Some dog owners have concerns about the quality of the ingredients of commercial dog food. Holistic dog food is a healthier alternative to many commercial dog foods. Holistic dog food is dog food, either manufactured or homemade, that contains only natural ingredients.

Natural dog foods that the companies promote as holistic often contain natural ingredients. Perhaps one of the biggest differences between these holistic dog foods and the most popular commercial dog foods is the quality of the ingredients.

Most commercial dog foods use animal byproducts as the dog food’s animal protein ingredient. Animal byproducts are pieces of meat that are not considered suitable for human consumption. Some holistic dog food companies claim to only use human-grade meat instead of animal byproducts. Vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants may be added to holistic dog food.

Holistic dog food recipes blend natural ingredients. Natural dog food recipes can be found on the Internet. The dog owner needs to make sure that the recipes do not contain any foods that can be toxic to dogs including garlic, avocado, onions, chocolate, and grapes.

One basic dog food recipe for meat and brown rice dinner allows the dog owner to include ingredients that are available. The recipe includes four basic ingredients of one and a half cups of brown rice, half a cup of cubed meat, two teaspoons vegetable oil, and one-fourth to one-half cooked vegetables.

Beef, chicken, turkey, ham, liver, or veal can be used as the meat in this dog food recipe. Ground beef or ground turkey need to be cooked thoroughly if used as the meat. The meat should be cooked until well done in the vegetable oil.

Cooked diced potatoes, carrots, celery, cabbage, broccoli, or other dog-safe vegetables can be used alone or in combination for this recipe. One half cup of plain yogurt may be added to this homemade dog food. The homemade dog food should be blended and cooled before giving it to the dog.

The dog owner may want to experiment with different meats and vegetables. A variety of ingredients is strongly recommended as opposed to using liver or other ingredient every day. Using a variety of ingredients helps ensure the dog is receiving proper nutrition and avoids health problems related to eating too much of one particular food.

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