Alternative Foods To Dog Food
Today, many of the dogs feed almost exclusively on feed. However, sometimes doubts arise around this food: is the feed really healthy? Isn’t it really boring to have the same food day after day? That is if we do not have the dogs that do not like; In case this is your case, we want to introduce you to alternative foods to dog food.
Feeding the dogs
It is true that dogs evolved from wolves. However, one of the big evolutionary differences is in their digestive system: While wolves are carnivores, dogs have evolved to be omnivores.
This means that although the base of the dog’s diet is still meat, they also need the contribution of foods of plant origin: vegetables, fruits, cereals … The feed takes these needs into account and adds all the necessary foods in their compositions, but if you are going to look for another type of food for your dog, you should know it.
However, not all feed contains the necessary food for dogs in a balanced way. Very cheap feed tends to add too many cereals or vegetables, since including meat is very expensive to produce. But in the same way, expensive feed tends to add more meat protein than your dog needs. Take a good look at the feed ingredient lists and see which one suits you best.
BARF diets
BARF diets are those that are based on raw foods; only a few vegetables and grains are cooked, such as pasta. On BARF diets, dogs eat raw meat, bones, and offal as they would in the wild if they had to hunt.
This type of feeding has many advantages: the amounts and balance are made in a personalized way for the dog, it is allowed to tear and gnaw as its instincts demand and different textures and flavors are tried throughout the day.
There are two major disadvantages that are attributed to this type of diet: the first, that it is difficult to balance. A vet’s vigilance is necessary to ensure that the dog is not lacking in food groups and that he is eating just the right amount, no more or less than he needs.
BARF frozen
The second disadvantage attributed to BARF diets is that they need to be planned in advance, and not everyone can afford it. To help these people , companies have sprung up that prepare the food group mixes and freeze them.
It seems like a different type of diet but in essence it is the same as the BARF diet: except that, instead of making mixtures at home, bags or tubes of already mixed and frozen food are sold.
At home it will only be necessary to divide the portions according to the size and needs of your dog, let them defrost and serve them.
Dehydrated Foods
Dehydrated foods, as the name suggests, are a pre-cooked and mixed selection of foods that have been dehydrated and bagged. To prepare it, you only need to follow the instructions on the package: some advise pouring hot water, others cold, and preparation times vary.
According to the package it looks like one more feed, but in reality they are alternative foods to feed and very different: they are fresh products but prepared in a way that they do not spoil. After rehydrating them and being ready to eat, they result in a bowl of natural and little processed food, soft and tasty.
These foods are usually indicated for older dogs or with teeth problems, since they are not hard to chew. However, they usually leave traces on the teeth and thus cause bad breath. It is necessary to clean your pet’s teeth when he finishes eating or provide him with a gnawing tooth strip.
Alternative foods to feed: home cooking
Before animal feed appeared on the market, dogs would eat the remains of what was cooked at home or even cooked for them.
This is still an available option for our pets and great alternative foods to feed. Remember that there are ingredients that are harmful to them, that it is advisable to avoid salt, oil, sugar and fried foods among other processed foods.
Also remember that it is necessary to follow the veterinary checks to make sure that you are feeding him what is necessary, neither more nor less quantity, and with foods from all the groups that he needs to be healthy.
Dogs are omnivorous animals, that is, they can eat from all food groups. In addition to meat, they also like fruits and vegetables: you can feed them natural diets similar to the one you follow at home and leave out the feed, which is boring and sometimes unhealthy.
