GOING WITH A NATURAL DOG FOOD DIET

Written by ADMIN

Thursday, 14 August 2008 20:45

With growing concern about the sometimes questionable ingredients of commercial dog food, many dog owners have turned to feeding their dog a natural dog food diet.  Your dog will probably prefer the variety that comes from a natural dog food diet rather than that bland dry commercial kibble that they are fed multiple times each day.  Commercial dog food has only been prevalent in society for maybe the last 50 years.  Until then, dogs of yesteryear, perhaps even ancestors of your dog, were fed a homemade natural dog food recipe that would typically vary from household to household.    We’ve all heard the nightmare stories about the dog food recall of 2007.  Many pet owners believed that they were feeding their dog the natural dog food diet advertised on boxes.  Dog food that was rich in nutrients, vitamins and protein, advertised as holistic and good for your dog’s overall health… that is until a number of dogs became ill and their illness was traced back to the dog’s diet, namely the food they were being fed.  Some of these sick dogs were even dying, their organs just giving out on them and shutting down completely.   The culprit?  A chemical agent used in resin products called Melamine.  Melamine is used to produce cleaning products, kitchen countertops, fabrics, glues and flame retardants.  The United States FDA discovered white granular melamine in samples of white granular wheat gluten, tracing everything back to China.  The reason?  Adding the chemical agent boosted the protein count of the “natural” ingredients and “MORE PROTEIN!” could be added in giant bold print to the packaging.  It was easier and more cost efficient to add a chemical agent than the “natural” food that we would all expect a product promoting itself as  a “natural dog food diet” to have. The mask has come off and commercial dog food has been exposed to a now distrusting consumer.   Many modern day dog owners have simply had enough.  They are now reverting back to feeding their dog a home prepared natural dog food diet.  Consider a natural dog food diet to be cooking for one more person.  Simply make more meat loaf, a bigger roast, an extra chicken breast and, most importantly, don’t forget the vegetables!  Vegetables may be the most important benefit to a natural dog food diet.  Your dog, just like you, needs a diet rich in antioxidants to protect their immune system, lessen cell damage, prevent disease and maintain overall health.  Commercial dog food has been slow in getting the right antioxidants added to their product so it’s up to you to remember to add some green beans, beets and spinach to your dog’s natural dog food diet.  Your dog will thank you!