One kind of homemade dog food.
Does your dog scratch a lot? Does she have raw, hot spots? Maybe she always has a runny nose, or she is always pawing her ears or chewing her toes. These are all signs your dog has allergies, and it could very well be the store-bought food you've been feeding her that is causing the problems. When you understand what is being put into commercial dog food, you realize why so many dogs suffer from allergies. First are the additives and preservatives in commercial dog food; second are the pieces of euthanized dogs used in some commercial dog foods. Yes, some dog food manufacturers to do this, and if your dog eats this food it can make him sick, never mind the allergies! The dog food recalls of 2007 and 2008 only strengthen making your own dog food an even better idea.
Instructions
1. Choose the type of meat you are going to feed your dog. You can feed your dog beef, turkey, chicken, pork, fish and venison.
2. Choose the vegetables you want to add to your dog's homemade food. Your choices are tomatos, carrots, peas, corn and green beans. In fact, green beans make a great filler food if you are trying to help your dog lose weight because overfeeding with green beans is not an issue.
3. Choose a starch to add to your dog's homemade food. Your choices for starches are oatmeal, brown pasta, brown rice and potatoes.
4. Choose at least one meat, one vegetable or two, and one starch. Your dog needs to have at least one each of these selections at each meal to stay healthy.
5. Remove all the bones from any meat before cooking it. Contrary to popular opinion, cooked bones aren't good for your dog because they can splinter in your dog's mouth or throat.
6. Cut up the meat. Take into account the size of your dog when doing this, just as you would when cutting up a child's food. A big dog can usually handle 1-inch pieces, but smaller dogs will need smaller pieces.
7. Add enough water, natural chicken or beef broth to cover the bottom of your skillet. Keep adding your liquid of choice to the meat as it cooks to keep it moist. Cook the meat thoroughly, because if your dog eats raw or nearly raw meat there is the possibility of him passing salmonella poisoning to you and your family when he licks your hands or face.
8. Boil your vegetable of choice in water until the vegetable is tender. You can also steam vegetables as long they are tender when you are done. Dogs can't digest raw vegetables, so they have to be thoroughly cooked first in order for them to get all the nutrients they need from them.
9. Cook your starch. If you have chosen brown rice, pasta or oatmeal for your starch, now is the time to prepare it. While dogs can eat white rice and pasta, brown is better for them for the same reasons they are better for people.
10. Mix all three groups of your ingredients together once they are cooked. You are almost ready to feed your dog, just be sure to give him a proper portion size based on the amount of food your vet has recommended for your dog's size. Make sure you cool the food down until it is warm before feeding it to your dog.
Tips Warnings
Dogs have very delicate digestive systems and it is actually a bad idea to just take your dog off his store-bought food all at once. Instead, mix the store-bought dog food with your homemade dog food, then gradually reduce the amount until your dog is only eating the homemade dog food. Add a half of ground up egg shell to your homemade dog food for the calcium. Rotate your homemade dog dishes so your dog doesn't become bored. Just as with people who eat the same thing day in day out, too much of the same thing can become tiresome for your dog too. Also, variety in your dog's diet is good and ensures she is eating a healthy diet. When you reheat homemade dog food, only do so until it is barely warm.
Don't feed your dog avocados, chocolate, onions, grapes and raisins, mushrooms, citric acid or foods with it, or caffeine or foods or drinks with it. None of these are good for your dog and in some cases can be fatal. Raw or spoiled garlic can be toxic to dogs, so if you are thinking about adding garlic for flavor or as a natural flea preventative to your dog's homemade dog food, check with your vet first. Talk to your vet before feeding your dog organ meats because too much liver may not be good for your dog. Keep an eye on your dog even after you have completely replaced the commercial dog food with homemade dog food as it is still possible for your dog to be allergic to other things besides the preservatives and additives in commercial dog food, such as a vegetable for example. If your dog is still showing allergy symptoms, you should take him to your vet. Don't feed your dog piping hot homemade dog food, allow it to cool down until it is barely warm before feeding it to your dog, otherwise he could scald his mouth, tongue and throat. Only store leftovers for three days, after that throw it out. If you don't, and you feed it to your dog, you run the risk of food poisoning.
Tags: make, homemade, food, dogs, allergies, homemade food, feed your, your homemade, your homemade food, commercial food, before feeding, before feeding your, feeding your
