Friday, December 26, 2008

Best Ingredients For All Natural Dog Foods Using This Simple Homemade Dog Food Recipe

By: Sherrie Chastain
Making your own homemade dog food with this recipe is easy and will give your dog the best all natural dog foods available. Just remember that in the wild your dog would catch small prey and eat the whole thing. This consisted of the meat, bones, organs, even the heart, brain and eyes (which are high in taurine). The vegetables they would get were in the stomach and digestive tract of the animals already partially digested. If you make your all natural dog foods to imitate your dogs prey hey will enjoy optimum health and love you for it.

Meats need to be fed one animal at a time. In the wild your dog would not eat more than one kind of meat at once. The meat should be ground or served in chunks which are easier to eat. Larger pieces will cause your dog to hold them with their feet to rip the meat apart, which can get messy.

Do not feed any fat that has been cooked which can lead to problems with your dog’s pancreas. Remember in the wild your dog would only get the fat that was on the animal and eaten raw. Use the skin that comes on the meat of in the case of beef the fat riddled throughout the meat.

Meats that cause trichinosis should never be fed like pork, bear, seal, ground squirrels, etc. However specialty meats like moose, ox, venison or bison are very pure and nutrient dense and can be fed in smaller quantities occasionally. Soft boiled eggs are also a good protein source, feed shells and all.

Organ meats are also very nutrient dense so use organ meat sparingly in your homemade dog food recipe. Either feed organ meats a couple of times a week for the meat portion or feed small amounts daily. Brains, heart and eyes are very high in taurine which is an essential amino acid for a healthy dog.

Vegetables are also essential in the best all natural dog foods. Remember to shred vegetables in a blender or food processor, your dog was used to getting them predigested in the wild. Use 3 or four different kinds of vegetables, preferably different colors to receive a wide variety of nutrients. The darker the vegetable, the more nutritious it will be in your all natural dog foods homemade dog food recipe.

It is best to avoid vegetables from the nightshade family like eggplants, green peppers, potatoes, onions, chives, garlic and tomatoes. These vegetables are associated with arthritis problems. Spinach also has a high oxalic content which can lead to kidney stones.

The best ingredients for the best all natural dog foods in your homemade dog food recipe are free range or organic meat because of the amount of toxins in meat and organic vegetables or peel the skin or wash with a spray to remove pesticides. Organic is always the best choice for all natural dog foods. Warm purified water is also an essential element in the best homemade dog food recipe. If these ingredients are not available use what you have, because it will make better all natural dog foods than you can purchase. Do not make your homemade dog food recipe because you cannot get all organic, what you make will be much more nutritious than any all natural dog foods you can buy.

Mix the meat at about 75% with the vegetables about 25% of the homemade dog food recipe. Puppies need a little more meat to vegetables since they are growing. Mix enough warm water to make a stew consistency. Meat and vegetables should be raw with the vegetables shredded finely. If you see vegetables in your dogs stool they are not chopped fine enough.

Your dog will eat until he is full. A good rule of thumb is about a pound of all natural dog foods per fifty pounds of your dog’s body weight. Do not feed your dog again until he has eliminated the previous meal or this can cause digestive problems for your dog. Always introduce any change in your dog’s diet slowly, increasing the new food daily until you have switched your dog over to the new all natural dog foods.

Using these simple guidelines you can make your dog the best all natural dog foods from your own homemade dog food recipe so your dog can enjoy optimum health. Your dog will love you for it.


About the Author
Sherrie Chastain Free All Natural Flea Extermination Report More Free info about Dogs and Puppies

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Using a Dog Crate to House Train Your New Puppy

By Jen Moore
During the first few months in their new home, puppies require a great deal of supervision. Using a dog crate can help you to prevent accidents during times when the puppy can't be watched. Housebreaking is easier to accomplish when accidents are prevented in the first place! Using a dog crate combined with a regular feeding and exercise schedule will make housebreaking go smoothly.

If puppies could have their way, they'd choose to run free all the time, so you should expect some initial resistance to the dog crate. Puppies have to learn to accept periods of confinement. They won't like it right away but acceptance will come.

Most puppies will whine or bark during the first few days of being put in their crate. Once they begin to accept this new restriction on their freedom, they quiet down and actually learn to enjoy it. Growing puppies need to alternate between periods of activity and rest throughout the day. By keeping the puppy on a regular schedule of feedings and exercise, you can control his natural rest periods. If you put the puppy in his crate when he's already tired, he'll get used to his new bedroom even faster.

In the beginning, the puppy should only be expected to stay in the dog crate for 2 daytime hours at a time. During his periods out of the crate, your puppy will need plenty of playtime, attention and loving. Puppies should be given at least an hour between crating periods when they can play and explore and romp. This helps to burn off their seemingly unlimited puppy energy and helps them understand that crating will only be temporary.

Special treats can help make his new bedroom a pleasant place to stay. Give your puppy a small treat every time he has to go into his crate. Make his new bedroom comfortable. Get him a soft clean but durable blanket. Get him a selection of toys and rotate them. Puppies can get bored easily and switching the toys around makes them seem always new. Teething puppies love chew toys and all dogs love a Kong stuffed with peanut butter. They can spend hours trying to clean it all out.

Puppies learn quickly when their behavior is associated with a reward. Behavior that doesn't result in a reward often disappears. It's normal for many puppies to bark or whine when first being crate-trained. If you let your puppy out of the dog crate while he's upset, you'll be rewarding him for barking. The next time he's supposed to go in his crate, he will bark again because that's what got him out the last time. Be patient and the whining will stop.

For many puppies, just ignoring their whimpering will be enough to make them stop. Some puppies might need a harsh-sounding "No!" to help them get over their tantrums. Remember: don't take him out of the crate until he's had some quiet rested time.

A dog crate is a fabulous tool when it comes to housetraining your puppy. The discipline aspect comes from a puppy's innate urge not to urinate or defecate in its den. Even young puppies prefer to move as far away from their sleeping quarters as possible to relieve themselves. Usually, a puppy who relieves himself in his crate was sick or just couldn't wait any longer.

Also, crating a puppy when the family is away during the day, administers a passive form of discipline by preventing a curious puppy from chewing up things he shouldn't chew. A dog crate will keep your puppy safe and out of trouble.
Best of luck in house training your puppy. For more information of choosing a dog crate please visit our website. Best of luck in house training your puppy. For more information of choosing a dog crate please visit my site: choosing a dog crate at my dog website.

Jen Moore is a pet expert on ezine. Look for other pet training related issues at http://my-dog-has-fleas.com

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