Tag Archives: Vitamins Minerals

Flaxseed Oil for Dogs

Why is flaxseed oil such an important oil to provide nutrition for your dog?  When you are looking to improve your dogs health, one way to do so, is to provide EFAs or Essential Fatty Acids to your dog’s food.  The best dog food has flaxseed oil as an ingredient, and that is a good thing to look for in the ingredient list.  Sometimes, you are torn between two foods, and just looking for flaxseed oil can increase your dogs food nutrition choices.  Even if the ingredient is lower down the line of food offered ingredients, that can be a good decision maker to which food you buy for your best friend.  This rich source of vitamin E, vitamin A, provides a key to health that not many oils provide.

Flaxseed Oil for Lowering Inflammation

The thing that we all should consider when we look at our good food choices, is are you and your dog receiving the right nutrition?  Often sled dogs or husky dogs in sleds, are given flaxseed oil in their raw food choice.  The ability for cells to become more robust, and their cellular linings thicker, is the result we see with any EFA introduction, but with flaxseed oil, you see this ability to prevent cellular damage.  The fact is, if your dog is under some allergy stress, or exercises too much, the introduction of flaxseed oil can be a good thing to improve reconstruction for your dog.  Cells are evolving things that need repair, and with a proper Essential Fatty Acid like Flaxseed Oil, your dog will find good health quickly.

Health with Flaxseed Oil

fishoil capsAdditional anti inflammation is not the only benefit, as this key piece of support from Flaxseed Oil will provide food antiaging and anti tumor assistance as well.  Sometimes, a dog will be eating  a less than nutritious food, and get a good food option once and a while.  With this fleeting nutritional addition, the body will store the extra nutrition in fat reserves.  The reason many dogs today have fatty tumors all over their chests and back, is often due to these fleeting nutritional boosts.  With the continual use of flaxseed oil in your dog’s food, you will see the results of shiny coat, healthy looking skin, and good health in the form of less events like fatty tumors.  The many issues that your dog experiences, even with joint problems can be a reason to incorporate this great element to your dog’s food.

Flaxseed Oil Spoils Easily

Often we buy dry dog food, and it sits on a shelf for awhile, during production and then in the dog food store, before it sits on our shelf at home.  Do yourself a favor, and buy smaller bags of food when you can, and always keep a fresh bottle of flaxseed oil in the fridge.  The oil is sometimes best when it comes in a dark bottle, and is always oxygen sensitive.  It is a good oil to buy frequently, and if you can, in smaller sizes to keep your nutritional advantage to a higher level.  The flaxseed oil you buy should not smell rancid or sour, but have little smell to it.  Being able to add flaxseed oil to your dog’s food is a very good idea.

Raw Bones for Healthy Teeth and Gums

Raw bones are a great treat for dogs and cats for that matter, but specifically for dogs as they really need a place to chew.  Dogs use a chewing break for exercise, and mental release.  Consider your dog when you come home from work, is he or she happy relaxed, or stressed and excitable?  The addition of raw bones to your doggy routine can be a great nutritional benefit.  Here is why raw bones, not processed bones are best.

Raw bones are close to Natural Events

dreamstime_l_27876126Dogs are often misunderstood by many means, and it usually creates an unusually naughty and excited canine companion.  With the advent of the modern age, our companions are often only our canine companions.  More and more people are isolated from each other, and rely on their dogs for love and affection.  This small pack family unit is hard on both the human and the dog, but it can be successful when the human allows their dog to be a dog.  Raw bones are a great way to give a dog that hunt and kill moment of feeding; just like a dog pack would eat.  It is a relaxing way for a dog to eat, pull, twist and chew some stress from their day that was often alone, and too closed up and quiet.  Or, if you have little ones running around, the constant noise of the day, can be whisked away for a dog with a little time to chew a raw bone.

Raw bones offer good amino acids

Raw bones and raw meat are good additions to the stored dry food we feed our dogs each day.  Once a week, check with your butcher on a raw beef long bone, and give it to your dog, watching that they do not get rib or soft bones like vertebrate.  Dogs often presented with a raw bone will attack it with gusto, looking for the best place to pull the meat that remains on the bone, and crack open any areas nearing marrow.

It is important to always be present when you feed raw bones, as our dogs have sometimes taken a cut thigh bone, and gotten it stuck around the bottom of their mouth.  It is such a nice circular bone, and they chew away the marrow inside the ring, and then boom!  They have a bone stuck!  This is something that I have prevented with purchase of longer, larger bones, and a time limit to chew time.  Each week, we let them chew for no more than 15 minutes of glorified doggie chewing time, and then snatch the bone away with a leadership grab.  Dogs chewing on bones will revert to their pack hierarchy of alpha and submissive roles, and you as the feeding human are a submissive role for certain.  During the bone removal, be safe, and allow your dog this aggressive stance, but be firm upon removal of the raw bone.  Do not save it, as a fresh raw bone is a great treat, but a stale saved stored bone is unhealthy and a risk of disease.

Raw Bones : When to Buy

Most butcher shops and grocery stores do their large cuts early in the week.  Plan to buy your raw bones on a tuesday or a wednesday for the best choices.  Good options for dog bones are leg femur bones cut into 3 or 4 inch cuts, shoulder joint bones, hip or upper pelvic bones, and nuckle pig bones.  Do not feed your dog chinese dried pig ears, tails or any skin pieces from the scrap piles.  Often sold to pet stores, these cuts are worthless to dogs, and will be too soft and create intestinal damage to your dog.  Look for bright red meat, beef, venison, and lamb cuts, that are larger and easy to hold onto.  Raw bones should be free of any odor or apparent rot.

 

Melon and Honeydew Fruit for Dogs

What kind of treats are good for dogs, and are good fillers for a job well done-the best answer is fruit for dogs !  All dogs love honeydew or cantaloupe, and melons for fruit.  The best fruit for dogs is a fruit that is full of water, fiber and has some of the best vitamins and minerals like a green or light orange melon.

Orange Melon is Good Fruit for Dogs

Is the Best Fruit for Dogs is In This Bowl?

Cantaloupe or fresh orange melon is a great fruit for dogs.  The cantaloupe is a melon that is typically grown in Colorado, California, and the western parts of America.  There are many melon farms in Mexico and Central America.  Your best bet will always be to find an organic orange melon or cantaloupe, as these farms are better for your health.  The natural pest protection of nets and human attention will always beat out a chemical spray, as this is the usual way that cantaloupe is protected.

The melon family is a healthy fruit for dogs, as they offer a large dose of phytonutrients, or fruits that offer healing properties through nutrition.  Back through the Victorian Era, melon was always seen as a good fruit to apply as a salve on a burn, and as a wound healer.  The nutrition in the melon is useful for assisting internal wounds and infections, such as reactions to allergies on the skin, and urinary tract infections.  The bladder, kidney and the liver will all benefit from the healthy nutrition of the melon.

Honeydew is a Nutritious Fruit for Dogs

Healing the body is all about nutrition, and not a drug regime of covering up symptoms.  The best way to heal your body, is to eat foods that are rich in Vitamin C.  The melon family is loaded with Vitamin C!  If your dog is suffering from allergies, and has itchy skin in the winter and itchy red spots in the summer, a honeydew melon will be a great way to find your best friend some relief.  Most holistic and organic melons offer a large dose of fiber and vitamin C, that will be easily digested, and you do not need a lot of melon to have the best results.

For your dog, follow the following directions to bring the right fruit for dogs:

Honeydew Melon for Fruit for Dogs

Your melon is going to be minimal in portion size for your dog.  Your cat can benefit from a melon ball too, once a week.  Buy a small organic honeydew melon, and ball the fruit into balls with a melon baller tool.  Use a small ball tool, and make as many as you can with your honeydew.  Great fruit for dogs can be too much of a good thing, so in order to avoid too much fiber, only offer one ball per 10 pounds of weight.    This can upset digestion if offered each day, so a single melon can be a good thing for you, and your pets, with a single ball for a small dog, and a few for a larger dog.  Use a correct portion of 5 balls for a larger dog, one melon ball for a tiny best friend.  Offer one to your cats as well.

The best fruit for dogs is often just a simple fresh melon ball, that offers great healing for skin allergies, and for any kind of internal infection, with a tasty dose of vitamin C.

Dog Food Essentials for Healthy Dogs

Dogs are very sensitive to chemicals and additives, so a way to a good start understanding what dog food essentials are necessary for healthy dogs, will be what constitutes good dog food.  Good dog food supplies nutrition, and a clean base of holistic health, without chemicals and unnecessary calories.  If your dog is overweight, you may want to consider a 100% raw dog food, for a healthy coat, good weight control, and strong healthy bones and teeth.

Dog Food Essentials Begins with Nutrition

All dog food offers some form of nutrition, but few are offering the right blend for your dog, without many chemicals and preservatives.  One way to tell if you can find the right benefits from your dog food for your dogs, is by looking for the words by product,corn,sugars,fillers or rice.  It is well documented that corn is a very bad filler for dogs, and offers no nutrition for your best friend.  Puppies to dogs do not digest corn, so removing this one item will guarantee better dog food, and it is a dog food essential.

Dog Food Essentials Offer Vitamins and Minerals

Great Dog Food Essentials Starts with Knowledge

If your dog food is full of omega 3 for dogs, offers no preservatives, provides omega 6 supplements in the base of the food, you are going to be offering great dog food to your dog.  Vitamins like B, B6, B12 and C are great vitamins and minerals for your dog.  Dogs need vitamin C just like people do, and often times, a dog who suffers from allergies or has a problem digestive system, is not getting enough vitamin C.

Along with Vitamin C, Vitamins A, Beta Caro-dine, Vitamin E and Selenium offer great immune system support, and bring other minerals like calcium to bones and necessary anti-inflammatory properties to the skin.  Without these great nutrition boosters, your dog will have more problems with toxins and chemicals that it comes into contact with each day.

Balance of Nutrients are the Dog Food Essentials

Cheaper dog food will cost you in the long run, with more visits to the vet, and a lack luster skin and coat for your best friend.  Your dog will suffer from gas, more issues with digestion, and clarity of thought.  The best dogs are shiny in the eyes, eat raw food when possible, and are given fish oil occasionally in addition to their holistic and healthy mineral rich food.

Watch out for by products, corn, meat meal, rice, potatoes, and fillers such as husks or unknown proteins.  Buy from America and Canada, and then you will be happy to know that there are some regulatory controls towards healthy food options for your best friend.  Do not feed dog food that has lots of preservatives, as it can sit on a shelf, and offer no vitamins or minerals.

And the best dog food essentials offer a well rounded life for you and your dog. Exercise daily, with playtime between you and your dog will be good for you both!  Your dog offers natural stress relief, and your dog will be running off steam too, by a daily walk, a ball toss, or a daily run at the beach.  Why are you sitting on the couch now?  Get out there and experience the joy of being with your dog, as dog food essentials begin with enjoying life as it happens.

 

 

 

 

 

Beef and Sardines Dog Food

If your dog is overweight, chances are, they are eating way too much carbohydrate, snacking all day, and are not happy with how tasty their food is.  What if you could cook a simple meal for them, and make it nutritious and taste really great?  Here is a wonderful recipe, that I have adapted over the years to bring great Essential Fatty Acids into my dog’s diets, and as well, some super taste.

 

Surf and Turf for Dogs

Here is what you will need to make this killer beefy fishy meal!

2 Bunches of Carrots with Stems Attached, 2 lbs or more

1 Bag of Organic Green Beans, Frozen or Fresh, to equal 1 Pound

1 head of Cabbage, be sure to find Organic

2 pounds of Organic ground beef or buffalo

2 tins of sardines, no added salt, organic in olive oil

6 eggs

2 cans or 28 oz of re-fried veggie beans, pima or black OK

 

Cook the meat in a big pot on the stove, and cook on low.  Add the refried beans and the eggs.  Cook slowly, until a temperature of 185 is reached.

With the remaining ingredients, push through a food mill, or through a food processor.  Be sure to add the oil from the sardine can, into the meat mix.  Then, join all the ingredients together, and cook for 15 minutes, on low, or until soft.

Move your meal into small 1 cup or 2 cup containers for daily use.  It should make around 24 cups.

Store in the freezer, and when you want to serve, be sure to move a container from freezer to fridge, until all are eaten.  Only store in fridge for 2 days or less.

Dogs will need around 1 cup a day if they are 30 pounds.

 

 

You can serve this warm, or cold.  I suggest cold, as it is easier for you, and will preserve the vitamins and minerals, when you defrost the portions from the freezer.