Healthy Food for Healthy Farm Dogs

This post has been sponsored by Purina ONE®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I remember the day I convinced Joe that we needed a dog. It was a month before our wedding, and I had been in contact with a breeder on the other side of the state. Joe, being the practical one, was opposed and said, “maybe we should have the wedding first.” I got him to at least drive to look at the dogs. Little did he know that I had the exact amount of cash in the glove box for Binks. One year later, this stunt worked again when we bought our second Collie dog, Butters. It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since those days. We are about to celebrate our ten-year wedding anniversary, but that also means our “puppies” are ten years old as well. As our puppies enter their senior years, their overall health is more important than ever. To keep their joints and bones in shape, we have switched their food to Purina ONE® Smart Blend Chicken and Rice Formula.

I grew up with Collies, and part of the reason I love them so much is they have great overall health and life expectancy. My childhood Collie, Max, lived to be 16 years old! Purina ONE has natural sources of glucosamine to help support healthy joints in my senior pups. Collies have beautiful long coats and to keep Binks and Butters looking silky smooth, their food has good Omega-6 fatty acids to support their skin and coat. Most importantly though, Purina ONE has 0% fillers and all the ingredients are pure and high quality.

Back in 2009, when we came home from our honeymoon and moved into our first home, we were living in a subdivision in west Michigan. We had a small lot and lots of sidewalks. We spent our nights after work making dinner and then going for a long walk around the neighborhood. On weekends, we would go to the dog parks and farmers markets with “the boys” in tow. Raising puppies was a lot of work. I remember the day I came home and every throw pillow was in shambles on the floor, or the “Christmas tree incident.” Collies are working dogs and if you do not have a chore for them, they make them up on their own.

About six years ago, we moved out to the country. We have 12 acres, gardens, sheep, chickens and pigs. It has been quite the improvement for all of us. We have a large fenced-in area for the dogs to safely run and we all enjoy spending our nights working around the farm. Bink’s favorite spot in the entire farm is the highest perch overlooking the entire land. He is like a lion looking over his pride. Butters is my sweet boy. He follows me around and just wants his ears scratched all the time. He is always the first in line to eat, too, hence the name Butters.

We have since added a baby (now toddler) to our farm, and he and the pups are learning to coexist with each other. Time is precious, and running errands with a toddler can be hectic at times. I love using the features at Target, such as Target DriveUp or Target Pick Up. I preselect what I need online (like a big bag of Purina ONE dog food) and either pull into my space or grab it from customer service. Don’t get me wrong, if I have the time, there is nothing I love more than getting lost in the wonderful aisles of Target but sometimes, it’s about get it and go.

I can’t imagine life on the farm without our dogs. One of the ways that I can prolong their life and keep them healthy is feeding them good food with quality ingredients, exercise, lots of love and of course plenty of “work” to do.