I am on a mission to redefine what “dog food” means.
Why should our dogs be relegated to eating things that would make us vomit? People across the socio-economic spectrum now consider their pets as family members. If that’s true, why is their nutrition so dramatically less important than ours?
It may be because our own nutrition is no longer as important to us as perhaps it once was.
I mean, what did you eat for lunch? Did it come in a bag? Or a plastic container? Did you nuke it in the microwave? Did the restaurant get the ingredients from the back of an 18-wheeler?
You get my point. We do the same thing to our trusty companions, and they have no rights of protest.
Some of the people I’ve spoken with simply don’t know what to put in their dog’s bowl. Here are some thoughts of what to put together.
Breakfast combos (along with the yogurt-oat-honey staple):
Watermelon & cucumber
Cantaloupe & honeydew
Apples & bananas
Apples & pears
Pears & plums
Plums & peaches
Peaches & blueberries
Blueberries & kiwi
Strawberries & bananas
Dinner combos:
Beef, tomatoes & peppers
Chicken, broccoli & sweet potato
Quail, broccolini & pumpkin
Fish, peppers & carrots
Fish, tomatoes & zucchini
Chicken, peas & carrots
Beef, butternut squash & pumpkin
Fish, green beans & butternut squash
The combinations are endless, and are entirely dependent on what I find at the farmer’s market on the weekends.
I rotate the protein regularly so that they’re not getting too much of the same thing too often.
Unlike what can happen when feeding dry or canned dog food, changing up their raw meat/veggie combos has not caused digestive distress or made them picky eaters.
I feed them a balanced diet.
Why does any of this matter so much to me?
Their coats are softer, and they don’t shed as much. Their noses are less snotty. Their poops are regular. They’re both holding a healthy weight. The theory is that they’ll be healthier over the course of their lives.
Most importantly for us, however, is that after just over 2 months of the raw diet, Pearl’s bladder infection has not returned.
This is a way of life for us now. And it’s affecting my own diet…
pugs & kisses,
The HOL Dog 
Just curious… Did you have to slowly transition to this like you have to do when switching dog foods? Also, instead of the oats, have you ever used brown rice? Or are the oats just more convenient b/c they don’t have to be cooked?
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Alison, I did not transition slowly, but I had been feeding my dogs fruit with their kibble for months. I knew they liked apples, bananas, blueberries & strawberries, and watermelon. I was more worried about raw meat, but they did beautifully. If your dog hasn’t been introduced to fresh meats & produce, I do think you need to introduce one thing at a time to make sure there isn’t an allergic reaction or some other rejection. That way, it’s easier to know what to eliminate. Also it’s important that your pup is in good health when making such a dramatic switch, and you really have to put thought into providing balanced nutrition. I have not tried brown rice just bc whole, rolled, uncooked oats are easy & convenient & my dogs have gotten accustomed to having them with their yogurt & honey in the mornings, but I think brown rice is good as a healthy whole grain. It does have to be cooked. I need to research whether a grain free diet really matters as a general approach or whether it’s just a trend or whether it depends on the needs of the particular dog.
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