Making Homemade Dog Food A Part Of Your Pet’s Diet

Tags: dogs, pets, food, homemade dog food

If you would be ask to choose between a commercial and a homemade dog food, which would you choose? There are a number of pros and cons with the choices so it would be best if you’d be aware of the things people talk and debate about these days. If you have no or less time to prepare your pet’s meal, a commercial dog food would be your best choice.

Be careful in selecting the right one because there are some ingredients that may be harmful to your pet such as sodium nitrite, propyl gallate, and propylene glycol. Check the labels and make sure that your dog’s vet approves it. These commercial ones have some advantages too because you don’t have to figure which food contains the nutrients needed by your pet.

The nutrients are readily provided in a palatable form for dogs. However if you want to be certain with what you feed your dog you have the option to create a special diet for it. This is where the homemade dog food comes in. The ingredients must be properly selected to attain a well-balanced meal.

If you are currently feeding your pet with commercial dog food and you want to change that diet do the transition gradually. Do not make a direct approach –that is to feed commercial dog food today and totally homemade dog food tomorrow. Your pet might not be used with the transition and its health might suffer.

You can try mixing the commercial and the homemade or scraps first to see if which type your pet really likes. After this you can make a choice between the two alternatives. If your pet have develop its likeness towards homemade dog food, that would be excellent. The next step is to find out the type of foods to feed.

A lot of fruits and vegetables can be included in your pet’s diet. This includes leafy green vegetables, broccoli, green beans and peas, alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, lentils, carrots, and potatoes which are very rich in vitamins and minerals and they don’t come in capsules and tablets because they are real foods.

Among the fruits you have a wide selection but just avoid the grapes because it can be fatal to some breeds of dogs. You can give these foods fresh or cooked, or you can puree them. Dogs are omnivores and that means they can eat plants and meats so don’t miss the meat in their diet.

They need foods that are rich in protein which can be supplied by meat and other meat products. You can choose to give eggs twice a week and one tablespoon of plain yogurt for every 25 pounds of weight. On the negative side certain foods are bad for pets. In addition to grapes that was previously mentioned avoid feeding your pet with chocolates, macadamia nuts, and onions or any food which contains them.

Chocolates contain theobromine and caffeine which are known to be toxic to dogs. So that means no cakes, pastries, some varieties of breed and pasta with the sauce rich in spices. Plain pasta is good though but chili, spicy, fried, and fat rich foods should be avoided. Consult with the veterinarian regarding the diet you have chosen.

Make sure that your pet is not allergic with the ingredients that went into your special homemade dog food. After all you chose this diet for your pet’s well being and you don’t want it to be the reason for other problems that may arise in the future.

About the author

Alex De La Cruz is a successful Dog Trainer who has been advising and coaching dog owners for many years. Alex now decided to share his knowledge through this site, Doggyweb.info. You can sign up for his free weekly newsletter and learn how to keep your dog healthy and happy.

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5.	Making Homemade Dog Food A Part Of Your Pet’s Diet
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