them," she says.
"As we researched the nutritional requirements of our Chihuahuas, it became obvious that optimal nutrition for them is essentially the same combination of basic ingredients as are needed in the human diet. It's just that their quantities are a lot smaller", stated Gregg Dickson, co-founder of the club.
"Most people don't realize that dogs are omnivores, just as humans are. They don't do well on a diet of mostly meat, but need a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, in a slightly different ratio than is best for humans.
"We aren't talking about table scraps," states Mr. Dickson, "but a combination of lean meats, whole grains and easily digestible vegetables. The same types of foods that dogs and humans ate in the wild before we became civilized. This is the way we were designed to eat, and virtually all humans and canines ate this way until the last few hundred years.
"We believe that both our dogs and our human family members can benefit greatly by going back to the basics of a whole food diet and avoiding all of the refined, processed, man-made foods laden with unnatural and unhealthy substances like white flour, processed fats, refined sugars and a slew of undecipherable chemicals. These include foods like white bread, pasta, white rice and almost all packaged foods. For commercial dog food it's much worse, even downright disgusting! They take all of the stuff that isn't fit for human consumption, including animal organs, stomachs and bowels ... with the contents still in them, sick and diseased animals, even road kill and euthanized dogs and cats in some documented cases. Then they mix in the refuse from vegetable and grain processing. Stuff like ground corn cobs and husks, rotten and spoiled vegetables and moldy, fungus laden grains. Then they mix it all together, package it up and sell it as dog food.
"The commercial food manufacturers, of both human and dog food, seem to be more concerned about their profit margins than they are about the health of their customers. This leads to a strong temptation to 'cut corners' by using cheaper, less nutritious ingredients, less than optimal processing techniques and unsafe or unhealthy chemicals to reduce the preparation time or increase the shelf-life of their products.
"But rather than crusade to try to change the commercial dog food industry, we want to provide solutions that will work for the average dog loving family today. We have gathered in-depth information on how to meet the nutritional needs of your Chihuahua with food that is far superior to anything you can get from a pet food manufacturer, all at a low cost and in a convenient manner."
The Chihuahua Fanatics Club is an online community for the free exchange of information and resources about
how to care for Chihuahuas and friendship for Chihuahua lovers everywhere.
Lawrenceville, GA (
PRWEB) May 16, 2007
