The Healthy Hound Cookbook: Over 125 Easy Recipes for Healthy, Homemade Dog Food--Including Grain-Free, Paleo, and Raw Recipes! (4 page)

It’s no secret that manufacturers of commercial dog food usually add nutritional additives to their formulas, in part to replace nutrients that are lost during processing and production of the foods. The processing of dry commercial dog food often includes a high heat extrusion process that can destroy natural nutrients. The result is food that then must be refortified with supplemental additives to meet dogs’ nutritional requirements. Making your dog homemade dishes can be a healthy alternative to feeding commercial products because you’re offering meals that retain natural nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, and fatty acids.

When considering what to cook for your dog, it is tempting to think in terms of human food consumption and human nutrition. “If it fulfills
my
nutritional needs, it must also fulfill my dog’s” is reasoning that, though understandable, is seriously flawed because the canine’s digestive system is not the same as that of a human. Many of the same nutritional building blocks are there, but they must be offered in different ratios and quantities.

The vitamin building blocks of your dog’s diet include:

• Vitamin A:
  Found in liver and fish oil, vitamin A boosts the immune system and aids skin and ocular health.
  
• Vitamin C:
  This also boosts the immune system and promotes healthy cells. Vitamin C is found in many vegetable oils.
  
• Vitamin D:
  Liver is a great source of vitamin D, which strengthens bones and teeth.
  
• Vitamin E:
  Found in vegetable oils, this vitamin boosts the immune system and encourages healthy cell production.
  

Minerals are also essential for a balanced diet and include:

• Calcium:
  Calcium is essential for bones and teeth as well as for muscle function and blood clotting. It’s found in bone, blood, eggshells, and nutritional-grade bone meal.
  
• Phosphorus:
  This mineral nurtures bones and teeth as well as healthy cells and muscles. As noted above, it’s important to have the correct calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. This mineral is found in meats as well as in dairy products and eggs.
  
• Sodium:
  This nutrient promotes healthy muscles and helps maintain your dog’s fluid levels.
  

Essential fatty acids are also important in a complete diet:

• Omega-6
  is vital for coat care, giving your dog rich, lustrous fur. Sunflower or safflower oil added to your dog’s diet (about 1 teaspoon for a small dog or 1 tablespoon for a large dog) can keep your dog’s coat shiny.
  
• Omega-3
  fatty acids benefit your dog’s skin and can be found in flaxseed oil or fish oil (including sardines, one of our dogs’ favorites).
  

Whether you use them for training purposes or just to reward your dog for being your buddy, making your own treats gives you control over his nutritional components as well as his size.

Of course, giving extra treats between meals has the potential for busting your dog’s diet. Some willpower is in order, both for you and your dog! Treats should never make up more than 10 percent of your dog’s total diet.

We love using training treats with our dogs; both our dogs have learned very quickly thanks to positive reinforcement training. Remember that you’ll need many training treats when initially training your dog, so the key is to make training treats very small (think pea-size) and then compensate by reducing your dog’s meal size.

Meat treats work best with many dogs, and often the stronger-scented treats like liver are most effective. Allowing refrigerated treats to warm to room temperature before you use them will bring out the scent to further entice your dog. You’ll also get the best results if the training treats are used exclusively for training.

Many trainers also use a dog’s regular meal as a training tool, meaning that you can give out far more “treats” as positive reinforcement training tools. A serving of chicken, which might have comprised your dog’s dinner, can be cut into small bits and used as training treats instead.

Should you give your dog bones as a chew toy? That’s definitely a bone of contention in the dog world! First, the easy answer: you should never give your dog cooked bones. The cooking process dehydrates the bones, making them far more likely to splinter and break. Splintered bones can puncture an organ and lead to life-threatening complications.

Beyond that, though, things get a little stickier. Ask most raw-food diet advocates, and you’ll hear that raw bones—from large marrow bones to smaller chicken wings and thighs—play an important role in their dog’s diet. Digestible bones (comprising up to 10 percent of the diet) provide the necessary calcium your dog requires, and large marrow bones are a recreational favorite and are also an excellent source of vitamins and minerals.

On the flip side, even raw bones present a danger. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) says, “Bones or bone fragments in some raw diets can result in intestinal obstruction or perforation, gastroenteritis, and fractured teeth.” We can testify to the fractured teeth: Our Irie, a devoted marrow bone chewer, had to have three teeth extracted due to fractured teeth.

The decision to feed bones, whether as part of a diet or as an occasional treat, is one that you will need to make after consulting with your veterinarian.

Does your dog have a sweet tooth? Although you should never feed a dog chocolate, which is toxic to canines, many other sweets are fine for rewarding your rover. Blackstrap molasses, which is rich in nutrients, serves as a sweetener for many of these recipes, while others rely on fruits for their touch of sweetness. You’ll be able to take advantage of seasonal sales as well as peak harvest seasons for preparing wholesome treats with a hint of pear, pumpkin, blueberries, and more.

Grain-Free Peanut Butter Biscuits

Most dogs, ours included, absolutely love peanut butter. This easy recipe is grain-free; if your dog has no issues with wheat, you can substitute whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour for chickpea flour.

YIELDS: 36 (2") treats

1 medium banana, mashed

3 tablespoons organic unsweetened creamy peanut butter

1 egg

1
³
⁄
₄
cups chickpea flour

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
   
2. In a large bowl, mix banana, peanut butter, egg, and flour. Turn out dough on a floured surface and knead; roll out the dough to
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₄
   " thickness.
   
3. Cut dough into 24 cookies with cookie cutters (or slice with a pizza cutter) and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
   
4. Cool completely before serving or refrigerating. Refrigerate for 5 days or freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
   

Coconut Carrot Treats

This Paleo treat is also grain-free, thanks to the coconut flour. Along with being tasty to dogs, coconut is rich in potassium and many other vitamins and minerals.

YIELDS: 36 (2") treats

¹
⁄
₂
pound carrots, cut into 1" rounds

¹
⁄
₄
cup coconut chips

2 eggs

¹
⁄
₄
cup coconut flour

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
   
2. Place carrots in a blender along with coconut chips, blending to a fine chop.
   
3. In a medium bowl, add carrot–coconut chip mixture, eggs, and flour. Stir until mixed completely.
   
4. Use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out 1 tablespoon dough; drop onto cookie sheet. Flatten lightly with a fork. Repeat until all batter is used.
   
5. Bake cookies for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
   
6. Cool completely before serving or refrigerating. Refrigerate for 5 days or freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
   

Paleo Pooch Treats

Your dog doesn’t have to be on the Paleo diet to enjoy this tasty treat. It’s also grain-free!

YIELDS: 36 (2") treats

2 tablespoons water

1
¹
⁄
₂
tablespoons ground flaxseed

1 sweet potato, peeled, boiled, and mashed

1 egg

¹
⁄
₄
cup coconut milk

¹
⁄
₂
cup organic unsweetened peanut butter

¹
⁄
₂
cup coconut flour