Pooch grub over the years is some food for thought

THE way we feed our dogs has evolved a lot over my 38-year career.

In days gone by, many were still fed scraps from the human table or a heady mix of tripe and porridge, which insulted the olfactory senses and did little for dog-human relationships.

Of course, the local butcher provided the obligatory “knuckle bone”, as no week was complete without one.

Food manufacturers then realised that dogs were becoming part of the family and had to be catered for as such.

Advancements in tinned food meant that the original unappetising mush could be replaced by the same stuff crushed into cubes to make something akin to a human casserole, apparently swimming in gravy.

Clever advertising and a huge amount of money made branded tinned foods into household names.

You could probably name at least five, right off the top of your head. Dry kibble changed too, so that foods that contained three or four different coloured shapes (each being a component of the diet) were replaced by single extruded pellet, rendered more palatable by spraying the exterior with micronised fat.

Clever, eh? Once that market became saturated, there was a move towards a more scientific basis for feeding and “prescription” diets appeared.

Pretty soon there was a professionally packaged product for nearly every medical condition.

There were diets that made you thinner and diets that made you fatter, we had diets for diabetes, kidney failure, liver disease, upset tummies, constipation, diarrhoea, pancreatitis, urinary problems, heart disease and allergies.

Then, when it all just seemed so complicated and technical, new foods appeared that implied they were made individually in someone’s kitchen or uniquely manufactured to precisely meet your pet’s needs.

You simply were not a good owner if you didn’t feed “camp fire hot pot”, “venison goulash with added peas and sweet potato” or, the classic “beef ragu with Italian tomatoes, fortified with broccoli”.

Oh yes and all priced at only a small multiple of what you spend on food for your children but, hey, they deserve it.

The rebellion was inevitable, of course, and raw meat and bones became the in thing.

Even vets joined in, sorely castigating their colleagues for being hoodwinked by commercial manufacturers while somewhat ironically filling their waiting rooms with deep freezers brimming with product.

And then, just last week. A new puppy!

The owner smiled and announced, proudly, “I am feeding him tripe, just like my grandfather did!”