Homemade Doggy Dessert Dinner
As mentioned previously, fruit is good for dogs. While they dont normally enjoy citrus and they should not be fed grapes, there are many other fruit choices that are very palatable for dogs. Your dog might even like to snack on fresh frozen fruits just as a simple treat. Blueberries are perfect for that!
Feed entire fruit meals sparingly, since too much may give your dog a case of diarrhea.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked rice , cooked lentils, or quinoa
Directions:
Simply mix the ingredients together and serve. Refrigerate for up to five days. This will only yield a small batch, since you dont want to overdo it on the fruit intake.
Ingredients Needed For This Homemade Dog Food Recipe:
This DIY dog food made at home;is filled with rich protein, vegetables, and healthy grains. Heres what youll need:
- Coconut oil provides a variety of health benefits for dogs, such as improving the skin and coat, increasing energy, aiding digestion, and reducing allergic reactions, just to name a few. And just like us, your dog needs healthy fats in their diet.
- Ground turkey will add necessary protein to your dogs diet, as well as important vitamins and minerals.
- Veggies this homemade dog food recipe uses a mix of zucchini, spinach and carrots. All are safe for dogs and will provide your baby with a variety of nutrients.
- Turmeric a dog-safe seasoning that also provides antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Egg for extra protein and nutrients.
- Rice a complex carb that provides energy and aids in gastrointestinal function.
Balanced Homemade Dog Food Recipes
Cooking for your dogs, when done right, can be very advantageous for the pet’s health. With the number of recipes we have here, there’s always something new for you and your pooch to try.
But not all homemade dog food recipes will fit every dog , and more importantly, a pet owner must pay attention to the nutritional value of each dish.
Balanced homemade dog food recipes are usually the closest to a healthy doggy meal but still require a vet’s assessment.
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Adding Warm Water Or Broth
Adding warm water or broth is an easy and cost-effective way to make your dogs food more appealing.
Just add about ¼ – ½ cup of filtered water or broth to the kibble. Depending on your dogs preference, you can moisten their food a bit and let them eat it like that or let the kibble absorb the water for an hour or so before mashing it into a pate-like consistency.
Adding liquids to your dogs dish brings out the foods natural aroma and adds some moisture to their diet. Extra moisture in a dogs diet can help keep them hydrated, which is important especially if theyre exclusively on dry food or perhaps sick.
If youre going to add broth to your dogs food, I suggest you use bone broth. This nutrient-packed concoction is easy to make, and its amazing health benefits are well-known and proven. Some of these benefits include:
- Liver detox
- Great way to rehydrate and supply sick dogs with important nutrition
- Improved gut health
The great thing about these methods is that they dont interfere much with your dogs current diet. When you start to add other foods, you need to be careful and do it in moderation and ideally with professional help to make sure your dogs nutritional needs are being met.
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These Foods Also Often Contain Vitamins And Minerals Your Dog Will Need
Provided that the diet contains enough protein, calcium, and vitamin A, your pet should have all of the nutrients they need for long and healthier life.
Along with the meals, you are going to want to make sure you have fresh water that your pet will drink. If theyre not drinking sufficient water, their body will become dehydrated and this may lead to many other issues.
If you are not able to discover a vet recommended dog food, then youll have to check with the manufacturer to find out if they give the ingredients that you need. Many manufacturers will provide healthy foods, so you can not have to change brands.
When you want to locate a vet recommended dog food, you should look for ingredients such as corn, wheat, and soy to avert the issues that these ingredients can cause your dog. This type of food can also contain chemicals which can be harmful, but you can still buy organic food that doesnt have these ingredients inside.
Whenever youre looking for pet food, then you ought to be certain it contains all of the nutrients your dog requires them to develop healthy and happy. Start looking for a product which has all of the minerals and vitamins your dog should make sure that they have a very long and healthier life.You also need to remember your dogs diet is quite important, especially when it comes to his health. You do not need to feed him foods which are low in nutrition and your dogs health will suffer consequently.
Adverse Food Reactions In Dogs
An adverse food reaction is a blanket term used to describe a number of different food-related illnesses in dogs such as food allergies, food intolerance, and other gastrointestinal diseases. Many people will describe their dogs as having food allergies but this is not always accurate. True allergies involve a very specific response from the dogs immune system and this is not definitively diagnosed in many cases. Thus, it is more accurate to refer to these events as adverse food reactions.
Adverse food reactions can present with gastrointestinal symptoms, cutaneous symptoms, or a combination of the two. Gastrointestinal signs of an adverse food reaction include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and changes in appetite. Cutaneous symptoms include a wide range of signs such as itching, skin inflammation, hair loss, and many different types of rashes. There are many other illnesses that can cause similar symptoms, so it is important to have your dog evaluated by your veterinarian if these symptoms occur.
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Homemade Chicken Dinner For Dogs
Just Bare
Dogs love chicken, and it can be an easy meat ingredient to use for homemade dog meals. While you can swap out some of the vegetables in this recipe, avoid onions, and if you use carrots cook them well. Carrots can be hard for dogs to digest.
While you can grind up the meats in any of these recipes, you dont have to. You can also just dice up meat, into smaller bites.
Ingredients:
- 5 pounds chicken You can use a whole chicken, and include the neck meat, hearts and livers. You can also just use boneless skinless chicken breasts if you find a better price. You can also get frozen chicken breasts, which will be best when cooked.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:
You can cook the food, or feed your dog a raw diet. However, with a raw diet you want to make sure you are buying fresh meats which doesnt always happen at a grocery store.
If you decide to cook it, chop up the chicken and boil in a suitable sized pot for all ingredients until it is almost fully cooked. Reduce to a simmer and add the cabbage, spinach, and apples, diced up. Simmer until the chicken finishes cooking. Remove the pot from the stove, let cool, then add the eggs and olive oil and stir.
How long this batch lasts depends on the size of your dog and how many times you feed them each day. Two and a half cups is usually good for a large dog around 60-75 pounds, if youre feeding them twice a day. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days.
Harmful Effects Of Giving Pumpkin To Dogs
While pumpkin may be a great choice to add to your dogs diet, its important to remember that you can have too much of a good thing. Too much pumpkin in your dogs diet can cause some harmful effects.
Nutrient deficiencies. While some people add pumpkin to their dogs diet to boost fiber intake, too much fiber can be dangerous. Adding a lot of fiber from pumpkin or other fiber-rich foods may decrease how much protein and other nutrients your pet can absorb from their food, putting them at risk for deficiencies.
High in calories. Pumpkin is a starchy vegetable that is high in calories in addition to fiber. Having any one food make up more than 10% of your dogs total calorie intake is not good. ;
Continued
Potentially high in sodium. It is important to always check canned pumpkin before buying it for your dog. Some canned pumpkin brands with salt can have nearly 600 milligrams of sodium per cup, which is too much sodium for a dog with heart or kidney disease.
May contain dangerous additions. It is essential that you differentiate between pumpkin pie filling and canned pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling has added fat, sugar, and spices like cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Some of these spices can be toxic to your dog. Plain canned pumpkin consists of pumpkin flesh, which is generally safe for your dog.
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Do Consider Mixing Canned And Dry Pet Food
Adding canned food to dry food is another way to increase the moisture content and enhance the flavor of the meal, while allowing you the flexibility of buying different types of food that fit your budget. Talk to your veterinarian about complementing your dry dog food or dry cat food;with a canned food that compliments his or her dietary needs as well as the appropriate ratio of dry to wet food to provide for each meal.
Dog Breeders State That A Few Kinds Of Dog Food Actually Contain Less Protein Making Them More Suitable For Small Dogs Than Big Dogs You Can Also Find Some Dog Foods That Are Specifically Made For Smaller Dogs
Another factor that needs to be considered when you are choosing your dog food is the amount of fat content. Dog foods that have low to moderate amounts of fat are ideal. However, dog owners can select between low and high quality dog foods as well. Dog owners that arent familiar with this matter should consult a vet. The vet will notify you if the pet food you are considering buying is okay for the dog or not.
When you are selecting dog food, remember to look at the components. Make sure you read the label carefully so you will know exactly what you are feeding your dog.Finally, you should consider the frequency of feeding your dog food. If your dog needs a whole lot of food at one time, you could consider buying dried food.
So now that youre aware of the fundamentals of dog food, its time for you to decide on the best type of dog food. Now, if you want to take another step and begin your own family, keep in mind that it is not the food that you feed your dog, but the way you care for your dog that counts. It truly is up to you.
Dog food can be quite a stressful thing to think about. However, once youre prepared to purchase pet food, be certain you do your research .
If you have just brought home a new puppy, you might feel anxious about the idea of feeding it. However if you are persistent and patient, then you are going to see how simple it is for you to feed your puppy food. Just follow these strategies.
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Cons Of Mixing Wet And Dry Dog Food
Since wet food is more expensive than dry dog food, mixing the two adds an expense to mealtime in comparison with only feeding dry. It also requires refrigeration of the wet food after it is opened if not all of it is used in one meal. Plus, it can be smellier than dry food alone, creates more waste with the small cans and pouches that house the wet food, and may provide less dental benefits than a strictly dry food diet.
Finally, if a dog doesn’t finish the mixture of dry and wet food within a few hours, the dry kibble will get soggy and the wet food will get crusty and could spoil so it cannot be saved and, consequently, may create more waste.
There is no ‘best’ option when it comes to wet and dry food. Cost, storage, ease of feeding, medical issues, physical restrictions, accessibility of food types, pickiness of the individual dog and more may play into your decision as to whether you feed only wet or dry food or a mixture of both.
Dont Smash The Pills Into A Powder
While it may seem logical to grind a pill up into a powder and sprinkle it over your pups dog food, this can actually be counterproductive.
Many pills actually taste terrible, some are coated in something to help them not taste quite so awful as your pet swallows them, says Dr. Trimble.
Not only that, but crushing some pills can make them ineffective. Some also have coatings to allow for extended release, or release into different parts of their intestinescrushing the pill will take away that coating, says Dr. Trimble.
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How To Make Sure Your Dog Doesnt Get Bored Of Its Food
Or, if your dog seems to be getting bored of eating the same old kibble every day, you can follow the alternation method we outlined above. Simply give your pet one meal of natural food, and the next of kibble or dry food.
Additionally, you can opt to give your pet one meal made up of 10% natural food and 90% dry food. As long as you stick to that exact ratio, the meal wont harm your dog .
The danger comes when the mixture is made up of equal parts natural and dry food. If you have been doing this up until now, make sure you stop straight away. Do this for the good of your pets health. And above all, its important to watch out for the symptoms of gastric torsion if you have a large dogs. After all, larger dogs are much more likely to suffer from this condition which, sadly, often ends up being fatal.
How To Make Dry Dog Food More Appealing To Finicky Eaters
Dinner time for your dog! As soon as he hears that familiar rattle of the kibble hitting the bowl, hes sure to come running. The trouble is, some dogs are pickier eaters than others. Some dogs look in the bowl, then turn away once theyve given the kibble a sniff. What can you do? Should you try a different type of food?
Not necessarily. There are a lot of good reasons you might want to feed your dog dry food. By definition, kibble is typically cooked or steamed, which helps kill certain types of bacteria that may be present in raw foods. And dry dog food is easy to store and use, making it a choice that helps simplify busy lifestyles. Plus, kibble may help keep your dogs teeth and gums healthy.
If your dog has become bored with the taste or texture of plain kibble, there are some steps you can take. Lets look at five easy ways to make dry dog food more appealing to the finickiest of eaters.
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Helps Prevent Health Problems
So what happens when your cat or dog becomes dehydrated? Their bodies begin to suffer with an array of health problems. Dehydration can cause in an imbalance in electrolytes, which can negatively affect nearly every organ in the body. Blood circulation also suffers and the potential for urinary tract infections increases. Again, cat-lovers, this is crucial! UTI’s are unfortunately one of the most common health problems for cats, and they’re almost always caused by insufficient water intake. The same goes for dogs, who can also experience urinary issues when they don’t drink enough. Adding water to their food is one of the best things you can do to help your pet stay hydrated and healthy!
How To Make Homemade Dog Food:
Making homemade dog food is a cinch! Heres a quick rundown of the process:
- Brown the turkey. Heat a large skillet or pot over a medium-high heat. Add in the coconut oil and turkey and sauté until it is browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Add the veggies. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the zucchini, spinach, carrots and turmeric. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
- Mix in the egg. Turn off the heat and and crack in the egg. Let the egg cook in the hot food, mix it around to ensure it mixed through and cooked through.
- Stir in the rice. Add the rice and stir it in with the other ingredients until everything is well combined. Cool and serve!
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The Proof Is In The Poop
The best way to monitor your dogs digestive health is to pay attention to the quality of the stool. While minor variations in stool color and consistency are normal, any major changes can indicate a problem that needs to be addressed. A great way to evaluate your dogs stool is to use a;Fecal Scoring Chart. An ideal fecal score is 34. Lower numbers may indicate dehydration or constipation, while higher numbers are indicative of;gastrointestinal upset, which can be due to a variety of factors. If your dogs stool is consistently outside of the normal range, it is recommended that you consult your veterinarian regarding your dogs digestive health.