All natural dog food for the picky pet owner
This is a sponsored post, but do read on. It’s quite informative, promise 
What does it really mean when you say “natural dog food?” Some of my dog-loving relatives and friends have tossed this word around, each saying that they’re feeding their dogs the best natural dog food. But do we really know what it means?
When Sheero was still alive, I used to buy her baked doggy snacks from Animal House Clinic every time I happened to be in a branch. Even from the packaging you’d know the goodies were homemade—they came in standard sealed plastics packaged in a decorative brown paper bag. Sheero used to love these all natural goodies, but I couldn’t buy as much for her as I’d like to—these home-baked doggy snacks were pretty pricey.
Unless it’s pretty apparent that the dog food has been home-baked (like the chicken liver dog cookies Sheero used to love), it’s harder to determine if a dog food really is all natural when it comes in commercial packages. We feed our dogs Royal Canin, and it wasn’t because we thought it was all natural—we basically feed them that brand for the simple reason that it’s good for their coats.
The All Natural Dog Food article from Dog Buffs discusses this in detail. It points out important ingredients that could help prove or disprove that the dog food is all natural. It also discusses popular dog food brands which claims that their dog food falls under the “all natural” category.
The article is very informative, but what struck me the most were these lines:
The production of kibble is achieved by one of two methods, by oven baking or by extrusion (high pressure steaming). Oven baking is deemed to be better, but it still makes you wonder whether a manufactured food can be called all natural if it is processed.
I never really thought of it that way, and it does make sense. How can a dog food be called all natural if it is processed? I suppose they’re just describing the ingredients in this case and not the process by which it was made.
Although I’d have appreciated the article more if it had some pictures (sorry, I’m a web designer by profession—I just can’t help it), it did present a lot of stuff about dog food. And by the way, the photo on this post was taken from the Dog Buffs home page (I think the adorable dog’s name is Ruby), which if I may add, is also quite a good read.
Since this is a paid review anyway, allow me to go all out in suggesting things. I love the idea of the site being a treasure throve of dog information (I’m definitely bookmarking that site), but it would be great if the site is liven up a bit. Maybe a little bit more color and photos? The site doesn’t necessarily have to be as flamboyant as Dog Fashionista, but a little bit play in color combination can result to a lively and professional-looking site.
Another suggestion I’d like to make is allowing comments on posts, which encourages interaction from visitors. But if a blog isn’t what the site owners have in mind, an option to subscribe to the site’s RSS feed might help in letting people know that there are site updates. The key to getting traffic to the site is to be able to find a way for people to keep on coming back. Since the homepage isn’t really designed that way (it has a welcome text instead of a series of recently posted entries), an RSS feed will help people get updated—and they will come back for the new piece of useful info.
Hope that helps
I think it saves any confusion of what coulod be in your dogs food if we just made our own homemade dog food,i don’t trust commercial dog food products any more!
Dog Food Reviews
Well written sponsored post or not, ‘Natural Dog Food’ seems to be buzz words since the re-call. If anything came out of that tragedy it is AWARENESS. Human-grade food for dogs needs more exposure for the ultimate well-being of our canine. We DO need to know what SHOULD NOT be in the pet food and why. For those preparing their own home brew, education is also a key in avoiding toxic ingredients humans think are nutritious.
The food that we give to our pets should ensure proper functioning of all body systems, prevent disease and facilitate healing.
At present, there are three feeding regimens that are appropriate in providing the correct nutrition in our pets; namely, raw feeding, home-cooked diets and commercial high-quality natural diets.
Raw feeding means feeding raw meat; viz, flesh, fat, skin, tendons, edible bone, liver, tongue and heart. This feeding regimen is based on the fact that raw meat is a much more natural diet for dogs and cats since this is what their close cousins are eating in the wild. Raw feeding advocates recommend 80% meat in the form of muscle, fat, skin, tendons, etc. Ten percent would be edible bone and another ten percent to consist of organ meats such as liver, tongue and heart. Your pets can be gradually weaned into this diet by feeding small edible amounts by hand. How much to feed? General starting guideline is 2-3% of ideal weight per day. A difficult thing about this regimen is the stress placed on the digestive system since the animal has to produce more enzymes and exert more effort in absorbing the nutrients from the meat. Naturopathic experts recommend supplementing the diet with digestive enzymes and nutritional supplements in order to assist digestion and lessen the burden placed on the system. Other risks involved; namely, ingestion of harmful bacteria like E. coli and salmonella, internal damage caused by ingestion of bones, feathers and other animal parts, difficulty in formulating a complete and balanced meal and time and dedication needed to adhere to such a regimen.
A home-cooked diet, on the other hand, involves preparing and cooking the food. Just like in raw feeding, owners can ensure that the food is fresh, of high quality and is appropriate for their pets. Even our companions can benefit from our own table food just as long as you give the healthy choices and not the scraps, trimmings and uneaten portions. There’s more preparation time involved with this regimen and it is also difficult to assure that the preparation is as nutritious and balanced as possible.
The third option which is commercial high-quality natural diets needs careful consideration. For one thing, I have no information yet if such a diet is available here in our country. There are several manufacturers in the States which are worth looking into. What makes their products worth considering is the use of real choice meat and other high-quality ingredients. The downside is the price since they are not using cheap ingredients. However, if they could provide the proper nutrition for your companions and save you a lot of money on future medical costs then it would be cost efficient in the long term.
How about commercial pet food? They have been in the market for years now.
The global commercial pet food industry is a huge and very profitable industry. Even some of our local business establishments have joined in. However, their financial success and monopoly of the market comes with a price.
According to an article by Celeste Yarnall in “NaturalNews.com”, entitled “The Horrors of Commercial Pet Food”,–“Conventional thinking causes us to pose the question, ‘How can we trust the feeding of our beloved companions to an industry driven by profit?’”
The pet food contamination and recall of 2007 has brought into attention the safety and quality of commercial dog food. Commercial pet food uses animal by-products. These usually consist of other animal parts and protein sources not fit for human and animal consumption. They also use rendered products in the form of animal fat and meal products. The “meat and bone meal”, “chicken meal” and others are produced using inappropriate food and waste material. To increase shelf-life and palatability, additives and preservatives are used which are unnecessary and leads to disease.
Our animal companions are more than just companions—they are family. If you are concerned about the food that you eat and your health then you must also have the same concerns for your pets.
Consult with an animal nutritionist who is well versed in all three feeding regimens mentioned. Join mailing lists and pet forums on animal nutrition to further guide you.