There are more and more concerns being expressed by dog owners about commercial dog food. What exactly does it contain? In the same way that we have become increasingly concerned about what is in the processed foods that we eat so dog owners are now becoming equally concerned!

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If you are concerned about what your dogs are taking in when they eat, you may have thought of the option to make your own dog food. Many of the commercially-made dog foods have now proven to cause more harm than good, because they contain toxic substances that may be fatal in large doses. This has caused more than a little alarm throughout the pet-owning community.

Because of concerns over commercial dog food, there is an increased demand for organic alternatives. And if you know how to make your own dog food, you can turn this into profitable business. Making home made dog treats is an easy way for those who want to venture into the dog food business to make a start. All you need is the right equipment and materials, an empathy for dogs, some connections and a range of recipes for healthy dog food that will make dogs of all types drool and roll over with delight.

Before setting out on a dog cookie-baking spree, make sure that you have all the things you need. An oven, cookie cutters, every [recipes for home made dog food] treats that you can get hold of, and an attractive packaging. It wouldn’t hurt if you have a catchy phrase for marketing purposes, since you do need to advertise these treats to attract customers. Be sure to be prepared to meet deadlines as well. There will surely be a lot of orders, and being a slow-poke baker wouldn’t be very profitable. With all this in check, all you have to do is bake away.

Here are some recipes for healthy dog food that can be sure sell-outs with your dog owning customers:

Make your own dog food treats with waffles that will have dogs barking with delight, and it won’t even take you an hour to do it. The recipe calls for 4 cups of whole wheat flour, ½ cup cornmeal, 1 egg, 2 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 ¾ cups water. While pre-heating oven to 325°F, mix ingredients together in a bowl. Knead the dough and roll out to about ½ inche thick. Cut into squares and put in the waffle maker, just to get the “waffle look.” Bake in pre-heated oven for an hour. Let cool, then pack in an attractive paper bag.

One of the sell-out recipes for home made dog food treats is for a yummy honey cake that’s perfect for doggie birthday parties. Prepare 2 cups of whole wheat flour, ½ cup soya bean flour, 1 cup water, 1 tbsp each of honey, canola oil and sea salt. Mix dry ingredients first, then add water and honey and let dough rest for about 15mins. Add oil, then let sit for another 30 mins. Take dough portions about the size of a walnut, flatten into small cakes and place on a baking sheet. Bake in 400°F oven for half an hour. Cool and let your four-legged customers enjoy.

Aside from baked treats, make cold treats available to your avid customers, especially on hot summer days. All you need is to mix together a jar of baby food (applesauce or any fruit) and 8 to 16 oz of vanilla yogurt. Place the mixture into an ice tray and freeze.

Opening a doggie treats business can start as soon as you decide to make your own dog food. Easy to do recipes, coupled with a strong love for dogs and concern about their health can take you a long way into this business. A warm woof from your four-legged customers may just be enough to melt your heart.

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With the recent pet food recall causing all sorts of discussions between dog owners about the quality of the food they feed their dogs, it seems that very little of these conversations are actually asking the important question about whether or not pet food is nutritious enough for their animals.

Most people seem to be unhappy with the fact that the food was tainted, yet has anyone considered going deeper into the situation and really finding out what is in the food to begin with? Do you really want to know what you are feeding your dog or cat?

Peaking Into Pet Food Ingredients

The first question you should be asking yourself is whether or not the ingredients in your pet food is actually quality material. For those of you that have believed for years that the dog and cat food you have been feeding your pets are top-notch products, you may be disappointed to know that the foodstuffs which make up the base of these pet foods is extremely low grade, hardly edible, animal by-products.

These products come from the remains of whatever animals are not deemed suitable for human consumption. There are no special chicken farms, grass fed beef pastures, or anything of the sort, that is specifically utilized for pet food. These companies use whatever they can get their hands on: blood, ligaments, lungs, bones, beaks, heads, feet, etc. All of these items are converted over for several purposes, such as livestock feed, fertilizers, poultry, and of course – ingredients for pet food.

As a consumer, you cannot find this information when you read the labels. You have no idea whether or not the quality of the “beef” or “chicken” which is printed on many pet food packages is actually healthy, nutritious meat. And most people do not know the difference between whole meat and meat meal or meat byproducts.

Advertising At It’s Best

Years ago, it was common practice to feed our cats and dogs whatever food we were eating. Table scraps were considered everyday food for these animals. Somewhere along the line we have been convinced that dog and cat food produced by corporations are the best nutritional products we can feed our pets.

Our thinking today is that “my dog will not get a balanced diet if he just eats what we eat”. Once you think about it, that notion really doesn’t make any sense. How can a human get all of the nutrition they need yet a dog will become nutritionally deficient by eating the same food? Ask yourself the same question and you might just think twice before grabbing process that food and feeding it to your cat or dog.

Do grab a copy ofhort ecourse on Healthy Dog Food

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I remember the old days when people used to feed their dogs any type of table scraps that they had from their meals. Sometimes, the dogs would all have their meals prepared ahead of time. We ate all types of food and back in those days so did our animals, except for one major difference of today’s house pets – they didn’t eat a bite of commercial dog food.

Interestingly enough, three out of the four dogs we owned lived to the age of 18 and 19 years of age, with one dog reaching 21 years of age. And the only reason why the fourth did not hit these high numbers was because of bone cancer. Now our experience with these dogs does not negate any type of nutritional value that commercial dog food may provide, especially considering the leap in information and nutritional research that we have today, but it is a little ironic that standard human food did so well just a few years back.

Pet Food Advertising Has Brainwashed Us

A lot has changed over the past 20 or 30 years. Most dog owners feel that feeding their pets commercial dog food makes the most sense. They believe that high quality dog food sold in stores is not only the most convenient way to feed their animals, but it also is thought to give their dogs and puppies the best nutritional value offered, even better than human food. They believe that this decision is the right thing to do.

You hear this sort of thing over and over again whenever a discussion takes place about dog food. Just the other day I was discussing some dog tricks with my neighbor and the subject switched to what we fed our dogs. One comment that he made which is quite redundant is that “I feed my dog ‘dog food’ because it’s for dogs. Why would I feed him human food?” My neighbor goes on to display his sense of knowledge about nutrition for dogs by insisting that my way of feeding Charlie (my dog) table scraps was cheating him of the proper foods he needs for energy and growth.

Processed Food is still Processed Food

I realized that there was little chance of me convincing my neighbor of his falsely believed notions about proper nutrition and his dogs. Try convincing one of these people that a dog and a human both need similar nutritional foods. It’s not that easy. However, I did get across one point in which he understood and that was about processed food.

No matter how you look at it, or what you believe a dog should eat as opposed to humans, processed food is still processed food! This stuff is manufactured, which means it goes through various steps of processing, preservatives, and other additives before it hits the can and is packaged. Every step that is taken to get this food to the store shelves reduces its quality and nullifies most of its nutritional value. Do take a look at our Free eCourse on Healthy Dog Food.

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One of my subscribers wrote and asked if I would share the Dog lenses I have over at Squidoo with you.  So here is a list of some of the current ones which I hope you will find helpful:

How to Stop Your Dog From Digging

New Puppy Care

Dog Health Care

How To Deal With Dog Separation Anxiety

Homemade Dog Food Recipes

Dog Obedience Training

How To Potty Train a Dog

How To Potty Train a Puppy

How To Train a Dog

If you are interested I also have a lens on How To Succeed with Squidoo and I have also published a couple of ebooks which you can see at Squidoo Revealed!

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Giving your puppy good food, healthy treats, and the necessary supplements will not only help him grow strong and healthy, but it will also affect his behavior and his ability to be trained to learn new things.

Every dog is different, and there are certain factors to consider when determining the diet program that will fit the needs of his growing body. However, there are also general rules that owners must follow to ensure that their pets are getting the balanced food and supplementation that their bodies require.

You May Want To Avoid Giving Your Dog Human Food

Most vets and breeders do not recommend adding table scraps to your dog’s diet. They will also likely tell you that the majority of commercial vitamin and mineral supplements that are available today are only a waste of money. When you give your puppy human food, he will not only get used to eating that type of food, but the difference in the taste of human food and dog food will cause him to reject his own food. He will become a finicky eater and it will be more difficult to get him back to eating his regular food.

Take It Easy On The Supplements

It is also not necessary to give your dog a separate vitamin and/or mineral supplement along with human food and his own food. The majority of supplements out there are ineffective and can even be dangerous to some level.

For example, providing your puppy with an extra calcium supplement is not at all beneficial. It doesn’t aid in bone growth, but actually does the opposite. In some cases, extra calcium in your puppy’s body can actually develop to certain types of bone problems. Adding a combination of supplements is just as harmful to your pet because they can create an imbalance to his diet.

Keep It Natural

Your puppy is better off with his own food, which is a good, commercial dog food specifically tailored to his needs (ask your vet for recommendation). In addition to the dog food, you may also give him a multivitamin such as Omega 3 oil and occasional liver tablets which, in my opinion, are one of the best treats you can give your dog. Omega 3 and liver tablets are available in most health food stores, pet stores, and online catalogs.

Other supplements to give your dog are natural, whole foods. A few examples of these are wheat grass, brewer’s yeast, bee pollen, and barley. These are food that contain nutrients from nature and will not interfere with the nutrients in your dog’s diet.

Don’t forget to check out Healthy Dog Food and Healthy Dog Food Advice

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Carbohydrates

The main source of carbohydrates are acquired in plants. There is also one source of carbohydrate that comes from meat called glycogen, but it is only found in small amounts in the liver and muscles. If your dog is not getting enough carbohydrates in his diet, the liver has to do extra work to make glucose from proteins. On the other hand, when your dog is getting enough carbohydrates in his diet, his body will not have to use proteins to get its required amount of glucose, therefore, saving these precious proteins to be used to for other jobs that they are required to do.

Vitamins

Vitamins are not considered to be building blocks, and they are not necessarily required for the production of energy. However, they are important in your dog’s health in a number of ways described below.

1. Dogs need vitamin A for healthy skin and coat. Skin conditions and poor coats have been associated with lack of vitamin A and/or vitamin B.
2. Vitamin B is responsible for a healthy immune system.
3. Studies have concluded that vitamin C prevents dogs from getting hip dysplasia.
4. Dogs need vitamin D for healthy teeth and bones. Deficiency in this vitamin produces weak teeth and brittle bones.
5. Vitamin E is an excellent source of antioxidants. Deficiency in vitamin E can lead to heart problems and several types of cancers.
6. Vitamin K is used for blood clotting.

Minerals

Unlike other nutrients, minerals are used by the body in a more comprehensive way. Below are examples of some of the ways minerals benefit your dog:

1. Minerals such as calcium and phosphorous are required for strong bones and cartilage.
2. Minerals are needed for the nervous system to function properly.
3. They help promote muscle metabolism.
4. They are used in the production of hormones.
5. Minerals transport oxygen in the blood.

It is important to know that too much or too little of a certain mineral can affect the functions of other minerals in your dog’s body. In addition, there are also cases where the action of one mineral depends upon the action of another mineral. For example, the minerals iron and copper work hand-in-hand to produce hemoglobin. Iron is necessary to produce hemoglobin in red blood cells while copper is equally important for hemoglobin formation. One will not be able to function properly without the help of the other.

Don’t forget to check out Healthy Dog Food and Healthy Dog Food Advice

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How does protein work in a dog’s body? Picture a string of beads and each string is needed to produce a complete picture or an artwork. The job of protein in your dog can be compared to this strings of beads. Each protein is similar to individual strings of beads. Just as these strings are put together in the right order to create a picture, different types of proteins have to go together to be able to produce a dog.

Each string is made up of different numbers of colored beads that are lined up in an exact pattern to produce certain body parts such as the hair, the nose, or the ear of the picture. The colored beads can be compared to amino acids, or substances that are connected to the strings to produce different proteins.

There are 23 amino acids that are the molecular building blocks of protein. A dog can produce 13 amino acids inside his body while the other 10 amino acids must come from an outside source and has to be consumed. A puppy will not grow unless he is supplied with the remaining 10 essential amino acids. Without them he will become sick and will eventually die. Similarly, if an adult dog is not getting the proper amount of these 10 amino acids, he will become weak and suffer nutritional deficiencies.

These 10 essential amino acids can be acquired from meat and plants, which offer the best sources because they contain the largest number of essential amino acids.

Not all proteins are the same, as some are better for your dog than others. The amount of protein a dog needs depends on how much of the essential amino acids are supplied by that protein. The protein’s ability to provide the dog’s Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) of the 10 essential amino acids is referred to as its “biological value”.

Here are a few additional facts about the importance of protein for your dog’s health:

1. Proteins are the building blocks of your dog’s body.

2. Proteins are necessary for all aspects of growth and development and are very important in structural makeup and the immune system. In addition, they are burned as calories and can be converted to and stored as fat if needed.

3. They are required for healthy nails, skin, and coat.

4. They are necessary for the production of hormones in the bloodstream.

5. They provide a healthy immune system.

Don’t forget to check out Healthy Dog Food and Healthy Dog Food Advice

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An important nutrient that all dogs need and one that is responsible for furnishing energy in their body are fats. Fats supply energy for the body to use. It also has a small role in building strong cells and promoting the absorption of nutrients. However, similar to the essential amino acids, a dog’s body isn’t able to produce these essential fatty acids, and therefore has to come from an outside source, from the food they eat.

Dogs do not usually develop a deficiency in fatty acids because their basic diet normally provides them with sufficient amount of energy from fat. In fact, a small amount of extra fats benefit their body in several ways. It protects them from the cold; it provides cushion to their body; and it serves as a protective layer of covering around different organs in their body. Actually, dogs are very efficient in using their stored fats because their bodies have the ability to easily turn these fats into energy when needed.

Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing

Fats are very beneficial, but it can become a concern when the dog eats too much of it. Too much fuel in the dog’s body, regardless of where it came from, is converted into body fat, which is then stored in the body. Too much fat in the body results in obesity and other conditions that are related to obesity such as diabetes, canine osteoarthritis, and heart disease.

There is only a limited amount of fat that is used for protection against cold, cushion, covering, and extra energy. But when the maximum amount of stored fat is reached and applied for these purposes, the dog still continues to stock up fat and does so to the same degree that is equivalent to the excess energy that it consumes. For instance, every 3,500 calories that a dog eats in excess to what his body requires will be turned into 1 pound of body fat.

It is important for all dog owners to know that the only way for their dogs to get fat is if they take in more calories than their bodies use. Similarly, the only way for the dog to lose weight and get rid of the excess fat is by taking in less calories than what their body requires.

Don’t forget to check out Healthy Dog Food and Healthy Dog Food Advice

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I have what I hope you will find to be a very special offer for you!

Are You Like Many Other People Who Are Concerned About What They are Feeding Their Precious Dog? Who Really Knows What Is In The Food You Feed Him? Are You Feeding Them Healthy Dog Food?

It Doesn’t Need To Be Like That!

Homemade Healthy Dog Food Recipes Take The Worry Out of Feeding Your Dog! They also bring some pleasure back into the life of not only your dog but you too!

Take a look at Healthy Dog Food (click on the link) and I think you will be delighted!

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