Feeding Homemade Dog Food
By Michele Welton. Copyright © 2000-2010
The best food for your dog is . . .
Fresh food. Fresh chicken, turkey, beef, bison, venison, and fish. Fresh raw vegetables and occasional fruit. Fresh brown rice and oatmeal. Fresh yogurt, eggs, and cottage cheese.
This is not "people food." Calling real food "people food" makes it sound as though people are the only living creatures who are entitled to eat fresh foods, and that simply isn't true.
Virtually all living creatures thrive on real, fresh food.
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Listen to what Dr. Martin Goldstein D.V.M. has to say about feeding fresh food to your dog:
"You can boost your pet's health profoundly by making one simple decision. All you have to do is change his diet from commercial-brand fare to something you may never have imagined giving him: real food. The fresh food you buy at the market for yourself is the food you should give your pet, too."
Generations of dogs lived to ripe old ages on fresh foods . . . before the pet food corporations came along and ruined everything.
Pet food corporations. "Just say no."
Dogs have been domesticated for about 15,000 years (that's amazing, isn't it?) and up until the 1930s, they were NEVER fed "kibble" or "canned" food from a store. They were fed real meat and vegetables, and a little homemade bread. On this diet they thrived, frequently living into their late teens.
That all changed in the 1930s, when cereal and grain manufacturers were looking for something profitable to do with their rejected cereals and grain -- their wheat and rice and corn that failed USDA inspection because of mold, rancidity, and other contaminants.
These companies discovered that the meat industry faced the same dilemma -- meat that failed USDA inspection because it had spoiled or because the livestock was diseased.
The ingenius idea of mixing the rejects together and calling it "pet food" was born.
Marketing firms spent large sums of money to plant this lamentable term in the public's mind, but kibble and canned products were not then -- nor are they now -- "pet food." Pets were NEVER intended to eat kibble or canned products. These processed artificial diets were created solely for the benefit of the cereal, grain, and meat industries. Today these diets are promoted by the "pet food" industry and the veterinary industry, both of whom have a huge financial stake in getting you to feed these products.
But REAL pet food was, is, and always will be
real meat (primarily), vegetables (a little),
and a little (VERY little) cereal or grain --
all of which should come fresh from the store
and be cooked/processed as little as possible.
That's what your dog should eat.
Listen to what Dr. Richard Pitcairn D.V.M. says about artificial diets for your dog:
"The whole concept of Insta-Meal for humans is repulsive. Most people would soon be climbing the walls in frustration, desperate for a salad or some fruit -- anything whole and fresh, or just different. Perhaps the thought of eating kibbles for the rest of your own life helps make the point that pets forced to do so are being shortchanged. All of us -- humans and animals -- should have fresh, wholesome, unprocessed food in our daily diet."
Let's look at those ingredients
THE GRAIN.
Virtually all artificial diets are heavily based on grains and cereals. But dogs are not cows. A dog has the large stomach and short straight digestive tract required to digest meat. A cow has several small stomachs and the long winding digestive tract required to digest fibrous grain. The two are not interchangeable!
Even worse, many dogs are allergic to corn and soybean and wheat. They develop chronic digestive problems (loose stools, spitting up, gassiness) or itchy skin. You'll see them licking their feet or rubbing their face against the carpet. You might never think to associate these problems with the grain in your dog's diet, but that is often the case.
Finally, the quality of this grain is suspect. The good grain is reserved for the human market. What goes into the pet food bin is deemed unfit for human consumption. Mold, rancidity, contaminants -- yuck!
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THE MEAT
Contrary to what they show you on the TV commercials, don't even think about sirloin. Your dog gets:
- The "4D" meat that didn't make the cut for the human market, which means it came from livestock that was diseased, disabled, dying, or already dead when it arrved at the slaughterhouse.
- The "by-products" -- a catch-all term used by the pet food industry to mean anything stripped off the carcass other than meat, i.e. beaks, feet, head, lungs, blood, and other unmentionables.
To make matters worse, the meat and byproducts are laced with growth hormones fed to the livestock to make them grow faster, and antibiotics fed to the livestock to prevent massive outbreaks of disease in their crowded living conditions. These hormones and antibiotics trickle through to your dog.
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THE GREASY FAT
Many dogs gobble up their kibble, yes -- because it's sprayed with greasy fat to make it smell yummy. But we don't allow our children to eat only junk food just because they love the smell or taste, do we?
The relish with which a dog eats doesn't indicate whether something is "good" for him.
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THE CHEMICAL PRESERVATIVES
Preservatives are used in artificial diets so the bags and cans last longer That's convenient for the manufacturer, who can leave it sitting in his warehouse for a long time. Convenient for the retailer who can leave it sitting on his shelf for a long time. Convenient for the owner who can pour it into the bowl and let it sit there a long time.
But what is this stuff that
keeps ingredients from spoiling?
The most common pet food preservatives are:
- Ethoxyquin -- which is actually manufactured by the giant chemical corporation Monsanto as a rubber preservative. The containers are marked POISON. The Department of Agriculture lists it as a pesticide. OSHA lists it as a hazardous chemical.
- BHA and BHT -- both of which cause liver and kidney dysfunction, and bladder and stomach cancer.
These chemicals are all banned in Europe, but because our U.S. food industries have so much legislative clout here in the U.S., these dangerous chemicals are still tolerated here. Sad, but true.
Most pet foods list these preservatives right on the bag or can, but even when it doesn't say that one of these preservatives is in there, it's usually in there, anyway.
How can this be? Because a legal loophole allows manufacturers to only list what THEY themselves put into the bag. If they buy some of their ingredients from a supplier who has already added the chemical to those ingredients . . .
The pet food company doesn't have to disclose that on the bag.
Isn't that nice?
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Australian veterinarian Dr. Ian Billinghurst says:
"If you look at the ingredient list on a can or a bag of pet food -- with understanding -- you will realise that what is being listed is a heap of rubbish. Definitely not the wholesome nutritious food you would want to feed to a valued member of your family!"
How commercial pet foods affect your dog's health
Every day, unhappy dogs parade through veterinary offices. They suffer from:
- itching
- hot spots
- dandruff
- excessive shedding
- foot-licking
- face-rubbing
- loose stools
- gassiness
What are these dogs eating?
Virtually every one of them is eating an artificial diet.
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Listen to what Dr. Richard Pitcairn D.V.M. has to say about the connection between health problems and artificial diets:
"Since I graduated from veterinary school in 1965, I've noticed a general deterioration in pet health. We now see very young animals with diseases that we used to see only in older animals. Without the perspective of several decades, vets just coming out of veterinary school think these degenerative conditions in younger animals are "normal." They do not realize what has happened over the passage of time. I believe, along with poor quality nutrients, the chemical additives in pet food play a major part in that decline. Pet foods contain slaughterhouse wastes, toxic products from spoiled foodstuffs, non-nutritive fillers, heavy-metal contaminants, pesticides, herbicides, drug residues, sugar, and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives."
Dr. Martin Goldstein D.V.M. says this:
"When I tell an owner that a change of diet can affect her pet's health in a matter of days, the first reaction is usually delight, sometimes even exhilaration. Toss out the prepackaged food, I say. Soon, symptoms you've grown all too accustomed to -- and tried in vain to dispel with antibiotics -- may improve dramatically. Everything from skin irritations and dull matted fur to bad breath and digestive problems to lethargy and lack of appetite can be alleviated. All you have to do, I add, is to start preparing your pet's meals yourself."
If you'd like some guidance learning how to feed your dog homemade food, I'm happy to help!
Everything you need to know about feeding your dog!
 "My step by step dog health program helps you keep your puppy or adult dog healthy for a lifetime."
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My 11-Step Dog Health Program includes . . .
Plus . . .
Also warns you about outdated misinformation that you SHOULDN'T rely on for raising your dog. Doing these things (even accidentally) can cause chronic health problems and shorten your dog's life. To keep your dog healthy and happy for a lifetime, you really need to read this book! Learn more about 11 Things You Must Do Right To Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy |
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