There is always something to read, learn and share. So I'm kind of cheating today...passing along something you may have already seen (or maybe not). Balance the tid-bits with what you already know!
Mistakes Humans Make with Homemade Dog Food (1) by Jan Rasmusen
"If you make your own dog food, cooked or raw, and are not supplementing with calcium, your dog's health could be at risk. Read this from Dr. Richard Pitcairn. (Don't add calcium to processed food.)
Another mistake most of you humans make: you feed the same stuff day after day, month after month, ad nauseum. You find a great recipe we like and you feed it forever. Then you're surprised when we start scratching (because we've developed a sensitivity to years of eating chicken) or we get sick (from a vitamin/mineral deficiency).
So, switch around already. Substitute turkey for chicken and lamb for beef or venison. Then change again. If your dog develops diarrhea, that's proof that he or she doesn't have a good diversity of intestinal flora because he's gotten the same stuff for so long. Jiggy and I rarely have the same foods for more than 2 or 3 meals in a row. Mom varies protein sources and veggies, too. We're lucky dogs.
Another thing: if you add food scraps to kibble, which is a good idea, don't add more carbs. Most kibble has too many carbs to begin with. Add meat, fish, poultry and veggies. Then throw away the kibble!"
Another mistake most of you humans make: you feed the same stuff day after day, month after month, ad nauseum. You find a great recipe we like and you feed it forever. Then you're surprised when we start scratching (because we've developed a sensitivity to years of eating chicken) or we get sick (from a vitamin/mineral deficiency).
So, switch around already. Substitute turkey for chicken and lamb for beef or venison. Then change again. If your dog develops diarrhea, that's proof that he or she doesn't have a good diversity of intestinal flora because he's gotten the same stuff for so long. Jiggy and I rarely have the same foods for more than 2 or 3 meals in a row. Mom varies protein sources and veggies, too. We're lucky dogs.
Another thing: if you add food scraps to kibble, which is a good idea, don't add more carbs. Most kibble has too many carbs to begin with. Add meat, fish, poultry and veggies. Then throw away the kibble!"
Pet Food Recall First Alert (2)
Truth About Pet Food announced a new member of her Pet Food Recall First Alert program - Champion Petfoods. Acana and Orijen are made by Champion Petfoods. First Alert is a pet owner initiated program. Pet food makers who become First Alert members agree to notify pet owners of any product pull or recall through an email notification system. Press releases and FDA food recall notices may not work fast enough to keep pets safe so this program fills an important gap. Find out if your favorite pet food company is a member here and sign-up!
Notes & Resources:
(1) Permission to reprint granted by Jan Rasmusen, author of Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care. Jan has a resourceful blog, too.
(2) Truth About Pet Food is owned by Susan Thixton, The Caped Crusader for Safe Pet Food. She also offers on-line subscriptions to Petsumer Report - a pet food information database on risky ingredients, ingredient country of origin (U.S. only or imports), grade or quality of meat ingredients, list of health promoting ingredients and recall history for each pet food brand.
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