Homemade Dog Food From Scratch

By Thomas Henricks

Is your pets health important to you? I would hope the answer to that question is yes, it is important. It might surprise you to read that many studies indicate that commercially prepared dog food is not entirely healthy for your dog, and can even contribute to health issues. To avoid these problems, some people are turning their own homemade dog food. While this might seem like a much unnecessary work, it is a small price to pay to keep your beloved pet healthy.

Baking Basics for Your Dog

If you want to make your own homemade dog food, there are a few basic issues to bear in mind. There are some specific guidelines for homemade dog food that should be followed when you are determing the base products required. These guidelines ensure that the end result will in fact be a healthy alternative for your dog.

The primary elements that make up commercial brands of dog food are protein, fats, fibre and moisture.

To satisfy nutritional requirements, about one third of the components of homemade dog food should be high in protein. This protein can come from eggs, dairy products, or any type of meat. The remaining two thirds of the homemade dog food should consist of grains and vegetables.

It equally as important to know what ingredients you should avoid when preparing homemade dog food. We sometimes have a tendency to think that a dog can eat nearly anything but in fact there are certain ingredients that upset a dogs digestive system. To assure that will not occur, there some products you should never include in a homemade dog food recipe. These include chocolate, onions and onion powder, mouldy foods, garlic, grapes and raisins, mustard seeds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, and any candy containing the sweetener Xylitol. These products have all proven to be intolerable to your canines digestive system.

A Sample Homemade Dog Food recipe

Although a number of common household food products are suitable for your own dog food a simple list of ingredients could include the following.

Mix together 6 cups water, 1 pound ground turkey, 2 cups brown rice, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1/2 (16 ounce) package frozen broccoli, and a combination of carrots and cauliflower. You can prepare these ingredients for use as your own custom homemade dog food by simply placing them in a large Dutch oven and cooking them for approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Let the mixture cool and package in quantities suitable for to satisfy single serving requirements. Be sure to package your servings in a manner that will dispel surrounding air.

Vacuum sealing is a great way to package portions that will remain safe for use for extended periods of time. When preparing large batches, these portions can be frozen until required.
If you want to be sure that your dog is receiving high grade, healthy food products, try making your own. You might be surprised at the satisfaction you feel when cooking up a meal for your dog exactly as you would for any other member of the family.

For more information about Petfood please visit Petfood Resources

Article Source: http://www.bestdogarticles.com

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Basic Dog Training

“How does your dog sit when you tell him to and mine doesn’t?", “How can your dog heel to you like that?", “Wow! He comes when you tell him to” - Sounds familiar? If it does, you need to invest some time into a little bit of basic dog training. Starting to train your dog from a young age is crucial as the first few months of his life is when you will have the greatest influence on him; this is where he is shaped into the dog he is going to be when he is all grown up.

The most basic of dog training is to get your dog to sit and come. Teaching him those commands are essential for him to learn. These commands are used for various different reasons, if you are in competition, if your dog jumps making him sit will immediately get him off and "come" is the all important one. If you take your dog for a walk, you let him of the leash and you expect him to come back to you, not run around the park with you chasing after him shouting at him to “get here right this instance”. That would be just down right embarrassing!

To teach your dog how to come requires only the most basic of techniques but a lot of repetition. The simplest way to get him to come is have a toy in one hand and a treat in the other, when you are in the house simply walk away from him, hold out the toy and excitingly call him to you, when he comes over give him a treat, always use the command for come that you are going to use in the future. Doing this several times a day is a great way to teach him, but remember to have lots of long breaks so he doesn’t get bored and stop enjoying it, and don’t forget the treats!

Getting him to sit could be a slight bit harder but again only requires basic dog training. When you have mastered the come command call him to you, place your hand on the end of his back and say "sit" while gently pushing down on his backside, when he sits his bottom down give him a treat and a lot of praise. If you want him to sit longer just delay giving him the treat and the praise, get him to sit but take your time bending down to him and feeding him his titbit.

Basic dog training is simple and very effective. It should also be fun for you and your dog, it doesn’t have to be hours and hours each day just may be 5 minutes or so. Don’t forget to reward your dog and yourself for all the “hard” work though!!

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Dogs With Skin Or Digestive Problems Require Enzyme Support

By Janie Knetzer

Your dogs diet can have a great impact on a variety of factorsin his health. A dog that is not receiving adequate nutritionfrom his diet can be prone to gas, flatulence, lack of energyand skin problems.

The dogs coat may become dull and, if he is a working dog, hisperformance may be affected. This is due, in great part to avariance that many dog owners have imposed on dogs when theydomesticated them. In essence, it is a nutritional deficiencythat, though unintentional, can lead to health and digestiveissues.

In many cases, digestive enzymes for dogs can correct orsubstantially reduce the problems. Enzymes are substances foundin the body that have the ability to induce chemical reactionsor accelerate these processes. Enzymes are broken down into twoparts, one is a protein called apoenzyme and the other is anon-protein. The non-protein can either be a coenzyme orcofactor.
Every cell in every plant and animal contains enzymes. Theyregulate biochemical reactions that aid the system and sustainlife. When the delicate balance of the bodys digestive systemis upset, various undesirable reactions can result.

Enzymes can bring balance, but if they are not presentnaturally in the diet then supplements must be introduced. Asupplement can reduce or even eliminate the undesirable sideeffects of an improper diet in a dog. Gas and flatulence, skinproblems and lack of energy can be turned around and the dogscoat will be shinier.

Dog digestive problems are common even in dogs whose ownersfeed them top of the line dog food. The problem stems from theprocessed diets that most domestic dogs are provided. A dog isnot equipped to digest this type of diet because kibble lacksthe necessary dog digestive enzymes his body needs.

Wild canines, such as wolves, exist on a raw diet. In theirnatural environment, wolves will kill their prey and consume theorgans first. The organs contain the vitamins and nutrientsthat the wolf needs and it is these vitamins and nutrients thatboost their system, aiding in digestion.

A domesticated dog does not have access to animal organs fromprey or a raw diet, so their body requires an enzyme supplementfor proper digestion and a healthy system. A dog is naturallydesigned to consume raw prey. However, with domestication, manhas imposed a diet of kibble which is more convenient and costeffective, but the dog is paying a heavy price because his dietis nutritionally lacking.

In such cases, enzymes for dogs are necessary to provide whatthe dogs diet is lacking. This is true for dogs of all agesand especially important for senior dogs. However, when a dogis started on digestive enzymes as a young dog, it will givegreater assurance to the owner that the dog will be healthier asit ages.

Its never too late to start providing your best friend with anenzyme supplement for dogs.
About the Author: Janie is an avid dog lover with over twentyfive years of dog care and handling experience. She has writtennumerous articles on dog skin, nutrition and care.

Visit http://www.old-dog-treats-and-rawhide.com/dog-skin-problems.html

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=193038&ca=Pets

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Dog Health Eye How to Recognize and Prevent Common Eye Problems

By Nicki Howell

Protecting and caring for your dogs eyes is an important part of canine care. Often we dont really think about it until something goes wrong. Read on to learn about recognizing and preventing common dog eye problems.

Common Dog Eye Problems.

When a dog has an eye problem, it is often very noticeable that something is wrong. Its always wise to consult your vet if you suspect a problem. Weve included several common dog health eye problems:

• Infection - If you see suspicious discharge from your dogs eye, he may have an infection.

• Lumps on the eye - sometimes these are cysts, but you should consult with your vet to be sure.

• Entropion - folding of an eyelid where lid hairs contact the cornea

• Cherry Eye - prolapsed gland of the third eyelid

• Ectopic Cilia - an abnormal eyelash that is usually very painful and almost always causes an ulcer.

• Dermoid - congenital defect where haired skin is located in an abnormal place on an eye and will often irritate the cornea and can cause ulcers.

• Cataracts - contact your veterinarian to make this diagnosis.

• Follicular Conjunctivitis - itchy, tearing, squinting can be related to allergies.

• Dry Eye - Typically occurs when there is a lack of production of tears.

Keeping your Dogs Eyes Healthy .

There are a few simple steps you can take to keep your dogs eyes healthy.

• Keep shampoo out of your dogs eyes when washing

• Watch the toys you play with dog (no throwing sticks)

• Keep the hair around your dogs eyes trimmed, but be very careful when trimming.

• If your dog has a foreign object in his eye, it should be removed by your vet. If your dog struggles with you when youre trying to remove, further injury could occur.

For more information, visit http://www.dog-health-info.net/dog-health-problems.html

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Dog Training Hand Signals

Dogs are considered very valuable by their owners. Over the years dogs have gone from been just a pet to been a member of the family. Of all the pets out there, the dog is the most popular among the pets. One of the reasons for this is that dogs are trainable, by just knowing some hand signals for dog training you can give your pet the proper training. Dogs are very smart, well maybe with a few exceptions, but if you teach your dog some verbal and hand signals commands they can easily grasp your message. Dogs are very good at reading body language, if you have any doubt on that, just think about how your dog reacts when you are upset. Because of their ability to read body language they can very easily learn hand signals in addition to the verbal commands. Using hand signals for dogs will make the training a lot more effective if done properly.

No such thing as official dog hand signals for dog obedience training exists, so when training a dog you can choose signals as you wish, although this is not advisable. There are some common signals that are used for the heel, sit, stay, come and down command. Make sure that when you are using hand signals to train your dog you start with your arm at your side. Moving your hand toward your chest face your palm upward. This way your dog starts associating your arm and your hand with a command.

The next thing to do is to teach your dog understand the stay command. To do this your need to put your arm straight in front of your dog with your palm extended forward. Then you give your dog the stay command and gradually extend your arm and maintain your hand perpendicular with the palm of your hand very closed to your dogs noses but without many physical contact.

If and when your dog attempts to snuffle your hand, stop him at once but in a gently. To make your dog lay down with its stomach on the floor, keep your and open flat, with the palm facing down and parallel to the floor. Keep your arm curved at the elbow in a descending far-reaching motion. If you are your starting to teach your dog the down command it is recommended that you show him what down means.

Using hand signals for dog training is a good way to teach your dog to become aware of different hand signals. The dog will be paying attention to your hands to see if you have any new commands for him. When you add verbal commands to the dog training hand signals you improve your pets comprehension. Your pet will learn to respond to the verbal or hand command in almost no time if you apply them properly. Once the pet get used to your hand signals and associates it with the right action it would be easier for the owner to give commands and for the dog to understand.

When training your pet with hand signals for dog obedience training, giving them a treat, a toy, or even tons of praise will inspire and motivate your pet to do well every single time. You will find that some dogs are more motivated by food, others by toys, others by praise. You will need to find out what is what motivates your dog the most. If for any chance your pet refuses to comply with the dog training commands, do not use physical punishment, this will just make him not want to do anything, remember to use verbal commands and dog obedience hand signals..

Once your pet does well with the basic dog training hand signals then he might be ready to get more advanced training and perform more complicated duties. So the next time you get upset at your dog because he is following your commands think if you are applying the hand signals for training dogs technique the proper way. If you still have questions about how to apply this training you can do a research on the internet for the phrases dog training books + hand signals, you might find some very interesting advice.

Increase the happy years of your dog by checking out my free dog training cd. In it I reveal all the secrets Ive used to develop a happy, well behaved dog. Visit Dr. Alfonsos dog training blog right now...

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Dog Training Announcing a Practical Secret to Breakthrough With Housetraining Problems

How to Use A Clicker For Housetraining Problems

Not too long ago I was over a friends house. She was telling me that she could not housetrain her dog and that her dog was starting to bite her. A few minutes later I understood why her dog was having problems and biting her. Another friend came into the house and her dog became very excited. Her dog peed, she immediately picked up the dog and very firmly smacked her. She then tossed her dog into the crate. My friend said, "No matter how much I smack her she still goes in the house."

My question was - if what youre doing is not working why do you keep doing the same thing. We all know that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Her dog was starting to bite her because she was smacking the dog a lot. Any living creature can only handle so much punishment before they start to lash out. The problem with housetraining is that it is not a behavior problem, its a location problem. We just need to teach our dogs the proper location. This is done by clearly communicating to your dog.

A clicker is such a great training tool because it helps you pinpoint the behavior you are trying to teach. When you first start using a clicker you need to teach your dog that the sound of the clicker is followed by a treat.

This is called classical conditioning. You click and then give a treat. You do this over and over until your dog heres the sound of the click and expects a treat. When you first start using the clicker you dont ask your dog to do any command. You just click and treat over and over. Within a short period of time your dog will know the sound of the clicker.

Once your dog understands the sound of the clicker you can start to use it to shape behavior. You have a tool that lets your dog know that they are being rewarded for doing a certain behavior.

It really is an amazing training tool. A lot of dogs get confused about housetraining because they are not rewarded for going in the right place or they dont understand that they are getting the reward for going.
Now you can start to use the clicker to teach your dog where to go. The first step is to manage your dogs behavior. When you cant watch your dog you should put your dog in a crate. Most dogs wont go in the crate. When you can watch your dog keep a close eye on your him. If your dog shows any signs of going quickly bring your dog outside.

Bring your dog outside on leash. Its important that your dog is on leash. You need to be close to your dog to properly communicate to him. As your dog is walking around sniffing the ground getting ready to go start saying, "Get busy," "Get busy," and wait until your dog goes. As soon as your dog starts to go dont say anything.

The second your dog is finished, click and treat your dog. Do this every time you bring your dog out. The important point to remember is that you need to be really consistent. You have to make sure that you are there every time your dog goes outside and you have to make sure you dont give your dog the opportunity to go in the house.

How important is a well trained dog worth to you? Do you want your dog to stop jumping, come when called, walk on leash and more? Eric Letendre created the ultimate, easy to follow dog training ebook "101 Ways To Improve Your Dogs Behavior." Complete with dog training videos, step by step instructions and more. Best of all you can get it free! Get it here => http://amazingdogtrainingman.com

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