About Dog Food

With the number of illnesses and health conditions rising every year, many people are realizing the importance of maintaining regular exercise and an optimally healthy diet. Our pets most likely are not concerned with such matters, however, as their owners, we must be responsible for their overall health, as well. To ensure this, a great number of dog owners are now turning to homemade dog food recipes, rather than the supermarket brands. Though you would think pet food from the veterinarian’s office would be quite healthy, it may be surprising to find out that homemade meals are likely the best choice for your dog.

Even a brief glance at the ingredients of most prepackaged dog foods will make a dog lover’s head spin-or stomach turn. Bone meal, animal byproducts, and other items otherwise not recommended for consumption have now become primary parts of our pets’ diets. Most of these ingredients are not natural parts of a dog’s diet, though they may be great for your garden’s compost pile.

Many of these items are simply not conducive for your dog’s digestive system, and often leave unusable remnants in the animal’s system that are difficult to get rid of. The majority of popular dog food brands boast of the high protein content, suggesting high quality nourishment for your pet. Still, the majority of dog owners are never told that these proteins come from sources that are difficult for dogs to process and digest. Dog food manufacturers will use any combination of plant products that are not naturally easily digested by dogs, like variations of soy and grains, to boost their brands’ protein content.

Plus, most dry dog food brands fall short when it comes to providing enough fat content for active dogs. A dog’s diet should contain a certain amount of fat, which is important for the proper function of the kidneys and other body systems, besides storing valuable energy. If you would like to eliminate these harmful ingredients and provide only the most essential nutrients required for good pet health, you should definitely consider preparing your dog’s meals at home yourself.

Pet owners should do a little research on some of the different artificial flavorings and colorings that go into each bag of food from the store shelves. Consider the countless preservatives which have no nutritional value, but are used to maintain the product’s “freshness”. While many people treat their pets like children, they too often fail to provide the adequate nutrition such as a child requires.

It is neither complicated nor time consuming, and not even expensive, to make your dog’s food yourself. Just wait until you see your dog become ecstatic at each and every mealtime! Many of the most popular recipes include such nutritious and tasty ingredients like honey, peanut butter, and fresh meats.

Stop feeding your dog science fiction, laboratory-designed, machine-made “foods”, and give your pet food with quality that is equal to the love you have for it. Though it may seem strange initially, you will soon realize that preparing your dog’s food is absolutely no different than preparing your own food, and possibly just as enjoyable!

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Concerning Dog Food

For my first cat’s diet, I would use a commercial pet food supplemented with a lot fresh meat, fish, eggs and cheese, although she was always quite partial to the dry, crunchy food. So, I decided to find her the healthiest dry cat food on the market that I could find. I came across one brand, made with lots of high quality ingredients and natural preservatives, that is produced in Canada and promoted by leading holistic veterinarians from around the world. Much like a degustation menu for humans, this cat food had fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables like alfalfa, kelp, and pumpkin, in addition to real fish, chicken, and other quality meats.

All dog food bags should display the AAFCO certificate or label. The AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) develops and implements laws, regulations, standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds. All dog food manufacturers should submit their product to the AAFCO to be approved. Information about the basic nutrients provided by a specific type of dog food should also be found on the package. To conform to the AAFCO regulations the label should display the ingredient which has the highest percentage of the total weight first. In a descending order of weight, the ingredients should also be stated by their specific names and not a general terminology such as “grain” instead of “corn.”

I, unknowingly, included these foods as about half of my cat’s daily meals. As a result, she became another of those cats afflicted with the irreversible neurological conditions. As she developed wobbly hind legs, and as she was having great difficulties swallowing, urinating, and defecating properly, my cat began to lose a whole lot of weight. At one point, it was even a challenge for her to simply breathe, and she became less and less active. Since she was not responding well to any of the treatments we tried, her veterinarian advised me to euthanize her and give her relief from any pain and discomfort she was experiencing.

I have since become more knowledgeable and passionate about the benefits of a natural, balanced, homemade diet for all pets. Although I will very rarely recommend a few acceptable commercial food brands, I most often advise my veterinary patients to give their pets real, home-prepared foods.

A good number of veterinarians continue to recommend processed, “premium” dry pet foods, in spite of evidence suggesting these can be extremely detrimental to your pet’s health. The producers of these commercial brands market them as the optimum, healthiest choices for your pet, though this certainly is not accurate. Researchers have shown that since these “premium” foods have become more popular, there has also been a dramatic decline in our pets’ health and well-being. Even with inadequate lifestyles, over-vaccination, and poor genetics, the primary cause of most pets’ health problems are caused by inappropriate diets. Because of improper diets, our pets are increasingly diagnosed with life threatening illnesses, including skin diseases, mouth diseases, diabetes, digestive disorders, as well as epilepsy and cancers. Given such a strong connection between pet health and pet nutrition, we can no longer dismiss these facts as coincidences.

In order to keep your pet as healthy as possible, providing a balanced, natural diet is absolutely crucial. For my own pets’ recipes, I will choose anything from raw chicken necks, wings, even whole carcasses, to raw fish and eggs, organ meats from beef or lamb, in addition small amounts of dairy items. Part of the balanced diet also includes a variety of vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, celery, sweet potato, and fruits like apple, pear, and pineapple. Using seaweeds like kelp powder or nori flakes, I am able to add further vitamin and minerals to their diet. I make sure that all of the foods I use are organic, whenever possible, and are also of human-grade.

Whatever your lifestyle, providing your pet with a healthy, natural diet does not have to be a long, expensive, nor difficult process. Furthermore, you will feel good in knowing that your pets are getting sufficient nourishment that promotes rather than depletes optimal health and well-being.

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Dog Food Today

What criteria should determine your choice of dog food when you are faced with such a tremendous choice of brands and ingredients? Dog food packages often display alluring messages, invariably claiming that they offer the necessary ingredients for your dog. It is easier for us to choose our own diet and vary the ingredients based on our needs. We however do not taste our pets’ food to be able to improve it. If the dog food you pick is unbalanced, the dog will be suffering from malnutrition for as long as you keep buying that same food. What follows are some tips that should help you better understand the difference between different types of dog food:

The AAFCO certificate that should be apparent on the dog food package is a guarantee for safety and minimum quality. The AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) develops and implements laws, regulations, standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds. The AAFCO certificate is a guarantee that the product has been controlled and approved as being safe for dogs. Information about the basic nutrients provided by a specific type of dog food should also be found on the package. To conform to the AAFCO regulations the label should display the ingredient which has the highest percentage of the total weight first. Each ingredient should appear under its specific name. For instance, “corn” or “wheat” should not be replaced by “grains.”

Grocery stores offer a wide variety of dog foods which, despite the large number of brands, are all intended to meet the minimal needs of dogs as opposed to more specific needs. This type of generic dog food might therefore not be the optimal source of nutrition for all dogs. It can still be a complicated task to find specialized products for your dog. The vet is more qualified than the grocery store employees to guide you in your choice.

Certain products are more expensive than others. Should one opt for top of the range dog food to guarantee quality? Not necessarily.

There is little variety of ingredients in expensive, top of the range dog food Regardless of the season or the price of the ingredients, the latter will have the same origin, hence the same quality, week after week. The same stability cannot be expected from cheaper dog food brands. As the low cost of production is maintained in part by using cheaper ingredients, the origin of those ingredients would be consistent with their price and not their quality. Quality can therefore vary from one time to the other.

Indicating the nature and proportion of the basic nutrients helps ensure a specific product meets minimum requirements, but does not solve the problem of what specific product is best for your dog. If they really want to know what is on their dog’s plate, consumers should demand more information, just as they do for their own food.

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