Quickstart Guide to Making Your Own Pet Food at Home

As a pet owner, no doubt you want to give your dog or cat the best care possible. And caring for your pet means feeding him the best diet you can. By making your own pet foods, you'll be saving money, up to 80%. And to top it off, it's easy; making pet food at home is probably a lot less time-consuming than you may have thought. With hundreds of websites offering free pet food recipes online, it's now easier than ever to make your own pet food.

To prepare healthy and nutritious food for your pet you should study your pet's natural habitat and food sources, and then prepare foods that most closely resemble their own natural or original diet.

Animals, because they are color blind, choose their foods by smell. Most dogs like gamey flavors best, as well as liver, fat, garlic, onions, horsemeat, lamb, beef, cheese and fish. Cats enjoy chicken, liver, fish, turkey, lamb, and yeast, and prefer fresh to aged flavors.

Cats are fussy eaters and it is not wise to continually feed them their favorite foods. Soon they will refuse to eat anything else; it is your job to see your cat has a balanced diet.

Animals do not need salt added to their diet as the natural salt in the food is enough for them.

Dogs may eat any vegetable they want, but cats should not have any starchy veggies, like peas and corn. Some dogs and cats even enjoy fruits!

It's a good idea to always add a grain, such as Kibble, wheat germ, cooked oatmeal or whole wheat bread to meat dinners. For dogs use 75% carbohydrate foods (grains and vegetables) to 25% meat; for cats use half carbohydrate foods to half meat.

You will find, once you begin making your own pet foods, that it is really relatively simple and you will save some money as well. Remember that all pet foods should be served at room temperature; don't serve food cold from the refrigerator nor hot from the stove.

Homemade pet food should take a ridiculously small amount of your time. As a general guide meats should be raw and vegetables must be finely chopped in a food processor or by a hand grater.

When it comes time for feeding, it is important that you let your dogs and cats eat as much as they want at the time of feeding. Once their body becomes nutritionally satiated, they will cut their food intake, sometimes by half the amount, and go on a maintenance diet. Incidentally, you should know that cats should be fed three times a day, while an adult dog needs only one meal a day.

To get started, find a good book with pet food recipes and use it to start preparing simple meals. You can also get free recipes from many websites online. If preparing your own pet food is not an option for you visit the website below for some healthy pet food http://www.pet-care-supplies.co.uk/food/

Copyright © 2005. Bridget Mwape of [http://www.pet-care-supplies.co.uk/] which offers thousands of products to help you care for your pets. This article may be reprinted as long as all the above links are active and clickable and this author box (byline) is not edited.

Dog Health - Is Your Dog Healthy Or Are You Unconsciously Making Him Sick With What You Feed Him?

Your dog is your buddy and best friend. He looks to you and depends on you to keep him healthy. But sometimes the regular food, attention and diet you keep him on isn't enough. Just as humans experience pain and bad health, your dog does, too. The problem is... he can't put his paw in front of your face and say, "Hey, listen to me. I don't feel good. Help me! Do something!"

Dogs can suffer from a medical condition due to the wrong kinds of foods that you are feeding him. Before you take your beloved pet to the vet, your dog wants you to know that his improper diet may be causing him to suffer from any number of allergies, stomach problems, stress, kidney disorders, and even diabetes. Although it's tempting to give your dog his special treats and rawhide chewies, or maybe you even feel like his "sad, puppy dog eyes" are begging for that food on your dinner plate, you're setting yourself up for a trip to the vet if he's missing some vital foods and supplements.

Maybe you think you're feeding him the best dog food you can find on the market, but it's those little treats or scraps from the table that will eventually make him sick and give him poor health. Yes, we all know that chocolate, or sugar-free candy that he snarfs out of the trash or from under your child's bed is unhealthy and dangerous for him. Yet, did you know that your dog's diet of regular dog food can negatively affect his health? Any vet will tell you that dry dog food is better for your pet than the moist, watery canned foods. Dry food has less preservatives and helps your dog to exercise his jaw while he's chewing his dinner, rather than gulping down soft meats, poultry or fish that is slathered in a color-induced gravy base.

What your dog would tell you, if he could, is that he depends on you to read the labels of the food that you serve him. Be confident that you're giving him the correct combination of vitamins, carbohydrates (50 percent), protein and minerals. If you already know that your dog has diabetes, then he will require more protein than carbs. The Omega 3 and 6 proteins are modified to assist with your pet's allergies. Does the food you're feeding him contain Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils? If he had a stone in his bladder, he would tell you that he needs a diet that is low in protein, and he would need an antibiotic.

When your dog is grossly overweight, it's important to reduce his food intake by two-thirds, and to limit his fiber intake. That, in itself, will help him to lose weight, and it will help him to better digest his food. Make sure you've also done your research when looking for a reliable and trusted veterinarian. Although you truly believe that you're doing the best for your dog that you possibly can, your dog might just be suffering due to your unknowing and carelessness with his diet.

Take the necessary time to educate yourself in the proper diet for your pooch. Talk to his vet and ask him if your dog needs natural supplements to bring him to a higher level of health. It just might save your beloved dog from pain, discomfort, and even death. If your dog could talk, he would say, "Thank you for loving me enough to feed me a nutritious diet... regardless of how much much I whimper and whine, prance around, and act as if I'm begging you for a treat."

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Reasons For Making a Feeding Schedule For Your Pet

Your dog's diet must be carefully planned as it will play a crucial role in your pet's overall well-being and health. Following a feed schedule is equally as important as that. Just like human beings, your pets need to be given substantial food and nourishment at regular intervals. Nevertheless, our pets should not be given food anytime you may feel like it.

When devising a feeding schedule for one's pet, it is important to consider your dog's health and age. Make sure that the schedule you come up will supplement the diet and nutritional requirements of your pet. Generally, adult or grown dogs may eat one to two times in a day. Senior or aging dogs may also follow the usual feeding schedule of adult dogs. Puppies, in contrast, need to be fed several times in a day. Puppies that are still nursing, in particular, should be allowed to nurse whenever they want to. The shift in their intake from milk to regular dog food may not be initially easy, and may range up to four or five meals in a single day. This is absolutely normal however. There is no need to be alarmed when you note this type of behavior from your pet. Once the puppy had become used to its new diet, it should be easy to reduce the number of daily feeding number to three instances per day.

When coming up with a feeding schedule for your pet, it is a must to provide food for your pet at regular intervals every day. Pet owners have the prerogative to choose during what time they will give food. What is important is that a regular feeding schedule be established with each day. That is, feeding should be done at the same time every day. Do not vary the feeding times of your pet as it may cause your pets to behave erratically when their hunger catches up with them. Just like human beings, our pets also feel antsy as they anticipate taking their meals, especially when they have grown used to being fed at a particular time.

After establishing regular feeding schedules for your pet, it should make monitoring or keeping track of your pet's diet easier to do. These fixed feeding times will also help you predict your pet's daily excretion schedule. By knowing the latter, you will know at what time you should keep your pet outdoors for potty stops.

This article was brought to you by Sean Green, at Labrador Retriever Care
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