Best Puppy Food Guide - For Puppies and Beyond....
Spoilt for choice!When it comes to best puppy food, think beyond human grade kibble. Dogs need a variety of food to stay in optimum health, not unlike humans. With some exceptions, you can and should only feed your dog what you will put on your own dining table
Fresh Raw Food..one of the best puppy food recommendation
Yum! (That egg looks so tempting..)..have been forgotten in most canine diets. As wild animals, dogs thrive on raw food and the most important benefit ( aside from nutrients retained otherwise lost in cooking) comes in the form of a protein known as enzymes.
Cooked food, meat for example lost most, if not all of its digestive enzymes in the cooking process. Think of enzymes as the 'nuts and bolts' of life and an important component in best puppy food. There are over a thousand different type of enzymes in a dog's body, each with a different but essential function.
So give your dog as much fresh raw meat, vegetables and fruits as you can. Puppy introduce to vegetables early on in her life will likely grow up loving them! Also, alternating between different types of meat will help prevent meat allergies to any one type.
Home-Cooked Meals
Preparing home-cooked meals for dogs isn't any more difficult than cooking for yourself or the average human child.
A simple stew with carrots and red meat seasoned with herbs or leftovers from your dinner divided into single serving portions, frozen and ready to be serve the next day are examples of wholesome home-cooked food.
Some key-points about feeding puppies home-cooked food:
- Puppies need higher amounts of protein, calcium and calories for their growing needs. A well plan diet-table is essential.
- Carbohydrate is important but dogs can't digest starchy food as well as humans do. When preparing brown rice, oats, barley grits and other whole grains, add more water and cook a little longer than you usually would for yourself.
- A mix of raw and home-cooked food will not only provide good nutritional value but also cultivate good eating habits (non picky eater).
Commercial Dog Food
Dog-food companies are not require to make human-grade dog food. Yet, humans and dogs have so much in common when it comes to nutrition needs.
Think 'doggy fast food' when it comes to most commercial dog food. They are high in additives and artificial preservation but low in nutrients.
There are premium, quality commercial food out there though, here's what to look for:
- Human grade or United States Department of Agriculture( USDA ) inspected meat.
- Check label for natural preservatives such as vitamin E and vitamin C. Stay away from chemical antioxidants such as ethoxyquin and butylated hydroxytoluene ( BHT ).
- Dry dog food that are stored too long will turn rancid and lose its nutritional value. Buy enough to last for one ( not more than two ) weeks worth.
- Look for a brand with a maximum shelf life of six months. That's how long natural preservatives mentioned above will, well, preserve the food.
- Stored food away in cool, dry, place( importance of storage condition cannot be overstate).
Bon Appetit!Last but not least..
It's not easy to get the balance right in terms of nutritional needs when you are feeding raw and cooked food. Supplements if necessary to bridge that gap. Work with your vet to come up with a complete diet table for your canine friend.
Don't shy away from commercial dog kibble completely! Dry dog food are necessary too as there will be times when you are simply too caught up with life to whip up a decent cooked meal. Plus, you have a better control on the amount of nutrients going into your dog too.
If you're feeding your dog/puppy cooked and raw meal exclusively, integrate dry commercial dog food at least two times a week. Avoid semi-moist commercial food as they are high on artificial additives and sugar.
Last but not least, learning what's best to feed your puppy/dog will also make you more cautious about what you put in your mouth. Talk about hitting two birds with a stone!
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