With so many choices it can be hard to pick a pet food from the supermarket shelves. They all claim to be better for your pet in some way. The one type that is most likely to live up to its claims is natural balance dog food. You want to make the right choice of natural dog food for your pet so that it will live a long and healthy life. Make sure you read the label of any natural dog food you consider for your pet, since some of them are meant for a particular dog breed.
All natural dog foods are a good source of minerals, including manganese, phosphorous, calcium and potassium. Vitamins and minerals form an essential part of a diet for any dog. Also important are the many types of vegetable, particularly the green and orange varieties. Feeding your dog with natural dog food can be looked on as almost akin to taking out an insurance policy.
The perfect all-natural pet food has absolutely no harmful additives and is also high in both protein and fiber. Some major brands do make “natural” foods, but it’s a good idea to consult your dog’s veterinarian before you alter his or her diet, to avoid any possible negative repercussions and to eliminate any of your own concerns on the subject.
Homemade pet food is increasing in popularity for a few reasons. One of the main reasons for the dramatic switch from commercial store-bought dog food to home made dog food is the recent contaminated dog food scare. The safety of commercial dog food has pet owners everywhere nervous about store-bought dog food. This reason alone has caused thousands of dog owners to take charge of their pet’s diet and begin making their dog food for them for peace of mind and to know exactly what their dog is getting.
Homemade pet food presents many advantages to a dog. First, if the dog has a choice between homemade or commercial dog food, most dogs pick the homemade food. Additionally, home made food is more nutritious for a dog, it tastes better and is more fulfilling to a dog. Aside from being an enjoyable eating experience, wellness dog food provides many health benefits to a dog, too.
Home made dog food is beneficial to dogs and can improve pet health when it is used consistently. Dogs fed this type of food have a healthier digestive tract, better breath, less gas and improved stool formation. They also tend to have beautiful silky coats, healthy skin and increased energy.
Choosing a pet food can be a challenge. There are so many dog foods which make so many assertions. Homemade food is increasing in popularity for a few reasons. One of the main reasons for the dramatic switch from commercial store-bought dog food to home made dog food recipes is the relatively recent contaminated dog food scare. The massive 2007 pet food recalls have caused thousands of dog owners to take charge of their pet’s diet. Given a choice between homemade or commercial food most dogs pick the homemade food. Aside from being an enjoyable eating experience, lovingly prepared homemade food for your dog provides many health benefits, too.
Hello Melinda. Although I respect your desire to feed your dog well (much more than many dog owners). I do, with all due respect for your right to your opinion, hold a completely different understanding of what is ‘healthy’ for our dogs which I would like to share with you :o)
Dogs are carnivores, as biological evidence shows, not omnivores (check http://www.rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html for detailed scientific information about our carnivore friends). Unfortunately we human dog lovers practise many anthropomorphic tendencies (suggesting human characteristics for animals or inanimate things) which is quite understandable, but quite detrimental to our beloved pets.
We humans need a balanced diet that is varied and vast, so we decide our dogs need the same, which is untrue. Our dogs need ‘their’ balanced diet which is basically the ‘whole carcass’.
After years of skin problems with my dog, I finally found the solution….(in opposition to my vets advice whose understanding of dog nutrition is swayed by the dog food companies…nothing bias there I’m sure…lol) I feed her HER natural diet. The diet her own body was designed to take. She gets beef and any other red meat I happen to have, chicken (preferably whole raw carcasses….shock horror…there’s another myth, the danger of bones! Only cooked bones are a problem.), organ meat, and brisket bone that she can totally consume every other day. She now has not one iddy biddy sign of inflammation or sores on her body.
No fruit, vegetables or cereals for her. Oh, some dogs can live on it, but it doesn’t mean it is best for their health. I can live on takeaways too, but it’s not best for me.
I hope you are able to visit that site at some time or another. It really is a wonderful resource for dog lovers.
Take care.
Michaela
Brigitte Smith
Hi Michaela,
Great post! Thanks.
This is a philosophy that I personally follow and believe in. There is so much contrary information out there, though – all those ‘myths’ that are dispelled on that site. And there are so many pet owners who balk at feeding raw.
Yes, I do give some foods other than raw meat and bones, but more for good measure, variety, convenience, and so I can have a bet each way, so to speak. 90% of my dogs’ diet is raw meat and bones. One thing I have found is that as the dogs get older, they are less able to chew through large chunks of bone. My dogs even seem to have a bit of difficulty these days with chicken legs (which, let’s face it, aren’t that big), whereas they used to have no problem at all with much larger bones when they were younger. So I give them a lot of chicken wings now, and thighs.
The vast majority of pet owners still prefer to feed convenience foods, unfortunately. That’s why I make recommendations in relation to some of the healthier ones. But my own preference has always been for primarily a raw meat and bones diet.
Hey’a Brigitte (very cool name…in my mind I hear it pronounced the very chic way of ‘Brig-geet’ is that correct?)
Thanks for your post. Was good to read that you understand what a natural diet is for our dogs. They do get a bit of a ‘raw’ deal (sorry, couldn’t help myself!) with all the advertising the pet food companies do to make it sound as if they should basically be eating what we do. And with all that money behind them, of course they are going to make ‘disciples’ of many of us. So it’s good to hear others talk about a truly good diet for our dogs.
with miniature schnauzer and I think also standard schnauzer they can’t eat any kind of fat. I had a Miniature and he got Pancreatitis couple times over the 12 yrs we had him. I can’t find anything that says what to feed them or what not to feed them. They just talk about all dogs in general. Do you have any info about feeding them raw meat with skin and fat on them, like a chicken has? I plan on getting another one of these great dogs…….thank you for any info u find, Pat from Houston
Brigitte Smith
Hey Michaela,
Thanks! Actually, people pronounce my name in a variety of ways. Your version is one that I do really like. My in-laws all used to pronounce it that way.
Regards,
Brigitte
Brigitte Smith
Hey Pat,
Sorry, I don’t know anything specifically about Schnauzers. Surely they must need some fat? My understanding was that all dogs (regardless of breed) need some. But I could be wrong about that. As you know, I have no veterinary training at all – just an interest in dog health as an interested dog owner like yourself.
If I find anything specific about Schnauzers in this regard, I’ll let you know.
FANTASTIC article on feeding raw! IT is just what I was looking for too get me started in the right direction. In truth I have been feeding raw but see where I can improve what I have been doing for my working girls. They work in the field of human remains detection specializing in cold cases of late. They always have more staminah than the kibble fed conterparts that I work with. My eight-plus year old aussie is showing no signs of slowing! This was just what I was looking for…A BIG THANKS BRIGETTE from way down south in LA.
Lisa
With so many choices it can be hard to pick a pet food from the supermarket shelves. They all claim to be better for your pet in some way. The one type that is most likely to live up to its claims is natural balance dog food. You want to make the right choice of natural dog food for your pet so that it will live a long and healthy life. Make sure you read the label of any natural dog food you consider for your pet, since some of them are meant for a particular dog breed.
Homemade pet food is increasing in popularity for a few reasons. One of the main reasons for the dramatic switch from commercial store-bought dog food to home made dog food is the recent contaminated dog food scare. The safety of commercial dog food has pet owners everywhere nervous about store-bought dog food. This reason alone has caused thousands of dog owners to take charge of their pet’s diet and begin making their dog food for them for peace of mind and to know exactly what their dog is getting.
Choosing a pet food can be a challenge. There are so many dog foods which make so many assertions. Homemade food is increasing in popularity for a few reasons. One of the main reasons for the dramatic switch from commercial store-bought dog food to home made dog food recipes is the relatively recent contaminated dog food scare. The massive 2007 pet food recalls have caused thousands of dog owners to take charge of their pet’s diet. Given a choice between homemade or commercial food most dogs pick the homemade food. Aside from being an enjoyable eating experience, lovingly prepared homemade food for your dog provides many health benefits, too.
Hello Melinda. Although I respect your desire to feed your dog well (much more than many dog owners). I do, with all due respect for your right to your opinion, hold a completely different understanding of what is ‘healthy’ for our dogs which I would like to share with you :o)
Dogs are carnivores, as biological evidence shows, not omnivores (check http://www.rawfed.com/myths/omnivores.html for detailed scientific information about our carnivore friends). Unfortunately we human dog lovers practise many anthropomorphic tendencies (suggesting human characteristics for animals or inanimate things) which is quite understandable, but quite detrimental to our beloved pets.
We humans need a balanced diet that is varied and vast, so we decide our dogs need the same, which is untrue. Our dogs need ‘their’ balanced diet which is basically the ‘whole carcass’.
After years of skin problems with my dog, I finally found the solution….(in opposition to my vets advice whose understanding of dog nutrition is swayed by the dog food companies…nothing bias there I’m sure…lol) I feed her HER natural diet. The diet her own body was designed to take. She gets beef and any other red meat I happen to have, chicken (preferably whole raw carcasses….shock horror…there’s another myth, the danger of bones! Only cooked bones are a problem.), organ meat, and brisket bone that she can totally consume every other day. She now has not one iddy biddy sign of inflammation or sores on her body.
No fruit, vegetables or cereals for her. Oh, some dogs can live on it, but it doesn’t mean it is best for their health. I can live on takeaways too, but it’s not best for me.
I hope you are able to visit that site at some time or another. It really is a wonderful resource for dog lovers.
Take care.
Michaela
Hi Michaela,
Great post! Thanks.
This is a philosophy that I personally follow and believe in. There is so much contrary information out there, though – all those ‘myths’ that are dispelled on that site. And there are so many pet owners who balk at feeding raw.
Yes, I do give some foods other than raw meat and bones, but more for good measure, variety, convenience, and so I can have a bet each way, so to speak. 90% of my dogs’ diet is raw meat and bones. One thing I have found is that as the dogs get older, they are less able to chew through large chunks of bone. My dogs even seem to have a bit of difficulty these days with chicken legs (which, let’s face it, aren’t that big), whereas they used to have no problem at all with much larger bones when they were younger. So I give them a lot of chicken wings now, and thighs.
The vast majority of pet owners still prefer to feed convenience foods, unfortunately. That’s why I make recommendations in relation to some of the healthier ones. But my own preference has always been for primarily a raw meat and bones diet.
Regards,
Brigitte
Hey’a Brigitte (very cool name…in my mind I hear it pronounced the very chic way of ‘Brig-geet’ is that correct?)
Thanks for your post. Was good to read that you understand what a natural diet is for our dogs. They do get a bit of a ‘raw’ deal (sorry, couldn’t help myself!) with all the advertising the pet food companies do to make it sound as if they should basically be eating what we do. And with all that money behind them, of course they are going to make ‘disciples’ of many of us. So it’s good to hear others talk about a truly good diet for our dogs.
Take care now…
Me
with miniature schnauzer and I think also standard schnauzer they can’t eat any kind of fat. I had a Miniature and he got Pancreatitis couple times over the 12 yrs we had him. I can’t find anything that says what to feed them or what not to feed them. They just talk about all dogs in general. Do you have any info about feeding them raw meat with skin and fat on them, like a chicken has? I plan on getting another one of these great dogs…….thank you for any info u find, Pat from Houston
Hey Michaela,
Thanks! Actually, people pronounce my name in a variety of ways. Your version is one that I do really like. My in-laws all used to pronounce it that way.
Regards,
Brigitte
Hey Pat,
Sorry, I don’t know anything specifically about Schnauzers. Surely they must need some fat? My understanding was that all dogs (regardless of breed) need some. But I could be wrong about that. As you know, I have no veterinary training at all – just an interest in dog health as an interested dog owner like yourself.
If I find anything specific about Schnauzers in this regard, I’ll let you know.
Regards,
Brigitte
FANTASTIC article on feeding raw! IT is just what I was looking for too get me started in the right direction. In truth I have been feeding raw but see where I can improve what I have been doing for my working girls. They work in the field of human remains detection specializing in cold cases of late. They always have more staminah than the kibble fed conterparts that I work with. My eight-plus year old aussie is showing no signs of slowing! This was just what I was looking for…A BIG THANKS BRIGETTE from way down south in LA.
Lisa