The Quality Of Processed Commercial Foods Is Suspect
Dog food may legally contain 4-D meat: meat from dead, dying, diseased and disabled animals.;Add a little road kill, mill floor sweepings labeled as grain, and corn contaminated with high levels of pesticide and you have a recipe for ill health. Starches and fillers are other common ingredients, along with artificial colors and preservatives, plus synthetic vitamins and minerals that dont nourish your dog effectively. The cheaper the food, the cheaper the ingredients and the worse the nutrition.;
Always read the ingredient list on the food label so you understand what youre buying!
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Kibble Does Not Clean Teeth
Almost all dogs age 3 and over have dental disease. Most of these dogs eat kibble. That should tell you something.
Although a small study once suggested that dry dog food might clean teeth better than canned food, better still doesnt mean effectively. Hoping to avoid brushing our dogs teeth, we too willingly grasp at kibbles unsubstantiated health benefits. But pretending that kibble or hard treats will keep teeth clean will only lead to huge vet bills, lost teeth and much canine suffering.
RELATED:;Read what one veterinarians experiment showed about kibble vs raw for dogs dental health ;
Healthiest Human Foods You Should Be Feeding Your Dog
Posted by PUP on Mar 10, 2018 in Puppy Up! Blog
A young black labrador retriever puppy carries a freshly picked carrot in his mouth.
Providing good nutrition is a proactive way to help your dog maintain a strong immune system. Its certainly no guarantee he or she will not get cancer, but it helps in the fight. And maintaining good nutrition while a dog is fighting cancer will help in the battle against the disease.
We found this article by Simi that might help you in deciding to broaden your dogs diet, and what youd be comfortable adding. As with everything The Puppy Up Foundation publishes, we encourage you to do your own research and draw your own conclusions. Every dogs digestive system is different, and different dogs will respond differently to each item below. For example, collies are known to have trouble digesting some foods, like rice, so that might be something youd not want to add to their food.
As with anything, please check with your vet.
Dogs are mans best friend. They are loyal, loving and provide us with endless amounts of entertaining stories. While your dog may be only a part of your life, to them you are everything. You are their entire world. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance to ensure the health and safety of your furry friend.
1. Carrots
2. Eggs
3. Green beans
4. Salmon
5. Yogurt
6. Chicken
7. Pumpkin
8. Peanut Butter
9. Coconut
10. Oatmeal
11. Certain Berries
12. Pineapple
13. Green Peas
14. Sweet potatoes and Potatoes
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How To Create A Balanced Dog Diet Out Of Only Human Food
Have you ever wondered, Can I feed my dog human food instead of dog food?
Dog kibble is boring and often over-processed and less nutritious than fresh food. But replacing your dogs dry food with a homemade meal of human-grade food can be tricky.
Dogs require the right balance of certain nutrients like calcium, phosphorous, and taurine. When you replace part or all of their normal diet with human food, its important to keep this balance intact.
You must also keep in mind that dogs are carnivores and require more meat in their diet than humans. In addition to muscle meat like chicken breast, you also need to provide them with less-common meat cuts like organs and tripe.
To provide enough calcium, you can either use ground bone meal or a calcium supplement. As we discussed above, you can even grind up eggshells to make your own calcium supplement.
If youre up for the challenge of making your own human-food meals for your dog, here is a great article to get you started. If that all sounds like too much work but youre serious about providing a quality diet for your dog, you may consider reading this article on the best organic dog foods.
The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Pet Food
With a slogan that reads, Smarter, Healthier Pet Food, The Farmers Dog meal delivery service keeps each recipe simple but guided by science.
Its a company that was founded in 2016 by two dog lovers who hated the idea of highly-processed food for dogs being touted as healthy and natural, so they decided to create a pet food line that is nutritionally complete for dogs but perfectly safe to eat for humans.
The two founders, who were roommates, got the idea for the business after a pet dog of one of them became sickly. They experimented with homemade recipes and found the dog getting much better after feeding on healthy, natural foods.
From homemade recipes, The Farmers Dog formulas now are crafted based on the advice of top vet nutritionists.
Each meal is made with human-grade meat and veggies in USDA kitchens to ensure the highest quality safety and quality standards for your pet. Plus, its tested on humans!
Everything is made fresh to maintain nutritional integrity, which by the way, exceeds the industry standards for dogs set by AAFCO.
The brand pre-portions the calories and servings based on your dogs profile that you will create. Everything is customized to your pets exact needs, so you dont have to worry that its not enough.
You can also rest assured that all ingredients are properly identified and labeled with no preservatives or fillers that can cause harm.
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Is Three Dog Bakery Edible For Humans
Three Dogs Bakery sells biscuits, cookies, cakes, and meals, and while the company boasts that the food is good enough for humans to eat, it’s intended for dogs. And the executives say they can vouch for their products because they’ve eaten them. We eat every treat before we give it to a dog, said Islinger.
Wegmans Bruiser Kibble Variety Mix
This brand of dry dog food has ingredients that have been considered dangerous for dogs to eat, including BHA, xantham gum, BHT, corn gluten, and food coloring.
Wegmans Bruiser Kibble Variety Mix demonstrates the motto that you typically get what you pay for.
It is affordable dog food, but if youre looking to give your dog stable nourishment, you should look for an alternative option.
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What Types Of Food Are Toxic To Dogs
Just as there is safe human food for dogs, there are also toxic ones. Some can be toxic in just a couple of bites, while others can build up in a dogs system and cause eventual damage to their organs. There are fruits and vegetables that you shouldnt feed your pets, and there are also indulgent foods that we love as humans but are toxic to our furry friends.
Some of these include chocolate, anything with caffeine, soft drinks, food high in sodium and fats, avocados, grapes, onions, garlic, certain types of nuts, and a few others. They can cause anything from an upset stomach to vomiting to diarrhea to other moderate to serious symptoms. Be sure to check with your primary veterinarian and see if your pet is allergic to certain types of human food for dogs.
Worst Dog Treats: Sportmix Wholesomes Biscuits
Sportmix biscuit treats are on the list of dog food brands to avoid because it is made of unwanted dry leftovers and includes preservatives and fats harmful to dogs.
If we estimate the products meat content, it shows that it contains about 24% protein content, 13% fat, and about 54% carbohydrates.
After analyzing these numbers, it is clear this is a poor choice and is just a bit above average compared to other high-quality dog foods.
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Merrick Real Texas Beef & Sweet Potato Recipe
If you are specifically looking for grain-free canine formula, then you can’t go wrong with this Merrick recipe.
It’s perfect for all breeds, ages, and sizes and is available in a variety of different flavors. We recommend the beef and sweet potato recipe as it is poultry-free .
Containing a whopping 38% protein and 15% fat, Merrick’s philosophy is that these two properties in combination with a host of vitamins and minerals will do wonders for promoting the overall dog’s health.
They are extremely transparent with regards to the ingredient composition, choosing only the best available products and containing no corn, wheat, soy or gluten ingredients.
This helps give us tremendous confidence in recommending the brand. At $60 for a 25-lb bag, this does fall into the premium category.
Whether the exceptional nutritional content is worth the increased price is up to you.
Can Dogs Eat Yeast
Just like yeast rises in bread, it will also expand and rise within your pups tummy. Make sure they dont get any yeast. While mild cases will cause gas, lots of farting, and discomfort, too much yeast could rupture their stomach and intestines. Yeast dough is also dangerous because as it ferments and rises, it releases lots of ethanol into your dogs bloodstream, which causes alcohol poisoning.
Find out whether dogs can eat bread safely our experts examine everything from banana bread to rye.
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Can Dogs Drink Milk & Eat Dairy Products
While small doses of milk and dairy products are okay for your dog, you could get some smelly farts and nasty cases of diarrhea. This is because dogs become lactose intolerant once weaned off of their mothers milk. Milk and dairy products can cause digestive problems and could trigger food allergies.;Learn more about how;dog allergy tests;can help you learn about potential health issues.
A Little Variety Is Good But Little Is The Key Word
When it comes to treating your dog with human foods, its best to do so in moderation. Treats of any kind can cause excess weight gain when added to a diet thats already meeting your dogs caloric needs.
Still, your dog will appreciate the variety provided by a healthy human treat now and then. Just be sure you ask yourself what can dogs eat? and what can dogs not eat? before sharing your meal with them.
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Blackwood 1000 Dog Food
Blackwood 1000 dog food has an ingredients list thats full of items that deliver no health benefits to dogs and can even be harmful to their health.
It also contains a lot of;ingredients that are comprised of GMOs. Since many studies suggest that GMOs are not safe for human consumption, its certainly not a good idea to fill your dog with such foods daily.
Whats In My Dogs Food
Have you ever looked at the ingredients list on your dogs food? If youre feeding them a commercial dry kibble, you might be a little surprised. No matter how many healthy claims and marketing jargon you see on the front, a quick rundown of the ingredients may reveal a less-than-ideal nutritional profile at best, and some pretty gross stuff at worst.
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Gentle Giants Canine Nutrition Chicken
Gentle Giants have produced a chicken-based dry budget dog food that is packed with vitamins and minerals. It uses twelve whole fruits and vegetables including beets, tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, spinach, celery, ;and apples.
This means that your dog will not only be enjoying a;flavor sensation, they will also be absorbing Vitamin A, Vitamin B 12, and Vitamin C from natural sources. These aim to foster good immune health in your dog. We are a little disappointed in this formula’s protein and fat content.
Containing only 22% protein, this food falls below the average amount in this price bracket. Still, this will adequately meet the nutritional needs of your dog and support their muscles and bones.
This formula has been designed for dog’s with sensitive stomachs, so it might be a good idea to try this if your pet is having digestive trouble with standard canine food.
Whilst, it isn’t really competitive with premium foods, Gentle Giants will be more than adequate for pet parents on a tight budget.
Is Pet Food Safe For Humans To Eat
Nearly 80 million American households have a pet, with a majority being a cat or dog. Additionally, 42% of homes have more than one pet. A lot of food is needed to feed all of these animals, so it should come as no surprise that pet food is a 21 billion dollar industry. While this food is specially made for our four-legged pals, the question many have is- in a post-apocalyptic world where human food was scarce, could I eat my cats wet food? Would I get sick from eating my dogs milk bones?
For the short answer, while it certainly doesnt look appetizing, nor taste any good, the answer is, for the most part, yes- humans can safely eat their pets food but there are some important caveats which well get into. For the long answer, lets look at a brief history of pets and their food and what manufacturers put in it today and why.
Over thousands of years, both animals have evolved or been bred to have certain traits become more pronounced or disappear entirely. In terms of physical characteristics, domesticated dogs today have smaller skulls, paws and brains than their wolf ancestors. Dogs have also adjusted their behavior, becoming active during the day as opposed to nocturnal like they once were.
Because of these changes , both animals have developed to require fewer calories and slightly different dietary requirements than their ancestors, who primarily lived off of raw meat.
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Best Human Food For Dogs
Dogs have a different digestive system than humans, which means that they process food differently from you. Some can digest easily, while others can cause damage to their organs. If youre careful enough with your fur babies, you can give them safe human food for dogs in small amounts, which may benefit them.
Natural Dog Food Is Nutritionally Superior
Sugars and carbohydrates are part of a balanced diet in humans. The question now comes to the source of those sugars and carbohydrates. Is it better to obtain them from processed sources such as junk foods and sodas, or from natural sources such as fruits and vegetables?
Without a doubt the majority of all humans on earth would say that they would rather go for the fruits and vegetables as their source of carbohydrates. So, why would humans assume different when it comes to feeding their canines? Processed dog food, whether dry kibble or canned dog food, is exactly that: processed, unnatural, less wholesome and incomplete.
While there has admittedly been few studies done in terms of coming up the definitive effects of a raw food diet in dogs, comparisons can be made with the effects of such a diet on humans. This is evident in the response of the human gut to such a diet. Gut health and the reduction of its inflammation is a primary effect of adopting a raw-natural food diet.
It has been observed that the consumption of refined sugars, usually originating from processed foods high in trans fats and fructose, increases inflammation in dogs and is a known contributor to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. In contrast, the consumption of omega-3 fats from natural sources such as salmon and sardines, natural fish oils, decreases inflammation in dogs’ gut drastically.
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Alpo Come & Get It Cookout Classics
ALPO is a known dog food brand that may look to many as a quality pet food. But as turns out, its not. Or at least, this particular recipe isnt.
This formulation does not start with meat. In fact, the first meat ingredient wont be found until the 3rd slot in the list. And the only other meat is in 6th place.;
What starts off this food is ground yellow corn, meaning that corn has the most significant volume in the diet. Not only that, there are two more corn ingredients in the recipe and one legume.
Its a formulation that focuses more on carbohydrates rather than protein. It meets the AAFCO standard, yes, but does not really go much above it.
The second thing we dont like is the inclusion of artificial food coloring. Color is not a requirement in dog food, and dogs will be better off without it. The less artificial ingredients in dog food, the better.;
The Come & Get It! Cookout Classics is the least of the worst dog foods in our list because it contains real and named meat ingredients.;
Recall Info: None for this recipe, and the only recall for the ALPO brand happened way back in 2007 for possible melamine contamination.
Problem Ingredients: Ground yellow corn, corn germ meal, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Yellow 6
Muenster Natural Adult Dog Food
This dog food formula is natural, but that doesn’t mean that its necessarily good. The main protein source is chicken meal rather than wholesome chicken.
There’s also ground corn, wheat, corn gluten meal, brown rice, and grain sorghum. It also contains sugary beet pulp and citric acid. In all, the formula can cause weight gain, digestive issues, and more.
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