Italian Greyhounds; Alternatives to Commercial Dog Food
A general lack of enzymes is among one of the drawbacks of commercial dog food. Enzymes are an important part of the natural digestion process for dogs. Cooking temperatures for dog food are so high that any natural enzymes are killed, which places an extra burden on a dog's pancreas. Going with food like broccoli, yogurt, raw chicken parts, lamb shanks, garlic, alfalfa sprouts, apples, and a variety of other healthy foods are a safe bet. Food to stay away from are chocolate, processed and junk food, onions, raw grains, potatoes, celery, legumes, or raisins.
If you are concerned about feeding your dog raw meat, do some research on the B.A.R.F. diet. At first I couldn't imagine the thought of feeding raw chicken (complete with bones) to my IG, but I quickly learned that there was actually quite a large community of B.A.R.F. followers out there - my research soon uncovered the many benefits of this diet. Now that I've converted to a natural diet, my dog is living proof of its advantages; she now has a shinier coat, better muscle tone, cleaner teeth, and a healthier appetite. Rather than picking as she did with her kibble, she devours her new meals.
The fact that pet food is never mostly meat is another reason to make a switch away from kibble. Pet food companies use a lot of gimmicks to allow them to list meat as the first ingredient on the label - although being first on the list suggests it's the main ingredient, it usually isn't. Among some of the tactics used are the following: (1) listing wet ingredients although they lose a significant portion of their weight when cooked; (2) calling it meat by-product meal or meat by-products (you are dealing with something that was never meet to begin with in this case); and (3) Splitting carbohydrates so that 30 lbs. of rice is broken down into 3 parts (ground rice, rice bran and rice gluten for example). This last gimmick essentially leads the consumer to believe meat is the primary ingredient even though it is not.
With only a little research, you will find the convenience of feeding kibbled food comes at the cost of your dogs health. Moreover, kibble doesn't clean a dog's teeth anymore than crackers might clean human teeth. The raw diet does, however, help prevent problematic teeth in that the fleshy meat really exercises the teeth and
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