Raw and homemade Dog Food

Feeding raw and homemade dog food has grown in popularity and although providing a nutritionally balanced raw diet may be difficult, but it is not that complicated either and includes all the raw foods you obtain and prepare yourself, or pre-made and packaged products. There are many variations on this feeding method. The Dr. Billinghurst BARF raw food diet being one of the originals. BARF is an acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bones and Raw Food.

Homemade Dog Food.

The homemade dog food option comes with the responsibility of creating nutritionally balanced meals (proteins, vitamins etc.) and meeting the calorific requirements for your individual dog; decide on a diet for your Hovawart according to his age, weight, and daily activity level.

Be sure that you provide your Hovawart with all the nutritional building blocks he needs to maintain a healthy body. Every Hovawart is an individual, some might prefer cooked meat to raw, if so, you might choose to add a general vitamin/mineral supplement compensating for any nutrients lost in the cooking process. Human-grade multi vitamin and mineral tablets could be used. Calcium carbonate must not contain vitamin D, and taurine in powder or tablet form is optional. Bone meal tablets or powder can be used, but do not use bone meal intended for gardening purposes.

Raw dog food

The raw dog food diet is sometimes referred to as an "all natural" diet as the ingredients are generally free from chemicals, preservatives, additives, by-products and fillers. Advocates of the biologically appropriate raw food diet generally agree that dogs do not really have digestive systems capable of dealing with whole grains properly, and that most food allergies tend to be grain related.

A common belief with raw food enthusiasts is that feeding raw food is the most natural way to feed a dog. The raw food diet is said to replicate how a dog would eat in the wild. Consider the Hovawart's wild cousins, the wolf, or other wild and zoo animals; their digestive systems are designed to utilise the naturally occurring nutrients and enzymes present in raw meat. A lot of wild animals eat small qauntities of a variety of grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and herbs, in addition to raw meat. The first thing that wild animals often eat when they make a kill is the contents of the stomach, which contains a range of partly digested plant-matter.

Feeding your Hovawart a homemade diet

Choose good quality fresh meat and whole grains from human grade sources, that are full of naturally occurring nutrients. Some whole foods that can be included in a natural organic raw dog food diet include:- Chicken, lamb, pork, salmon, turkey, rabbit, quail and organ meat, raw meaty bones, a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables in small amounts and include berries, melons, apples, banana, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, oranges, squash, sweet potato, green beans, and zucchini for example. Garlic is a good ingredient for a homemade dog food. It is a natural flea repellent, and contains antioxidant and detoxifying agents. Other nutritious ingredients such as eggs, kelp, cottage cheese and yogurt may also be used.

Animal protein should be combined with vegetables, pasta, rice, cereals and other foods to provide all the protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals needed. Typical homemade dog meals might include meaty stews, hearty soups, pies, vegetables and some raw meaty bones every now and then. Find some good dog food recipes and get into a routine. Just type 'dog food recipes' into a search engine, you will find hundreds of ideas.

Fruits and vegetables to avoid include raisins, grapes, onions and highly acidic fruits like like oranges, (although my hovawarts positively drool for a piece of orange) lemons, and tomatoes.

Raw food advocates suggest that the diet provides enzyme rich nutrients and amino acids in a perfect unaltered state which are easily digestible. Most advocates of the raw food diet do not recommend supplements.

They often claim that the diet may reduce visits to the Vet and strengthen the immune system resulting in less allergies and disease. They point to the over-all health and appearance of their dogs as proof that the raw diet is best and report increased longevity and reproductive capacity in their dogs.

Conversely there is the danger that feeding a raw diet may pose the risk of food borne illnesses through bacteria like salmonella and E. coli. Typically, any dangerous bacteria like salmonella are combated by the dog's acidic saliva, and bacteria do not really have sufficient time to incubate in their digestive systems. Before deciding to feed this diet, talk with a veterinarian, go and visit a breeder or friend who already feeds a raw dog food diet. Talk with them and take a really good look at their dogs - the health of the dogs is what really matters.

If I was more organized I would prepare all of my dog's meals and add some raw meaty bones to their diet. We feed our Hovawarts and puppies a good high quality all in one dog food according to their age and give them some raw meaty bones occasionally. The food is more expensive than some, but there are health benefits. Additionally we feed less when the dog food is a high quality one, and we rarely visit the vet except for annual checkups and boosters with all of our adult hovawarts and pups.

Homemade recipes

This homemade recipe should be adequate for a healthy 40kg dog, over 6 months of age, for 1 day; scale it up or down accordingly.

• 2 pound (lb) fresh boneless skinless chicken breast
• 4-6 cups cooked rice
• 2 tablespoon safflower oil. [It contains triglycerides has comparatively high content of vitamin E (310 ppm), and the iodine index ranges from 140 to 150.]
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 grams of calcium carbonate [Calcium carbonate is a human dietary supplement,and is used as an antacid to relieve heartburn, acid indigestion, and stomach upset. Calcium is needed for healthy bones, muscles, nervous system,and teeth, as well as the normal clotting of blood. Prolonged inadequate intake of calcium causes weak bones. A 1500mg tablet of calcium carbonate provides around 600mg of calcium]
• 2 human adult multi-vitamin/mineral supplement (crushed)
• 1/2 teaspoon taurine powder (or a crushed 500 mg tablet) [taurine is an organic acid, it is a major constituent of bile and is found in the tissues of many animals including humans. It is one of the most abundant free amino-acid-like compounds found in the heart, the skeletal muscles and the nervous system. At times of extreme physical exertion, the body cannot produce the required amounts of taurine. Taurine acts as a metabolic transmitter and also has a detoxifying effect.]

Method
Cook the chopped chicken breast in the safflower oil. Add the cooked rice and salt. Crush and mix all the supplements together, then add them to the cooled chicken/rice mixture and store in the refrigerator. Larger batches can be prepared in advance and stored in the freezer.