Dog Food

Ah. The debate about whether your dog should exist purely on fresh meat, or whether to add a few extras.

The Encarta definition of the Dog Family is "a group of intelligent, carnivorous mammals that includes domestic dogs and their relatives".

There is also interesting information at Pets4life that says "A dog is not a true (obligate) carnivore but they are still a carnivore and do need more meat than veggies in their diet and they can survive on meat alone. They need veggies for fibre and other nutrients and to balance their pH."

There is an astounding amount of information and debate available about the best kind of food to feed your dog. And very strong opinions about which is best.

Raw Meat

The ultimate site on raw meat would have to be Raw Learning, which basically covers the natural raw diet of meat, fish and eggs.

Raw Food

BARF is an acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food and also stands for Bones And Raw Food. BARFWorld is a site dedicated to the benefits of raw food for dogs. It does cover bones, meat, offal and vegetables, with comments on the need for each.

Vegetarian Food

A good information sheet on dog food from the Vegetarian Society is available here

Supplements

For those interested in supplements, 5 Star Dog's "EXTRA" Supplement is said to provide Unbeatable Nutrition and Protection That Will Help Keep Your Dog Healthy For Years! A liquid supplement easily added to moist or dry food. Includes high quality coral calcium, omega-3 & omega-6 fatty acids, lecithin, & vitamin E.

Home Made

There is an interesting site by an American lady about how she simply shares her meals with her dogs. She emphasises cooking all meat and eggs for her dogs - not being happy with US food inspection levels. Check it out at Natural Dog Food

And another free site called Pet-Grub.com which contains instructions on making your own dog food. A little verbose, so skip straight to sections 2 and 3. This lady is pretty happy with raw meat and eggs.

If you're wondering why so many people are making a fuss about preparing their own dog food, it's because they read the book titled The Consumer's Guide to Dog Food - What's in Dog Food, Why It's There and How to Choose the Best Food for Your Dog, by Liz Palika

Store Bought

My dog starts with Hill's Science Diet Dog Food, available from PETsMART, along with a large range of dog food from many other companies, primarily because the 2 vets and my local pet shop all recommended it, and it was what he was used to.

I supplement it with regular fresh meaty bones from my corner butcher, and meat leftovers from our own dinner.