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The Dog Chef’s View On The Importance OF Fido’s Food Ingredients, plus a recipe for Pumpkin Ala Mode for dogs. Tell me, how similar is your dog to a chicken? As far as I can tell they have very little in common. Except that your dog, if left running free, would be making a feast of eating that chicken. Chickens are prey; dogs are predators. The eyes of prey animals are located on the sides of their head. This gives them a chance of seeing predators around them. Horses, cows, pigs, rabbits and birds all share that distinction with the chicken. Predators have eyes that face forward and are closer together- think wolves, hawks, cougars, cats, coyotes and dogs. The digestive system of a predator animal is made for them to swallow their prey in large gulps and digest quickly so the predator can resume his hunt. That’s about all of the biology you might want to know except that with just that bit of information of the differences between prey and predators, it is obvious that you would be feeding them different food. When I go to my sister’s farm and help feed her chickens, we give them lots of green scraps and chicken scratch. Chicken scratch is made up primarily of grains like, corn, wheat and rye. Occasionally, my sister will throw in leftover rice. A free-range chicken eats a lot of bugs as they peck along-that is their protein. ] If you think a predator like a wolf, primarily their diet consists of eating the whole prey animal. That includes the stomach and intestines of that animal and what that animal consumed before he was killed. A coyote might eat some other grasses or seeds to stay alive until his next kill but he is a meat eater. As difficult as it is for us to comprehend a predator animal killing his prey, it is what it is. And your sweet little “Bubba” sleeping beneath your feet can go that way if left on his own. For now, Bubba depends on you to feed him daily. The choices that you make are important ones. As a Dog Chef, I have met thousands of people who made the decision to improve their dog’s diet for various reasons- the dog was sick, old or the dog owner wanted to understand what would be better food for their dog that would keep them vitally healthy. My specialty is teaching people how to share the right food with their dog and to feed more of a natural diet such as raw or slightly cooked meat and some vegetables. But in my many years of teaching people of healthier ways of feeding their dogs, I also am aware of individual lifestyles. I am not opposed to using a better form of commercial pet food, occasionally. If you travel the world and ask people what they feed their dogs- commercial food is used here and there. Only Americans and Canadians feed their dogs’ primarily commercial pet food on a daily basis! If this is your situation, ask yourself how long can you maintain a healthy, vital body with glossy hair and clear eyes, just eating processed food from a bag or can? We unfortunately, are seeing the results of that way of eating in many of our fellow humans here in America. In the name of convenience, people are making unfortunate and unhealthy choices. We are also doing the same with our pets. But, there are better forms of commercial food for your pet and you must demand that from the producers.
Going back to my original comment on the differences between prey and
predators and what they would eat, why are we feeding our dogs like
chickens? PUMPKIN A LA MODE FOR DOGS ¼ cup fresh pumpkin Put the pumpkin in your dog’s dish, cover with the rice, then the chicken cubes and the final touch of cottage cheese. *The cottage cheese has fats in it that will aid in absorption of beta carotene/vitamin A from the pumpkin, so don’t leave it out. For more information visit www.dogchefs.com
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Why
Are We Feeding Our Dogs Like Chickens?
