GM News - October 2023

Welcome to the October edition, no. 52, all about dog food. There are lots of big topics - feed raw, Ditch the Bowl, Human-grade commercial dog food, and plenty more. In this edition, we're focusing on healthy food additions to commercial food and its storage, and touching on one big issue, diet and mental health.
But first ... Happiness guru Gretchen Rubin notes significant dates, and coming up is 10/10 (10 October). Gretchen recommends using this date to celebrate everything going well (things with a score of 10 out of 10 :-) For me, I'm pleased to celebrate Pluto's lost interest in clothes on the clothesline (among other things!). What can you celebrate?!
Also, look forward to info on a new Skills Group - coming soon to your inbox.

Amanda, David, Rodna & Ruth
Gentle Modern School of Dog Training

Healthy Additions to Commercial Dog Food

Eggs
Sardines
Natural Yoghurt
Vegetables & Fruit
Leftovers from Healthy Human Meals

For more details, check out 5 Steps to Enhancing Your Dog’s Store-Bought Dog Food by Mary Straus, Whole Dog Journal

Do you feed your dog dry commercial food? How do you store it?

Avoid warmth, sunlight, damp.
Don’t transfer food from its original bag into a plastic bin or storage container.
Don’t toss the package the food came in before your dog finishes it.
Don’t add new food to old food.

Raised questions for you? Check out Safe Dog Food Storage by C.J. Puotinen

Antsand Outdoor Food

Wanting to use a lick mat (plastic tray smeared with food for slow feeding and meal variation) outdoors but worried about ants? LickiMat Outdoor Keeper provides space for a LickiMat within a water moat. Check it out on the LickiMat website.

Food for Thought (you knew that pun was coming ;-)

There's as much debate over dog food as there is over human food. One area for discussion is the link between diet and mental health via the gut-brain axis. Curious about how a dog's diet could interact with anxiety, depression, aggression, hyperactivity? You might like to start with The missing link between diet and your dog’s mental health by Tara Wesson. Tara is a content producer for Lyka Pet Food, so not a disinterested party, however, the article gives a simple intro to some of the questions you might begin with.

You can find past editions of GM-News at https://gentlemodernschoolofdogtraining.com.au/Dog-News
and our website is searchable!

Your reward for reading to the end . . .

Fancy reproducing a canine pal in plastic blocks?

JEKCA sell building block kits for a vast array of dog breeds

Here's an example.