How to Feed Your Dog Naturally
Consult a veterinary nutritionist first., Cook easy meals for your dog., Prepare and freeze meals., Use appropriate quantities of necessary nutrients., Add oils, herbs, and supplements., Vary your dog’s meals., Consider having fasting days.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Consult a veterinary nutritionist first.
Before you dive into cooking for your dog, it is essential that you talk with your dog's veterinarian and ask for a referral to a veterinary nutritionist for advice.
A veterinary nutritionist can help you to understand your dog's nutritional needs and develop a healthy diet for your dog.
Do not begin cooking for your dog without consulting a veterinary nutritionist first! This may be detrimental to your dog's health.
For example, dogs can easily develop weak bones and teeth if they do not get the proper ratio of calcium phosphate in their food. -
Step 2: Cook easy meals for your dog.
This may sound time consuming or difficult, but there are a number of quick, easy recipes you can use to ensure your dog gets all the nutrients it needs from safe, natural sources.
Remember to talk to a veterinary nutritionist before you start preparing your dog's meals.
It is important to ensure that you are preparing meals that include the proper ratios of nutrients.
A quick, easy option that you can discuss with a veterinary nutritionist is a beef stew.
You’ll need a pound of stew meat, a sweet potato, and half a cup each of diced carrots, diced green beans, flour, and water or vegetable oil.
Cook the stew meat and sweet potato in advance.
Then, combine the cooked items with the uncooked in a pot.
Simmer on medium low heat until carrots are soft.
Makes about four servings of one cup each.
Beef and rice is a recipe that provides a larger quantity of food at a lower cost.
You’ll need two and half pounds of ground beef, one and half cups of brown rice, one fifteen ounce can of drained and rinsed kidney beans, one and half cup of chopped seasonal squash, one and a half cups of chopped carrots, and half a cup of frozen peas.
Stir all ingredients together with about four cups of water.
Cook in a crockpot on low heat for about five hours or high heat for two.
Provides eleven one cup servings.
You can also make snacks for your dog.
Chicken jerky is a great option.
Slice boneless, skinless chicken breasts into strips that are an eighth of an inch thick.
Then, bake for two hours at 200 degrees.
Always cool food to room temperature or lower before serving it to your dog., Save even more time on meal prep by cooking several weeks or even months’ worth of food at one time.
Then, portion the meals out and store them in the refrigerator or freezer.
Date everything you make, and only thaw a week’s worth of food at a time.
A good rule of thumb is to store enough meals for one month in the freezer and enough for a week in the refrigerator., Not every meal you eat has exactly the right proportion of nutrients, but over time, we consume what we need from a variety of sources or supplements.
Your dog’s nutritional needs are the same.
They may not get every nutrient they need from every single meal, but you can help them meet all of their nutritional needs over time, if you understand what nutrients they need in what quantities.
Quality protein should make up at least 18% of an adult dog’s diet.
Fats should comprise at least 5% of the dog’s diet.
Additionally, linoleic acid, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and vitamins should make up at least an additional 5% of the dog’s nutrition.
The remaining 70 to 75% of the dog’s nutrition should include water, healthy sources of fiber, minerals, and carbohydrates., If you take a multivitamin every day, fish oil supplements, or glucosamine for your joints, you know how effective and beneficial nutritional supplements can be for maintain optimal health.
Your dog can also benefit from the addition of nutritional supplements to their daily meals.
You may want to include and rotate a variety of oils, herbs, and supplements, to help balance your pup’s diet.
Typically, you’ll only want to add a very small amount of these supplements, and while the initial investment can be substantial, the supplements will usually last for many months.
Oils provide healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that help immune function and digestion.
You may want to include fish oil, cod liver oil specifically, or plant oils.
Calcium is especially important as dogs are growing, but a good rule of thumb is to include about 1000 mg of calcium per pound of food.
This can be added with a supplement or by grinding non-treated egg shells.
Your dog also needs vitamins A, D, and E as well as appropriate amounts of Iodine and phosphorous.
Look into the vitamin content of your oils, and supplement these vitamins and minerals as necessary.
Most vitamins need to be included in very minimal amounts, so read supplement instructions carefully and talk to your veterinarian for additional guidance., You wouldn’t want to eat the same thing every day, and your dog appreciates variety in their foods too.
Feel free to switch it up.
Adding in different types of meat is an easy way to do this.
Substitute ground turkey for ground beef, and feed your pet fish once or twice a week., In the wild, dogs eat mainly meat, and they have to hunt for their foods.
This means they go through periods of satiation and periods of fasting.
This is healthy.
Enzymes in the stomach are a necessary part of digestion.
However, they are also what fuels your pet’s immune system, so allowing a break from constant food digestion may actually be beneficial to your pet.
Only fast one day a week or every other week, and make sure your dog has plenty of water on these days.
You can give your pup a few low calorie treats throughout the fasting day.
Do not fast puppies, pregnant or lactating mothers, or older dogs as this lack of nutrients can be harmful in these developmental stages. -
Step 3: Prepare and freeze meals.
-
Step 4: Use appropriate quantities of necessary nutrients.
-
Step 5: Add oils
-
Step 6: and supplements.
-
Step 7: Vary your dog’s meals.
-
Step 8: Consider having fasting days.
Detailed Guide
Before you dive into cooking for your dog, it is essential that you talk with your dog's veterinarian and ask for a referral to a veterinary nutritionist for advice.
A veterinary nutritionist can help you to understand your dog's nutritional needs and develop a healthy diet for your dog.
Do not begin cooking for your dog without consulting a veterinary nutritionist first! This may be detrimental to your dog's health.
For example, dogs can easily develop weak bones and teeth if they do not get the proper ratio of calcium phosphate in their food.
This may sound time consuming or difficult, but there are a number of quick, easy recipes you can use to ensure your dog gets all the nutrients it needs from safe, natural sources.
Remember to talk to a veterinary nutritionist before you start preparing your dog's meals.
It is important to ensure that you are preparing meals that include the proper ratios of nutrients.
A quick, easy option that you can discuss with a veterinary nutritionist is a beef stew.
You’ll need a pound of stew meat, a sweet potato, and half a cup each of diced carrots, diced green beans, flour, and water or vegetable oil.
Cook the stew meat and sweet potato in advance.
Then, combine the cooked items with the uncooked in a pot.
Simmer on medium low heat until carrots are soft.
Makes about four servings of one cup each.
Beef and rice is a recipe that provides a larger quantity of food at a lower cost.
You’ll need two and half pounds of ground beef, one and half cups of brown rice, one fifteen ounce can of drained and rinsed kidney beans, one and half cup of chopped seasonal squash, one and a half cups of chopped carrots, and half a cup of frozen peas.
Stir all ingredients together with about four cups of water.
Cook in a crockpot on low heat for about five hours or high heat for two.
Provides eleven one cup servings.
You can also make snacks for your dog.
Chicken jerky is a great option.
Slice boneless, skinless chicken breasts into strips that are an eighth of an inch thick.
Then, bake for two hours at 200 degrees.
Always cool food to room temperature or lower before serving it to your dog., Save even more time on meal prep by cooking several weeks or even months’ worth of food at one time.
Then, portion the meals out and store them in the refrigerator or freezer.
Date everything you make, and only thaw a week’s worth of food at a time.
A good rule of thumb is to store enough meals for one month in the freezer and enough for a week in the refrigerator., Not every meal you eat has exactly the right proportion of nutrients, but over time, we consume what we need from a variety of sources or supplements.
Your dog’s nutritional needs are the same.
They may not get every nutrient they need from every single meal, but you can help them meet all of their nutritional needs over time, if you understand what nutrients they need in what quantities.
Quality protein should make up at least 18% of an adult dog’s diet.
Fats should comprise at least 5% of the dog’s diet.
Additionally, linoleic acid, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and vitamins should make up at least an additional 5% of the dog’s nutrition.
The remaining 70 to 75% of the dog’s nutrition should include water, healthy sources of fiber, minerals, and carbohydrates., If you take a multivitamin every day, fish oil supplements, or glucosamine for your joints, you know how effective and beneficial nutritional supplements can be for maintain optimal health.
Your dog can also benefit from the addition of nutritional supplements to their daily meals.
You may want to include and rotate a variety of oils, herbs, and supplements, to help balance your pup’s diet.
Typically, you’ll only want to add a very small amount of these supplements, and while the initial investment can be substantial, the supplements will usually last for many months.
Oils provide healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that help immune function and digestion.
You may want to include fish oil, cod liver oil specifically, or plant oils.
Calcium is especially important as dogs are growing, but a good rule of thumb is to include about 1000 mg of calcium per pound of food.
This can be added with a supplement or by grinding non-treated egg shells.
Your dog also needs vitamins A, D, and E as well as appropriate amounts of Iodine and phosphorous.
Look into the vitamin content of your oils, and supplement these vitamins and minerals as necessary.
Most vitamins need to be included in very minimal amounts, so read supplement instructions carefully and talk to your veterinarian for additional guidance., You wouldn’t want to eat the same thing every day, and your dog appreciates variety in their foods too.
Feel free to switch it up.
Adding in different types of meat is an easy way to do this.
Substitute ground turkey for ground beef, and feed your pet fish once or twice a week., In the wild, dogs eat mainly meat, and they have to hunt for their foods.
This means they go through periods of satiation and periods of fasting.
This is healthy.
Enzymes in the stomach are a necessary part of digestion.
However, they are also what fuels your pet’s immune system, so allowing a break from constant food digestion may actually be beneficial to your pet.
Only fast one day a week or every other week, and make sure your dog has plenty of water on these days.
You can give your pup a few low calorie treats throughout the fasting day.
Do not fast puppies, pregnant or lactating mothers, or older dogs as this lack of nutrients can be harmful in these developmental stages.
About the Author
Jack Stone
Writer and educator with a focus on practical DIY projects knowledge.
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