DOG FOOD.

Feeding dogs can be conventional,local or home cooking,however the route you choose food safety is very important.The dog food industry has suffered quite a blow of late with several disease outbreak linked to contamination of food from the point of production,this has led to several recall episode in which several dogs and dog owners were major actors. The cases of rise in E.coli infection in several countries leading to death in several dogs,has led to so many questions on food safety in dog food industry,for starters the nutritional facts were found to be inaccurate, some contain harmful preservatives that were masked and contamination during preparation and packaging. Many of the companies have traced the contamination to source of the raw material such as chicken and beef used, thus beaming the light on the producers of these animals. These recalls have shifted the paradigm of dog food from conventional to home cooking, where we are sure of what the dogs are eating, the source,nutritional fact,and the most important fact that the food are chemical- free. Nutritious food for your dogs will include carbohydrate,protein,fat/oil,vitamins/minerals and lots of fresh water.The sources of carbohydrate are rice,pasta, bread,plantain e.t.c,these can be cooked with meat,fish,chicken,turkey,gizzard,liver and heart as protein sources.These food can be prepared with olive oil,coconut oil or fish oil as fat sources. Vitamins /minerals can be in forms of fruits and vegetables such as carrots,apples,watermelon,banana,spinach or you can supplement the feed by giving the dogs as additives. The variety and safety home cooking provides has made it very acceptable and a better alternative to ensure health of the dogs.Home cooking also has the advantage that it can be a source of therapy to manage dogs with certain conditions such as obesity,anemia,liver,kidney disease,allergy and diabetes.The best way to go about home cooking is to determine the food stuff you need to use, determine the combination, consider the number of your dogs and the time interval of the meal.It is usual practice to make in large quantities and keep in freezer,to serve warm and fresh when required. A simple home cooked meal is pasta,with cubed liver,garnished with spinach, a drop of coconut oil is added to mixture with atovi ,this will not only supply the needed nutrients but its also filling and palatable to the dogs.