Home > Dog Stories, News > Is Your Dog a Cannibal? Feed From Your Dog’s Natural Diet

Posted on July 12, 2012 by WayCoolDogs

Did you know that some of those cans of great-looking dog food at the grocery store contain road-kill? Fact is, manufacturers of dog food aren’t really in business to create the best-tasting, most-nourishing food for your pet. They just say they are.

Read the label

All you have to do is check out the back of the label, instead of the enticing picture of steak on the front. You’ll find lots of suspicious ingredients, and you’ll also discover something you suspected all along: canned, commercial dog food is food you wouldn’t feed a dog!

Yet Americans spend nearly $20 billion per year buying this stuff and feeding it to man’s best friend. It’s convenient. It’s readily available. You don’t have to wash the saucepan.

We can do better.

What’s really in the can?

Take a look at some of the ingredients you can find in commercial canned dog food:

• Chicken byproducts
• Meat byproducts Organ meat
• Internal organs
• Offal (such as animal entrails)
• Ground bone
• Corn
• Wheat
• Soy
• Rice
• Barley

Now I’m not saying that every single can of dog food uses offal, nutrition-less filler, or byproducts unfit for consumption. Clearly, it
behooves the pet food industry to produce dog food that won’t make your beloved pet sickly and offers at least a little nutrition. But let’s face it, the cheap products are more than likely to contain mystery meat that just might have died on the road a few days before it was canned.

Your dog is a carnivore

Cheap canned dog food contains a high percentage of filler that your precious pet doesn’t need. Dogs are true carnivores, evolved to eat meat. They haven’t been domesticated long enough to have digestive tracts that break down plant material the way humans and
herbivorous animals can.

Give a dog a bone, he’ll usually be happy for a long time. Do you think he’ll be that interested in a carrot?

Though they possess relatively simple, short digestive tracts primed for that all-important protein, dogs can make use of carbohydrates in the form of grains and fillers. These substances won’t harm your pet, but don’t let the manufacturer pull the wool over your eyes: they are not protein, and that’s what your dog needs more than anything.

Fresh is “Just Right” for Dogs

One of the best ways to solve the dilemma of what to feed your pet is to supplement store- bought dog food with culinary masterpieces you whip up in your own kitchen. You can have a great time handing scraps of fresh, nutritious food to your dog while you’re throwing together his next meal.

It doesn’t have to be a big chore, and you easily can make a batch that’ll last for days, especially if you enhance mealtime with a portion of store-bought canned dog food. Here’s how I put together homemade food for Killer Boppie, my lucky Labrador:

Homemade hamburger & spinach stew

In a medium-sized crock pot, combine:

• 8 c. water
• 2 c. rice
• 1 c. oatmeal
• 1 can tuna in oil
• ½ pound hamburger
• ¼ bag frozen spinach

Add any leftovers in your refrigerator, the ones you know your dog will love. Carrots, for example, are good for your pet, but dice them into small pieces, or you’ll find a bunch of sad-looking rejected carrots in the dog dish after he’s eaten the rest!

Now it’s time to cook, and that’s why you went out to your local thrift store and bought a crock pot. You can just on the crock pot and walk away for 3-4 hours! And then, for his next meal, your pet can have a fresh stew you made with your very own paws!

You can vary the recipe by using a can of tuna instead of the hamburger, or a different frozen veggie in place of the spinach. You and your four-legged fuzziness will have fun figuring out flavors that hit it out of the ballpark.

TIP: Put a dab of canned dog food on top to get him started the first time. Just a dab!

About the Author
Ashan Dezoysa is the proud owner of Kallie, a beautiful Chow, Retriever, and Shepherd mix. His hobbies include walking, hiking, and running with Kallie, . When he’s trapped at home he spends his time reading and writing about the philosophy of cultural cohabitation with animals.  This includes the promotion of humane, economical dog fencing and containment solutions at his store, PetsLess.com.

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