Dog Diet - What Is The Best Way To Feed My Dog?
Opinions vary about what is the best diet for dogs - you hear and read many different opinions. I'll paraphrase some of the opinions I have read and heard:
(Please note - many of these ideas contradict each other)
1) Dogs are carnivores - Their diet should consist primarily of meat
2) Dogs are omnivores and should derive nutrition from both plant and animal sources.
3) A premium canned food should be fed to a dog.
4) Dried kibble is the best dog food. Dried kibble/hard/crunchy dog food helps clean the teeth. Dried kibble contains less fat than canned food. My vet feels that if the dog will eat dried food, you should feed dried food to them.
5) You should never feed your dog table scraps.
6) Table scraps are ok to feed your dog - dogs are natural scavengers and have been eating peoples leftovers for thousands of years.
7) Dog food is made with rejected and diseased meat unfit for human consumption and it shouldn't be fed to your dog.
8) You should prepare food for your dog yourself at home from foods you purchase that are suitable for human consumption.
9) Dogs should be fed raw meats because wild wolves eat raw meat and it is natural for dogs to eat raw foods.
10) Dogs should only be fed cooked meat, fish, and eggs because most available raw foods are contaminated with harmful bacteria.
11) Dogs should be fed a variety of foods.
12) Dogs should be fed the same commercial dog food all the time.
While some of these items I listed contradicts others, people have raised dogs based on the above opinions and the dogs have survived and even thrived. So basically, dogs can survive and thrive on a wide variety of diets.
Even though the listed items contradict in some instances, many have valid logic and work in many situations. (I'll be adding more information here later)
When considering your dog's diet, you should first look at your dog's overall health. If they are in good health, there probably isn't any reason to change how you are currently feeding your dog. If there is some problem, some changes to your dog's diet might be a good idea.
I have listed some problems and some possible solutions:
-Dog is overweight - feed them less - try feeding them a dog food that is less delicious - switch from canned to dried kibble. Add some more vegetables to their diet. Exercise the dog more.
-Dog has bad breath - try adding some more vegetables and fruits to their diet - switch from canned to dried kibble - give the dog some bones to chew on - add some fish oil to the dogs diet.
-Dog has itchy skin - add some fish oil oil to the dogs diet - add other fats to diet - feed some canned food - add some vegetables to diet - try different food (may have food allergy)
-Dog has worms - feed raw vegetables, mint, and pumpkin with the seeds - See my article HOME REMEDIES FOR DOGS With WORMS
If you are considering supplementing your dogs foods with people foods please review People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Dog
I think the following video favors opinion 2 omnivore over opinion 1 carnivores - Tofu likes to eat pumpkin!
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...Watch the video of "Happy Halloween From The Fastest Poodle"
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Is this a dog trick or a people trick ? -- I'm not quite sure who taught who!
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