Coconut Carrot Dog Treats
Are Grains Bad For Dogs
There’s much debate about whether grains are really bad for dogs. Some research may indicate that grains are linked to heart disease in dogs, particularly dogs of certain breeds like Golden Retrievers, Great Danes, Boxers and Cocker Spaniels. The latest report from the Food and Drug Administration in 2019 was inconclusive, finding that some grain-free foods may be linked to heart disease, but there are other factors that might also come into play such as how the food is made, sourcing of the ingredients and more. Research continues to be done on the issue and the FDA advises owners to speak with their veterinarians if they’re truly concerned.
Raw Food Or Nothing Grain
Looking for a DIY grain-free recipe that is also raw and veterinary approved? Look no further. Any of these ingredients can be cooked if you prefer but this veterinarian-approved recipe calls for all raw when it comes to its ingredients list.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp. fish oil
Directions
Theres really not a whole lot of preparation for this dry dog food. Cook the rice and the pumpkin and allow to cool before mixing in the raw ingredients. Combine the remaining ingredients and you are ready to serve to your anxiously awaiting pup. This recipe can only be refrigerated for up to three days but can be frozen for two weeks.
When it comes to homemade recipes, its not hard to make them grain-free. These three healthy, homemade, grain-free recipes focus on quality, well-balanced ingredients but keep in mind that you should always consult a veterinarian or a dog nutritionist before committing to feeding your dog homemade food on a daily basis. Although homemade food can be incredible for your pups health, it is essential to make sure you arent missing any necessary nutrients in their diet and that theyre maintaining a healthy weight.
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Whats A Healthy Diet For A Dog
The ASPCA has an excellent list of the factors that make up your dogs healthy diet. In short, they are water, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
Basically, thats more or less everything you would find in the average humans healthy diet, too! Its worth mentioning that your dogs age has a significant effect on his or her dietary requirements as does their weight.
Remember that a puppy will not have the same dietary needs as an older dog, and a smaller, more active dog will need a different diet than a larger one . Again, check with your vet or pet nutritionist.
If your dog has a sensitive stomach or has recently taken probiotics, theres nothing wrong with including yogurt as part of your dogs diet: This provides them with essential probiotics, much the same as your body needs on a regular basis.
Vets and experts also mention that except for an explicit allergy to grain there is generally no specific reason dogs shouldnt eat grain. It is, however, acceptable for dog owners to have their dogs on a gluten-free diet providing they balance it out with other ingredients: The keyword here, you might have noticed, is balance.
Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe
Image courtesy Blue Buffalo
The Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Chicken Dinner with Garden Veggies contains chicken, carrots, green beans, potatoes, and cranberries. It’s grain-free and includes natural elements.
This dog food is designed to fulfill the nutritional requirements of all phases of life and all breeds of dogs. The Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe is a wonderful choice for high-protein diets for dogs.
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What Are The Benefits Of Homemade Dog Food
Homemade dog food can benefit your canine companion in several ways especially if you have a pet who suffers from allergies, skin problems, or gastrointestinal sensitivity.
Highly-processed foods also lose nutritional value, whereas making dog food from scratch maintains more vital nutrients during the cooking process. With fresh food, you know exactly what your dog is getting versus reading the label and being confused by all the additives and preservatives.
Ground White Meat Turkey
You may have noticed that turkey is a common ingredient in dog treats and dog food. Thoroughly cooked and drained ground white meat turkey, as long as its plain and has no additives or salt, is perfectly healthy for dogs. However, there are some parts of the turkey you should never feed to your pup. Obviously, never feed your dog turkey bones as they can splinter and cause serious problems for them. Also, the fat in turkey skin may cause pancreatitis, a condition in which the pancreas becomes inflamed and swollen, so you do not want to feed them the skin either. The seasoning added to pre-cooked store bought turkey and deli meat usually contains onion and garlic which can irritate your dogs bowels and cause serious digestive issues, such as vomiting and diarrhea.
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Natures Recipe Salmon Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Recipe
Image courtesy Natures Recipe
Nature’s Recipe Salmon, Sweet Potato & Pumpkin helps your dog maintain a healthy digestive and immune system by combining real salmon and fiber-rich pumpkin. The salmon in the food ensures that your dog gets enough omega fatty acids to keep their joints lubricated and their skin and coat healthy.
This meat-free food is also devoid of corn, wheat, and soy.
This brand’s kibble has a strong fishy odor that some owners found unpleasant, and the kibble itself easily crumbles, particularly during shipping. Despite its three bag sizes of 4, 12, and 24 pounds, Nature’s Recipe is one of the most costly choices on the market.
Why We Switched To Homemade Dog Food
Recently, I shared a blog post about our dog’s health issues and why we decided to make the switch to a diet that is made up of 100% human grade food.
In our experience, the switch was easy, cost effective, and so much healthier for our dogs than a traditional doggie diet of processed kibble! The homemade dog food recipe that I make for our dogs combines lean ground sirloin, wholesome brown rice, fresh vegetables, hard boiled eggs, and tender herbs. This healthy, vibrant alternative to traditional dog food has given our 11 year old dog, Hooch, a new lease on life!
Since making the switch 8 months ago I have been so inspired by the improvements we have seen in Hooch! It’s pushed me to continue to research different ingredients that might help even more. I’m excited to share my first Homemade Dog Food Seasoning blend with you and your pup! I really hope you will benefit as much as we have.
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Is It Ok To Only Feed Your Dog Human Food
Yes use fresh whole food ingredients in combination with a vitamin mineral supplement formulated for dogs.
If you follow one of the Azestfor Homemade Dog food Recipes the dog food will be nutritionally complete and balanced for your dog and the homemade dog food will meet AFFCOs minimum feed requirements.
The benefits of feeding your dog DIY dog food recipe include seeing an increase in your dogs energy and mobility, they will reach their ideal weight, saving money as you will reduce the likelihood of having to visit the vet for diet related medical conditions such as obesity, and a smaller quantity of poop to pick up with less odor.
Apple Pumpkin Pie Chew Sticks
These chew sticks are the perfect treat for your dog to enjoy, and they are super healthy!
Plus, your house will smell fantastic!
Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Pure Organic Applesauce
- 1 Cup Pure Organic Pumpkin Puree
- ½ Tablespoon Organic Cinnamon.
Recipe:
Preheat your oven to 175°F. In a medium-sized bowl, add all ingredients and mix well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a spoon to smear batter into long lines.
The thicker you make them, the longer they will take to dehydrate. About the size of 3 stacked quarters should be the perfect width.
Place in the oven to dehydrate for about 6-7 hours. Since ovens vary, check on them about every hour or so.
You want them to be firm and not sticky, but not so hard that they break apart easily.
Once out of the oven and slightly cooled check to make sure they are flexible but not sticky.
Cut the strips down to your desired length with scissors and simply twist them into spirals.
The result will be perfect little chewing snacks for your dog to enjoy!
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Is Grain Free Dog Food Good For My Dog
Yes the Azestfor homemade grain free dog food recipes allow you to manage your dogs health.
- Limited Ingredient Diet
- Dietary Management
Food Allergy -The cause of dogs suffering from skin disease is more likely environmental, it is statistically unlikely that your dog is suffering from food allergies. Food allergies only occur in 10% of dogs. If you believe your dog may be suffering from food allergies please read our article. Food Allergies in Dogs.
Limited Ingredient Diet Dog food trends follow human food trends. It is only natural that what we perceive as healthy we will transfer that health goal to those closest to us, including our beloved dogs. Choosing to feed your dog a grain free diet may be beneficial to them if the alternative is feeding them a diet that contains filler ingredients.
Dietary Management Having the flexibility to customize your dogs diet means you have confidence with what is going into their body. Managing your dogs diet is the easiest way to ensure your dog enjoys as healthy and active life as possible.
If your dog has a sensitivity to yeast at this time we cannot recommend Azestfor Homemade Dog food Vitamins as there is a small amount of yeast in the natural flavoring. We are working with our suppliers to develop a formulation that is yeast free.
Homemade Dog Food In The Crockpot
Remember that if your fur baby has any food allergies its a good idea to always consult your vet before buying any ingredients for any home cooked dog recipe. Other alternatives to these veggies would be sweet potato and/or green beans. Corn is not a good choice as it is hard to digest.
Instead of chicken you could use ground turkey instead, I would lightly brown that before adding and decrease timing to 4 hours on low for that. Our dogs love 1/2 cup of this every now and then. Have an older pet? Use a food processor to grind up the meat a bit finer for them.
Want to spoil them a bit more? We started cooking / baking homemade dog biscuits in the oven or air fryer dog treats last year. My girls loved mixing these up for our picky eater of a pooch and they were a real hit with a peanut butter flavor to them.
Then we have chicken and beef dehydrated dog treats you can make in your air fryer!
We are working on making other treats that are safe for our Paige and will share them once they have been tested tried and written up. If you have something youd been cooking or baking up for your pets that they love share with us below, wed love to try yours too.
Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with or visit my Etsy shop?? Take a peek and see how many you might already havetwinsies!
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Frozen Banana Berry Treats
These are perfect for those hot summer days. They only have 2 ingredients, plus no chemicals or artificial flavors.
Since they are bite-sized, that means no mess to clean up afterward!
Ingredients:
- 12 Frozen Organic Blueberries OR 2 Frozen Organic Strawberries.
Recipe:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place it to the side. Combine both ingredients into a blender and pulse until they are broken down.
It doesnt need to be completely smooth, but just enough so there are not huge pieces.
Pour the mixture into an icing bag . Gently squeeze dime-sized portions onto the parchment paper then place in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
When they are completely frozen, you can either give a couple to your dog or transfer them to an airtight container for storage.
Peanut Butter Dog Bone Filling
This is the perfect peanut butter dog bone filling if you dont want to get a store-bought bone filling. It is not runny and wont drip out.
It also doesnt have any of those mysterious ingredients found in the store-bought filling.
Ingredients:
- Measurements depend on the size of the bone
Recipe:
Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and stir together until you dont see the flour.
If you feel it is too runny, add more flour, but be sure not to use too much or it will be too crumbly.
Take a spoon or an icing knife and stuff the mixture into your dogs bone.
You can put it in the freezer so they can enjoy it longer or serve it at room temperature. Either way, your dog will love it!
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Cooking Our Way To A Healthier Dog Diet
Ever since I started raising my own dogs, Id always wanted to make their food at home but thought it would be too expensive or too time consuming, or that they wouldnt get the nutrition they needed.
During the month of Bugs doggy depression, I vowed to make her precious life as comfortable as possible.
Both of my pugs had a range of health issues growing up, which I unfortunately found out were common for the breed.
My older one had persistent hot spots and itchiness that no commercial dog food could cure .
Bug was overweight for a while when she was younger, even though she ate the recommended amount of food for her target weight. Eventually, I settled on Wellness kibbles and they did well with that brand.
But, I wanted to explore other options. I wanted to give them real food fresh, nutritious ingredients that I recognized and could even eat myself.
Ive mentioned in my post on homemade whole grain chicken feed that the entire household all share the same whole grains and seeds that we buy in bulk, as well as the bounty that comes from our edible garden.
Everything our animals eat, we can eat.
When it comes to homemade feed for our laying hens, we stick to a tried-and-true formula that works for every layer: 16 to 17 percent protein , vitamins, minerals, and amino acids from a wide variety of grains and seeds, and free range of a pasture for weeds, greens, and insects.
Dogs, on the other hand, arent bred for a standard function the way chickens are.
What Dog Food Brands Does Petsmart Own
5 Flavors. Simply Nourish. ?. Original Adult Wet Dog Food 10 Oz., Stew. $2.49. 2 Flavors. Simply Nourish. ?. Original Adult Wet Dog Food 10 Oz., Stew. $2.49. 4 Sizes. Purina Pro Plan Focus Adult Dry Dog Food Sensitive Skin & Stomach, Salmon & Rice. 5 Flavors. Simply Nourish. ?. Original Adult Wet Dog.
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How Much Homemade Dog Food Seasoning Blend Should I Be Adding To My Dog’s Meals Each Day
Start small by adding a little sprinkle of these herbs to your dogs food each dayand work up from there. Adding dried herbs like these is a safe way to give your pups a little boost in nutrition, freshen their breath, and heck it probably will make their food a little more flavor-able too!
If youve made our Easy Homemade Dog Food Seasoning Blend for your pup I would be so grateful if you would rate the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments below! I just love hearing from you and your reviews and comments really help others that visit This Mess is Ours. Want to be a part of our online community outside of the blog? Its easy!! All you have to do is follow @THISMESSISOURS on , , , , or to see cooking demos, and peeks into our day to day life.
Recommended Serving Amounts For Homemade Dog Food
As a general rule, dogs will eat around 2 to 3 percent of their ideal body weight in fresh food daily. Larger breeds may need as little as 1 1/2 percent, and smaller breeds may need as much as 4 percent.
This works out to be approximately:
- 2 pounds of food per day for a 100-pound dog
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of food per day for a 50-pound dog
- 1/2 to 3/4 pound of food per day for a 25-pound dog
- 5 to 6 1/2 ounces of food per day for a 10-pound dog
There is much variation in what the ideal amount should be as it depends on how much your dog weighs and how active she is.
I feel that the best approach is to feed and watch if your dog is losing weight, give more, and if your dog is gaining weight, give less.
For our pugs, we feed a scoop each in the morning and a scoop each in the evening, plus all their supplements.
We have an easy system for this: homemade food is refrigerated in a sealed container with a measuring cup , and all the supplements are lined up together in a cupboard in the kitchen. Keeping your ingredients organized and accessible will make feeding time fast and smooth.
Compared to feeding commercial food, where you might scoop out kibbles or open up a can, feeding homemade food with all the supplements takes maybe 10 seconds more. And even if it took 10 minutes more, fresh wholesome food for our furbabies is worth it.
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