People are getting into eating healthy foods – why not dogs? The same practices and ingredients that have made our modern American diet unhealthy for people have also had their effect on dog diets.
Reading “Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food” by Ann N. Martin was an eye-opener for me. Common ingredients in commercial dog foods – meat products tainted with bacteria, hormones, antibiotics, and so on; additives including stuff dogs are not built to eat; preservatives and chemicals designed to make dog food convenient for humans without a thought to dogs’ health… I could go on and on.
I don’t eat many processed foods any more, and neither do my dogs. They eat food I prepare myself, most of it raw. I know exactly what’s in my dog food –and what isn’t, most notably chemicals and preservatives.
Spending a little time to prepare your own dog food will yield real, tangible benefits for your dog and for you.
1. Bye-bye veterinarian – and vet bills.
Dogs who eat a healthy natural diet are much less prone to disease, allergies and body issues than dogs who eat the processed dog food you get in the supermarket. End of story. Our dogs go to the vet only for their annual check-ups.
Not only might your dog be allergic to processed foods; more importantly, your dog might not be fortified enough by processed foods. A super-healthy diet makes a body super-strong and resilient, less likely to have allergies. One of my favorite books, “The Nature of Animal Healing”, is strong on this point. The author himself (a vet) stopped his own hair loss when he dramatically improved his own diet to non-processed food. He then turned this important revelation to help many animals.
2. Good teeth, less brushing.
Rio enjoying a marrow bone
Our dog food includes bones, plus our dogs get marrow bones for treats. Their teeth are strong and healthy—at ages 4, 9 and 11. I hate to admit it, but we rarely brush their teeth—the bones take care of it. The vet has remarked on how great they look!
If all they ate were raw bones, caring for their teeth would require no work at all! Since they still eat some other food, we have learned the spots that don’t seem to get self-cleaned by bones. We brush those spots quickly before bedtime.
The only caveat to bones is keeping them raw and not cooked. Cooking (including sitting in the sun) makes them too hard. Hard bones can crack teeth with repeated grinding.
3. Beautiful coats and less hair around the house.
My boyfriend was not at all enthusiastic about this natural diet at the beginning. The first thing that began to win him over was our dogs’ soft and shiny coats. You may think your dog’s coat is fine, but you haven’t seen silky soft till you put your canine friend on a healthy diet! We’re also very pleased to see more of the coat staying on the dog and less deposited on the floor. Less vacuuming makes for happier humans!
4. Allergic friends can visit.
Maybe it’s because they shed less and have healthier skin, but our dogs don’t bother our friends who say they are allergic to dogs. I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same results, but it’s been pretty consistent for us. In summary, your dog will be less allergic themselves AND less likely to cause someone else allergies – this is so good!
5. I don’t want to gross you out, but… Good poop.
This is really my boyfriend’s contribution; it must be a guy thing. Our dogs make perfect poop. It’s hard and solid, and there’s less of it than there used to be. If we leave some in the yard, it breaks down and disappears. One of our dogs used to have soft poops and even diarrhea when he exercised. Since he’s been eating healthy, homemade dog food, he makes good poop every time.
Veggie Glop
We have a series of articles that cover the variety of homemade food we use:
- raw food meals
- other meals involving convenient mixes
- occasional premium dry kibble
You’ll spend maybe a couple of hours a week preparing dog food, and you’ll spend a little more money than for processed food. You’ll be more than repaid by your dog’s healthy appearance, with the savings on vet bills as a bonus!
If you aren’t ready to make the switch to homemade dog food, at least consider some healthier choices in commercial dog food.
