High Quality (Homemade) Foods for Dogs

Are you among the people who no longer want to feed their family pets canned and processed foods? The ingredient lists, the recalls – dog food products are enough to make you sick (and our pets, too!)

Here are some simple suggestions for high quality nutrition.

Lentils provide a lot of nutrition and fiber, don’t take much time to cook and need no overnight soaking. All beans add nutrition and are pretty simple to cook. (Soak overnight and cook slowly on low heat to keep enzymes intact.) They are relatively inexpensive and you might even find a farmer’s market where you can buy them in bulk.

Dogs need oil and extra virgin olive oil is a great choice. You can supercharge it by adding garlic. Here’s how: peel & press at least 4 or 5 cloves into a pint-size glass jar. Add olive oil to the top and shake. Keep this in the refrigerator and add a tablespoon everyday to your dog’s food.

To this mixture, I like to add lots of raw, ground up vegetables - whatever I have on hand.

Other superfoods you can add: wheatgrass, barley grass, chlorella, spirulina and alfalfa.

Many people overlook the humble alfalfa, yet it is a superfood and here’s why: the roots can go down deep into the ground, 60 feet and beyond, soaking up nutrients that are no longer available in topsoil.