Oct
15
2009
0

Homemade Dog Food is Best for Your Dog

If you are like me, you love your pet and want the very best for them. We provide them with wonderful homes, groom them well and feed them with what we think are the best dog food in the market today. Well, the home and grooming is great; but did you know that homemade food may be a better alternative to most of the goods you see on grocery aisles? That?s right; give the best by giving homemade pet food to your beloved pet.

One thing you have to remember with homemade dog food is that this is not derived from the leftover table scraps of your previous dinner. Some people think that the pieces left on the plates like seed, inedible stems and the like can be fed to the pet, but this is not so. Unless your meals comprise of healthy and low sodium sources, it is best to serve your dog a well made food plan you have prepared specially for him.

Remember to keep away from fare that is harmful to them. Some examples of these are chocolates, ham, lunch meat, cheese and overly spicy food. Not only will these cause problems in your dog?s digestive system; many times adverse reactions can even cause death. Incorporate healthy grains like rice, barley and oatmeal in his meals. Add bite size pieces of chicken, beef or any organ meat so long as you don?t over feed him on this. Make certain all food are cooked thoroughly.

Also incorporate fresh vegetables and fruits in the mix. Mash and finely shred the slices of vegetables you are putting in. Broccoli, carrots, seaweed, leafy vegetables and bananas are excellent ingredients to homemade pet food. The nutrients they will provide will make for a healthier dog. However, you may also add some specialty supplements to make certain your pet gets all the essential vitamins and minerals that he needs. Check with your vet before administering anything to him.

It is recommended that dog owners do not combine serving homemade and processed meals to their pets. This will oftentimes lead to indigestion. If you have always given him certain pre-packed food but want to try nourishing him with homemade fare, do so slowly. Start by feeding him small bites and light snacks of the healthy nosh in between his regular fare. If the dog seems to have no untoward physical reactions to it, introduce the new food plan gradually. Decrease the amount of regular dog food and increase the volume of fresh food being provided.

The great thing about this is that you do not have to prepare their food daily. In fact, take the healthy leftovers of the dinner the past week and you will have several days? worth of tasty dog meals you can supply your pet with. It is good to change it up frequently not only to keep him interested, but also to lower the risk of getting food allergy – a likelihood when the animal is given the same kinds of food too often.

Not only is serving homemade dog food more beneficial to your pet; it is more economical for you as well. The savings you incurred can be added to your doggie fund wherein you can dip into for treats and other enjoyable activities. If a satisfied and healthy pet is your goal?then start whipping out those yummy dog recipes and get going!

Juliette Crane’s renowned homemade pet food is responsible for many pet owner?s happy canine. Get these fantastic Homemade Dog Food Recipes today. Your dog will thank you.

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Oct
10
2009
0

Learn How to Make Dog Treats

Ever heard of a perfect dog? You might possibly be the proud owner of one with the right tools of the trade?mainly mouth watering homemade dog treats. These simple and effective tips on how to make absolutely delicious dog treats will leave your canine no choice but to love you more and follow your every beck and call.

Let us begin by preparing simple chicken snacks. If you will be having chicken for dinner, set aside a portion to make for the dogs food. Bake or roast the lightly seasoned bird. Cut and dice the meat. Place these pieces on top of a cookie sheet and bake in 110?C temperature until you see it browning or becoming crisp. When done, cool the chicken bites for a few minutes before serving or repacking for future use.

Boil liver or beef heart in water and season with spices your dog seem to like. Let simmer for about 2 hours or until well cooked and slice them in chewable treats. You can place these in a plastic air tight bag and freeze them until needed. Make sure you completely thaw them out first before you feed it to the pup lest he gets indigestion and iced teeth.

If these are not available, hotdogs are acceptable and even appreciated doggie snacks. Cut the well cooked sausages or hot dogs in slivers and microwave them until they are hard. Have these on hand for ready noshes anytime of the day. Are you one of those owners who hold the treats between your teeth? Then savory, human friendly nibbles like these will be your best friend.

How about some sweet treats? Mix 2 Tbsp honey, 2 ? cups water, an egg and a dash of vanilla in a bowl. Add in a small jar of applesauce and blend all the ingredients well. In another bowl put in 4 cups of flour, 1 Tbsp baking powder and 1Tbsp nutmeg powder and combine all these together. Fold in the batter of the first bowl into the second bowl, thoroughly blending until it the whole mixture is perfectly incorporated into each other. Scoop out dollops of the prepared batter onto a grease lined tray and bake at 350? F for one hour. This delicious dessert is good for 12 servings?6 for Fido and 6 for you.

You can add or subtract ingredients but make sure to research first before you do. Certain food that we eat are hazardous to canines like chocolates, grapes and most nuts. These homemade dog treats are easy to make but always exercise special care and consult with the vet before any significant change in their diets are made.

You will know a happy and obedient dog by the loving owner who raised him up. By learning how to make dog treats, you show that you are willing to do more to provide the best for your dog – any canine will give his right paw for a master like you.

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Sep
30
2009
0

Cat Food And It’s Dangerous Ingredients

All of us would like to feed our kitty the best food possible, but finding a nutritious healthy food for your cat is not as easy as it seems. Looking at the beautifully designed bags filled with kibble, along with the enticing text using words such as “wholesome” “nutritious” and “Veterinary Recommended” it can be easy to be put at ease, especially after reading that the very first ingredient is meat!

There are many ingredients found in cat food that do not belong there. They have no value to your cat, instead they can be downright detrimental.

The multibillion pet food companies spend both time and effort making people believe that grains are healthy and wholesome in order to sell their food. The truth is that grains are implicated with a long range of chronic, painful and expensive health problems.

Corn, which can be found in most pet food, is a really bad ingredient. It is highly allergy producing, it irritates the intestines, and possibly the most detrimental problem is that corn has a high glycemic index.

Every time your cat eats food containing corn, there will be a spike in blood sugar levels. Cats do not metabolize foods the same way we do, and do not have the enzymes and hormones necessary to keep their blood sugar levels within normal range after consuming carbs. Cats are designed to get their energy from protein, not carbohydrates.

In the wild cats consume approximately 3-5% of their diet as carbohydrates. Commercial kibble containing corn contains from 30-60% carbohydrates.

After a meal of corn containing kibble, the cat will have a spike in blood sugar. Cats do not release insulin after eating carbs, cats release insulin after eating protein, thus are inefficient lowering the blood sugar.

The elevation in blood sugar is taxing for vital organs such as kidneys and liver.It taxes and exhausts the endocrine system. After time, the pancreas is unable to keep up and feline diabetes is a not uncommon end result.

Corn is also a culprit in feline obesity. Cats do not register full after consuming carbs. Cats register full after having consumed the required amounts of protein. In order to satisfy the need for protein your cat has to eat more of the inferior, grain containing kibble.

Switching your cat to a grain-less food frequently reverses diabetes, even if insulin has been given for some time. (A switch should be done ONLY with the cooperation of your vet, while monitoring blood glucose levels in order to prevent your cat’s blood sugar to go too low which can be deadly.)

A grain free food for your dog or cat will make a real improvement in their health.

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Written by Virginina Sutherland in: Dogs | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Sep
12
2009
0

Dog Food Ingredients: Why Isn’t A Meat Just A Meat?

Have you looked at the variety of dog food in the markets lately? Browsing over all the bags, they all brag about the great quality of meat they have inside and how healthy the dog food is. But how do you know? You have to learn to decipher the dog food ingredients label to find out.

What is a healthy dog food? A healthy dog food can be broken into 2 components: the right type of food for your particular dog, and the quality of the ingredients. The first part depends upon what kind of dog you have. Is he active? Does he have a medical condition? Is she nursing pups? You first need to determine the type of dog food that best suites your dog.

Independent of the type of dog food, the actual ingredients need to be understood. Are you really feeding nutritious ingredients to your dog or not? A great source of confusion comes when trying to decipher the meats – the main source of protein – as they can be stated as a type of meat, meal, or by-product.

What is the difference between a Meat, Meal, and By-Product? An identified animal meat, chicken for example, means the clean flesh from a chicken. Meal is simply the ingredient that has be dehydrated and ground. So chicken meal is dehydrated, ground up chicken meat. By-product is what is left over after all the usable meat has been removed (like the neck, feet, intestines, etc.) Chicken by-product would be processed and ground up chicken necks, feet, and who really knows what else.

Which is Better – Meat or Meal? Now you look at your dog food ingredients list. Naturally, most people would assume seeing the meat listed as the first ingredient would mean the best food. But in actuality, you want to see the meat in the meal form.

All dog food ingredients must be listed in order of weight. Since a meat still has all of its moisture, it will be heavier than a meat meal. To put it another way, take two pieces of meat that weigh the same. Now dehydrate one. Which one will weigh more – the meat will. The tricky part is that once the dog food is made, all meat is first processed and made into meat meal.

Named Animal Meat vs Generic Category Meat. If the animal protein is from chicken, the label will read chicken, chicken meal, chicken by-product, etc. Now if it is from more than one type of animal, it may say the category of the animal, such as poultry. This means the manufacturer does not know the actual meat origins, just that they are of the poultry family (geese, turkey, chicken, etc). Worse yet, when any and all types of animals are used, it is just listed as ‘meat’, ‘meat meal’, or ‘meat by-product’.

The bottom line is that if a specific animal source cannot be identified, the dog food manufacturer is probably more concerned about their bottom line than the health and well-being of your pet.

There are lots of things that come into play when determining what is the healthiest dog food for your dog. Learn more about how to read your dog food ingredients label at the Healthy Dog Food Blog: assisting you in figuring out what makes a healthy dog food.

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Sep
06
2009
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Why Is My Dog Not Eating? 4 Ways To Get Your Dog Eating Again

People who have never had a dog that won’t eat before, have no idea how stressful it can be for the owner. You love your dog and provide for him, but he just won’t touch his dinner, no matter what you try. Before you try anything else, you need to figure whether the problem of your dog not eating is mental or physical.

But before we jump into the problem of your dog not eating, we need to make sure you don’t have a special interest dog. If you have a dog with a known medical condition, a puppy, a pregnant, or a nursing dog, you need to go to your vet. These dogs have special nutrition requirements and need to be looked at professionally.

If this is a sudden eating problem, check to see if you have changed any of your dog’s food or routines, as this can be the problem. If you haven’t changed anything, make sure your dog isn’t in pain and isn’t acting like he is really tired (listless) – if so, take him to your vet. Otherwise, just wait a day or two. Your dog may have gotten into something that has upset his stomach, or he just doesn’t feel well. Ensure he has plenty of fresh water and the chance to go outside when needed. If after two days he still shows not interest in his food, take him to your vet – he may have a physical problem, like internal parasites.

So if your dog doesn’t have a physical problem that keeps him from eating, then it must be mental/emotional. But this can be fixed, by following these tips.

1. Does your dog get enough attention? Some dogs get lonely and bored if they don’t get enough attention. When that happens, they will do anything to get attention from you. So they don’t eat their dinner – and you freak out! Hey, the attention they desire. This soon develops into an eating problem for your dog. Start interacting with your pet more – play with him and take him on daily walks.

2. What if your dog is not trying to get attention, but is just plain spoiled? Then you need to step up and start acting like the master. Simply put his food bowl down and after 20 minutes pick it up and throw the food away. Do not give your dog any treats at any time during the day. Make his mealtime the only time he gets to eat. If he still has not eaten after 3 days of this, you may want to take him to the vet and make sure there are no physical problems.

3. Do you hover over your dog or are otherwise anxious about his eating, or not eating? You may be making him nervous or suspicious with your always being around. Dogs can easily pick up on our feelings and fears, without knowing the why’s of our feelings.

Give your dog his dinner, and leave. If he follows you instead of eating, put him in a room with his food and close the door. Do not return for 20 minutes – just let him be. If it doesn’t work the first day, try again for a couple more days. Once he senses, or rather doesn’t sense, your problems, he may be able to eat.

4. Is the dog food you are feeding him any good? Look at your dog food ingredients label. The first ingredient should be some kind of protein, like chicken meal, lamb meal, etc. There should also not be too much non-nutritional grains listed. It may just be that the food you are offering does not have enough nutrition in it. Or that a certain ingredient may not be agreeing with him. Look at super-premium, organic, or all-natural dog food alternatives. A lot of the economy dog foods are mainly filler with fat sprayed on them to entice the dog to eat what he would not otherwise eat – some dogs see through this and just won’t eat it.

Try using these tips and you may solve your dog eating problems. Don’t let your dog’s dinnertime be a time of anxiety for you or your dog.

If your dog is not eating because he dislikes his dog food, please visit the Healthy Dog Food Blog to learn more about how to find the best food for your dog to stay in optimal health. This article is for informational purpose only and is NOT intended to replace the advice of a veterinarian or pet care professional.

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Aug
01
2009
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Best Dog Food – By-Product Debate

As one of my dogs began to get sick I started to research dog health topics. TV has become boring for me, and so I try to spend most of my free time researching how to improve the length of my dogs lives.

Those of you that know me also know that I believe the number one cause of health issues with dogs is commercial dog food. That is why I have been on a mission to spread the word about the best dog food, and I am a big believer in homemade dog food.

In actuality, the majority of people will need to provide supplemental commercial food in addition to the homemade diet. This is the reason I take a lot of time with the best dog food topic.

One area of controversy that I encountered was the usage of meat by products in dog food. You’ll recognize this because a meat, such as lamb or chicken, will be shown with the word by-product attached.

What exactly is it and will your dog benefit from it? If you investigate on the topic you will discover two groups, one group supports by products as positive, but the other group say it is dangerous for your pet.

It may depend, lets look at what defines a poultry by-product.

The by-products taken from animals such as chicken and turkeys, consists of ground up, processed, and cleaned left over parts of the carcasses. These parts include the beaks, necks, feet, intestines, and other parts with exception of the feathers, though trace amounts may be present. The problem with “by-product” ingredients is that you don’t know what you’re actually getting and in what amount. Currently, no standard exists that specifies how many feet, quantity of intestines or makeup of nutritional content. Honestly, none of this is really fit for human consumption.

Some will argue that a dog in the wild will eat everything listed in a by-product ingredient and that is what makes it okay to feed it to your dog. That might be true enough, but that is like saying a homeless person eats out of dumpsters and garbage cans, does that make it the best things for you and I to eat?

Since I plan on feeding my dogs the best food possible, by-products will remain in the trash and won’t be found in any of the food I provide.

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Written by Michael Considine in: Dogs | Tags: , , , , ,
Jul
30
2009
0

The By-Product Debate in Dog Food

When one of my dogs started to have health problems at the age of six, I got pretty serious about dog health issues. I don’t watch TV much anymore, if I have any free time I’m usually doing research to try and improve and extend the lives of my dogs.

Those of you that know me also know that I believe the number one cause of health issues with dogs is commercial dog food. That is why I have been on a mission to spread the word about the best dog food, and I am a big believer in homemade dog food.

In actuality, the majority of people will need to provide supplemental commercial food in addition to the homemade diet. This is the reason I take a lot of time with the best dog food topic.

One area of controversy that I encountered was the usage of meat by products in dog food. You’ll recognize this because a meat, such as lamb or chicken, will be shown with the word by-product attached.

What exactly is it and will your dog benefit from it? If you investigate on the topic you will discover two groups, one group supports by products as positive, but the other group say it is dangerous for your pet.

The answer is, it depends; we need to explore what it really means when we say there are poultry by-products.

“Poultry derivatives contain mashed up, renderings, clean portions of murdered poultry cadavers, such as necks, beak, feet, unhatched eggs and intestines, leaving out feathers, “except in various amounts that might happen by accident in normal processing”The trouble is you are not aware of the ingredients all the time. There isn’t any standard that states there are a certain amount of feet or a measurement of intestines or any form of nutrition at all. In reality, none of this is actually suitable for a person to eat.

There are some who will make the argument that because some of the by-product ingredients are what the dog would actually eat in the wild, they are fine for them to eat in a dog food. Even if this is the case it is tantamount to saying that because homeless people eat out of garbage cans, dumpster food is great for everyone else, too.

Because I want the best possible nutrition for my dog, I’ll avoid those foods that contain by-products and stick with the best dog food with natural ingredients.

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Written by Michael Considine in: Dogs | Tags: , , , , ,
Jul
14
2009
0

Would Your Dog Food Make The Top 10 Dog Food List?

Do you think, just because a dog food brand is well known that it makes it the best dog food for your dog? Brand names are often well advertised but that does not mean they are what is right for your dog.

Your vet, unfortunately, does not have the best dog food available for your canine. I’ll bet that 90% of Vets that sell dog food are selling Science Diet, yet it does not meet the requirements to make my top ten best dog food list.

After my Beagle started suffering from Seizures, I have spent a lot of time researching the best dog food available on the market. I have learned more about how to decipher a dog food label and understand what all the ingredients are, than most people know about their own human food.

The problem was the more research I would do the deeper I would get into this ugly world of commercial dog foods.

It became apparent that in order for me to be sure I was feeding the best dog food, I would need to understand a whole lot more about how the pet food industry worked.

I have wrote many articles on my findings about how the Industry uses weak laws and the fact that they are virtually self regulated to deceive pet owners with deceptive wording on labels and packaging.

The only law that even comes close to helping us pick the best dog food is the law that states ingredients must be listed in order of predominance by weight. So if the first ingredient is a corn product, it doesn’t matter if the name on the bag says Chicken dinner delight, the main ingredient by weight is the corn product.

The best thing to do is skip over the name on the bag and go straight to the ingredient list. After you make it through the first couple of ingredients that you think you understand what they are, that is where the fun begins.

Ingredients like dried egg product is completely different than whole eggs, or just eggs. You would not eat what goes into dried egg product, so why should your dog? The same thing with Chicken by-products, this is a far cry from any chicken you would throw on the grill for supper tonight.

These ingredients are just the ones that you can kind of figure out what they might be, but how about the preservatives and vitamins listed that you probably won’t have a clue what they are?

The main reason for me being pleased that at initial stage of my study; I could get a rigid guide telling what one must check on labels of packed dog foods and I have been following the same to choose best food for my pet dog.

This has helped my weed through over 150 brands of dog food, and only 10 were good enough to make my top 10 best dog food list. When you compare the labels on these 10 to the brands your Vet are selling, you are going to start to take healthy feeding decisions out of the hands of your Vet and do it yourself.

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Written by Michael Considine in: Dogs | Tags: , , , ,
Jul
10
2009
0

Did Your Vet Ever Prove to You His Food is The Best Dog Food?

Do you consider big name dog food brands to be made with the best dog food ingredients? After studying the matter I’ve come to the conclusion that people are aware of a brand not because it’s particularly healthy but because it’s a brand that can afford some heavy advertising.

Sadly the best dog food for your dog is probably not even being sold in your Vets office. Most Vets sell Science Diet and it does not even come close to making my top ten best dog food list.

Because my dog started to have Seizures, I started to research to find out how to pick the best dog food available to keep him healthy. I was forced to become an expert on reading dog food labels, to try and figure out what those listed ingredients really are. I sometimes think I know more about what is in my dog’s food than I do my own.

The problem was the more research I would do the deeper I would get into this ugly world of commercial dog foods.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that I would have to learn some things about the Pet food industry in order to give my dogs the best dog food that’s out there.

I have documented my findings in many articles about the pet food industry, which is virtually self-regulated, and about how the industry uses deceptive labeling language to deceive pet owners about true contents of pet food.

The only law that even comes close to helping us pick the best dog food is the law that states ingredients must be listed in order of predominance by weight. So if the first ingredient is a corn product, it doesn’t matter if the name on the bag says Chicken dinner delight, the main ingredient by weight is the corn product.

Do yourself a favor and ignore the name on the bag and take a look at the ingredient list to determine what the food really is. After looking at the first few ingredients and rubbing your head, then you can look at the rest of the list which you’ll have no clue what the word mean. Yet here I am telling you the label is still the best place to learn what is really in the food.

As you start to look at ingredient lists, your going to see healthy sounding ingredients like dried egg products. Don’t be fooled this particular ingredient is anything but healthy. The only thing healthy in dried egg products is the word egg, and the last I checked you can’t eat a word. Why do you want to feed your dog food with ingredients that need to be marked not fit for human consumption before sold? Another good one, is Chicken by-products, if you think this has anything to do with chicken you would serve your family, think again.

Though some of the listed ingredients are self explanatory, there are preservatives and vitamins added that may be unnecessary and hard to identify.

I have learned what to look for in the best dog food on the market.

Out of 150 brands of dog food, just 10 were of good quality that I would consider feeding to my dog. You want your dog to eat healthy and when you look at the ingredients on these 10 dog foods and then do a check against what is available at your vet’s, you will see the need to take a personally proactive approach.

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Written by Michael Considine in: Dogs | Tags: , , , ,
May
30
2009
0

Why Dog Foods can be Deadly for Your Dog

How much time do you spend on picking your dog food? Do you understand how to read the labels and do you know what each ingredient really is?

The reason I started to research dog food was my six year old dog started to have seizures.. The facts about what goes into dog food is sickening and I decided I needed to help educate pet owners about this danger.

I promise you I’m not going to give you a sale pitch for some high priced fancy dog food. I will explain to you how to learn how to look at the ingredients in your dog food and understand what they really are.

What if I told you that if you learn how to feed your dog properly, it could add up to 8.3 years to their lives? That’s 8.3 more years of tail wagging, tongue liking unconditional love.

After many hours of research I finally found a resource that explained how to read the labels found on dog food. Believe it or not even thought the FDA regulates dog food labeling, it does not hold commercial dog food labeling to the same requirements as it does for people food.

The FDA’s weak regulations of dog food labeling have made it easy for the pet food industry to hide unhealthy ingredients that they use to make the food more attractive to dogs so that they’ll eat it. Some of these ingredients are actually deadly over the long term for your dogs. The problem is they are allowing the industry to play with words and that makes it hard for the pet owner to really know what is in the food…

If a dog food is named Turkey dog food it would have 70% turkey 9of some sort) compared to a food named Turkey flavored that would have 0% turkey in it..

Another way they are allowed to play with words is, if the use the words “with, Dinner or Nuggets” they only need to contain 3% of that ingredient in the food.

The truth is the dog food industry has been allowed to deceive the pet owner into thinking they are purchasing quality ingredients, when the truth is we are purchasing ingredients not fit for human consumption.

Some companies in the commercial pet food industry are adding waste leftovers from human food processing plants to add protein to their dog foods. We could not eat these by-products so why would we want to feed it to our dogs?

The dog food labeling regulations our written so poorly that they allow the industry to make toxic ingredients sound like they are healthy. One would think that when they read Dried Egg Products as an ingredient in their dog food, that that would be a good thing. In reality this ingredient is a waste by-product of the egg industry first marked unfit for human consumption before it is sold to the dog food companies.

It is easy to be fooled by the healthy sounding ingredients listed on your dog food label, but once you understand what you’re reading your see these toxic by-products ingredient have been sugar coated with a healthy looking name.

Once I found out what was really in most commercially made dog food, I switched my dogs to a homemade diet. This does take some work and I understand that not everyone can do this, and that is why it’s so important that you learn how to read and understand a dog food label.

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Written by Michael Considine in: Dogs | Tags: , , ,
Wireless Dog Fence