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Home Food Raw & Home-Prepared

Raw & Home-Prepared

Dogs can eat rice and its a staple bland food to feed a dog with an upset dog.

Can Dogs Eat Rice?

The long and the short of it is – yes, dogs can eat rice. Cooked white rice is traditionally fed to dogs with an upset...
Dogs can eat the majority of fruit that humans eat in moderation.

What Fruit Can Dogs Eat?

With the notable exception of grapes and raisins many common fruits are safe for dogs to eat and make a great treat or dietary add in.
Pineapple is good for dogs to eat in small amounts as an occasional treat.

Is Pineapple Good for Dogs?

You can feed your dog pineapple. To feed pineapple to your dog, cut it just like you do to eat yourself.
Dogs can eat vegetables and many may prefer them to other treats.

Can Dogs Eat Vegetables?

Can dogs eat vegetables? Yes, dogs can eat vegetables. Dogs can eat celery, and carrots are especially good for dogs. Dogs can eat broccoli,...
Can dogs eat berries? Not only can dogs eat berries but many berries are a healthy treat they love.

Can Dogs Eat Berries?

Many berries are a delicious and nutritious addition to our dogs’ regular food and as a treat the enjoy whether fresh or frozen,
calcium in homemade dog food

Calcium in Homemade Dog Food

If asked the most common mistake people make when feeding their dogs a homemade diet, I’d have to say that it’s not adding calcium....
Homemade dog food can offer a better balance of nutrition tailored to your dogs.

Homemade Dog Food Ingredients: 3 Essential Foods for Dogs

Whole Dog Journal steers away from providing dog guardians with step-by-step recipes for dog food, raw or cooked. We can share expert dog companions' personal protocols for feeding their dogs home-prepared, but quickly you will realize not only that the perfect dog food recipe does not exist, but that in order for your dog to receive all necessary nutrients, you really need many recipes that include many different whole food ingredients.

Raw Dog Food and Salmonella Risks

Thanks to dogs' industrial-strength digestive systems, their strong stomach acids usually disarm the Salmonella bacteria before they can cause illness. And even if enough of the bacteria survive and manage to take up residence in the dog's digestive tract, he may well be completely asymptomatic; not all canine carriers of Salmonella become ill. This makes it difficult to know how widespread Salmonella infections are in the canine population.

The State of the Commercial Raw Diet Industry

Three of the most knowledgeable and experienced advocates of well-formulated raw diets for dogs have joined forces to explain how to evaluate commercial raw diets. We described them in the inaugural installment of this column last month: Dr. Karen Becker, a leading holistic veterinarian; Steve Brown, one of the founders of this industry; and Mary Straus, one of the most dedicated canine nutrition researchers and writers. This month, we've asked them to address the state of the commercial raw diet industry, starting with diets that are labeled as complete and balanced" or "AAFCO-compliant" (formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials).Their executive summary? More and more dog owners and veterinarians are learning that well-formulated raw diets are the best food for most dogs most of the time – but the commercial raw dog food industry has problems. They are disappointed with the apparent lack of basic nutritional knowledge demonstrated by many companies – as evidenced by the formulation of their products – despite the manufacturers' good intentions.They hasten to add

High Pressure Processing in Raw Dog Food

Were you aware that, according to Federal law, it's okay for a certain percentage of the chicken you buy in the supermarket to contain some Salmonella bacteria? The legally acceptable amount depends on the kind of chicken we're talking about; if we're talking about whole raw broiler chickens, up to 9.8 percent could be infected, but if we're considering raw chicken parts, the number is even higher. In fact, up to 15.4 percent of the raw chicken parts may contain that pathogenic bacteria, without setting off any sort of recall or hysteria. In contrast, even a single positive test for Salmonella in raw dog food triggers a recall and headlines and a certain amount of hysteria among dog owners. What gives?

New Challenges for Commercial Raw & Frozen Food Producers

People who believe in the value of feeding their dogs a biologically appropriate diet, comprised largely of raw meat and bones – with other foods added only to ensure that all their nutritional needs have been met, not as lower-cost “fillers” – love frozen raw diets. Food that has been formulated to meet the nutrient standards for a “complete and balanced” diet, and made with (mostly) meat and bones from (often) sustainably raised and humanely slaughtered meats, with the balance comprised of (frequently) organic, local produce . . . What’s not to like? The answer depends on who you are.

Dishing On Diets

Four veterinarians from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis, published a study in the June issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, entitled “Evaluation of recipes of home-prepared maintenance diets for dogs.” I don’t think any WDJ readers will be surprised to hear that their findings were not exactly positive. The study analyzed 200 recipes. Of those, 133 were obtained from 2 veterinary textbooks and 9 pet care books (two of which were also written by veterinarians), and the remaining 67 recipes came from 23 different websites. Of all the recipes analyzed, 129 were written by veterinarians, and 71 by nonvets.

Latest Blog

Do Humane Certifications Influence Your Dog Food Buying Decisions?

Whole Dog Journal applaud any efforts made by food producers to buy and use humanely raised meat sources in their products. Do humane certifications or humane claims influence your buying decisions? Please tell us why or why not!