According to holistic veternarian Dr. Jane Bicks, the maximum life span of dogs is estimated to be around 25 to 30 years, yet the average dog generally lives no longer than about 13 to 14 years. She says that this deficit is due largely to poor nutrition. For example, canned food is about 75 to 78 percent moisture, which leaves very little room for nutrition.

In addition to containing what is generally considered the bottom of the barrel ingredients in terms of nutritional density, most conventional dog food products contain especially large amounts of sodium to make them palatable, as well as dairy, by-products, chemical preservatives, artificial colors and other potentially harmful ingredients. The carbohydrate ratio is too high in some dog food brands as well, eventually leading to obesity, which is increasingly becoming a serious problem with dogs. In fact, obesity is one of the greatest health concerns facing our dogs; it can cause unnecessary suffering and a shortened lifespan

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Vegetables in your dog’s diet, and minor amounts in your cat’s diet, can enhance their health and provide a rich and diverse supply of nutrients, enzymes, healthy fibre and antioxidants. In the wild, dogs and cats would have acquired plant foods through the semi-digested remnants in the stomachs of their prey; vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Canines possess a greater ability to break down plant matter and synthesize relevant nutrients therein. Because of this, although classified as carnivores, they are in fact omnivorous and are not solely reliant on animal meat for sustenance. Wolves can be observed eating fallen fruit and berries, and first consume the stomach and intestines of their prey where plant foods can be found.

Felines on the other hand are obligate carnivores and are unable to manufacture essential nutrients from plant matter. These include the amino acids taurine and arginine, and the fatty acid arachidonic acid. Unlike omnivores cats also cannot convert vitamin A from beta-carotene in plants and need animal-derived sources of vitamin A such as liver. Accept for smaller prey which cats eat whole, in the wild the stomach and intestines tend to be avoided, yet organs such as heart, liver and lungs are enjoyed.

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Dog meals and snacks don’t have to hard to make or take a lot of time. Many snacks can be grabbed straight out of your refrigerator and are much healthier than baked goods.

However, there are a few things that I have noticed regarding many homemade dog food recipes that you should avoid doing.

1. Don’t microwave your dog’s food. Microwaving kills vitamins, minerals and nutrients. The radiation also alters the cell structure of the food. Scientific studies have shown that humans that eat microwaved foods have significant and disturbing changes in their blood cells. Microwaving has many serious side-effects, including altering the minerals in vegetables into cancerous free radicals. It’s bad enough that we humans continue to use microwaves to cook our food… let’s not subject our animals to it as well.

2. Many recipes that I’ve seen promote using beef/chicken bouillon cubes and/or canned beef/chicken broth. These products have very high and unhealthy sodium levels. Either use sodium reduced broths or better yet make your own.

3. Obviously, some sort of flour is needed to bind together baked dog biscuits. However, instead of using white flour, whole wheat flour and/or cornmeal in your recipes, substitute spelt flour instead. It’s much more easily digestible for both humans and animals. Flour and cornmeal are hard for animals to digest and many are or can become allergic to these grains.

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TIPS FOR BUYING DOG FOOD

It is not enough for dogs to have a full stomach after every meal. Besides a non-sedentary lifestyle, pets need proper nutrition in order to be healthy, happy and their coats soft and glossy. The cost of dog food and its brand is only important if dogs can read or pay for his meal. The easiest and best way to find out which food is best for man’s best friend is to observe how their response is to the chow they take in.

The following are tips that one should remember in feeding dog any kibbles, nibbles or whatever kinds of treats.

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Sadly, there are several household items which we tend to  take for granted that are potentially very hazardous to your dog’s health. It is especially important to be aware of this because as  you know, dogs are very much scavengers and will often eat whatever  they can sink their fangs into. I would say that may own dog is more  like a mobile garbage disposal. It is also very important to be aware of  these items  since their sense of smell is so well developed that your pooch will be  able to find what you may think is well hidden.

One of these dangerous household items, it turns out, is simple  chocolate. While chocolate has been reported recently to be high in  human-friendly antioxidants,  it appears to be potentially lethal for our pets, and particularly for  our dogs. Cats are mostly unaffected since they do not care for the  taste of chocolate, but dogs tend to  be crazy about it. Certain breeds of dogs react indifferently to  chocolate. The root of the problem is that chocolate contains  various  chemicals which are called methylxanthine alkaloids (some types have more of  these chemicals than others).

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What are the best dog food ingredients? Can dogs eat eggs, vegetables, and fruits, and is it healthy? What about commercial dog foods? This article will go over some of the common, healthy and energizing dog food ingredients, as well as some general guidelines about feeding your dog.

Before we talk about dog food ingredients, it’s important to address what role commercial dog foods play. Commercial dog foods - Despite being marketed as nutritional and healthy - Have been proven to be very damaging to your dog’s health. Commercialized dog food generally contains color, texture, and taste changing chemical agents, as well as harmful preservatives and other chemicals.

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Dogs aren’t just pets anymore; they’re part of the family! And what better way to show that you love them by baking up a batch of homemade dog treats? It’s time to put on your dog-themed oven mitts, pre-heat your oven, and get ready to make your dog very, very happy!

Dog Treats Follow Trend

Today dogs sleep in our beds, ride shotgun in our cars, and come with us on vacation. As the trend to pamper our pooches grows, so does the popularity of gourmet dog treats. Owners are more concerned with what their dogs are eating, and commercial brands of dog biscuits sold in supermarkets are being replaced by healthier alternatives. Many homemade dog treats are made with all-natural, human-grade products and are healthy, nice to look at, and delicious. In addition, owners feel great when they show their love and concern by making their own dog treats; we all know the way to a dog’s heart is through his stomach! Homemade dog treats are a good alternative to supermarket brands for pets who have allergies or other dietary concerns.

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Did you know that most food that is fed to dogs today has extremely low nutritional content? If you feed your dog commercial dog food, you may be slowly killing your dog. Perhaps you think this is a little dramatic? Think again. If humans are fed a diet of unhealthy foods, they probably won’t show any adverse signs for quite some time. But fed over many years, people will become sluggish, sick, and eventually die from degenerative diseases much earlier than they would otherwise pass from this life.

The same goes for dogs.

All commercial dog food which is extruded (cooked) at very high temperatures cannot be anything but bad for our dogs, whose natural diet in the wild is mainly fresh, raw meat. Even after dogs became domesticated, and then kept as pets, for decades they were fed home cooked food and table scraps, before anyone thought of commercialising dog food and selling cans of mush, or pieces of highly questionable biscuit-looking food called “kibble”.

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I have discovered that when it comes to feeding dogs that many owners are blinded by myths and misconceptions. Many owners insist that their dogs are practically human and so should get along fine on the same food that the rest of the family is eating. The irony here, of course, is that most human meals are not all that nourishing. What may be healthy enough and appropriate for humans may be not be suitable for a dog or cat.

I can understand that many owners will not give their dogs and cats conventional pet food. For those who are looking for a healthy diet I offer the following diet, which is on the basis that I have witnessed sick dogs that have been on steroids and strong drugs scratching and licking themselves, failing to put on weight that have completely changed after a few weeks on this diet.

The food has to be naturally fresh, but for food to be fresh and alive it must not be sterile and neutral in biological form. The food must not have any chemical contamination or additives.

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Americans are more concerned about health than ever before, so we should also have an equal amount of concern for our pets … particularly with regard to the ingredients in their food. We would want the ingredients in our pets’ food to be acceptable for human consumption. After all, if byproducts are not tolerated in our food, why should they be tolerated in our pets’ food? We’re also starting to realize that our dogs and cats need daily supplements the same way that we do, in order to take care of their bodies for the inevitable ravages of aging. In the span of an animal’s life, an early start at good health ensures less vulnerability to degenerative diseases, joints that are less likely to creak with pain and a healthier heart. Naturally we want our dogs and cats to live with us for as long as possible.

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