Friday, February 27, 2009

Healthy Dog Food Recipes to Make Yourself

Whether you’re looking for a vegetarian dog food recipe or a purely meat-based one, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of a healthy dog food diet. A healthy dog food recipe should consist of mostly protein with the ten amino acids and some carbohydrates. You should also add more vitamins and minerals to the recipe with fruits and vegetables.

You can give your dog most vegetables and fruits but you should avoid onions, avocadoes, and mushrooms because they can cause health problems. You can make a healthy dog food recipe based off of a protein source like eggs, fish, lamb, beef, pork, chicken, pheasant, etc. Add a carbohydrate like oats, barley, wheat germ, or quinoa to the meat.

A healthy dog food recipe should be served at room temperature. Don’t serve your dog food that is hot from the stove or cold from sitting in the refrigerator. Adult dogs only need one meal a day.

It might seem expensive to feed your dog home cooked food. It is certainly time-consuming but it doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t have to give your dog prime cuts of meat. Chicken parts like veal, liver, and neck for example are very palatable for your dog and cheaper for you.

A healthy dog food recipe can consist of sautéed liver or different animal parts made into a stew with some vegetables and wheat germ added. You can also blend liver and mix it with honey, dried milk, and wheat germ and bake it in the oven to make liver cookies for your dog.

Instead of following a particular healthy dog food recipe, you can also just make a little more of the food you feed yourself and family to give to your dog. Human food with meat, vegetables, and grains is perfect for a dog. It contains the antioxidants that commercial dog food lacks and that your dog needs in order to maintain good health.

Wash all of the produce well that you feed your dog. You can cook the meats or you can feed them to your dog raw. Some pet owners swear up and down that a raw meat diet is the most natural diet for dogs. Make sure to seek variety when preparing food for your dog so your dog gets a wide array of nutrients from his food. Give your dog organic foods when possible and make sure he gets plenty of fresh, filtered water to drink.

Your goal? Take this information as a guide and use it to help you come up with healthy dog food recipes for your dear pet. You can help your dog live a healthier, happier life by giving him home cooked food. Remember to be creative and use a variety of ingredients in your dog’s food so he gets plenty of nutrients.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Wellness Dog Food is a Good Choice for a Healthy Dog

Increasingly we are becoming more aware of the dangers of chemical additives in our food. These days, this concern extends to the food our pets are eating. We have come to realize that healthy pets need a diet that is free from chemicals and additives.

This is hard to achieve sometimes when most pet food brands contain preservatives or colorings to increase shelf life and make the food look more attractive. However, Wellness dog food has produced food that is great for all dogs. Countless pets with dog allergies and skin problems have benefited from eating Wellness dog food.

Some dogs that suffer from allergies need to be fed special diets that are protein rich. Both dry and canned dog food products are available from Wellness for dogs suffering from allergies, in particular skin allergies that can arise from wheat or soy found in widely available lower grade dog foods.

The range of allergy sensitive food is known as the Wellness Core. This line of dog food provides dogs that suffer from allergies a balanced nutritional diet. The products are rich in protein and go back to the basics. They provide dogs with the kind of diet that they would eat if they were hunting and fending for themselves.

Many cheaper and lower quality brands contain animal byproducts, meaning the ground up beaks, hoofs, and bones of animals rather than actual meat. You can be assured that Wellness dog food does not contain any kind of animal byproduct. This range also does not contain any corn, soy, or wheat; all major culprits of skin allergies.

If you are concerned about fat content and would like to put your dog on a low fat diet then there is a solution with Wellness dog food. This brand of dog food has formulated a specific product range that is low in fat while still catering to dogs that need a protein rich and grain free diet to combat allergies.

The minerals and fat are highly controlled so that they are in a balanced volume. Some high protein dog foods have excessive amounts of minerals not recommended for everyday consumption. You can be assured that your dog is in good hands when you choose Wellness dog food. It is a brand that has a good reputation with both owners and dogs. Try it now and see the difference in your happier and healthier dog.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Soothing Bug Bites And Stings On Your Dog

If you are like me, you love your dog, as if it was an integral part of your family. And when your beautiful dog suffers pain from bug bites and stings you want to relieve that suffering as quickly as possible. However, you also know that a visit to the vet, to help sooth bug bites and stings, can cost you upwards of a $100 or more by the time you pay for the visit and the medicine. Frankly, you don't have to pay that kind of money to help your dog or any pet that is suffering from bug bites and stings.

The tips you will find below are inexpensive and the chances are you will already have some of the ingredients in your medicine cabinet or in your kitchen. I have used everyone of these over many years too treat my dogs. And the good thing is I'm still using them today to treat my 'best friend' Princess when she has bug bites and stings.

This first tip is one you may have never even considered or even thought about it:

Meat Tenderizer. Yep! You heard right. All you have to do is pour the meat tenderizer into the bowl and then add water. Once it has thickened into a paste simply apply it directly to the sting or bite. There is a good chance your dog will experience almost instant relief. The really cool thing is you can reapply it if needed, without worrying about it maybe harming your pet.

2nd Tip: Chances are this one is going to shock you, but again it works. Try dabbing ammonia directly to the bite or sting with a cotton ball. However make sure not to apply around the nose and eyes of your 'Fido'. Also if your animal has extra sensitive skin it's a good idea not too use it to smooth bug bites and stings.

The 3rd tip I have for you is absolutely one of my favorites, too smooth bug bites and stings and I have to tell you Princess loves it. I apply aloe vera gel, from a aloa vera leaf, when I can get my hands on it. But for a backup I keep a aloa vera gel that I get from my local drug store. Again it's a simple matter of applying the gel directly onto the bite. The results are almost instantaneous. Not only does it work good on my dog, I use it on myself for mosquito bits and the occasional wasp sting.

Now this tip is one that will reduce the swelling and itching right away. However, it may require some patience on your part and on your dogs (any pet) part. If it's a sting, search the area where your dog is biting and scratching. There is a good chance the stinger may still be embedded in the skin of your precious pet. Once you find it and remove it then you can apply some healing gel or even bathe it with a cold cloth.

Speaking of a cold cloth this is going to be my last tip to you. Try putting several pieces of ice into a wash cloth and hold directly on the sting or bite. Just like you, your animal will find it will smooth bug bites and stings.

If your wondering if these tips are safe for your dog when your trying to relieve the pain and itching, check with your local vet. Or you can do a search on the internet and find where they are perfectly safe. These smooth bug bites and stings tips are not the only ones out there. It may pay you to find out about others.