Healthy Dog Food Recipes
As more and more concerned pet owners learn about the horrors of what goes into commercial grade bulk dog food and the dangers it poses for their pets, they are seeking to make home made dog food. If you are NOT aware of the horrors of what go into your dog’s commercial pet food I BEG YOU to watch this video. At first, making healthy dog food at home may seem like an overwhelming and time consuming task, but there are many easy healthy dog food recipes to be found.
If you are looking to give making healthy homemade dog food a try, here are some tips to keep in mind:
1. Think balanced nutrition. Dogs, like humans, have a need for balanced nutrients, not just a set of ingredients. Depending on the size and age of your dog, you will need to determine the appropriate balance of protein and carbohydrates, as well as how much fat they will need. Looking at a website specific to your dog’s breed can help, as can talking to your vet.
In general, good protein sources for your healthy dog food recipes would be chicken, beef or lamb. Good carbohydrate sources would be potatoes, rice, past and vegetables. Fat should come from the meats and maybe once in a while some fish oils.
2. Don’t just make “extra” of whatever you are eating. While you might have got into the bad habit of giving your dog “treats” for your dinner table, you will not be able to feed your pet solely from “extra” food that you cook. One of the main reasons for this is that many of the ingredients we regularly eat are in fact TOXIC to dogs. This list includes:
- garlic
- onions
- grapes and raisins
- macadamia nuts
- chocolate
3. Cook in bulk. You don’t need to cook for your dog every day! Once you find some good recipes that are healthy and easy to make and that your dog seems to enjoy, shop in bulk for the ingredients to save money, and cook in bulk and freeze, to save time and be more convenient. Don’t fret that you need a lot of recipes. You are not cooking for a spouse or a picky child! It’s likely that you fed your dog the same commercial dog food every day for years before you decided to try some home cooked recipes! Quick Tip – when cooking in bulk freeze individual portion sizes. Grab and defrost before you go to bed for breakfast, and before you go to work for dinner.
4. Don’t be alarmed if your dog decreases his water intake. Dogs eating only dry dog food tend to drink more water than dogs eating home made or wet dog food. If there is suddenly water left in your dog’s bowl, don’t be alarmed. Although a significant and sudden decrease in water intake is never a good sign and you should consult a vet.
5. Have fun! Involve the whole family and don’t be afraid to experiment. My kids LOVE to make home made dog biscuits! Buy your kids some bone shaped cookie cutters and see how much fun they will have!
Raw food diet for dogs – Trend or True?
Many might of heard of the trend of feeding your dog only raw food and steering completely clear of commercially produced dog food. Is the the raw food diet for dogs really a healthier choice, or is it just a trend?
Before you make up your mind WATCH THIS SHOCKING VIDEO
Some call it the “raw food diet” for dogs (and cats) or it is sometimes known by the name BARF diet (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food). This diet is based on the premise that animals are healthiest when they are eating the way that their digestive systems were designed to eat. Obviously, dogs in the wild do not cook their food before they eat it. However, it goes beyond the fact that the food that you feed your dog should be raw. The whole premise of the BARF diet is to recognize the fact that dogs are carnivores. That means that they are designed (teeth, jaws, digestive system) to eat meat. Do you know how much meat there is in commercially produced dog food? Hardly any at all. Most dry commercial dog food is made of cereals and grains, artificial flavor enhancers, dyes and preservatives to prolong the food’s shelf life and even fillers from the by products of the human food chain.
Let’s use common sense for a moment. Everyone understands that bulk produced dry commercial dog food is cheap and convenient. It has been around since the late 1800′s. The first type of commercial dog food was made of wheat, vegetables and beef blood. It wasn’t readily available until the end of the first Word War when horse meat was really plentiful and cheap as horses were replaced by cars as the primary form of transportation in the western world. Once tin became less available, dry dog food increased in popularity. But close your eyes for a moment. When you imagine your great grandfather’s dog starving and roaming through open fields, do you see him stopping to chew on some wheat, or attacking mice, rabbits and small live animals to eat? Exactly. Given a choice, not many dogs are going to choose an ear o corn over a nice raw steak 
Just because it is is convenient and cheap, it does not mean that bulk dog food is the healthy choice for your dog. A dog’s digestive system has not evolved enough in the last 100 years to be able to process a diet so completely different than it has been digesting for millions of years. It’s just common sense.
OK…so it’s easy enough to argue that dogs should be eating meat, not grains. But raw? Well, in order to make commercial dog food the ingredients are heated up to well over 100 degrees, pretty much killing most of the enzymes and nutrients that your dog needed to get from the food in order to be healthy and thrive.
So what foods are included in a raw food diet for dogs? Primarily meat, fish (yes, fish bones are still a problem!) eggs and some vegetables. Many dog owners who try it for just a month swear that they see a dramatic difference in their dogs coat, energy level and vitality. Many skin issues and ear infections (common side effects of allergic reactions in dogs) disappear within days and do not return. Many owners who have struggled with expensive vet bills, repeated allergy shots and skin treatments for their dogs swear that a raw food diet is the best dog food for dogs with allergies. The strongest proponents of a raw food diet for dogs claim that on average this type of diet can significantly increase their beloved companion’s lifespan.
Welcome to BestDogFoodForAllergies.com
Welcome to best dog food for allergies.com. Our goal is to provide you with resources and information to ensure that you are giving your beloved dog the best possible nutrition for their health needs. While bulk dog food at discount stores is cheap, what it might cost you in the long run as far as vet bills and (worse) heartache at the declining health and vitality of your dog can be a lot more. We think that in many cases the reason dog’s don’t live up to their lifespan and vitality potential is due to misinformation about their diet. We love dogs. We want them to thrive. It’s as simple as that. Thank you for visiting our site.