At the time of writing
this article, there has been a HUGE commercial dog and cat food poisoning scare
in the USA
- from contaminated dog food. Around 60 Million cans and pouches of prepared
pet food were recalled.
Some owners lost their
dogs and cats, because a type of plastic called melamine had found its way into
pet food! Why pet food manufacturers use wheat gluten in pet food is a mystery
- it is a VERY POOR source of protein!
We make our own homemade
dog food for a number of reasons - one of them being the unknown composition of
commercial dog food!
We started making
homemade dog food, some time after I got an Insiders look at what is called a
"protein recovery unit".
I nicknamed it the Beak
Factory because this plant used leftovers from a chicken processor - heads
(beak and all), feet, feathers and gizzards - and turned it into a foul
smelling dirty brown powder destined to go into pet-food!
Try Googling the words
Aflatoxin, Mycotoxin or bacterial toxins for yourself!
In short - it HAS ALWAYS
BEEN potentially contaminated dog food! Because it's labelled as Pet Food Not
For Human Consumption - there is far less scrutiny, concern and accountability!
We love our dogs - so to avoid food based on rubbish, with added soy protein,
colourings and other additives - we make our own homemade dog food exclusively!
And here's the thing -
Homemade dog food is not only BETTER FOR YOUR DOG it's also far cheaper than
than commercial dog food - here in Australia, we can feed an adult
Staffordshire Bull Terrier for about 45c per day!
Now's when the Pet food
companies and some veterinarians comment that the food that you make needs to
be complete. Dogs have shared human lives for thousands of years (long before
pet food companies) - and NEVER became extinct due to malnutrition!
Let me state this -
anyone who can read and can cook - can make their own high quality homemade dog
food! Sure there are some basics - when making homemade dog food it's important
to remember that dogs are meat eaters (carnivorous). Since meat is almost
entirely made up of proteins - protein is therefore an essential component in
dog diets!
But did you know that
many canned or dried foods are based on plant sources of protein (often Soy
beans - and no wonder they fart so much); because vegetable proteins are MUCH
cheaper than animal proteins
But vegetable based
proteins like those found in soy beans, chickpeas, lentils etc are not complete
in all the amino acids found in animal proteins like meat, fish and dairy.
To overcome this lack of
complete proteins pet food manufacturers add the the horrible smelling powder I
mentioned earlier!
In his book Home
Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, The Healthful Alternative, - when speaking about
commercially prepared pet food, Donald Stromberg had this to say:
"The cost of pet
foods is lessened by using no more animal protein, than is necessary. Using
sources of animal proteins not fit for human consumption also reduces the cost.
For example, animal meat meals are unfit for human consumption. Some meat meal
protein is from animals that died and were beginning to decompose."
Stromberg gives a figure of 13% protein for growing dogs and 19% for aging
dogs. I always aim that homemade dog food falls into this higher protein range.
Since dogs in the wild
are predominantly meat eating, most of their dietary protein will come from
animal or insect sources - I use animal proteins.
I also vary the protein
content of my homemade dog food, according to the needs of my dogs.
Pregnant bitches and
growing puppies need considerably more protein and also need more total food
quantity.
However when using meat
as your source of protein, you CAN cause problems for the dog if the food is
not balanced with the correct minerals. When making homemade dog food, it's
important to aim for this balance between protein, vitamins and minerals! When
you use my homemade dog food recipes you'll see that one of my principle
protein sources is skinless chicken necks.
I use these because of
their high protein/low fat ratio and low price - PLUS - the added advantage of
the minerals like calcium, phosphorus and potassium etc, available in the bone!
Right here and right now
then; your homemade dog food is streets ahead of commercial pet food, because
you are using quality, nutritious and balanced protein from clean, safe food
sources!
Dog food recipe mistakes :
While your dog may be
your best friend and indeed, you may treat your dog like a member of your
family, keep in mind that to keep your dog happy, healthy and strong you need
to remember that some of the most poisonous dog foods are the scraps you
feed your dog. As loving dog owners, we need to be very wary of the types
and kinds of food we give our dogs to avoid feeding them poisonous dog foods at
the dinner table.
You may not know this
but many everyday "table foods" are indeed known to be poisonous
dog foods -- So the question is...are you poisoning your dog with the
table foods?
The list of everyday
table foods that are poisonous dog foods is quite extensive - the best way to
avoid inadvertently poisoning your beloved baby is to avoid feeding table foods
altogether. It's closely followed by your dog's heart rate escalating and even
death is a possibility if the dog is taken out for exercise. Cooking chocolate
as well as cocoa are poisonous foods for your dog, so avoid them. The truth is,
if you allow your dog to merely lick the leftover icing on a cocoa cake, its
potentially poisonous food right in front of your beloved dog. Macademia nuts
are among the poisonous dog foods you should avoid giving your dog if you want
to keep them happy, healthy and strong. Garlic and Onions are two other
poisonous dog foods you should avoid giving your dog if you don't want to
inadvertently poison it are onions and garlic. Onions are poisonous foods for
dogs because they cause hemolytic anaemia. Consuming onions can cause your dog
to have diarrhea and also vomit. If you do and you have a dog, you need to be
very careful because left over pizza, most commercial baby foods that contain
onions, and Chinese food are all poisonous foods for dogs.
Mushrooms by the way,
are also included in the list of poisonous dog foods. Feeding scraps to dogs at
your dinnertime should be avoided at all costs because a large variety of what
we can safely eat as humans are poisonous dog foods.
Preparing homemade (DIY)
dog food for your beloved dog is actually easier than you might think and is
the best way to keep your dog happy, healthy and strong. Its also the surest
way to avoid feeding your little one with poisonous dog foods.
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