The All-Natural Diet for Dogs: Three Questions and Answers

Many people find that there are a couple of problems with many conventional dog foods: not only do the dogs not enjoy them, but the quality and nutritional content of the foods themselves aren't exactly up to snuff. In fact, some manufacturers simply try to use the cheapest ingredients possible in order to keep prices down. If money is no object when it comes to your dog, there's a good chance you've considered an all-natural diet.

Many people have seen the health benefits from their own all-natural diet: more energy, a slimmer waist line, and a better mood. If you want to explore these benefits for your dog, you'll have to consider that your diet might not be exactly what your dog needs. Here are some common questions and answers relating to all-natural diets for dogs.

What's different in all-natural for dogs and for humans?

Both humans and dogs can benefit enormously from an all-natural diet because the natural foods don't have the processed junk that comes with modern living. Our bodies are designed for more natural foods, including whole grains, vegetables, and proteins, but that doesn't mean the diet of the human and the dog will be exactly alike. If you want to give your dog a natural diet, you'll have to consider that dogs need different things.

First, if you're vegetarian, you don't necessarily want to force this on your dog. Dogs need to get protein, which is why they are so attracted to all kinds of meat in the first place. Also, remember that dogs have vastly different teeth from humans - their teeth are designed to tear apart flesh. Humans have more omnivorous teeth that work well with grains, vegetables, as well as meats.

What kinds of foods should I avoid feeding my dog?

As already mentioned, dogs don't respond to grains like humans do - so generally you'll want to keep their foods more basic. A lot of dog food is based on grains, which is one reason dogs don't necessarily enjoy eating them, except as an option of last resort.

Generally, while a dog can live on human food, our types of food and scraps aren't always great for dogs. Instead, a more basic diet works well. Since most dogs have a vastly smaller body weight than us, you'd be surprised at how simple and basic you can keep their meals. Meats are good - and if you want, you can even cook a meat and vegetable combination, similar to a meat loaf.

What kinds of foods are on the menu?

When it comes to a more natural diet, you'll be placing a lot of emphasis on meat. Consider what wild dogs eat - they generally look to hunt smaller animals, usually mammals. This might include rabbits or squirrels. This doesn't mean you have to feed your dog these kinds of animals, but you do want to incorporate lots of meat.

If meat is too expensive, you can try to find cheaper meats available at the store - chicken, beef, turkey, pork, lamb, fish, eggs, and bison meat can all work great in your dog's diet.

Photo Credits: Marshall Astor - Food...

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Posted by Dog Training Pet on February 17, 2010 in Health and Medical. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.