Homemade food

HOMEMADE DOG AND CAT

Homemade food: let's understand it a little more.

In this article we want to go a bit further into a topic of recent great interest: that of home-breeding dog and cat.

We do not want to go into the merits of the decision that leads the owner to choose home food for his dog, rather than the industrial one. In fact, we are sure that industrial food brings indisputable advantages to the animal and its management. The safety of providing a balanced diet, of not making mistakes with the quantities, with the dosages and with the additions, of supplying a food safe from the health point of view, controlled as and perhaps more than a food destined to man, not they should certainly be underestimated.

Having said that, we are still aware of the fact that there is a slice of owners in great fervor, and according to the scents that may even be growing, which decides to rely on the choice of home-made food for dogs and cats. So why not address this topic in absolute transparency.

Homemade cat and dog feed: the word to the expert.

housewife feeding the dog

Let's start from some recent interviews released by Prof. Giacomo Biagi, professor of dog and cat nutrition at the University of Bologna, and author of specific books on the subject of home-based nutrition for dogs and cats (Un Menù from Dogs, A menu from Cats).

In the interview published on cucinacasalingapercani.it, the journalist asked Prof Biagi: " What advantages can we offer our dogs and cats with home cooking?"

Biagi: First of all it is good to remember that home cooking can offer advantages only if correctly formulated, so as to obtain a truly complete and balanced diet. Given this, compared to industrial foods, the main advantages offered by the choice of housewife consist of the exact knowledge of ingredients (important if you suspect food intolerances) and, especially in dogs, in an appetite generally higher, useful in the presence of unappetizing animals or that tend to refuse the croquettes.

Interviewer: " The individuality of the dog, the bearer of special nutritional needs, how is it evaluated by the specialist?"

Biagi: The individuality of the dog is evaluated on the basis of all the information that can be obtained from the visit of the animal, from the alimentary anamnesis and from the eventual clinical history of the subject. It is precisely in the presence of pathology that the need to customize the diet increases. Each nutritional visit begins with the verification of the weight of the animal and the assessment of its nutritional status and then reaches an estimate of its daily energy needs. Subsequently, the owner is asked to regularly check the weight of the animal so as to optimize the amount of food (and, possibly, the composition of the diet) to the real energy needs of the animal. Personally I do not formulate diets containing bones for two main reasons, that is the difficulty of accurately calculating the amount of calcium and phosphorus that the animal takes and the possibility that the bones cause lesions or occlusions to the gastrointestinal apparatus. I prefer to use bone meal (or calcium phosphate in individuals suspected of food intolerance) as an ingredient, letting the owner evaluate whether to use the bones occasionally as off-meal.

Interviewer: " The transition from an industrial diet to a housewife how should it happen?"

Biagi: Always progressively, lowering the food that the animal previously assumed and increasing the new one, in not less than 5 or 6 days.

Interviewer: " Do-it-yourself home food" can harm our animals? "

Biagi: Certainly yes, both in the short and long term. Even today we see stunted puppies because recipients completely calcium-free, vitamin A intoxicated cats because they received large amounts of liver, cats with heart problems due to lack of taurine because fed without meat or with meat cooked too long. And they are just a few examples.

Homemade nutrition: opportunity or risk?

Even from these first brief exchanges it is possible to grasp some fundamental aspects of the complex world of home food for dogs and cats:

• Home cooking can certainly have advantages, especially in particular conditions (food intolerances, chronic diarrhea, inappetence, etc.) but if not properly formulated and applied can also have many important disadvantages related to the health of the animal

• Home cooking can not be improvised: it must be formulated and followed by an expert nutritionist, and must be appropriately integrated

Homemade cat and dog feeding

Homemade food: can I give everything I eat?

The answer to this question is: certainly NO. Not all foods are suitable to be used as ingredients of the dog's and cat's home food, but on the contrary some of them may even be harmful to the health of our animals.

We must, therefore, know the foods that can be harmful for our dogs, carefully considering that those foods that are edible for us are not for them. Once again we must, therefore, make use of the advice and help of a veterinary nutritionist.

Let's briefly see which foods, according to the literature, are to be avoided in the formulation of the dog and cat's home diet:

• Raw potatoes are toxic while cooked are an excellent source of carbohydrates, do not use cooking water for the meal.

• Green peppers are not ripe enough for the four legs and are toxic.

• The avocado is not tolerated in any of its forms: plant, fruit and seed.

• Grapes and raisins are toxic with a dose of 11.6 g per kg of dog and 14 g per kg of dog, respectively.

• The quince is indigestible due to the high presence of tannins.

• Cocoa contains theobromine which is toxic to the dog. The lethal dose is 10 mg of theobromine per kg of the dog. If we calculate it on a bar of milk chocolate about 60 grams per kg of dog, 8 gr of flux.

• Macadamia nuts are referred to as toxic to dogs and also be careful of molds on nuts

• Raw and cooked onions bring the dog to anemia, the toxic dose is 5-10 grams per kg of dog.

• Cooked bones are very dangerous for the dog as long as they can easily chip. While raw they can be given.

• Xylitol , sweetener of our sugarfree foods, is dangerous for dogs so be careful to leave candies and foods containing it unattended.

• Mushrooms are not digested by the dog, be careful during the autumn walks with poisonous mushrooms.

• Tea, coffee, tobacco and alcohol are to be avoided by the dog.

• Long bones of small animals (chicken, rabbit).

Then there are some general sanitary hygienic indications, which it would be important to follow in the preparation and administration of the ingredients chosen for the home diet:

• The pork must always be well cooked to eliminate the possibility of the existence of the Aujesky virus, which causes pseudorabbia in the dog.

• The fish must be frozen at a temperature below -18 ° C for at least 96 hours before being eaten raw, to prevent anisakiasis, a disease caused by the parasitic worm of different fish.

• The egg is best served complete both cooked and raw. If you want to give only the yolk you can give it raw while the egg white is best served cooked . Do not give large quantities of raw egg white because it contains avidin which inhibits biotin (vitamin H).

Meat and vegetables for homemade food

Housewife feeding does not mean feeding the surplus

The homemade feeding of the dog and the cat must not coincide with the kitchen of the surplus for different and obvious reasons: because we have seen that not all the food we use in the kitchen is adequate for dogs, and especially because we understand that a home-based diet must be balanced and well integrated, characteristics that we certainly can not find in the leftovers of our table. We therefore avoid leftovers and kitchen scraps, especially the seasoned, spicy and spicy.

What should contain a home diet for the dog or for the cat?

The first, big and proper premise is that feeding our dog in a homely way is not easy, practical or economic (especially if the dog is large). A homemade meal should contain: protein in the form of white or red meat, carbohydrates of vegetable origin in the form of vegetables, cereals, dry bread, pasta or rice. Meat proteins can be replaced once or twice a week by those of fish, eggs or low-fat cheese. Here are some general indications on the main ingredients of the dog and cat's home diet:

Meat : meat is the basis of daily dog ​​food but, while being very nutritious, it must be integrated with other foods. The meat should not be completely lean, better if it contains a percentage of fat. It should be scalded in boiling water for a few minutes; puppies and puppies is preferable to chop, while for adults it is recommended to provide it in pieces more or less large depending on the size.

Fish : it is an excellent food but must never be served raw and, naturally, must be completely bones free. The fish, supplied once or twice a week, is recommended especially in feeding the puppies and in the adult dogs during the summer.

Bones : to encourage teeth dentition and cleaning, it is possible, but not essential, to make available bovine bones (beef or veal); big bones like those of the knee should be preferred. Do not underestimate the possible damage caused by the buccal and digestive buccal bones. It should be considered that licking or nibbling the bone, generates a strong salivation, therefore, in some subjects, it may cause loss of appetite, in this case, it is better to thin out or avoid.

Milk: is considered a complete food and is very suitable for the weaning of puppies, or for puppies already weaned, as it has a high calcium content essential for growth and skeletal training. Unfortunately, its digestibility is difficult for most dogs that do not usually take it.

Low -fat cheese to be provided once or twice a week. Excellent yoghurt that regularize the intestinal tract.

Eggs : they can be supplied raw or cooked no more than 2 times a week and mixed with other foods; if cooked, remove the egg white. They can be useful during growth, as adults are better advised by the vet.

Cereals: they are an indispensable component of the homemade meal in fact, they are well digestible and contain many proteins, vitamins, fats and minerals. For each type of cereal meat or its alternatives should be added.

Pasta and rice : they must be served well cooked; if rice is usually supplied, it should be washed from time to time to avoid excess starch.

Puffed cereals : easily digested, they bring a lot of calories; they should not be cooked but simply served with the addition of water to form a congealed mixture and never too liquid.

Bread : is very indicated as it contains important nutrients, stimulates salivation and strengthens the gums, but must be given at least stale for a couple of days or even baked in the oven, as only this way becomes more digestible. It can replace the puffed cereals but it is to be avoided when it is fresh.

Vegetables : better if cooked to make it more digestible and provided in proportion of 10-15% of the meal; with the boiling much of the vitamins are lost therefore, it is advisable to conserve the cooking water to eventually cook pasta or rice, or adding it to the puffed cereals. Not recommended in large quantities: spinach, chard, chicory, lettuce.

Fruit : all the fruit in season when it is pleasing to the dog.

Water: must never be missing. Always available next to the food bowl; it must absolutely be replaced very often to always be fresh and clean, where it is possible, better if it is current.

Homemade diet and its integration

A typical home-style recipe is based on: well-cooked carbohydrates, scalded meat, a small addition of fats and an adequate vitamin-mineral integration: there are products (multivitamin-mineral) already ready for use and studied by age (puppy, adult , elderly). It is however good to be followed by the vet to choose the most suitable supplement for different meals.

NO to "nose" supplements that can lead to more damage than benefits! Integrating "directly" food entails great advantages such as the flexibility of integration (not possible in the case of ready meals) and the awareness of the quality of the selected supplements: for example, it seems now to be established that chelated "minerals" are better than those subjected to other processes.

Different ages lead to different home food requirements

It seems so obvious, and yet it is not so obvious, that every stage of life has different and specific nutritional needs that make it necessary to vary the diet (and therefore also the housewife) accordingly. Once again we refer to an interview with Prof. Biagi, published on mangimiealimenti.it, concerning the diet of the elderly dog

Biagi: "With aging, the organism of a dog undergoes changes that tend to progressively compromise the functionality of some devices. Consider, for example, the lower efficiency of the immune system, often found in elderly subjects, and, just as in humans, the possible decline of cognitive functions, that is to say the so-called brain aging. To this must be added the very frequent presence, in elderly dogs, of chronic inflammatory phenomena affecting the joints that make the animal reluctant to movement, reducing its level of physical activity. In this regard, it is possible to intervene by enriching the diet of the elderly dog ​​with nutrients that could delay or otherwise reduce these phenomena. Eg, you can proceed to support the immune system with the inclusion in the diet of proteins of high biological value and antioxidant principles, to support cognitive functions with the use of antioxidants and essential fatty acids omega-3, and finally for the well-being of the joints with the use of precursors of the cartilage matrix, such as glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, together with anti-oxidants and omega-3 essential fatty acids. Regarding the possible occurrence of heart failure in the elderly dog, it is possible to enrich the diet with nutrients such as taurine and carnitine, both involved in cardiac function, while controlling the intake of salts, and sodium in particular in support of cognitive functions with the use of anti-oxidants and omega-3 essential fatty acids, and, finally, for the well-being of the joints with the use of precursors of the cartilage matrix, such as glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, together with antioxidants and essential fatty acids Omega 3. Regarding the possible occurrence of heart failure in the elderly dog, it is possible to enrich the diet with nutrients such as taurine and carnitine, both involved in cardiac function, while controlling the intake of salts, and sodium in particular in support of cognitive functions with the use of anti-oxidants and omega-3 essential fatty acids, and, finally, for the well-being of the joints with the use of precursors of the cartilage matrix, such as glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, together with antioxidants and essential fatty acids Omega 3. Regarding the possible occurrence of heart failure in the elderly dog, it is possible to enrich the diet with nutrients such as taurine and carnitine, both involved in cardiac function, while controlling the intake of salts, and sodium in particular

Of these indications, as well as other specifications for the different phases of life, it will be necessary to take into account the formulation of a home diet, for which once again emerges the absolute necessity of:

• Rely on a veterinary nutritionist expert for the formulation of the diet

• Properly integrate the home diet, with supplements designed to meet the specific needs of different stages of life

Homemade cat and dog feed: how to start and how to proceed

The advice, especially if the dog is not in perfect health, is to be accompanied in the food change by an expert who must see and visit the dog, so avoid online diets . Home diets that are not adequate for dogs can create problems like poor quality industrial food . Rely on a veterinarian expert in nutrition.

The homemade feeding of the dog and the cat requires a good dose of study (basic knowledge of food, nutritional values, pros and cons, preparation methods), of a good organization (finding of the single ingredients), patience and time for prepare meals. In reality it is possible to prepare large quantities of meat, freeze them in small portions and serve them from time to time and, as far as pasta and rice are concerned, cook them in abundance and store them in the refrigerator for a few days.

The preparation of the meal and its integration must always go hand in hand, there can not be a home-based diet without specific and balanced integration. The lack of proper integration of the home diet can have serious consequences on the health of the animal

Hypoallergenic homemade diet supplement

Integration for the home feeding of the dog and the cat: does the correct one exist?

Even when choosing the supplement, one must not fall into the terrible mistake of improvising nutritionists. The choice of the integrator represents, in fact, one of the fundamental points in the setting of the home diet, and above all in its effectiveness and in the maintenance over time only of its positive effects. The ideal supplement must therefore:

• Be complete
• Be comfortable to use: have all the necessary nutrients in one product
• Be balanced in all its components, to avoid imbalances, shortages, overdoses
• Be scientifically valid, based on doses and levels officially and scientifically recognized and validated
• Possibly hypoallergenic, to be used in animals that suffer from allergies or food intolerances
• Be formulated in a specific way according to the needs of different animals (dog and cat) and of different age groups (puppy, adult, elderly)

Supplement for the homemade diet

We recommend ESSENTIAL : The first line of complete, essential supplements for the integration of the dog and cat's homemade diet or BARF without bone. This line of supplements designed specifically for home cooking, was formulated by Prof. Biagi and is based on the guidelines and nutritional requirements provided by FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation). The products have been formulated according to the specific needs of the dog and the cat, in different stages of age. It is therefore not the "panacea" product suitable for everyone, but something really balanced according to specific needsof individual animals. In the formulation of these products we have taken into account those who are often the main users of the home diet, ie animals affected by food allergies or intolerances. Thinking about them, ESSENTIAL was formulated with completely hypoallergenic ingredients . Do not underestimate its practicality of use: each package is equipped with a clear table showing the dosage of the supplement based on the weight of their animals, and a measuring cup that facilitates, precisely the dosage. Each package (even if varying according to the weight of your animal) is sufficient for about a monthintegration, not obliging us to continue purchases. Finally, the product is easy to find , being available at pet supply stores, as well as at pharmacies, parapharmacies, and veterinary surgeons.