Dogs make great companions and if you have a dog in your life it’s a safe bet that you want to keep him happy and healthy. Are you feeding your dog commercial dog food? Commercial canned dog food is convenient to use but are you giving your dog optimal nutrition? A better idea is to change to a raw food diet for dogs for reasons we’ll go into below
A raw food diet does offer some advantages. It contains concentrated nutrition whereas dog food in a can contains a lot of fillers such as grains. It also contain a lot of water. These ingredients are what you are paying for in a can of commercial dog food.
There are those who say that dogs cannot properly digest grains. No doubt some breeds digest grains better than others, however there is no doubt they are used because they are inexpensive rather than for their nutritional value.
As commercial dog food need to be cooked as part of the processing process, a lot of the vitamins and minerals in the food are lost. Although extra supplements are added to the final products, can this be as nutritionally whole as the natural vitamins and minerals found in a raw food diet?
The numbers of owners opting for a raw food regime for their dogs are growing. Some prefer to give their dogs a mixture of raw and commercial food. As we become more conscious about what we ourselves eat, we naturally want the same optimal nutrition for our pets. As a dog owner you may have also questioned the quality of the meat that goes into commercial dog food. Most times it is added because it is inferior and not fit for human consumption.
It’s natural to have some questions before starting your dog on a raw food diet. Just what do I feed and how much of it shall I give him? Are there any foods that I should avoid? And the biggest question; How can I fit all this into my already busy day?
We would like to answer that last question first. Buying raw food for the dog is no less difficult or time consuming that it is to buy commercial dog food. Putting some meat and vegetables inside your shopping cart, instead of dog food takes the same amount of time and energy.
Yes, it will take a bit of getting used to, but once you start you’ll get the feel of it in no time and soon it will become second nature. You may also find you’re saving money at the same time by not having to buy heavy cans of dog food and probably extra supplements as well.
The above are good reasons to start or switch to a raw food diet for dogs. If your dog could speak, I’m sure he would end up thanking you for it. His coat will be shinier and he will be healthier overall.. If you are still unsure, why not start slowly and gradually add raw food into you dog’s eating schedule.