Healthy Food - Happy Dog

by Jolie Mitchel

Plenty of advice on how to provide your dog with a healthy diet is found in the dog food ads and on the cans and packages. Your vet, family, friends and neighbors will add their own advice. Let’s go to the basics and see if we can’t come up with some great home cooking ideas for your pet.

When purchasing a dog food product off the shelf look for a 50-40-10 ratio of meat, vegetable, and grain. This is optimum and provides your dog with a healthy balance of needed nutrients. The meat should be listed first with beef, chicken or lamb as the typical meat ingredient. Don’t cut corners by buying a cheap brand. You’re not doing your best friend any favor. Go after quality and Fido will thank you.

Some pet owners are starting to also examine the preservatives used in commercial dog food. BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin are common preservatives that many consider toxic - ethoxyquin is even classified as a pesticide. While the jury is out on the effect these small amounts of preservatives have on the health of your dog, some owners are turning to more natural alternatives and developing their own dog food recipes.

There are many sources for dog food recipes. Your vet may have some and the Internet certainly is a good source. Of course there are good recipes and some not so good. Follow the 50-40-10 ratios found on the packaged foods and you should be all right. Make sure the meat is fully cooked and free of bones. Brown rice and oatmeal are excellent choices for the grain component.

Once you know the basic ratios, you can experiment until you find a combination of ingredients that your dog will love. Remember not to salt the food, and that some ingredients - chocolate, garlic, onions, avocados, grapes, raisins and mushrooms - are actually dangerous for your pet and should never be used. Make certain that your healthy dog food is also safe!

Many people consider a vegetarian diet to be the most healthy. That may or may not be true for humans but dogs are carnivores and in their wild state would subsist mainly on a diet of meat. Your dog is apt to grow tired of it’s meals if meat is a low percentage ingredient or absent altogether.

If you don’t want to spend time cooking for your dog you might check with your local health food store or look to the Internet and you’ll find a variety of organic dog foods available which may well fit your needs.

Your dog’s health is primarily determined by it’s diet so make an effort to insure that diet is a proper one. There are many options ranging from checking labels to ensure a proper mix of good ingredients to preparing your own or looking to your vet or health food store. This extra effort on your part will pay big dividends to both you and your best friend.

About the Author:

To find out more about homemade dog food please visit ThePoochPlace.com and learn the secrets about dog food recipes.

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