You Can Improve Your Dog’s Diet Today

Deciding what to feed your dog is a big decision, and it may seem complicated to figure out what’s best. But it’s never too late to improve a dog’s diet.

My dogs are all three lean, healthy, and energetic cuddle machines. My oldest, Chico has the usual senior dog issues that just come with getting older, but he is a healthy senior.

Pebbles has had a heart condition for the past 6 years. Heart disease is not something that can be reversed. BUT, I believe that feeding her fresh, homemade dog food has kept her as healthy as possible with heart disease. I do my best to feed them a healthy diet because I know how important that is.

It’s Time To Stop Worrying About Whether You Are Feeding Them Healthy!

When it comes to feeding your Chi, it’s not all or nothing. In other words, you don’t have to be perfect and get all crazy about whether you are feeding them right or not. But you can start to improve a dog’s diet today. I realize that a lot depends on the time and money that you have available and your unique circumstances. You don’t have to make immediate, drastic changes. Every step in the right direction helps.

All the studies show and I personally agree that feeding them fresh whole gently cooked food is healthy for them, but not everyone is able to do that and if you aren’t either, just incorporating some of the below suggestions will help.

• Ignore the marketing hype
• Avoid (if possible) feeding them shelf-stable food
• Add fruits and vegetables
• Make sure meat (not meal) is the biggest portion of their daily diet
• Feed a variety of whole and fresh food
• Wash produce in apple cider vinegar
• Never feed them processed corn
• Give them raw coconut oil
• Do not overfeed and limit treats
• Keep Their Teeth Clean

To Improve Your Dog’s Diet, Ignore The Marketing Hype

Just ignore the hype and read the label! Please don’t rely on advertisements for nutritional information. The people that write the ads have nothing to do with the product itself except to get you to buy it. They don’t care about your dog’s health!

If Possible, Avoid Feeding Shelf Stable Food

What does that mean? It means food that has a shelf life of 12 to 24 months! Again, marketing wants us to believe that these foods provide everything dogs need to live long and healthy lives. That is not true. Shelf-stable foods have no live enzymes, something dogs, as well as humans, need to stay healthy. They use synthetic supplementation to meet the “balanced” nutritional standard set by The American Association of Feed Control Officials, (AAFCO). This is not how you feed a dog healthy!

“The AAFCO has no regulatory authority, the Association provides a forum for the membership and industry representation to achieve three main goals”

If one of these foods is all you can afford to feed your dog, don’t beat yourself up. Just be sure to find one that lists the first 5 ingredients starting with a good protein source, and supplement with natural and holistic vitamins and enzymes. This will help to improve your dog’s diet. Or, better yet…

Introduce Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Into Your Dog’s Diet

Fresh fruits and vegetables are full of live enzymes (probiotics) and will improve your dog’s diet tremendously. They are also full of fiber that aids in digestion and the elimination process, aka, better, less smelly poop.

You can scrub the pesticides off fruit and vegetables with a clean soft brush while soaking them in one part apple cider vinegar and four parts water for a minute, then rinse. Never feed them corn.

[mks_pullquote align=”left” width=”350″ size=”24″ bg_color=”#832161″ txt_color=”#ffffff”]Processed corn is one of the most common causes of food allergies in dog[/mks_pullquote]

Fresh food also aids in the body’s ability to absorb what little nutrients that he or she does get from processed food.

Feed a Variety of Ingredients Rich in Antioxidants and Anti-Inflammatories

Inflammation is a major cause of disease, so this is important to pay attention to in your dog’s diet. It is the leading cause of premature aging in dogs as well as humans. It’s a common cause of pancreatitis and arthritis.

If you do feed your dog kibble, to improve your dog’s diet, add whole foods that are high in antioxidants the reduce inflammation in the body. Omega 3 fatty acids also help reduce inflammation.

Feed Them Meat As The Main Ingredient

Animals in the wild do not cook their meats before they eat them. However, our pets are not wild animals. Gently cooked meat is best. Raw meat could be hazardous to you and your family’s health. Dogs can still get e-Coli and other serious diseases from raw meat. Why do you think wild dogs didn’t live very long? They didn’t have very healthy diets.

Raw Coconut Oil

Raw coconut oil goes straight to the liver where it gets converted into energy. It helps keep their skin and coat healthy too.

Keep Their Teeth Clean

Of course, the best way to do that is to brush their teeth daily, but it isn’t always possible or practical. Bones are the next best thing. Gnawing on raw bones will help keep them clean and they are better for them than the commercial treats that claim to clean their teeth. However, never give them chicken bones and always SUPERVISE when they are chewing on raw bones.

Never leave your dog unattended while gnawing on a bone. They can choke on them. When the bone gets small enough that they could swallow it whole, dispose of it.

Carrots are also great for scraping plaque off teeth and is also a very healthy treat.

Conclusion

The bottom line is; do the best you can and incorporate into their diet any of these suggestions that you are able to. We all want our pets to be as healthy as they possibly can be, and we all do the best that we can.

The things listed above will help to improve your dog’s diet regardless of what you feed them now. This is how you feed your dog healthily.