Pet owners cooking for Fido from scratch
By April Fulton, NPR
We’re not only obsessed with what we eat. We’re now obsessed with what our pets eat. They make us healthier and happier, so who can blame us for wanting the best?
While the pet food industry has started adding salmon, vegetables and other ingredients humans favor to its products, the store-bought stuff just doesn’t make the cut anymore for some owners. They’re skipping the pet food aisle altogether in favor of cooking up big batches of Fido’s meals.
Veterinarians say these pet food home chefs do it for different reasons.
“For some people, it’s the human-animal bonding. For some it’s the philosophical benefits: they want to keep kosher, or [they’re] vegetarians,” and want to feed their pets the same way, says Sean Delaney, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist who co-authored a textbook on pet nutrition.
35 years ago, my dog ate “Pooch” – the cheapest of canned dog foods… and Sam lived to be 18 years old. So many dogs today get cancer and I am sure it is the crap they put in commercial dog food.. Industry tries to cut corners everywhere, and it all comes back to what we eat, drink & breathe. Very scary….
I have a Lahasa Opso ,he is 12 years old, I have fed him and still feeding him steamed rice, and boiled chicken,and cottage cheese ,low fat,and let me tell you he loves it,Yes to many dogs are being poison ,Save your pooch, Most of the dog food is from china,My dog almost got poisoned from dog food when they had so many taken off the shelfs,2 of my friends lost dogs ,If you can cook, Then it is worth to cook for your best friend,
Have been cooking chicken & turkey & brown rice for my dogs for 40 years. I doubt I’ve had a meal, where my current lab “Spike” hasn’t been there chomping on his fav dish….. He’s dog number 6 and is 10 years old & acts like a youngster….. he shuns caned dog food with the first snif…gotta tell you something eh?
Thanx Kae, for sending him home, when he escapes…..
2- 13 1/2 year old Labs
dry kibble Kirkland, both are going strong.
also they eat fruit and carrots these days as their snacks and all the veggies stems that we cast off, and on rarer occasions some lego’s and some dirt. :)
It seems from the comments that there are other factors to longevity and health. Our 17-year-old Rott mix just went over the rainbow bridge and only ate premium dry food and other animals.
Just as long as the sugar content is low, most diets should be fine. Same for humans. Cancerous cells need sugar to survive.
Let’s get real….these are animals that evolved to and will happily eat dead bunnies and animal poop. They will happily chomp on just about any and everything and still live a long life.