As a dog owner, I’m sure you would never deliberately feed your dog poison. But that is exactly what has happened over the last few years. In a number of high profile cases, contaminated dog food has led to the death, or severe illness of hundreds of dogs. Yet, pet owners continue to feed these products to their dogs. Many believe there is any alternative.

If you’re in that group, read on as this article provides some useful advice on how to make homemade dog food.

It is pretty much accepted that commercial dog food companies fill their foods with all kinds of junk. Some of these ingredients, like the processed grains used as filler, have little nutritional value and are responsible for a whole range of dog allergies and skin ailments.

And then there are the chemical based colorings and flavorings which have been connected to all manner of diseases, including cancer.Even where meat is included in these products, it is of extremely poor quality and often unfit for consumption.

Of course, not all commercial dog foods should be tarred with the same brush. Some, in particular the premium brands, are of much higher quality than what I’ve described. However, it is doubtful wether they provide the same level of nutrition as a whole food diet, so you may want to consider that for your dog.

Here are 3 quick tips on how to get started;

Feed your dog a diet of unprocessed meats, vegetables, eggs, whole-wheat grains, and brown rice. Avoid junk food, table scraps, and white bread or white rice.

Remember that your dog is an omnivore, and needs vegetables as well as meat. As a rough rule of thumb try for a three way split between meat, vegetables and fiber. If you’re going to err slightly in any direction, feed more meat because protein is very important in a dog’s diet.

Bland food is easier for your dog to digest, so lay off the spices. In fact, spicy foods will probably just end up giving your dog diarrhea.

Also remember that not all foods that can be safely consumed by humans, are good for dogs.

Just about everybody knows that chocolate is harmful, but are you aware that there are many other human foods that are dangerous, even potentially lethal, to your pet?

Onions, garlic, raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts are just some of the foods that fall into this category. Other things, like table scraps and junk food may not be deadly, but are just as dangerous, causing obesity and a plethora of related health problems.

Also be careful when giving your dog bones, as these can splinter and cause intestinal damage if swallowed. Raw bones also carry the risk of salmonella poisoning.

While feeding a whole food diet is a wise choice, it makes sense to get as much information as possible, so speak to your vet and do some research online.

There’s a lot more about homemade dog food, dog care, dog health and other interesting dog info at dogsanddogtraining.com