Canines, like humans, benefit from a wide variety of whole, unprocessed and minimally processed foods.
By eating a diverse amount of fresh, unprocessed foods, this best enables us and our canine friends to get as many nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from our food as possible. The more diverse vitamins, minerals and nutrients, the better able we are to build the gut microbiome and support a healthy lifestyle. Research continues to show a strong link between our gut health and our mental health, meaning that our behaviors, our moods, and our emotions are all largely impacted by our nutrition and resulting gut health. Additionally, the strength of the gut microbiome is directly related to how strong our immune system. This is all true in our dogs as well.
In addition to choosing high quality, nutrient dense foods for ourselves and our best
furiends, we want to consider how the food is processed. One enormous downside to many traditional kibbles is the way in which it is prepared: by being cooked at a very high heat for extended periods of time, sometimes even cooked several times. This high heating for extended periods of time strips the ingredients of their nutrient density. (This is why you will see a laundry list of supplements added back into the food on the ingredient panel.) Additionally, it removes the moisture and hydration from the food, thereby making it more difficult for your pup to digest and gain the benefits of the food.
When originally introduced to the market, kibble was intended to be a convenience food for the wealthy and feeding table scraps and homecooked diets was quickly rebranded (by the kibble companies,) as dangerous, unbalanced, and for the lower socioeconomic classes.
At Engaged Dogs, we’re realists and know that we humans need to have options for convenience. But we, like Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib, authors of "The Forever Dog" (which we highly recommend to all of our clients! Linked below so you can grab your own copy.) we want our best furiends to be around as long as possible! New research shows that adding even 10-20% of fresh foods can extend a canine's life by years. And if there's even a slight chance to extend our dogs lives and to keep them healthy and happy for longer, well then that's an investment that we are willing to make!
If you are feeding a kibble diet, in order to get the best digestion and nutrition from it for your pup, consider:
1) Choosing a high-quality kibble with minimal processing. (We love Open Farm and Carna4)
2) Always rehydrating your kibble by soaking it in water/ dog safe bone broth/ coconut water/ etc. for approx. 10-20 minutes to rehydrate the kibble and help your pup be better able to digest their food.
3) Consider adding fresh toppers. You can safely add 10-20% of most things to your dogs’ diet without disrupting the balance.
Some of our favorite fresh toppers include:
Blueberries
Cucumbers
Strawberries
Squash
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Carrots
Apples/ Unsweetened Apple Sauce
Kefir
Cottage Cheese
Sweet potato
Chicken
Pork
Beef
Cooked Salmon
Sardines
Some ways to begin adding fresh toppers:
When preparing your dinner, set aside the scraps of vegetables, fruits, meats, etc. that might otherwise go in the trash.
Add scraps to your pups’ food at mealtimes or add them in as treats during training or enrichment sessions.
Play with texture. You can offer fresh, frozen, canned (in water,) or lightly steamed. Consider finely cutting or blending produce as this will increase digestibility and change the texture for dogs who do not like (or perhaps do not adequately chew things like,) whole slices or chunks of things.
Add flavor by soaking produce in bone broth before feeding.
All toppers can be added safely in small amounts raw or cooked, fresh, frozen, or canned.
Consider adding premade raw additives like Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers, Vital Essentials Nibs, or Open Farm Raw. All of these items can be utilized as both treats (in broken up very small pieces,) or can be added to or replace your pup’s current diet. All of these brands use minimal, locally sourced ingredients.
Some things to note:
Be sure anything you purchase is only stored in water and does not contain any of the unsafe ingredients (listed below.)
When adding new ingredients to your pups’ food, be sure to start small and to increase gradually. If you have a pup who is prone to gaining weight, you can remove 10-20% of their kibble to decrease some of the calories. However, if your pup is active and does not gain easily, feel free to simply add the fresh foods.
You can use these fresh foods as treats if your dog enjoys them. Add blueberries into your training treat bag amongst some dehydrated chicken to cut calories while providing cancer fighting antioxidants!
Most human foods are safe for dogs with a few exceptions.
Things that are NOT safe for your dog:
Onions/ anything in the onion family
Grapes
Pits of things, like avocados, peaches, etc.
Skin of avocado (flesh is ok in small amounts!)
Anything in excess. Start small and add in gradually. Pay attention to your pup’s bowel movements to know how their system is acclimating.
Uncooked Salmon. Salmon must always be cooked thoroughly to prevent parasites. (Fish is recommended to be given 3x weekly max to prevent mercury poisoning.)
We strongly encourage doing your own research to learn more and included some of our favorite nutrition resources for you to enjoy.
If you’d like more support in creating and implementing a healthy diet for yourself and/or for your pup, schedule a Wellness Consultation with us.
Book:
The Forever Dog by Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib
The Forever Dog also has a website with many free resources available.
Check the website out at:
Get your copy of the book here:
("As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.")
Podcast:
Introduction to Nutrition on DogSpeak 101 with Nikki Ivey, Canine Behaviorist
DogSpeak101 also has many free resources on their website and the entirety of their podcast is phenomenal with lots of training, behavior, and everything else dog covered.
Podcast Nutrition Episode:
Website:
Documentary
PetFooled on Netflix
*Engaged Dogs does not provide medical advice and strongly encourages doing your own research so you can make decisions that best serve you and your canine friend(s.)
For those interested, we also recommend consulting with a Veterinary Nutritionist for a more individualized plan for your pup and to learn more. Engaged Dogs provides information purely for informational and educational purposes only.
Veterinary Nutritionist
Tiffany Walker
At the Thr!ve Market at Natchez Trace, TN
Offering virtual consultations and nutrition plans
caninenutrition12@gmail.com
Tiffany was recently featured in an episode of DogSpeak101 discussing Nutrition. You can check that out here:
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