Clean, Simple, and All Natural Foods for your Dogs

By on April 7, 2016

There is so much controversy and conflicting opinions on what to eat, what not to eat, what to feed your dog, what not to, how to prepare your food, how to prepare your dog’s food, what’s healthy, what is not. Not only do you have to worry about your food but you have to worry about your animal’s food too. Double whammy. It will literally make your head explode. But, it is incredibly important. We aren’t here to tell you what to do. All of us at Pets in Omaha feed our dogs and cats different things and prepare their food differently, because there is not just one right answer.

A while back, Eric gave you a nice article, An Introduction to Raw Feeding and the Raw Food Diet.  It talks about why the raw food diet may be a good fit for your pup or kitty and provides you with several resources. Check it out if you are intrigued.

 

dogIDs wrote a great article with homemade dog food recipes and reasons as to why you should cook your own dog food- the reasons and information parallel that for if you are wanting to cook your cat’s food, they have similar diet needs. You can find those recipes and a detailed article discussing what is good for your animals and what isn’t, and what types of nutrients your animals should be getting here. I recommend checking it out after reading our tips and what we recommend.

Cool side rant: I read something a few weeks ago where a blogger brought up a cool point. Dogs naturally like to feel a part of the pack, much like wolves. Their feelings get hurt when they’re excluded and when they feel like they don’t have a pack. In an effort to make your dog feel like he/she is part of your “family pack” it is recommended that you let your dog eat while you eat. Now that doesn’t mean pull up a chair and fix your dog a plate of food at the table (although we wouldn’t care if you did that, after all, we are pet people here). But instead of shooing away your dog while you eat, and scolding for begging for scraps, prepare your dog’s food and then give it to him/her as you are also sitting down to eat dinner, that way you are eating at the same time. This makes them feel a part of the pack. And I truly like this idea. It makes sense to me.

Anyway, there are so many options to preparing your animal’s food. You can do anything from making everything, to maybe just putting some chicken or salmon on top of their dry food at night. If you are using store bought dry food for your dog or cat it is so important to check the ingredients. A lot of commercial dry food has a whole bunch of preservatives and not natural ingredients. If the first thing you see is something other than a type of actual meat, like chicken, beef or herring, then it’s automatically a no go. There is a lot of controversy over the guidelines the Association of American Feed Control Officials have created that determine what is healthy for your cat and dog.

Every animal is different and there -in my opinion- should not be a generic guideline for all cats and all dogs. You’re probably just going to get better quality food if you pick it out yourself and cook it yourself. As the saying goes, if you want something done right, do it yourself! It’s true in this instance. My cats love their dry food and I would never take it away from them, but I do make sure to only buy it from local healthy pet food stores, such as Long Dog Fat Cat or the Green Spot, Pets Earth or Three Dog Bakery here in Omaha. Whether or not to buy organic is a whole other topic of conversation and we want get into that. The only thing I will say, you just do what you feel is right and important. You do your best and that’s all anyone can ever ask for!

Okay rant and introduction over. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. What is healthy for your animals? Well, here is a list!

 

Meat: Fish, Poultry, Beef are the supposedly the best. They have a ton of vitamins and minerals essential to your animal’s health.

Liver

Eggs

Plain yogurt

Fruits and veggies, but be sure to pick out the best ones. For instance, never feed dog’s grapes. Leafy greens, broccoli, bananas, apples and melon are all, generally, safe!

Grains, but again be careful, some stomach’s can’t handle grains.

 

Supplements!

Your dogs and cats also need supplements like Calcium, fish oil, cod liver oil, plant oil, vitamin D, vitamin E, Iodine and green blends.

 

Something to keep in mind….pets are like your human children. Your children need supplements but they don’t need everything all at once. Just casually spread out throughout their diet. Animals are the same.

 

And that’s about it. Pretty simple. Pretty clean. All natural.

 

You prepare and cook the food just like you do for yourself but you just chop it up super small like you would for a baby.

 

For actual recipes and more in depth information click here. And also browse around the Internet. There is a whole bunch of resources out there and we want you to do your own research to determine what is best for you animal. We never want to tell you what to do, but open your mind to new possibilities!

 

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