Healthy Diet For Your Dog

[Natasha]

My pooch is turning 9 soon, so I decided to invest a bit of money and take him to a holistic vet nutritionist. Turned out I have been feeding him mostly wrong stuff. His diet consisted of quality dry food, chicken jerky for dogs (not made in China), and home-made rice-spinach-chicken livers meals, and water. The holistic vet lady said that feeding an animal dry food (even quality kind) is like for us eating pocessed food at McDonald - bad. Makes sense. She also said, to my surprise, that chicken meat in general is not healthy food for dogs. Also, she told me not to use any salt for his home-made meals.

The healthiest and most wholesome food for a dog is RAW ORGAN meat from an animal (usually available at your local produce market and very inexpensive) - livers, heart, kidneys, brain, tongue, etc. These are rich in all kinds of vitamins and minerals, including vits A, E, C, B, amino acids L-Carnitine and Taurine, etc. Also, raw bones that don't splinter, like an ox tail. Fish (sardines, salmon, etc) and raw eggs are also great - rich in Vit E. Dry freeze kidneys, mussels, beef bites, salmon jerky, etc also make wholesome snacks. Cooked rice in limited quantities, veggies and roots are fine (mine loves fresh turmeric root chopped into his meals).

As a dog grows older, probiotics also become a must to help digestion and overall wellbeing. As far as supplements, for an aging dog she recommended CoQ10, fish oil, Milk Thistle, Curcumin, Chlorella, and kelp..which I sprinkle in his meals daily. 

Here's a sample recipe that Max loves:

1 tbl sp cooked organic rice + fresh chopped baby spinach leaves + any kind of raw organ meat (or combination) chopped + chopped fresh turmeric root = saute all this lightly for a couple of minutes in a bit of coconut oil -> let cool off -> sprinkle with probiotics/ supplements -> serve C(: 

Your furball will love it, guaranteed   

[SFRL]

So it's actually good to feed vegetables to a dog or cat? 

[Natasha]

1 minute ago, SFRL said:

So it's actually good to feed vegetables to a dog or cat? 

Yes, but not as main source (organ meat is). My dog is very selective as far as veggies and roots go, so experiment with yours. Mine would eat cooked carrots, spinach, sweet potato (but not white/yellow potato), onion, peas, cabbage, and he loves turmeric root. When he was a puppy, he ate fresh fruit like apples too, but not anymore. They do need heart healthy diet at any age, though, because dogs in general are prone to heart desease as they age. I also give him alkaline water only - it nutrilizes acidity and flushes out toxins while hyderates body. 

[SFRL]

My brothers cat attacks people for bananas and bell peppers. 

Is alkaline water good for humans as well? 

[Natasha]

8 minutes ago, SFRL said:

My brothers cat attacks people for bananas and bell peppers. 

Is alkaline water good for humans as well? 

Yes, I drink and cook in alkaline water only. 

[SFRL]

1 hour ago, Natasha said:

Yes, I drink and cook in alkaline water only. 

I will try. How much of that you drink? 

Edited June 5, 2017 by SFRL

[Natasha]

4 minutes ago, SFRL said:

I will try. How much of that you drink? 

Half your weight in ounces. I weigh 110 lb, so my daily water intake is around 55 oz.

[Natasha]

@SFRL Also consider adding a couple table spoons of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar to your daily water...so many health benefits and makes water not taste so bland.

[SFRL]

55 minutes ago, Natasha said:

Half your weight in ounces. I weigh 110 lb, so my daily water intake is around 55 oz.

Ok so that's close to a gallon for me. That's what I do now. For 230 lbs.  

[pluto]

Dog's don't really need meat but cats do. Check this video out.

 

 

[Guest Annetta]

Damn, your dog eats better than most people!  
Is it pricey feeding raw?  I'm trying a quality kibble next month once the cheap stuff runs out for my cats.  One is getting dry skin and dull fur and the other is getting kind of fat, but I'm concerned about the cost.

[Natasha]

5 hours ago, Annetta said:

Damn, your dog eats better than most people!  
Is it pricey feeding raw?  I'm trying a quality kibble next month once the cheap stuff runs out for my cats.  One is getting dry skin and dull fur and the other is getting kind of fat, but I'm concerned about the cost.

Raw organ meat is cheap - I spend around $30/ month, my Max weighs 18 lb. I feed him 2 meals (morning and evening) and make healthy snacks and water available throughout the day. 

Edited June 10, 2017 by Natasha

[Guest Annetta]

@Natasha That's cheaper than what I already pay for.  Might look into it sometime.  i given them raw chicken breasts from time to time and they really seem to love them.

[Natasha]

@Annetta Try to feed them raw livers, hearts, kidneys, etc. I use culinary scissors to cut up organ meat into small bite size pieces, and also slightly saute  with spinach, cooked rice, and turmeric root in a bit of coconut oil (no added salt). Experiment with this and work out a menu that fits your pets' taste.  

[SFRL]

32 minutes ago, Natasha said:

@Annetta Try to feed them raw livers, hearts, kidneys, etc. I use culinary scissors to cut up organ meat into small bite size pieces, and also slightly saute  with spinach, cooked rice, and turmeric root in a bit of coconut oil (no added salt). Experiment with this and work out a menu that fits your pets' taste.  

 

[Natasha]

59 minutes ago, SFRL said:

 

I think someone's getting hungry here 

[SFRL]

8 hours ago, Natasha said:

I think someone's getting hungry here 

I imagine that's you. 

[Siim Land]

How do some of you vegans approach the ethical implications of feeding their pet meat? It goes into conflict with their own values but clearly dogs are supposed to eat meat.