Back to Basics. What Are You Feeding Your Dog?
What do you know about dog nutrition? Or human for that matter? How have dogs and humans lived, loved and existed together for thousands of years? Veterinarian, Karen Becker explains this symbiosis and opens our eyes even wider to the possibilities of better nutrition for our pets and ourselves.
Processed foods. Most of us have heard that they are dangerous to our health, but we live in the microwave generation. Pop Tarts and Pizza, and the Twinkie that can last for years.
Guess what? Our dogs are eating what we are eating. Processed food. And it isn’t helping them either.
There is definitely a shift in the paradigm of nutrition in the civilized world. Here is the food pyramid that we were all raised with:
There it is. Grains are supposed to make up the biggest portion of our diet.
But wait! We are learning that a diet heavy on grains and sugars may be causing us all grievous harm. Cancer and diabetes, for example, have been linked to that outdated dietary rule. My husband was recently encouraged to go on a Keto Diet to lower his blood pressure. It’s working. Wow. What is happening? We are learning that our old ideas of nutrition are possibly backwards.
We’re learning, but still, what are we encouraged to feed our dogs? The truth is, it’s mostly grain. From TopDogFood.com: “Most top dog food brands use well-cooked cereal grains as the primary source of carbohydrates in both canned dog food and dry.” Would a dog eat wheat or corn if we didn’t feed it to them?
I have lived by this old, golden rule through my years of dog ownership: Don’t give your dogs table scraps. Just put the kibble in the bowl. The kibble has been scientifically produced with everything a dog needs.
Has it?
I think we are learning that it has not. More and more companies are making dog food that is primarily meat and vegetable-based. There is a refrigerated section in my supermarket just for pets. I have more than one friend who makes their dog food from raw meats, fats and vegetables. Their dogs are thriving.
We are learning. It’s back to basics.
Our dogs will live longer, thrive and have fewer diseases if we follow some new rules.
The Ketogenic Food Pyramid looks completely different:
Obviously my dog isn’t drinking wine or eating ice cream (well, not too often..), but the understanding of how our bodies and the bodies of our canine companions process the foods we eat is changing. Today we understand that our bodies need things like probiotics and fermented foods, as well as proteins vegetables, fruits and starches. Kimchi and Acidophilus are sold in every supermarket.
New Rule: If it’s good for our tummy, it’s probably good for our dog’s tummy too.
Dogs and humans have been living together, sharing and thriving together in a symbiotic relationship since ancient times. Somewhere along the way, we made a wrong turn, but we are beginning to see a way to change our perspective on diet and health.
There is so much information out there for us, today. For ourselves and our pets. Take a look at the evolution of nutrition and see if you can implement some change in your dog’s diet.
Let’s get educated and make some new rules.
