Pet Nutrition At Home
By April McCormack
Pet nutrition is the building block of a long and healthy life for our pets. Picking a good quality pet food is key. A protein source should be the number one ingredient. Limited ingredients is also another factor you should look for in a pet food. The less fillers the better to keep a healthy digestive tract.
Pet nutrition education has come a long way since I was teaching classes in the early part of 2000. Raw food was a foreign concept. Today we have freeze dried raw food in most pet stores. The benefits of raw food are that your pet receives all the nutrients from the food in their natural form. When a dogfood is processed with heat it kills many of the vitamins and enzymes. Raw food is more nutrient available so you don’t have to feed as much.
If you want to make your own raw pet food at home, whether because of current restrictions or to save money, my recipe is:
One protein source raw (chicken, beef, organ meat, turkey etc.)
Raw bones (needed for the calcium and minerals.)
One vegetable above ground (broccoli, green beans etc.)
One vegetable below ground (carrots, potatoes etc.)
One fruit (apples, blueberries etc.)
Flax seed or fish oil for essential fatty acids
Use your food processor and grind it up except the bones (feed separately). Freeze anything you won’t use in 3 days’ time.
At the time of feeding you can add one raw egg and mix it up.
I had a 13 year old dachshund that was really slowing down. I put her on a cup of raw food a day and within 3 months she was up and chasing squirrels again. Her coat was shiny and her cloudy eyes started clearing up. Since then I have always supplemented my dog’s food with raw food.
April McCormack
Essential Wellness
910-473-0108