Fur Kid or just a dog: Deciding what to feed your furry friend

This article offers you some basic information about feeding your dog home made meals. Making your dogs food is not the same as feeding your dog from your plate. Feeding from your plate can cause your dog to beg while you are eating your meal.

Since the scare with the dog food companies, learning what is actually in the dog food and researching the quality of food that our best friends are eating, more people are making changes in their dogs diet. The information you will find in this article will give you some basic information about feeding your fur kid a diet of "people" food. Preparing your dogs meal is not as hard as one might think.

Make Sure Your Dog Gets A Good Variety Of Foods

It's a good idea to feed a variety of meat. Dogs also enjoy eggs, yogurt, beans, barley, (helps bowel function) molasses, honey, 100% pumpkin, (helps with both constipation and diarrhea) broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, garlic, (helps deter fleas and ticks) apples and bananas. If you feed a wide variety of foods you do not need to worry about giving a balanced meal. This is a very small list of foods that your dog will enjoy.

Many dog owners will feed grapes or raisins in small amounts to their dogs. However, due to reports that they may cause kidney failure, other dog owners feel this is a risk they are not willing to take. If you are concerned about certain foods, you should discuss it with your veterinarian or avoid that particular food altogether. Just as we do with our human children, when introducing a new food to your fur kid, you should introduce one food at a time for several days and watch for excessive scratching or any other allergic symptoms.

Meaty Bones Are Important In A Dog's Diet

Bones should always be given raw. Raw bones are less likely to splinter. If you don't feed them raw bones a few times a week and you are feeding a home-cooked meal, it is very important that your dog gets calcium. You can give ground eggshells as a calcium supplement. Simply rinse the egg shells, lay the shells on a cookie sheet and bake at a low setting for 20 30 minutes. Use your food processor or coffee grinder to grind the eggshells to a powder and add teaspoon to your adult dogs meal daily.

How Much/How Often To Feed Your Dog

Generally your dog will eat about two or three percent of their body weight in fresh food daily. As with humans, each dog is an individual. The amounts they eat can vary. Through trial and error you can decide if one meal a day would work best for you or if dividing into two meals would work better. Smaller dogs seem to do better with the meal split into two meals. Watch your dog's weight closely and adjust the amounts you feed up or down as needed. Experiment and do what's right for you.

If you are not financially able to feed your dog homemade food at this time, perhaps you can add a meal occasionally by keeping your leftovers in a bowl or resealable bag in the freezer. When you have enough in your bowl, thaw and add some warm broth. Let your dog enjoy his home-made soup. It really can be as simple as that!

It may seem overwhelming in the beginning, but once you have a routine, it really doesn't take long. If you can add one meal of fresh food to your dogs diet every week, it will be that much less that your dog has to eat from the bag of kibble. In the end, you have to be the one to decide what is best for you and your dog. No matter what diet you decide to put your dog on, you can always count on your baby waiting to greet you when you walk in the door. A greeting so awesome, only a pet lover could understand.

Learn more about this author, Rhonda Buffington.
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