Home Cooked Dog Food Tips

In recent years there have been several cases where commercial dog food has caused severe illness, and even death, in pet dogs. As a result, many pet owners have begun to mistrust the pet food companies. Many would prefer to move away from commercial dog food, but simply aren’t aware of any alternative.

If you're one of those searching for an alternative, read on. This article provides some guidelines to making homemade food for your dog.

It is pretty much accepted that commercial dog food companies fill their foods with all kinds of junk. Some of these ingredients, like the processed grains used as filler, have little nutritional value and are responsible for a whole range of dog allergies and skin ailments.

And then there are the chemical based colorings and flavorings which have been connected to all manner of diseases, including cancer.Even the meat components contained in these foods are generally extremely low grade and unfit for comsumption.

Of course, some commercial dog foods are better than others. The premium and super premium brands generally will provide your dog with a nutritionally balanced diet. But if you have the time, and willingness, I'd like to suggest that you consider feeding your dog a whole food diet.

Here are 3 quick tips to get you started;

Quality is important. Feed your dog good cuts of unprocessed meat, fresh vegetables and unprocessed fiber, like brown rice. Avoid at all costs, junk food, table scraps and highly processed foods, like white bread.

As an omnivore your dog cannot survive on meat alone, so be sure to include vegetables in his diet. The ideal split should be 1/3 meat, 1/3 vegetables, and 1/3 fiber. You can also feed slightly more meat, at the expense of the other two ingredients if you so wish.

Bland food is easier for your dog to digest, so lay off the spices. In fact, spicy foods will probably just end up giving your dog diarrhea.

Also keep in mind that some of the foods that we eat are not good for dogs.

Just about everybody knows that chocolate is harmful, but are you aware that there are many other human foods that are dangerous, even potentially lethal, to your pet?

Things like onions, garlic, grapes, raisins, and macadamia nuts are just some of the common foods that can harm a dog. You should also avoid feeding your dog table scraps and any form of human junk food, like pizza. These foods are generally high in fat and can lead to obesity.

Also be careful when giving your dog bones, as these can splinter and cause intestinal damage if swallowed. Raw bones also carry the risk of salmonella poisoning.

By following the simple guidelines above you can quite easily switch your dog to a nutritionally balanced home cooked diet. You should, however, speak to your vet before making the change.

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