Natural Raw Diets for Dogs

Your dog is a member of your family, and you want your four-legged friend to live the longest, healthiest life possible. The strength of your pet's immune system and quality of life all depend on the food that it eats. The maximum life span of our dogs is estimated to be about 25 to 30 years and yet the average pet lives only 13 to 14 years. Veterinarians report that many of today's pets suffer from allergies, skin problems, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, liver and kidney failure, to name a few.

There are approximately eighty million pet-owners in the United States. These animal lovers spend twenty-seven billion dollars on their pets and of that, eleven billion is on food. Most pet dogs are more likely to become overweight than malnourished, however, he can become malnourished when he is fed a diet that is not complete and unbalanced or by a limited diet.

Most commercial pet food products are derived from the waste of our food industry. Many contain ingredients which include dead, dying, diseased, and disabled animal parts, along with non-food items, euthanized pets including the euthanasia chemicals, preservatives, mold, fungi, and fat. The pet food industry is an unregulated business without quality control or longevity guidelines. It is no coincidence that our pets today are suffering from ill health with many of the same diseases as their owners.

Since few of us are able to provide whole prey animals for our pets, making a well-designed homemade diet is the next best thing. A few of the benefits of feeding a diet of raw foods to your dog include: stronger disease and parasite resistance, elimination of bad body odor and breath, healthy skin and coat, improved digestion, and the satisfaction of knowing exactly what your pet is eating.

Dog food comes in a wide variety of flavors and shapes. The real distinction is the ingredients contained in the products. What surprises me is that the ingredient list on dog food labels reads very much like human junk food.

Many pet owners are discovering organic foods for their dogs. Just as we are conscious of what we eat, pet owners take the same consciousness and use it to make wiser decisions about their pet's diets. Organic dog food and treats are the next best thing to all natural dog food because they are free of pesticides and insecticides that are present in many foods.

Natural dog food is not the same as "organic" dog food and can be quite misleading. "Natural" foods are not held to the same higher standard as "organic" foods. The USDA must certify a food as organic for the food to be labelled as such. Natural dog food and treats are considerably less costly than their organic counterparts, and as such, are not deemed as reliable. Natural foods do guarantee the absence of food coloring and additives like sodium metabisulfite or ethoxyquin, which are allergens linked to allergies, cancer and even brain damage.

Although organic food servings are pricier and contain about half the food in volume, compared to non-organic food, dogs are more satisfied with the lesser amount because of the purity of healthier ingredients. This makes the organic and non-organic dog foods very comparable in price.

While I've created two hubs dealing with foods for humans, I thought I'd share a great book called Real Dogs Don't Eat Kibble! This book is about the natural raw diet and why it should be fed to create optimal health for your dog.

Symptoms such as excess dander, dull coat, itching, and weight gain can be a result of poor nutrition. Our companions need good nutrition just as much as we do to live healthy.

Here is an overview of the book and what you will learn:

Learn the basis of what dog owners need to know and what you can do to improve your dog’s health.

Discover why the natural diet and proper nutrition and lifestyle are important. Why our dogs are not healthy today….(this is why you need this book!)

Understand disease and a suppressed immune system.

A list of the foods that are appropriate for your dog and the role they play in your dog's health and nutrition.

Along with knowing what is best to feed your dog, you must also know what Not to feed to your dog. How do you consider your dog’s particular nutritional needs? Real Dogs Don't Eat Kibble teaches you how to prepare the meal, how you go about making the change to the new diet, what to look for once your dog is on the new diet, and a whole lot more.

This comprehensive book is a great source of nutritional information for your loving companion. Wouldn't you rather feed them natural food instead of store bought food containing ingredients that may actually be compromising their health?