Proportions Dog Food And Its "Canine Nutrition University"

You all certainly know by now that Parental Unit is, well, obsessed, with human and pet nutrition and loves to call your attention to products and services that might help her friends make informed choices about what they feed their families, including, of course, their beloved "companion animals" (Why are we called that?)

Anyway, I don't know whether you've heard about a new dog food that you can order online called "Proportions", but Parental Unit and I recently learned about it from an e-mail we received from the company, Smartpak Canine, whose website you can check out here: www.smartpakcanine.com. Smartpak describes itself as a "web and catalog destination for food, nutritional supplements and a variety of top quality dog products..." It launched its dog food, "Proportions Whole Food Nutrition Program", this past April.

Now let's get our disclaimers right up front: neither Parental Unit nor I have or will receive any compensation (cash or dog food!) for calling your attention to this product on our blog. Although we will try the free sample that everyone else can also try. We're also not endorsing this product in any way - hey, we haven't even tried it yet!

But, I can say that Parental Unit was intrigued by the concept: you sign up online by filling in your pooch's breed, age, weight, activity level, etc. and a specific food portion and calorie level is calculated based on this information. You even upload a picture of your dog with his or her name, and the customized portions of three different kinds of food ( high grade kibble, human grade chicken breast in pumpkin soup, and dehydrated fruits and vegetables are shipped to your door for the month.

Here's a picture of the food-it does look tasty!

                 Here's a picture of the packaging and label.

                              And the box it comes in.

Here's more about information about the reasoning behind this food program and its "Nutrition University" companion, written by Traci Hotchner, a long time consultant for the Smartpak company. Ms. Hotchner is a pet expert and award-winning host of two popular radio shows: Dog Talk on NPR and Cat Chat on Martha Stewart's channel on Sirius XM radio. She also is the author of the book, The Dog Bible. So take it away, Tracie!

"...It seems that a great many people who consider their dogs their family, or even their children, have not done what conscientious Moms of humans do about feeding them – which is to read the labels. And the Proportions Canine Nutrition University is all about raising awareness and stimulating motivation to inform ourselves about exactly what we’re putting in that bowl on the floor.

The handy thing about dog food is that it does have a label listing the ingredients and while sometimes you need a magnifying glass to see that tiny print (are they trying to hide something?!) nonetheless the label tells the whole story (or as they say in the law, Res Ipsa Loquitor, “the thing speaks for itself.

In an effort to help educate dog guardians about deciphering the labels of dog food the folks at Proportions (www.Proportions.com) asked me to post weekly courses in what we’re calling Canine Nutrition University – a bit tongue in cheek, but maybe more useful than some courses you really took in college!  These courses not only help unravel the maze of confusing terms and ingredients, they also help explain the underlying reason behind the “fiddling” with the words and facts that takes place in the commercial pet food world.  At “graduation” I hope that pet parents will have been inspired to make better decisions for their four-legged family members’ long-term wellness by choosing better quality foods made from wholesome ingredients and lacking the unhealthy chemicals." 

If you want to try Proportions' free trial, here's how it works:

_ Visit the Proportions website at: www.proportions.com;

_ Input specific information about your dog: breed, weight, activity level, age, allergies;

_ Upload a photo of your dog to be featured on each meal package;

_ Proportions will generate a personalized meal plan; and

_ Meals will be shipped to your home via UPS every 28 days.

To receive your free trial (you will NOT have to pay shipping and handling) , enter this code: TNTRIAL18. This offer will be capped at 50.

And don't forget to check out the weekly "courses" on dog nutrition, written by Tracie Hotchner and published on the Proportions blog, right here: www.proportions.com/Proportions-Blog.aspx

Hope you all find this information helpful!

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