If you’re reading this then it is very likely that you have a very special dog in your life and that finding the healthiest dog food recipes for your dog is a high priority for you. It certainly was for me. In fact, I had good reason to be looking very hard for that information. My dog was having health problems that my veterinarian told me were related to relying on commercial dog foods.
The problems with commercial dog foods have been well documented and well reported so I won’t get into that topic in depth; but, I’d be doing you a miss-service if I didn’t say anything about it so I will give you some minimal information right here.
The commercial pet food industry has been found to be responsible for severe mal-nutrition in pets; especially mammals like dogs and cats. This problem results in an impacted immune system, stunted growth, food related allergies, reduced ability to recover from illness or injury, lack of vitality and reduced life span that in some cases can be as high as 50%.
So, now you know that the answer you’re looking for isn’t going to be found there.
Dogs, like their owners, can vary in a variety of ways concerning physical condition and general health issues. So, your first stop should be a consultation with your vet and a thorough physical exam for your dog. This can tell you if there are allergies (possibly food related), or other maladies that me require a specialized diet of some kind.
For instance your dog may be diabetic or have a sensitive digestive tract.
You may have a situation which could require certain medications or nutritional supplements either temporarily or permanently. Your vet can also provide you with a list of foods that are just plain toxic to dogs (but may be among your favorites like Avocados). Developing the healthiest dog foods you can and making then yourself is an important step in your dogs wellbeing.
You’ll need to know how to do a slow transition from a commercial dog food diet to the healthiest dog food recipes you’ll be creating taking into consideration what you have learned from your vet. This has to be done gradually or it could cause your dog a lot of discomfort. It involves trading out portions of the old food with the new food a bit at a time from about 10 days to 2-3 weeks depending on how your dog is handling it.
You continue with your normal feeding schedule and serving size while every week or so you will introduce a smallish percentage of the new food and remove an equal amount of the old food. Your serving size will be normal for your dog and he can adjust to the new ingredients at his own pace.
Unless your vet says differently for some reason, you should start with proteins and then move to a rotation of carbs and fats (Omega 3’s are best unless your dog is allergic to fish). Once the transition to the healthiest dog food is finished; over the next few months you will notice that your dog is looking and feeling better, has more energy and greater vitality which will continue to increase over the next year or so, depending on the age of the dog and how long he was on commercial dog food.