Gerry Restrivera asked:


With so many issues about commercial dog food, more and more pet owners are now switching to all natural homemade dog food. Homemade dog food is not only safe but also healthy. Choosing and preparing your own dog food are relatively easy if you know how. Here are some useful tips:

Before switching to all natural homemade dog food, it is best to consult your vet and get some advice. You also have to understand the healthy diet requirements of dogs with regards to their breeds, age and other factors. Generally, dogs need 40% protein, 30% starch and 30% fiber.

Slowly switch to all natural homemade dog food. A sudden change in your dog’s diet may result to an upset stomach and other digestive problems.

Choose healthy fresh lean meat for your dog. Meat is the basic component of protein requirements of your dog. An all natural homemade dog food may contain lean meat like turkey, chicken, beef and fish. Kidney, liver and other organ meat are also good for your dog. Cook the meat before feeding it to your dog. Although dogs are carnivores, it is best to cook meat to kill the bacteria that may cause health problems to your dog.

Another source of all natural homemade dog food is the addition of vegetables to your dogs’ diet. Vegetables act as antioxidants and a good source of nutrients and vitamins. You can add cooked corn, squash, peas and potatoes. Raw carrots and lettuce are also good for your dog.

You also have to make sure that your dog is well hydrated and there is plenty of water available for your dog. Avoid feeding your dog with table scraps; it is not a good habit to teach your dog to eat leftovers.

Switching to all natural homemade dog food is not only cheap but it also ensures your dog’s health and safety.

Get some healthy, well-balanced dog food recipes and start feeding your dog homemade food. Do you want to discover a step-by-step survival guide that makes your dog live a longer, healthier life, so you enjoy up to 8.3 more years of happiness & companionship than is statistically predicted? Visit Dogs’ Corner





Norma
Gerry Restrivera asked:


Feeding your dog is not an easy thing to do, if you consider your dog as part of your family, you will take into consideration your dog’s health and choose healthy dog food to prolong your canine friend’s life.

Dog food must contain balance proportions of nutrients needed for growth and development. For your dog to remain healthy, choose healthy dog food with nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, fats and minerals. Too much or too little nutrients will put your dog’s health in danger. Commercially available dog foods are usually processed with a lot of preservatives so you must know how to choose healthy dog food to keep your pooch in shape and in good health.

Protein is one of the most important nutrients that dog food must contain. Choose healthy dog food that contains enough protein that your dog need. A dog’s diet must contain about 40% protein. The amino acid in protein is essential for dog’s muscle development and regulation of antibodies. Some sources of protein are meat, fish and soy beans.

You also need to choose healthy dog food with carbohydrates. A 40-60% of carbohydrates are essential for your dog’s health. Carbohydrates also include starches and sugar that can be converted into usable energy. Too much carbohydrates is not healthy and will be stored as fat and may cause obesity and maldigestion and other health problems. Sources of carbohydrates are oats, sweet potatoes and yams.

Fat is also needed when you get to choose healthy dog food. Good sources of fat are vegetable oil, fish and meat. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for keeping a healthy skin and may help in the restoration of other health problems like inflammation and blood clotting.

Like humans, dogs need vitamins and minerals. Choose healthy dog food rich in vitamins and minerals which are essential in dog’s development and for fighting diseases. For instance, Vitamin A is important for proper vision and for bone and teeth development. Vitamin D is important for the absorption of calcium and Vitamin E has anti-oxidant properties to eliminate toxins in the dog’s body. Minerals like calcium and magnesium are good for teeth and bones strength as well as for the normal functioning of the heart.

Water is also essential for the digestion and transportation of nutrients; it also helps in the regulation of body temperature.

Knowing how to choose healthy dog food will not only prolong your pooch life, but it also gives you a peace of mind knowing your pooch as a member of your family is healthy and well protected against diseases brought by unhealthy dog foods.

Did you know that a well balanced home-made diet increases dog lifespan by up to 134%? Discover the step-by-step guide that makes your dog live a longer, healthier life, so you enjoy up to 8.3 more yrs. of happiness and companionship with your dog visit Dogs’ Corner

To know more about dog visit All About Pets



Loretta
Oct
29
Gordon Chase asked:


Holistic dog foods are made from natural human grade ingredients that do not contain any byproducts or fillers. It is easily digested and does cause as many allergies as other brands of dog food. It can give your dog a better quality of life with the right nutrition, vitamins and minerals. Holistic dog food was among those that were not affected by the recent dog food recall.

What Kind of Nutrition Do Dogs Need?

Dogs need animal protein for proper growth and health. A combination of chicken, meat and fish that makes a healthy holistic dog food that dogs love to eat. Dogs, like people, need vitamins and minerals as well.  They often experience allergies and poor, dull coats when fed commercial canned dog food. However, many of these problems disappear when dogs start on a holistic dog food diet. Dogs get good nutrition with a diet that is closest to their natural diet. 

Natural

Natural meat ingredients offer a high-quality source of protein that dogs need. The meat by-products in most commercial brands don’t cut it. Natural and holistic dog food companies pledge to use high quality ingredients without fillers and by-products.  Holistic Dog Food is formulated to provide a balanced diet and promote good health. 

Ingredients

Holistic dog food ingredients should be human grade whole grain brown rice, chicken meal, peas, oats, seaweed, vitamins and minerals. It’s a healthy combination that is good for your dog.  Only the highest quality, human-grade ingredients can earn the name ‘holistic’. Most commercial dog food is made from the rejected animal parts that have been considered “unfit” for human consumption.

Holistic Dog Food is gaining popularity because they have all the ingredients needed for a healthy and long life. It provides an alternative meal for your dog that not only addresses hunger but also the overall health and well being of your pet.  Holistic dog food is now in wide supply and products are often displayed in veterinary clinics.  However, try to cook homemade meals as often as you can for your dog. Use fresh, all natural ingredients. Your dog will love more everytime you provide a delicious homecooked meal. Try one of our recipes.



Carla
Abhishek Agarwal asked:


look and as nicely packed as they are, packaged dog food at the mall with its endless variety of nutritionally balanced dog chow can be a nightmare for regular dog lovers who have a tough time figuring out the real value of all listed ingredients. But, there you are – these bags of commercially manufactured dog food just seem to be everywhere and so convenient to use, too – but, if you are a true dog lover and can spare the little time it takes to keep your furry, four-legged friend healthy and happy, you can be sure your home-made doggy chow will pass muster any time – you only have to know how to put the essential doggy diet together!

Easy to make and filled with natural goodness, the dog food you make at home is a reassuring sight for your eyes after hours of straining to figure out the various scientific names on kibble-packs, so take charge of your doggie’s health now – make natural dog food at home!

Always consult with your vet about the meal options you can have for the breed, size, weight and age of your pet besides the weather conditions where you live; this is the best person to guide you about the various products and ingredients in the market and how to mix the right proportions for your dog’s balanced nutritional meal besides educating you about any supplements the dog may require.

Raw or organic meat diets are preferred by many dog owners; the first consists of various cuts of raw meat, juices of vegetables and assorted grains while the latter has pretty much the same things, except these are organically produced or home-grown, depending on the kind of garden space the dog owner has!

With this natural meal option plan, you can afford the occasional processed food treats for your dog’s tastes too, but it’s preferable to stick with snacks like baby carrots or apple-bits besides ice-cubes in the summer! Frozen vegetable juice and homemade hard doggy biscuits (organic ones) make for good healthy and nourishing treats besides helping to keep the calorie count low for the dog’s daily dietary intake.

Up to 5 baby carrots a day are acceptable treats and you can always subtract any extra treats from the ideal calorie count for your pet anyway; so actually au naturelle is the best way to go for any dog lover with a keen eye to keeping dog-health a priority life-long!



Jessica
Oct
21
Lori Matthews asked:


Your dog is a part of your family and you want your pet to live a long and very healthy life. Your dog is always there for you, ready to play, snuggle, always loyal. Your pet relies on you, as their owner, to take care of them, give them a warm place to sleep, water to drink and healthy dog food to eat. They are not able to choose what is best for them.

Are you looking to buy the generic brand to save a few dollars? Are all dog foods the same? The answer is no, they’re not. There are so many ingredients put into dog food that you can’t even pronounce. Saving a few dollars now could cost you later at the vet’s office when your baby starts to have some health issues. Surprisingly some premium pet foods are comparable in price because you actually feed less as they are more nutrient dense than their cheap counterparts. So many dog foods have mainly fillers that they label as protein. They are things such as soybean meal, corn meal, corn gluten meal, and maize wheat. These may be sources of protein, but they are not enough for your dog’s health. They need meat.

There are also food colorings in dog food, and oddly enough, the dogs don’t care what color the food is, all the marketing is for us, the pet owner. Food dyes can be made from chemicals. There have been many dog trainers that correlate food dye with hyperactive dogs, as it has been associated with hyperactive children. Chemical preservatives like BHA and BHT should not be on the ingredient list and should be avoided.

Another form the pet food manufacturers use is the by-product protein. These include necks, feet, intestines, lungs, ligaments, head and undeveloped eggs. Some pet foods contain no active cultures and other digestive aids. This is why some dogs have bloating, gas and bowel issues. Without this very important ingredient you pet might not be absorbing what nutrition is in the food! In the long run this can be very unhealthy.

The first ingredient should be a meat as it the most natural protein source for dogs. As do humans, animals benefit from fruits and vegetables and proper carbohydrate consumption. The free radicals that affect are health; affect your pet’s health as well. That is why to neutralize them antioxidants are so important to have in their diet.

Nutrition or lack of can affect your dog’s health which can include their coat, teeth, ears, nails, breath, energy and brain. Unfortunately it can also affect how long they live and the quality of life they live. All too many times I have seen dogs that have eaten not so healthy food. At first nothing seems wrong but just as humans if you keep eating “junk food” it will eventually show some sign of distress like high cholesterol, lack of energy, hair dry and falling out, bad teeth, moodiness, obesity and more.



Natalie
Lori Matthews asked:


If you are purchasing dog food from your local grocery store, you may be in for a big surprise. The one who ultimately pays for this is your canine. You may save some money upfront but the cost might be to your dog’s health. It is important that we are aware what we are feeding our animals. Their wellbeing definitely depends on it.

Popular and well known dog food manufacturers cover up brains, beaks, eyes and other things with the all too familiar nick name of bi-products. Do you know what your pet is really eating?

Artificial ingredients are also used by well known dog food brands. This may be harmful to their health. Kibble shouldn’t be “colored” with artificial dyes like yellow # or red # or any of the dye “numbers”.

Chemical preservatives are often used in popular kibble for dogs. BHT, Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), also known as Butylhydroxytoluene and BHA, Butylated hydroxyanisole and Ethoxoquin are used as a preservative to keep the foods from going rancid. These are chemical compounds that may wreak havoc on your canine’s immune system A natural alternative like tocopherols is what you should be looking for.

Unfortunately wheat and corn are used as cheap fillers in dog food. Some manufactures actually use these as protein sources. They are often very hard for the animal to digest and can cause such allergies leaving your canine suffering with itching their ears, licking paws, hot spots, skin and coat issues and just plain old misery. These ingredients can be found in treats as well.

Large manufactures also make food in such large batched that you may never really know when the food was made or worse how fresh the food is you just purchased.

Like humans dogs are what they eat. Artificial ingredients, poor protein sources, lack of fruits and vegetables all play a part in the immune system of you canine to fight off free radicals. When food is made of poor ingredients a whole list of things can affect your dog from allergies to disease.

At first when you feed your dog inferior foods there may or may not be visible reasons to think there are issues. As time goes on scratching may appear or constant ear infections or something of that nature. Luckily you will have the choice to search for a better nutritional food in order to alleviate these issues. If left untreated your pet’s immune system could be compromised and a host of issues like kidney problems, urinary tract issues, and joint issues, lack of energy and behavior changes could start to manifest.

It is wise to start your dog as young as possible with a natural premium food to build a strong immune system and foundation for solid health. If that isn’t the case then it is never too late to get on the right track of great nutrition.

Healthy food along with pure water, plenty of exercise and lots of love all play a vital role in the health and longevity of your dog’s life.



Jessie
Oct
15
Jane Dinunzio asked:


what to feed your pet isn’t easy these days, especially after the unprecedented pet food recalls in 2007 that pulled more than 100 brands off store shelves. The culprit of the contaminated food was wheat gluten, poisoned with melamine, a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers. The tainted food caused kidney failure and other illnesses, and may have killed thousands of pets.

Recalls and poisonings aside, there are plenty of other reasons to be aware of what’s in your animal’s food. Obviously a healthy diet makes for a healthy pet, keeping his coat, teeth and digestive system running smoothly. Also, you pay for what you get. Foods with a lot of fillers are cheaper but less nutritious. Just as with human food, good ingredients will go a long way toward giving your pet a long, healthy life.

Learn to decipher labels on commercial pet foods. The most important parts of the label are the nutritional adequacy statement and ingredients list. The former tells you whether a food is suitable as the sole nourishment for a healthy pet. The label will specify that the product “provides a complete and balanced nutrition.”

A well formulated cat or dog food will list chicken, beef, lamb, poultry, or fish meal first.

Cats are carnivores and dogs are omnivores, so both need their meat. Bone meal and other meat by-products are poorer sources of protein. Fillers do provide some protein, but aren’t as digestible. Examples of fillers are: soy, rice, oats, yeast, wheat, corn. These ingredients should be listed lower on the list.

Manufacturers sometimes try to mask the amount of fillers in pet foods by breaking them into components. For example, corn may be listed as cornmeal, corn gluten and ground corn. If all three were grouped together, corn would appear much higher in the ingredients. At the end of the list you’ll find preservative. Ethoxyquin is one of the most controversial, because it may affect a dog’s liver. Look for foods preserved with Vitamin C (also called ascorbic acid) or Vitamin E (listed as tocopherol) instead.

A better alternative is to buy organic pet food. An organic pet food marked 95% organic meets the same guidelines as organic food produced for humans. The food won’t contain pesticides or antibiotics, and it’s preserved with natural substances like Vitamins C and E. As with any food, the organic option will be more expensive, but it’s healthier for your pet, and the way it is produced is definitely better for the environment.

The best choice by far is making your own pet food so you know exactly what you’re feeding your animal. Ensure you’re preparing nutritionally balanced food, or your pet may suffer from malnutrition. You must consult your veterinarian or a specialist in pet nutrition before you start making your own food at home.

If expense isn’t an issue, then home made pet food is worth making, especially for the peace of mind in knowing exactly what your beloved pet is ingesting. While some pet owners feed their animals raw meat, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a vet who thinks it’s a good idea. There is always a chance that you or your pet could be exposed to E.coli or salmonella.



Carlos
James Hunt asked:


Many dog owners treat their pets as though they are their own children. They play with them, let them live inside and sit on the furniture, and even sometimes sleep in their beds. There is no denying the love most dog owners have for their pets, but sometimes they unwittingly cause health problems by feeding their canine pals table scraps rather than dog food.

While the occasion table scraps as treats probably won’t hurt one’s furry friends, what a pet dog really needs for proper nutrition is dog food. It’s true that the ancestors of today’s dogs hunted and ate meat. And feeding a dog the occasional meat hunk or carcass probably won’t hurt. But today’s dogs are thoroughly domesticated and are different creatures. Constant table food can cause obesity and even a form of diabetes in dogs.

Dog food is designed with the necessary proteins and other vitamins and minerals dogs need to be healthy. Just like humans, dogs can experience clogged arteries and heart attacks. It’s important to include dog food in the diet in order to keep man’s best friend in prime health.

There are many types of dog food. There are many scientifically designed varieties meant to address different aspects of canine health. Some dog food targets the coat, some target joints. There is a type of dog food for nearly any dog. There are even breed-specific foods, as well as foods designed for the different ages of dogs.

Proper care of one’s dog can result in years of pleasant companionship and beautiful memories. The therapeutic effects owning a pet are well documented. Pets can help teach children responsibility. However, not taking care of this fellow creature can result in heartbreak and regret. Dogs need regular exercise, lots of love, and minimal access to table scraps. What the healthy dog really needs to eat is dog food.



Brent
jeffrey wolf asked:


Content:

This article seeks to give you a solid knowledge base regarding the healthiness and safety of yor dog’s food, no matter what your previous experiences on the topic.

With the issue of the healthiness and wellbeing of your dog’s food inside the last 12 months, the question still stands. How healthy is your dog’s food?

The other issue with dog food is will your dog eat it and will they get tried of eating the same food every day through out their life. I know of numerous dog owners that did just that, fed their dog the same food through out the dog’s adult life until the dog has been eating the same food for over ten years. Then marvel why their dog stops eating their food and start eating table scrappes.

Many world-renowned Doctors of Veterinary Medicine and Published “Dog Care Experts” universally allow any dog that eats commercial dog food is at a much serious threat of failing prematurely and by the time symptoms are noticeable, it’s regularly too late to stop an agonizing death excluding by lethal shot.

We hope that you have gained a clear grasp if the subject matter presented in the first half of this article.

World-Renowned vet and dog care novelist Alfred Plechner, says the meager nutritional politeties of commercial dog food inevitably advance to disease.

Raw Ingredients vs. Cooked Ingredients: People who supply their dogs raw food diets feel that nature planned for animals food vs. cooking human food. That all of the nutrients are still active in cooked food providing healthy meals for animals.

People who consider in supplying their dogs raw food feel that no additives are wanted and that their animals are receiving all of the nutrients they oblige. They feel that the commercial food companies use additives to enhance the palatability of their food effectively “addicting” a dog to it.

Commercial food advocates say that additives such as omega 3 and 6 greasy acids are central to the dog”s health system, while raw food is gone some central vitamins and minerals.

It is little things, such as this that may aid you in your search. So, sit down and decide which avenue would be best for you to take for your dog.



Clarence
Kim Fleming asked:


The concern over the commercially sold dog food is on the rise, and some have even received lots of complaints and criticisms. As a safe alternative, natural dog food is gaining popularity. This article is going to show you a couple of tips to help you to choose the right natural food for your dog.

* Know Your Pet and His Food

You may be aware that there are different types of natural dog food. Raw meat and vegetables are considered natural, and so are cooked meat and vegetable, as well as commercially sold natural food. The key is to know which one best suits your dog’s needs.

The best way to find out is to get to know your dog personally. You have to know his nutritional requirements based on his breed and special health conditions. You can do a little research on your own. Supplement your knowledge with your veterinarian’s advice.

* Prepare Food for Your Dog

Quite a few dog owners love to prepare food for their dogs by themselves. This is a very good idea, but you should know your dog really well to serve him with exactly what he needs in nutrition. Raw food is just as good as cooked ones, although many believe that cooking and heating will help kill the bacteria in the food.

You should also take note that not all human foods are good for dogs. Chocolates, raisins, mushrooms, onions and raisins, for example, may be dangerous or toxic to dogs. List what foods are toxic to dogs and avoid them. If you are not prepared to cook for your pet, then it is safest to go for commercial brands of natural dog food.

* Read Labels

Most of us read labels when we shop for new human food. You should do the same for your dog. Natural dog food should never contain fillers like wheat and corn. There should also be no artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, animal and plant by products and artificial preservatives. Many of these synthetic ingredients can cause gastrointestinal problems, malnutrition and behavioral changes in dogs.

* Get Enough Proteins and Nutrients for Your Dog

Dogs are carnivorous and should be served with enough protein. Lean meat and poulty are good sources of high quality protein, and you should by all means stay away from low-grade meat by-products.

Vitamins and minerals are another set of important nutrients that should not miss from natural dog food. You may either buy food with fortified nutrients, or you may feed your pet with squash, beans and peas, which are rich in both vitamins and minerals.

If you are keen about keeping your dog healthy and happy, be sure to read more about natural dog food from our site. You may also like to check more about dog food from our dedicated section if you would like to dig further.



Michelle