A Raw Homemade Dog Food Diet Is Better Than A Cooked Diet
Both raw food and cooked diets for dogs have their associated pros and cons. Raw food diets tend to preserve more of the natural nutrient content of the ingredients but it puts your dog at a greater risk for food-borne illness. Cooked dog foods might have a slightly lower nutritional value but they may also have a longer shelf-life and they are sometimes safer, especially for young dogs. Before you choose the type of homemade dog food diet you want to use, consult your veterinarian.
Now that youve learned the basics about homemade dog food diets you should have a better idea whether or not it is the right choice for your dog. If you do decide to make your own dog food at home, be sure to do your research to determine your dogs individual nutritional needs and then select a recipe that will meet those needs. Ideally, you should use a recipe that has been created or approved by an animal nutritionist and you should follow the formula careful to prevent any nutritional deficiencies in your dogs diet.
Natural Balance Inc Dog Food Formula With Limited Ingredients
Natural Balance dog food contains singleprotein source like bison, duck or salmon. It supports shiny, healthy skin andcoat and is great for dogs with food sensitivity. This food promotes healthydigestion. Even pet parents having dogs that are allergic to pork, venison,corn, eggs, fish, oats, duck and honey can find something in this range of dogfoods for dogs with colitis.
The Craze Over Raw Diets
To begin, a diet of raw meaty bones or biologically appropriate raw food is an increasingly popular way to feed dogs. We examine the benefits and risks of a raw diet below.
The Benefits
Over the past couple of years, there have been a number of pet food recalls. When preparing your dogs food at home, you have total control of what you include in your dogs food and where those ingredients are from. Of course, this is all subjected and reliant on the quality of vegetables and meat that you procure for your pet.
Raw diets allow you to meet your dogs specific requirements. Raw diets can be prepared to avoid foods that your dog is allergic to and can be made to meet your dogs specific nutrient requirements. The high water content present in raw food may allow you to feed more while still keeping the calories low.
Processed foods often have added preservatives that enhance product shelf life. Food that has been freshly prepared and has not been processed or had preservatives added is commonly considered a healthier choice. Commercial raw diets are usually frozen, which means they do not require added preservatives. A drawback for pet parents who do not live in a huge home is that it usually takes a space for a refrigerator catered just for your dog.
The Risks
Also, feeding bones can cause choking, intestinal blockage or perforations, and chipped or broken teeth. This effectively debunks the all-encompassing benefit of raw diet as the best dental solution for your dog.
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Modern Dog Food Safety Standards
If we lived on this planet 200-300 years ago, we at Ricks Dog Deli would most likely advocate a raw diet. Being able to give an animal leftovers from the hunt was simply the easiest method for feeding them.
Unfortunately, the way food is processed today, cooking food is necessary in order to effectively remove toxins.
For example, when processing chicken, it is common for the meat to be washed with a chlorine solution. Since chlorine evaporates when heated, the chemical will dissipate from the chicken when it is cooked to the proper temperature. If one were feeding uncooked chicken to their dog, then their dog will be exposed to unsafe levels of chlorine.
With a raw diet there is always a chance of contamination of salmonella, e. coli, listeria, etc. When food is cooked, this risk is eliminated.
Also, with raw there is a chance that contaminated food can contaminate your home, exposing everyone to harmful bacteria. This is especially a problem when someone or another pet in the home is immunocompromised.
How Much To Feed
There’s no exact feeding guide for homecooked diets, as the ideal portions depend on the caloric density of the diet and your dog’s specific needs.
To calculate your dog’s daily requirements, use a reliable calorie calculator. Be sure to record how many total calories you used in your recipe and divide it into appropriate portions. If you received your recipe from a brand such as JustFoodForDogs, they provide recommended feeding guidelines for your pet.
In general, the average 10-pound dog needs around 200 to 275 calories a day, whereas a 50-pound dog should have somewhere between 700 and 900 calories. It’s always best to work with your veterinarian when calculating your pet’s daily nutritional requirements as they know your dog’s full medical history.
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Can Dogs Die From Ibd
IBD is such a complex range of gastrointestinal conditions that it might be challenging to say how your dog will respond to the symptoms.
- Some dogs can live for many years with this disease as long as it is kept under control with proper diet. Other dogs might reach a fatal state due to the severity of the disease.
- If you start the treatment that your vet recommends in the early stages of the IBD condition, your pet will have a better chance of a healthy life.
- However, ignoring the incipient signs will only generate the symptoms aggravation and result in a worse condition.
- In some cases, surgery might be required, and in severe cases, your dog could lose its life.
- So, it is essential to talk to your vet as soon as you notice any IBD signs and try to address them before they get any worse.
The bottom line is that IBD doesnt have to be a condition that will endanger your pets life. If you pay attention to the first symptoms of this disease, you will treat them more efficiently.
Talk to your vet as soon as you notice any IBD signs in your dogs lifestyle and adjust their diet according to their needs.
Why Choose Home Cooked Dog Food
Why do pet parents choose home cooking over prepared commercial pet foods, particularly when home cooking seems much more expensive and time-consuming?
There are many reasons why people choose to make home-cooked dog food for their pets, but a few of the most common include:
- Saving money if they have access to more affordable ingredients or if their dog has allergies, home cooking can be a cheaper feeding option.
- A distrust of commercial pet food companies is hardly surprising after repeated dog food contamination recalls over the past 15 years.
- A belief that home-cooked dog food is a healthier or more natural way for their dog to eat.
Whatever the reason you might have for considering home-cooked dog food recipes, know that it still requires a proper education in canine nutrition.
While the homemade approach can sometimes be healthier for pets, doing it incorrectly will actually be the opposite.
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Did You Make This Recipe
Tag on Instagram and hashtag it #thismessisours
Home Made Dog Food recipe for the Holidays
This 100% human grade home made dog food recipe utilizes some of the best fall produce for your dog like sweet potatoes, cranberries, rosemary, and sage. Its perfect for every day feedings and does double duty as a really delicious holiday meal for your dog!
Pumpkin and Yogurt Bowl for Dogs Recipe
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for all of us, even our dogs! Get your dogs day off to a great start with a healthy dose of protein, vitamins, and minerals by feeding him/her a delicious Pumpkin and Yogurt Bowl for Dogs. These yogurt bowls are filled with good for your dog ingredients like fat free Greek yogurt, 100% pure pumpkin puree, plant based vitamin and mineral powder, and my Homemade Dog Food Seasoning which is a blend of 5 herbs that have extraordinary health benefits for your dog!
Homemade Dog Food Seasoning Blend recipe
Best Homemade Diet For Dog With Ibd
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Best Homemade Diet For Dog With IBD: If your dog suffers from IBD , you can treat that quickly at home by paying close attention to their symptoms. While going to the vet might be a necessity as well, that doesnt mean you cant take immediate measures to help your dog feel better, even without professional help.
A lot of the help you can give your dog if they have IBD comes through the food you feed them. A healthy diet can make miracles not only in treating IBD but also in preventing it. Not to mention that if your dog has a balanced diet, they will avoid other digestive issues, and they will feel and look healthy!
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Not Customizing Recipes For Your Dogs
Making dog food isnt as simple as following a recipe, but it would be convenient if that were the case. As youre going through cookbooks to find the right recipe for your dog, keep the following in mind:
- The age, breed and size of your dog
- If your dog has any food allergies . If so, choose substitutes.
- Where you can affordably buy the ingredients listed in the recipes.
- Making sure you have the tools on hand to make the food.
- Making food in bulk can save money do you have adequate storage space?
Take a moment to consider the dog that you are raising and the dogs specific needs. For example, puppies require more nutrients however, too many nutrients can have a negative effect on large breed dogs.
Alternative To Home Cooking For Dogs
If you are fed up using dry dog food and cannot take out time or dont trust yourself with your dogs health, I have found an excellent alternative for you.
It is easy to understand why you do not prefer dry dog food. Your dog may be a picky eater. It is quite possible that he is suffering from some digestive disorder, and there is an immediate need to change what he is eating.
I also understand that being a dog owner, you are also a busy professional, and you cannot take home cooking for dogs on your own.
Whatever may be your reason, I bring a perfect alternative for you.
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Guidelines To Creating Balanced Homemade Dog Food Recipes
Following are guidelines for feeding a raw or cooked home-prepared diet to healthy dogs. No single type of food, such as chicken, should ever make up more than half the diet.
Except where specified, homemade food for dogs can be fed either raw or cooked. Leftovers from your table can be included as long as theyre foods you would eat yourself, not fatty scraps.
Meat and Other Animal Products: Should always make up at least half of the diet. A raw diet for dogs can be excessively high in fat, which can lead to obesity. Another potential hazard of diets containing too much fat: If an owner restricts the amount fed too much, the dog may suffer deficiencies of other required nutrients.
Unless your dog gets regular, intense exercise, use lean meats , remove skin from poultry, and cut off separable fat. Its better to feed dark meat poultry than breast, however, unless your dog requires a very low-fat diet.
Raw Meaty Bones : If you choose to feed them, RMBs should make up one third to one half of the total diet. Use the lower end of the range if you feed bony parts such as chicken necks and backs, but you can feed more if youre using primarily meatier parts such as chicken thighs. Never feed cooked bones. Read a full report on raw meaty bones here.
Boneless Meat: Include both poultry and red meat. Heart is a good choice, as it is lean and often less expensive than other muscle meats.
Should I Feed My Dog Raw Or Cooked Dog Food
For over a hundred years, weve fed our dogs cooked dog food. But during the last ten years, some pet owners have switched their dog to a raw food diet. Does this mean raw food is healthier than cooked?
Well, neither food is perfect. While a raw diet is very high in nutrients, it is not always practical. Similarly, while cooked food is convenient and affordable, it contains a lot of synthetic nutrients. As such, it might not be as healthy as were led to believe.
In fact, if you explore dog food production in more detail, youll see why raw food holds so much appeal.
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Grains Are Always Bad For Dogs
It is a very common misconception that all grains are bad for dogs because they are so high in carbohydrate. In reality, certain grains are a good source of dietary fiber for your dog and as long as they are whole grains and properly cooked, they have some nutritional value. If your dog suffers from a grain-related food allergy, however, it is true that grains are bad for him and should be avoided. For the most part, however, easily digestible whole grains can play an important role in a well-balanced homemade dog food diet.
Is Homemade Food Better For Dogs Than Processed Food
There’s sufficient scientific research to suggest that homemade food is healthier for dogs.
Below we’ve summarized several studies displaying the negative affects of processed commercial dog food, and why homemade food was shown to be healthier according to science.
Low nutritional content
Think of your typical fast food: burgers, chips, fried chicken and more. It’s all unhealthy but convenient. We know we shouldn’t eat it, but we do.
Commercial dog food is very similar, and it’s manufactured in the same machines as sugary cereal. Dry kibble counts as nutrition barely. We believe most large pet food manufacturers aren’t necessarily interested in your dog’s dietbeyond meeting the minimum requirements. They just want to make a profit.
The result is a commercial dog food that’s of questionable benefit, and it may in fact be harmful.
In one study, researchers evaluated 36 dry dog foods for nutritional content and microbial safety. All of the dry dog foods met the industry’s minimum nutritional guidelines. However, as the authors noted, “those are minimum recommended allowances for commercial pet food, not minimum requirements or optimal intake levels” .
Put another way: commercial dog foods contain nutrients, just not nearly enough.
For example, the recommended minimum levels for protein and fat are set at 18g and 5.5g per 100g respectively. Yet, as another study claimed, the nutrient content should not drop below 26g of protein, 15g of fatty acids, and 5g of fiber .
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How Dogs Can Benefit From A Home
Have you ever considered home-cooked meals for your dog? We spoke with Joe Inglis, founder of VetChef, about how he wants to make it easier for pet owners to feed their dog nutritious food theyll love.
If that name sounds familiar, Joe has featured on a range of TV shows from his time in Vets in Practice to appearing on Blue Peter, The One Show and Good Morning Britain as the resident veterinarian. He also founded Tails.com and has authored a number of books on his experience as a vet and pet nutrition.
So its safe to say that he knows what hes talking about.
Joe was kind enough to give us some time to discuss VetChef and humour some of my questions.
So what was the inspiration behind VetChef?
Ive been a vet for many years and Ive also been in pet nutrition for a long time, founding tails.com back in 2013. That was the start of personalised pet nutrition for me. When I left tails, I started thinking about how to take that even further and began looking at home cooking as the ultimate way to provide tailored, healthy meals for our pets.
Actually, Ive been into home cooking for a long time I wrote a cookbook for dogs back in 2005, so I already knew that lots of people already cooked for pets. Also, there was amazing potential to make it a better solution by helping people do it more safely and in a tailored way to their pets individual dietary requirements.
What are the next steps for VetChef?
For more on what your dog can/cant eat
What Are The Benefits And Risks
While supporters of the raw food diets say that it gives their dogs a shinier coat, cleaner teeth, smaller stool, and more energy, The American Veterinary Medical Association takes a different position.
Their official statement begins: The AVMA discourages the feeding to cats and dogs of any animal-source protein that has not first been subjected to a process to eliminate pathogens because of the risk of illness to cats and dogs as well as humans. Cooking or pasteurization through the application of heat until the protein reaches an internal temperature adequate to destroy pathogenic organisms has been the traditional method used to eliminate pathogens in animal-source protein, although the AVMA recognizes that newer technologies and other methods such as irradiation are constantly being developed and implemented.
If that wasnt enough to convince you of the drawbacks when compiling this position, the CDC sent the following to the AVMA: Raw diets, especially raw meat diets, are not recommended because of the risk for salmonellosis and other infections that can affect pets and their owners.
The FDA, The American College of Veterinary Nutritionists , and American Animal Hospital Association have also spoken out against raw food diets. The risk of foodborne illness is too great. Not only for your dog but also for you and other members of your household. This is especially true for young children and those who are immunocompromised.
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