Make high-quality dog food at home
At the time of this writing, there has been a HUGE dog and cat food poisoning trade scare in the US due to contaminated dog food. About 60 million cans and bags of prepared pet food were recalled.
Some owners lost their dogs and cats, because a type of plastic called melamine had found its way into the pet food! This was attributed to a contamination of wheat gluten of Chinese origin with melamine. Why pet food manufacturers use wheat gluten in pet food is a mystery. It is a VERY POOR source of protein!
We make our own homemade dog food for a number of reasons, one of which is the unknown composition of commercial dog food!
Why do canned or packaged foods look and smell so similar no matter what brand you buy?
I always suspected the commercials show beautiful mounds of beef or even chicken breast fillet and vegetables etc. How COULD they put that in there, those haircuts are so expensive?
Well, basic economics says no! But what makes me angry is his attempts at deception!
We started making homemade dog food some time after Insiders took a look at what’s called a “protein recovery unit.”
I called it the beak factory because this plant used the leftovers from a chicken processor (heads (with all the beaks), feet, feathers, and gizzards) and turned it into a smelly, dirty brown powder destined for pet food.
It stunk so bad and that smell got into my hair and clothes and I am not exaggerating when I say the smell was around me all day!
This protein powder is often among the first ingredients listed on the package or can, and goes by the name meat by-products or sometimes meat meal. It’s part of the reason commercial dry crackers almost always smell the same! If you’re into the game, try eating one of those cookies yourself, see what your dog has been putting up with!
But since this protein powder undergoes a high-temperature process during manufacturing, it’s considered safe for pets.
But the huge dumps of heads, carcasses, paws, feathers, etc. that VI were left out at room temperature for who knows how long, so can you imagine how rotten they were?
I REFUSE to feed our dogs this garbage, which is what it really is, GARBAGE! Because while they MAY have killed the bacteria in this garbage, what they may not destroy are some of the toxins that the bacteria produce as part of their action!
In addition to bacterial toxins; there may also be toxins produced by molds and fungi; known as aflatoxins and mycotoxins and some of them are known to be heat tolerant.
Now, I don’t want to bore you with a lot of technical information about toxins, but I do want you to see that I’m not exaggerating!
So here is just one article, about a single bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus. About halfway down the page, you’ll see a comment about the toxin it produces and its resistance to heat when cooking:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/staphylococcus_food_g.htm
And that’s just one bacteria, there are many more! Try Googling the words Aflatoxin, Mycotoxin, or Bacterial Toxins!
In addition, there are potentially accumulated insecticide residues in the concentrated feathers of the birds… And I’m not even going to mention the stories we’ve read about carcasses of animals euthanized by veterinarians or slaughter animals that were sick or run over!
In short, it HAS ALWAYS BEEN potentially contaminated dog food! But even if you completely ignore the contamination issue, it’s STILL a very cheap and nasty source of protein!
Because it’s labeled pet food not for human consumption, there’s a lot less scrutiny, worry, and responsibility! THE FACT IS: THEY HAVE TO LABEL IT UNFIT. Ask yourself why that would be.
Why would you give these things to any pet you care about? We love our dogs, so to avoid junk food with added soy protein, colorings, and other additives, we exclusively make our own homemade dog food!
And here’s the thing: Homemade dog food is not only BETTER FOR YOUR DOG, it’s also much cheaper than commercial dog food – here in Australia, we can feed an adult Staffordshire Bull Terrier for about 45 cents! per day!
This is when pet food companies and some veterinarians comment that the food you make has to be complete. It’s like it’s some kind of mystery; as if we were too stupid to do it ourselves! I am offended by your attempts to manipulate us into buying your products!
Dogs have shared human lives for thousands of years (long before pet food companies), and have NEVER gone extinct due to malnutrition!
Let me just say this: Anyone who can read and cook can make their own high-quality homemade dog food! All it takes is a little time and planning and, since it’s easier to make in bulk, a little space in the freezer.
Canine nutrition has also been very well researched and published and now that we live in the information age; This information can be freely distributed throughout the world!
Sure there are some basics: When making homemade dog food, it’s important to remember that dogs are carnivores (meat eaters). Since meat is made up almost entirely of protein, protein is therefore an essential component in a dog’s diet!
But did you know that many canned or dry foods rely on plant-based sources of protein (often soybeans, and no wonder they fart so much); because vegetable proteins are MUCH cheaper than animal proteins
But plant-based proteins, such as those found in soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, etc., do not contain all of the amino acids found in animal proteins, such as meat, fish, and dairy products.
To overcome this lack of complete protein, pet food manufacturers add the horrible smelling powder I mentioned earlier.
In his book Home Prepared Dog and Cat Diets, The Healthful Alternative, speaking about commercially prepared pet foods, Donald Stromberg had this to say:
“The cost of pet food is reduced by not using more animal protein than necessary. Using animal protein sources that are not fit for human consumption also reduces cost. For example, animal meat meals are not fit for human consumption. Some protein in meat meal is from animals that died and were beginning to decompose.” (p. 35)
Stromberg gives a figure of 13% protein for growing dogs and 19% for aging dogs. I’ve always loved that homemade dog food falls into this higher protein range.
Since dogs in the wild are predominantly carnivorous, most of their dietary protein will come from animal or insect sources; I use animal proteins.
However, dogs can and do eat fruit too: Foxes have been known to eat blackberries and undoubtedly other fruit, for example grapes from a vineyard or fruit from an orchard. Our Staffords love all kinds of fruit, including bananas!
I also vary the protein content of my homemade dog food, depending on the needs of my dogs.
One of our girls (an Australian Terrier) is now 11 years old and diabetic, so her diet is quite high in protein and very low in fat. Pregnant dogs and growing puppies need considerably more protein and also need more total amount of food.
However, using meat as a protein source CAN cause problems for the dog if the food is not balanced with the correct minerals. Single red meat; it will provide good levels of protein and iron, but almost no calcium and phosphorous, for example.
Dogs in the wild feed on a variety of foods and would eat a whole rabbit, for example: fur, bones, gizzards and all! When they do this, they are able to extract ALL the minerals in the animal’s bones and intestines, so their diet is more balanced!
When making homemade dog food, it’s important to aim for this balance between protein, vitamins, and minerals! When you use my homemade dog food recipes, you will find that one of my main sources of protein is skinless chicken necks.
I use them because of their high protein/low fat ratio and low price – PLUS – the added bonus of minerals like calcium, phosphorous and potassium etc available in the bone!
And skinless chicken necks are often available cheaply as human-grade fresh meat in the deli departments of many supermarkets or poultry stores, meaning they MUST be fit for human consumption.
Right here and right now then; Their homemade dog food is way ahead of commercial pet food, because you’re using quality, nutritious, balanced protein from clean, safe food sources!
Try making your own homemade dog food. I guarantee your dog will love the REAL food you’re giving him, instead of the pseudo food he’s been forced to accept so far!