We've been feeding our dogs a more natural alternative for years in the form of Innova dog food.

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The adverse effects of bad nutrition in dogs is apparent if you know what to look for. All the things people think are just the way dogs are (oily coat, dog smell, eating grass) is usually the result of poor nutrition which supermarket brands usually bring. Not to mention that dogs can't digest corn well yet its usually the number one filler in dog foods. Good nutrition in dogs makes them happy which in turn makes pet owners happy, so this is a trend I'm glad to see.

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My wife has been making doggie and kitty soup to supplement their store bought food for a long time now.

The animals love it and it can be done cheaply.

I wrote up a story about it here:
http://www.memakefood.com/2008/06/20/doggie-and-kitty-soup/

and followed up here:
http://www.memakefood.com/2008/06/21/some-more-on-making-pet-food/

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I make my living baking beautiful, healthy dog biscuits and formulating custom diets for dogs using only high quality ingredients. I see the trend toward better food for dogs first hand. I also get to see the benefits. Since most of us treat our pets as a member of the family, I'm sure we'll see dogs living longer in general with the better food available. After the recent pet food recalls, I think the trend toward home cooking for dogs will continue to gain popularity. A trend which makes our dogs not only healthier, but extremely happy!

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I definitely get and really like the trend towards natural pet food. What I don't understand, however, is feeding dogs vegetarian food. I'm nearly vegetarian, and I don't think it's a strange dietary choice for humans, but for dogs and cats who are naturally hunters, it seems strange to me, and bad nutrition.

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This is the best place I have seen that goes into a break down of what is in various dog foods:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

Some of the 6 star foods use only human grade meats. Stay away from grains and please don't think it is appropriate to feed a dog a vegetarian diet (unless the vet orders it as some dogs are indeed allergic to many proteins. You can generally get a fish based food though that is much better than that.)

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I have switched my dogs food within the last year to a fish and sweet potato food and have always supplemented their food with rice or vegetables. One of my dogs suffered allergies; ears and skin and since I had switched we have had no problems. I also make homemade treats for them which they love!

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