Fresh food – good for your dog

What times those were, when at grandma's or on the farm the dogs got whatever was left over from the meal. Whether that was actually good for the animals is another matter, but compared with many of today's industrially produced dog foods it was definitely better. Food from the table was often more digestible than many of today's products. Over 90 percent of all foods are, unfortunately, pure industrial food, filled with cheap fillers, flavour enhancers, slaughter waste, sugar as well as artificial preservatives and additives. Grandma at least knew exactly what was in the cooking pot and in the dog bowl. Do you really know exactly what your dog food contains? Do you understand the declarations on the label 100 percent? I would like to help you look behind the façades of pet-food advertising.

Dogs and their natural diet in focus

The trend is fortunately moving back towards fresh food. More and more dog owners are coming round to BARF feeding or cooking themselves and giving their dog a healthy diet. However, if you want to put the rations together yourself, you first have to inform yourself precisely about what needs to be carefully considered with fresh dog food. A piece of meat alone is by no means enough. A sufficient proportion of animal foods that cover the protein requirement is immensely important for dogs. Then vegetables, fruit, herbs, high-quality carbohydrates, bones as sources of calcium and also high-quality oils are extremely important as well. These are the foundations for a proper and, above all, species-appropriate diet. Even though the view often prevails that the dog is a pure carnivore, that is not entirely correct from a biological point of view. In our holistic view it is necessary to become well informed in this area and by no means to proceed from a purely human understanding of nutrition.

The wolf's legacy and modern fairy tales of the industry

Many manufacturers of dog food leave owners believing that meat is the only important thing for a dog. This has even led to a nonsensical contest over the highest meat content in the food. Yet the term "fresh beef" in the declaration, for example, says nothing at all about the actual nutrient quality. A proportion of 90 percent meat also often represents an oversupply, since dogs are, biologically speaking, only around 70 percent carnivores.

Your domestic dog too, whether small or large, has virtually the same nutritional requirements as a wolf. Even after thousands of years of domestication, nothing has changed about this. A wolf eats its prey with skin and hair. Since it also eats the stomach and the intestine, and thus the plant content as well, it obtains the nutrients it additionally needs. This plant proportion amounts to around 30 percent. This is the biological legacy that we should respect with care.

The consequences of industrial production for health

Why your dog should suddenly eat differently is a fairy tale of the pet-food industry. Dry food is an invention that is practical and low in odour for humans. Tartar, bad breath, inflammation, greasy coat, intolerances and serious illnesses are, unfortunately, often the sad consequences. On top of this, it is a billion-euro market. Nowhere else can so much money be made with the cheapest of ingredients. Advertising ensures that even a useless food is talked up or made appealing via the price. According to pet-food law, a dog food only has to contain 4 percent meat in order to be sold as such. What the remaining 96 percent consists of is surely something you would rather not know with such products.

• A high proportion of muscle meat for an optimal protein supply
• Natural vitamins and minerals straight from vegetables and fruit
• Consistent avoidance of artificial additives and industrial sugar
• Support for daily digestion through species-appropriate crude fibre

Your responsibility for a healthy, long dog's life

Your dog can no longer provide for its own diet, since you alone are responsible for it. We have inherited this responsibility from nature. Dog food is not a food for humans, and not everything has to be declared clearly and comprehensibly with animal feed. Is your dog's health worth so much to you that you take the trouble to inform yourself precisely and to learn with care? It is the truth that the health of your animal depends directly on your daily decisions.

To help you with this, there are many opportunities for expert information. It is important, as a layperson, to understand exactly what needs to be considered in order to be able to act on your own responsibility. Expert information that opens your eyes can help to distinguish commercial interests from genuine animal health with care.

This article serves as general information and as caring encouragement towards a species-appropriate diet for your best friend.