Food For Fido: How To Feed Your Dog A Healthy Diet
The recent recall of tainted pet food has caused concerned pet owners to look for heathly alternatives to mass-produced commercial dog food. Fortunately, there are excellent choices available that are not only safe but tasty and healthy for your best friend as well.
Did you know you could cook for your dog? Homemade dog food is growing in popularity, because it gives dog owners the opportunity to control what exactly goes into their dog’s meals. Cooking for your dog isn’t something that should be done without a good knowledge of your dog’s nutritional requirements and an understanding of what foods can be dangerous to dogs.
Dogs need to eat a balanced diet. Homemade foods should be made up of 40 percent meat, 30 percent starch, and 30 percent vegetables. Their meat should be boneless and thoroughly cooked. After the cooked meat is cooled, cut it into bite-sized pieces or grind it up. The pieces of meat should be sized based on the size of your dog.
Carrots are most the commonly used vegetable in homemade dog foods. That doesn’t mean you have to use carrots, though. Try a variety of vegetables, and see which ones your dog likes. But no matter what you use, be sure to cook the vegetables. A healthy choice for the starch portion of your dog’s diet would be cooked brown rice. Cooked pasta can also be used. You can even rotate the two starches for added variety. Finally, many dogs enjoy the taste of scrambled eggs. Not only that, eggs provide added nutrition and are a healthy addition to a dog’s diet.
Now for the foods that are dangerous to dogs. These are ingredients that should never be used. You may want to keep a list of them on the refrigerator. Onions, chocolate, grapes and raisins, avocados, mushrooms, and macadamia nuts are all hazardous to dogs. When cooking for your dog, make only enough food for three days. That’s the maximum amount of time you can safely store the food in the refrigerator.
Now don’t worry if you don’t have enough time to cook for your dog. There are plenty of holistic dog food brands on the market that cater to pet owners concerned with the quality of food they are feeding their best friend. A growing number of health food stores, boutique pet stores, and online shops now sell holistic dog food. The wide variety of brands available make it possible to find a dog food that even the pickiest eater might enjoy.
Holistic dog food always includes human-grade, all natural ingredients with no preservatives, fillers, meat by-products, hormones, antibiotics or artificial flavors. Because it avoids corn, wheat or soy filler it tends to be easier for your dog to digest. Most include Omega 3 and 6 supplements for a shiny, healthy coat.
Whether you choose to cook at home for your dog or take a more holistic approach, you can be certain that you’ll be providing a quality dog food that’s natural, healthy and delicious with plenty of variety for your best friend.
