Feeding Your Dog a Healthy Diet is Easy

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Feeding Your Dog a Healthy Diet is Easy!

Dogs are accurately described as opportunistic omnivores, meaning their digestive system is adapted for meat, but they can also derive nutrients from plant-based foods. Their evolutionary history shows a change from a carnivorous diet to a more omnivorous one as they became domesticated with humans, who provided access to plant-based foods. 

What to Feed Your Dog

We recommend a whole food diet over processed pet food. Generally, a biologically appropriate raw food diet is our first choice. However, there are times when a home-cooked diet may be the better option, such as for those dogs struggling with digestive issues. The following information is for those that may wish to home-prepare their dog's diet.

In an attempt to make it easier for people who wish to home-prepare a diet for their dogs I have boiled down the basics to a percentage formula.  If your dog is struggling with a disorder such as kidney disease or pancreatitis you will want to stick to the low end of the animal products percentage and the higher end of the vegetable/plant percentage.

50%-65% - animal products (meat, fish, dairy, eggs, raw bones)
10%-15% - organ meats
25%-40% - vegetables and other plants

Animal Products

Meat – beef, lamb, venison, rabbit, turkey, chicken etc. Can be fed raw, cooked or browned on the stove top.
Fish – try to stay mostly low on the food chain like sardines, anchovies and mackerel. Avoid salmon – Pacific and Atlantic as well as tuna and shark due to high levels of contamination in these fish.
Dairy – cottage cheese, yogurt (goat milk yogurt is more digestible) and raw milk. Organic dairy is always preferable as are pasture-raised eggs.

Organ Meats

Fresh organ meats can be hard to find with kidney and liver generally being the most readily available. Using our Multi Glandular Blend of freeze-dried New Zealand organs/glands makes it easy to provide these nutrients to your dog’s diet.

Vegetables and Other Plants

Try to rotate various vegetables so your dog has a variety and not just the same sweet potato and green beans. We like lower starch veggies like zucchini and squash as well as cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and broccoli. Lower oxalate greens like organic leaf lettuces. Veggies should be steamed and greens liquefied. You can also add berries like cranberries, blueberries etc. in small quantities.

Grains: I did not add grains to this plan because they can be pro-inflammatory, feed yeast and people tend to lean too heavily on them at the expense of other ingredients in the diet. If you want to add grain, then small amounts of quinoa or oatmeal are good choices.

*[IMPORTANT] Calcium – this is a critical nutrient that MUST be added to a home-prepared diet to ensure balancing out the phosphorous in the meat for the proper calcium to phosphorous ratio. If feeding a raw diet, then raw bones (bones should not be cooked because they can splinter) will do the trick. If you are cooking the diet (or are a raw feeder uncomfortable with bones) then our Natural Bone Calcium is an easy way to add the nutrient profile found in whole bone to the diet.

Adding additional calcium is not necessary if feeding a commercially prepared/packaged diet as these companies already add a calcium source.

Daily Multi Plus – Our whole food multi vitamin includes our Digestive Enzyme & Probiotic blend along with New Zealand organs (supplemental only - does not replace the need for organ ingredients in the diet) and multi-nutrients from USDA Certified organic plants.

Omega fatty acids supplement – We recommend either Nordic Naturals Omega 3 Pet or Organic Chia seed Oil.

How Much to Feed Your Dog

To determine how much to feed your dog a day the basic rule for a dog who is ideal weight is 2.5% of their body weight per day. If you are feeding your dog twice a day, then divide this amount between both meals. You must use a kitchen scale to determine the proper amount of food. Break your dog's weight down to ounces and use ounces to determine the amount of food.

Example:
Your dog weighs 25 lbs. and you want a maintenance diet of 2.5% of his body weight. His weight in ounces is 400 ounces (25 x 16 (ounces in a pound)). 2.5% of 400 equals 10 ounces (400 x .025). Meaning your dog would get 5 ounces of food twice per day.

Here is a percent feeding calculator used by Primal Pet Foods:

1.5% Weight Loss
2.0% Non-Active
2.5% Maintain Weight
3.0% Slight Weight Gain
3.5% Significant Weight Gain
4.0% Kittens/Puppies (8 weeks-1 year)
4.5-8.0% Kittens/Puppies (4-8 weeks)
4.0-8.0% Pregnant/Lactating

The above are guidelines, keep in mind that everyone is an individual so start with the percentage that seems right for your dog but don’t be afraid to make adjustments if you think the amount is too much or too little for your dog to maintain their ideal weight. The amount of food fed may also vary during different times of the year when your dog may get more or less exercise.

Supplement Serving Size Table

For any meals larger than 10 ounces just combine two columns. For example for 12 ounces combine the 10 and 2 columns.

Using the precise serving size is not required when using whole food supplements. Your dog will utilize what he/she needs and safely eliminate any excess. Don’t make yourself crazy about getting the serving exact and estimate as best you can. Grams/Milligram measurements have been provided only for those wishing to be more precise.

*Err with more rather than less for the Daily Multi Plus.
**Double serving of Natural Bone Calcium for puppies and pregnant/nursing females.
***Select only one of the calcium supplements offered.