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Commercial Dog Foods With Natural Nutrients
As humans, we use the term “natural” to mean “foods sourced from nature.” The Association of American Feed Control Officials has redefined “natural” for dog food producers.
According to them, food can be called “natural” if the raw materials aren’t subjected to or created by chemically synthetic methods or blended with synthetic additives. Natural ingredients, on the other hand, can be treated in numerous ways before being added to food.
Man-made components are not found in natural dog diets. However, just because something is labeled as natural doesn’t mean it contains high-quality ingredients.
Organic Pet Foods
There isn’t a lot of organic dog food on the market. Similarly, the benefits of organic dog food have been reported to be modest. If what’s on the stores doesn’t appeal to you, or if you want complete control over your dog’s nutrition, consider giving them a raw or home-cooked meal.
Raw Diets
Raw foods are one approach to provide a natural diet for your dog. Raw diets are designed to simulate the nutrients found in raw meats, vegetables, and grains that your dog would eat in the wild. However, there is no proof that a raw diet is superior to a diet, and they can result in significant illness.
If you do decide to give your dog a raw diet, be sure to carefully choose the components to avoid passing hazardous infections to your dog. The health of everyone in your household depends on careful preparation and management of raw ingredients.
Home-Cooked Diet
You may treat your dog like a member of the family by making their meals rather than getting processed food off the shelf. While cooking for your dog allows you to have complete control over the ingredients and nutrition, making a balanced meal with safe components might be difficult. Understanding your dog’s nutritional needs, determining what’s acceptable to feed them, and finding the time to make their meals can be difficult.
There are many “pet nutrition professionals” who have published recipes for a homemade diet on the internet. These are unreliable and could be dangerous to your dog. To learn more about the food your dog requires, speak with your veterinarian or a service run by board-certified veterinary nutritionists.
Natural Snack
Changing your dog’s diet completely might be upsetting for both them and you. Their bodies may react in a bad way. It’s possible that their digestive system won’t be able to cope with the change. Instead of fully modifying your dog’s diet, you might gradually include natural snacks into their diet to help them adjust.
Certain foods make excellent natural snacks for your dog, while others may be harmful. Knowing which ingredients to keep on hand for a nice snack makes all the difference.
The following are some natural dog treats:
- A few unsalted cashews
- Low-fat cheeses (as long as your dog isn’t lactose intolerant)
- Coconut (none of the fuzzy exterior) or coconut milk
- Corn kernels off the cob
- Cooked eggs
- Cooked sardines or de-boned fish
- A small amount of ham (ham contains a lot of sodium and fat)
- Some honey
- Raw, unsalted peanut butter
- Unsalted, unbuttered air-popped popcorn
- Quinoa
- De-tailed cooked shrimp
- Unseasoned turkey
- Plain yogurt (as long as your dog isn’t lactose intolerant)
Remember that these treats won’t be able to replace a substantial portion of your dog’s food. They’re simply natural snacks to supplement their regular diet.
Some foods are toxic. Make sure your dog does not eat any of the following foods:
- Almonds
- Chocolate
- Cinnamon
- Garlic
- Ice cream
- Macadamia nuts
Natural Diets vs. Commercial Diets
There are way too many kibble and wet food products to say which is the best. The majority of commercial dog diets provide sufficient nutrition for the ordinary dog.
There is no verifiable research that natural or organic diets are superior to commercial kibble or wet food diets. However, if you want to know exactly what’s in your dog’s food, an organic or homemade diet might be the best option. Before modifying your dog’s diet, always visit your veterinarian.
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