Have you considered using a natural dog food premix to provide your pet's nutrition? Depending on the mix you choose, you can give your pet fresh protein and avoid unhealthy items like chemical additives, dyes and preservatives. Learn about different brands available.
Natural Dog Foods
So, it turns out that commercially manufactured dog foods are not immune to contaminants, not even some brands that bill themselves all natural. However, preparing home-cooked meals for your canine can be a lot of extra work. Isn't there something in between the two extremes that will deliver safe, highly digestible nutrition to your dog in a relatively convenient manner?
The answer is yes. A natural dog food premix bridges the gap between commercial and home cooked foods. A premix typically contains the vegetables and grains needed for rounded nutrition, which means all you need to add to the mix is a protein source.
Recommended fresh protein sources include:
- Chicken
- Beef
- Liver
- Lamb
- Turkey
- Fish
The protein you choose depends on your dog's flavor preferences, but rotating a variety of protein sources keeps the food interesting to your pet and ensures rounded nutrition.
One of the main attractions of a natural dog food premix is that the foods are not heated during processing. Heat processing lowers the nutritional content of most foods by making them less digestible. Beneficial enzymes, probiotics, vitamins, and amino acids are all at risk during heat processing.
A natural premix delivers your dog's food in a state as close to natural as possible, thereby preserving the nutritional content. The flavors are preserved as well, so there's no need to spray extra fat on the food to make it more palatable for your pet.
Natural Dog Food Premix Alternatives
Let's take a look at some premixes currently available.
Urban Wolf
Urban Wolf is a grain-free premix designed to compliment a BARF diet. The company is so sure of the benefits of this mix that it guarantees your pet will not suffer the usual side effects experienced when changing to a new diet. Just add your own fresh meat and high quality fish oil to the mix, and you have a meal worthy of your furry companion.
The company also sells a balancer product that converts the adult formula to a puppy mix.
Urban Wolf premix contains whole ground, freeze dried or naturally dried:
- Sweet potato
- Carrot
- Apple
- Barley greens
- Broccoli
- Almond (stabilized)
- Watercress
- Alfalfa
- Blueberries
- Cranberries
- Spinach
- Fibre
- Celery
- Lycopene
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- Natural calcium carbonate
- Flax meal
- Carob
- Kelp
- Parsley
- Ginger root
- Marjoram
- Basil
Dr. Harvey's
Dr. Harvey's Canine Health prides itself on the fact that no chemicals, dyes or preservatives are used in this premix. All food sources used are human grade; this is considerably higher quality than the pet grade sources used in most commercial kibble mixes. As with other premixes, you'll need to add your own fresh meat to balance the meal.Dr. Harvey's premix contains:
- Organic brown rice flakes
- Organic kamut flakes
- Organic spelt flakes
- Organic rolled oats
- Organic barley flakes
- Organic triticale flakes
- Sweet potatoes
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Zucchini
- Peas
- Green Beans
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Parsley leaf
- Lecithin granules
- Garlic granules
- Bee pollen granules
- Nutritional yeast flakes
- Alfalfa leaf
- Rose hips
- Red clover blossoms
- Oat straw
- Flax seed meal
- Papaya leaf
- Rosemary leaf
- Dandelion root
- Peppermint leaf
- Ginger root
- Spirulina
- Foenugreek
- Basil leaf
- Fennel seed
Sojos
Sojos European-Style Dog Food Mix was one of the first premixes for those wanting to feed their pets something other than commercial kibble. This premix contains no wheat or corn; some dogs find these foods difficult to digest, others are actually allergic to them.
Instead, Sojos uses a blend of:
- Rolled oats
- Rye flakes
- Barley flakes
- Ground pecans
- Natural calcium carbonate
- Kelp powder
- Carob powder
- Parsley
- Nettles leaf
- Calcium
Add your own choice of meat and veggies to the mix to create a custom meal for your dog.
Monzie's
Monzies Organic Dog Food Pre-mix is extremely convenient to prepare for your dog. Just add meat, water and stir. What could be simpler? Monzie's Organic Muesli premix contains:
- Organic oats
- Organic barley
- Organic rye
- Organic quinoa
- Organic flax seeds
- Organic sunflower seeds
- Kelp powder
- Carob powder
- Vegetable broth powder
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Organic alfalfa
- Organic dandelion
It's Worth the Extra Effort
Taking the time to combine fresh meat and a natural premix may not be as convenient as pouring kibble in a bowl, but in light of recent dog food recalls, many owners are willing to make the extra effort. Perhaps a natural diet would be beneficial for your own pet?
