ArcaMax

However, what I have noticed from my own feeding of dogs over the last half-century is that a dog on a diet of dry food will definitely have larger stools than dogs on just canned food or raw foods. Dogs on a raw diet have very small stools and dogs on a canned food diet fall somewhere in between.

It has been my own experience that a dog on a raw or canned food diet sheds less and has cleaner teeth than dogs on dry food.

So you ask for my opinion and here you are: It is certainly not the definitive word on the situation -- it is up to you to determine what works best for your pet.

Q: We got a betta fish for my bosses desk -- he is in a little five gallon tank with a filter and a heater and has two cherry shrimps as companions. When we bought the fish the pet store gave us little pellets and when we looked on line it said to feed bettas frozen or live blood worms. He definitely likes the worms better than the pellets, but we wondered why the pellets are sold if the fish do not like them? -- Jenny Glassman, Orlando, FL

A: Bettas in nature will eat small insects floating near the surface of the water and that is why he likes the blood worms so much -- it is a more natural diet for them.

However, in nature they would be eating many different types of insects. The pellets have all the proper vitamins and minerals that the fish needs so the answer here is to give him the pellets as a staple and as a treat you can also give him the bloodworms to promote a bit of variety.

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(Marc Morrone has kept almost every kind of animal as a pet for the last half-century and he is happy to share his knowledge with others. Although he cannot answer every question, he will publish many of those that have a general interest. You can contact him at petxperts2@aol.com; please include your name, city and state.)

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