Why Alton Brown Does Not Make His Dog's Food. – Southern Living

Alton Brown is the authority on most things in the kitchen. We turn to him for his tips and tricks on everything from how to make the fluffiest scrambled eggs to improving our morning cup of coffee. Brown is the expert's expert in the culinary world.
So, it may come as a shock that Brown came across a food related problem that he couldn't solve himself. Just like so many of us during the pandemic, Scabigail, the chef's rescue pup, had put on a few pounds.  "We noticed, Elizabeth my wife and I noticed back in December that her snoring was getting bad at night. We thought, wow, is she sick? Well, maybe no. Maybe she's just put on too much weight," Brown told Southern Living. Admitting that during the extended period at home during the pandemic, the Browns overtreated their fur baby.
"I found the end pet obesity website that Hill's has and found the body assessment tool. And we used the body assessment tool and indeed it confirmed that there were a few pounds that needed to be lost so then we went to our vet, which is always what you want to do when you're starting a dog on a diet," Brown said. The Good Eats host said their vet confirmed that Scabigail had some work to do to be her best self, shall we say.
This sparked an interest from her dog dad about Hill's science-based nutritional pet food. "I like to think I know a lot about food and nutrition, but the truth is I was one of the 90% of people with an overweight pet who didn't know it. 90% of people with overweight pets have no idea. And I'm really kind of shocked by that number."
Now, not only is Scabigail on a plan from Hill's, but she's also their brand new spokesdog.
But the Browns didn't just stop at changing Scabs' diet. Just like with people, weight loss must be a full lifestyle change.
"We're rationing treats. The treats go out on the counter every day. I take from the treats and my wife takes from the treats and when the treats are gone that's it. So there's no playing mom and dad against each other for treats. And when she comes and begs at the office, I have a drawer that used to be the treats that now has a special toy in it. So that now instead of the treat for love, she gets 10 unbroken minutes of us playing with her at the office with that treat."
One thing he's not doing, however, is making Scabigail's food himself. "For pets to kind of biologically be at their best you've got to think about gut health, pro-biotic health. I mean this is why I don't cook my dog's food. A lot of people are like 'oh you're not cooking food for your dog, you must not love them.' I'm like no, I'm actually going to go with what my vet says and let professionals make the dog food."
He noted that Scabigail has already begun to lose weight and he can tell a positive change. He's also noticed that she's more energetic.
Brown has partnered with Hill's Pet Nutrition because he feels so passionately about getting the word out to other pet parents. "We want people's pets to be healthy. We want them to live their best lives and be with their parents for a long time."
WATCH: Alton Brown Revisits His Atlanta Rescue Dog's Incredible Transformation
"People need to talk to their vets about their pet's weight. Weight is a problem for a lot of Americans, but it doesn't have to be a problem for their pets. Because we're the humans and we get to decide what they eat."

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