Healthy Food for a Healthy Dog

Allie gives us great tips, and reminds us that the needs of your pooch might change over time.  Please welcome Allie to Pantry Paratus by leaving a comment with your thoughts.  Also, be sure to check out some great dog food recipes at the end!

Making sure your dog gets regular meals is part of keeping him healthy, but how do you choose the best food for him? With so many options on store shelves, knowing which kind to get can be confusing. The following tips can make it easier for you to determine the healthiest food to purchase.

Take Age and Health into Consideration

Your dog’s age and overall health are the first thing to consider. If your dog is a puppy or senior, make sure you get dog foods that are designed for these age groups. These foods contain the nutrients that a growing puppy or an older dog need. If your dog has any dietary restrictions or health problems, talk to your vet about which ingredients your dog should avoid.

Read Labels Carefully

Look for dog foods that claim to provide complete nutrition and a balanced diet, but don’t take that at face value. A dog food that does provide this should have a statement on it that says the food meets the nutritional standards of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). This statement means that the food contains at least the minimum nutrient amounts required for a diet that’s balanced and complete.

As for the ingredients, look for dog foods that contain higher amounts of protein. The label should list the protein amount, and you can also tell by looking at the ingredients list. The first few ingredients should be sources of protein, such as chicken or venison. While meat byproducts might not sound appetizing, they can provide your dog with good nutrition.

What to Avoid

Avoid foods with high amounts of grains, which serve as fillers rather than nutritious ingredients. Also, stay away from foods with BHA, ethoxyquin or BHT, which could be harmful to your dog.

The author: Allie Coleman is the founder of the doggy bloggy startup: BlogYourDog.com

  Read More:  How to Properly Store Pet Food

Dog Food Recipes

 Around the homestead, we know the value of utilizing every ounce of nutrition out of a butchered animal–even the ounces that we ourselves do not eat.  Stretching a dollar, placing a high value on nutrition and performance…whatever your reasons may be, here are some excellent homemade dog food recipes that nourish your pooch!

Angi from A Return to Simplicity explains the importance of real food, and how the switch to a more nutrient-dense style of feeding also resulted in cost savings, simply by sourcing wholesome ingredients from their own homestead and butchering.

Erica from Mom Prepares guides towards what we need to know in preparing homemade dog food. She also expresses the sentiment we do here at Pantry Paratus–that to be truly prepared, you will need to know the “DIY” of the thing…and yes, that applies to pet nutrition too!  If you were unable to purchase dog food, what healthy alternatives will you have? It’s a great time to practice these skills.

Rebecca from Letters from Sunnybrook gives us her recipe, but I must confess–bacon doesn’t last long on the plate at our house so I’m not certain it’ll get as far as into this recipe.  Her use of bacon fat, though, is something I will have to incorporate in the future!  Wilson used to make homemade dog treats for our boxers, but his recipe stank horribly–I do believe that this one will smell like a country breakfast on a summer day!

Whether purchasing or making pet food, your pet is depending on you for proper nutrition.  We know you love your pets as much as they love you; so let’s all make deliberate choices for our four legged friends.

–Chaya