Cooking Food for Dogs–Good or Bad?
Should you or shouldn’t you cook food for your dog? This is a topic of concern for many dog owners, and there is differing opinion on the matter. How are you to know the truth?
I’ve just come across some helpful information from CBS News, of all places. CBS News, in a story reported by Alfonso Serrano at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/03/earlyshow
/contributors/debbyeturner/main2641638.shtml, writes:
As the pet food recall grows, so does the number of people cooking for their dogs and cats.
But is that wise?
The Early Show’s resident veterinarian, Dr. Debbye Turner, suggested Tuesday that it might not be.
“I cannot recommend that you cook for your pet,” she told co-anchor Hannah Storm. “They have very specific nutritional needs. If you’re going to cook for your pet, you need to formulate a diet that has all the right nutrients, plus supplements, and all in the right proportions.”
Turner says people “absolutely shouldn’t” stop feeding Fido or Fluffy commercial pet food: There are still plenty of commercial pet foods on the shelves that are believed to be safe. Of course, check the recall list on the Menu Foods Web site to make sure you’re not feeding one of the affected brands.
Since it’s believed wheat gluten is somehow involved, you can help assure the food you’re feeding is safe by looking at the ingredients listed on the package or can and making sure wheat gluten isn’t one of them.
Also, cautioned Turner, cats and dogs have different nutritional requirements. Dogs need 38 nutrients daily. Cat need 40. Dogs are omnivores, like people. So they need protein, carbohydrates, fats and fiber, plus vitamins and minerals. Cats are obligate carnivores. They need a high protein diet that contains animal fat and taurine.
Do Not Feed Your Dog These Foods
What’s more, pets can’t eat everything people can. Most spices are upsetting to pets’ systems and will cause gastric irritation and diarrhea. So, you definitely shouldn’t season food for pets the way we season it for ourselves. Plus, there are some foods that we know are toxic to cats and dogs. They include onions, garlic, raisins, grapes, chocolate and macadamia nuts.
For more information, be sure to see the Complete Dog Food and Nutrition Guide.
Another good dog food “how to” read is, Healthy Food For Dogs: Homemade Recipes.
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2 comments
martin on December 6, 2009 at 9:28 pm
ive bred many dogs over the years and only feed my dogs raw meat fat and bone. i am amazed at the dog diet argument still goes on. people dont seem to realise that they need to feed their animal a natural diet wild animals are always more healthy than domestic, why, diet… come on a dog will always prefere a hotdog to a bone as its just easy carbs but just feed them what they need ie raw bone, raw meat,and a little fat and they will be happy and healthy end of.
admin on December 7, 2009 at 6:05 am
Hi. Thank you for the excellent comment. I think part of the question has to do with just exactly what dogs need and how to properly define “natural diet.” It doesn’t necessarily follow that what dogs eat in the wild is best for them just because it is in the wild, or “natural.” At least, not without careful nutritional analysis of what a “natural diet” is. I’ll also add that our domestic dogs may not have the same nutritional requirements of their ancestors living in the wild. Having said that, you’ve obviously been getting great results with your diet, and that, in turn, makes me really curious about the nutritional breakdown of the diet. I’ll add, though I’m not a dog breeder, that I have fed my dogs a steady diet of kibble that I mix from two brand names found at most stores. I have had great results with this. The dogs are happy, healthy, energetic, have great coats, and their teeth are practically spotless. Dog’s appear to have certain flexibility with regard to diet. However, I think most nutritionists would argue that it doesn’t matter so much what you feed the dog as long as the nutrition is correct. Anyway, thank you again for your comment. Good food for thought, as it were.