Free Pet Tips » Fish

Homemade Pet Foods: Effective or Dangerous?

Emman Alcide — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 08:03:34 +0000

The trend of homemade dog foods are rising high. One major reason is the quality and safety of commercial pet food in the market. With the news of melamine being present in dog foods made in China and the fact the most of the pet foods in the store are made in China, most pet owners are finding an alternative and it is through homemade dog foods.

Homemade dog foods is not as easy as mixing a bowl of meat with a bowl of potatoes. The nutrients dogs and cats need differs from us and we are not all nutritionist or vets. Our expertise when it comes to pet’s nutrients is actually insufficient for us to prepare homemade pet foods. Although it is an advantage preparing pet foods that are fresher, there are many factors to consider first before we shift to the home made pet food from commercial pet food.

1. Pets are focused on Nutrients and Less on The Ingredients

Commercial foods are made based on the pet’s nutritional needs. They are processed to provide the needed daily nutrients of our pets. Concocting our recipes may be risky for we might be depriving them of important nutrients such as proteins and carbohydrates.

2. Fresh are Good but Raw are Bad

Fresh foods are good and in fact, vets advises pet owners to give fresh foods to their pets such as bananas and some veggies but not all pets eat veggies and fruits. Raw meats are dangerous. Even though our pets may enjoy nimbling raw meats and bones, it is not safe to give them raw and uncooked foods. Pets are susceptible to salmonella and E.Coli with raw meats. There are also studies showing that dogs became aggressive when feed with raw meats.

Home made pet foods are good but it must be well prepared. Seek advice from your vets or find an online recipe for your dogs and cats. There are even books for pet foods. Commercial pet foods are still advisable because they are economical but it would also be a good treat to your pets if you cook for them once in a while.

Overfeeding: A Crime of Innocent Ignorance

Emman Alcide — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 19:11:00 +0000

Overfeeding our pets is actually a form of animal cruelty or abuse. The definition of animal cruelty to us is beating or underfeeding, or putting them in cages and not taking care of them but overfeeding is also a form of animal cruelty. Overfeeding leads to health problems such as diabetes, heart illness, obesity, arthritis and more. It is advisable that we follow the standard or the proper amount of food that we give to our pets.

Pets have insatiable appetite, they will keep on munching as long as we keep on giving, they wont stop unless we intervene. It is hard to ignore our pets asking for more food or asking a piece of whatever it is that we are eating so we decide to toss a slice of pizza, a piece of meat or bread. We’re thinking they deserve it for the love, affection and loyalty they have on us. It is right but there is a harmful side to it. We overfeed them and we put them prone to diseases.

So how much food you should give to your pets? Here are some helpful guidelines.

Dogs:
10 lbs. or less- 1/3 – 1 cup of dog food (Dry, Wet or Mixed)
10-25 lbs.- 1-2 ¼ cups
25-50 lbs. -2 ¼ – 3 ¾ cups
50-75 lbs. – 3 ¾ – 5 cups
Over 75 lbs. – 5-8 cups

Cats:
The typical 10 lb. cat should be fed 4-6 ounces of canned food or 1/4 – 1/3 cup dry food daily.

Fish:
About a pinch of food is enough to feed at least 5 fish.

The best thing to do is to ask your vets for the proper diet of your pets. Some dog and cat breeds may require different feeding needs. Read properly the label of your dog or cat foods. Putting too much food in the aquarium may contaminate the water and may poison your fishes so always be careful in the amount of food you put in your aquarium.

Loving your pets does not end in buying them gifts and accessories. Not overfeeding them is actually the best gift you can ever give them. Another gift, more for you than them, is to use a godaddy coupon 2011 to obtain a domain for your pet. Put up a site with images and more for yourself and your family to enjoy.

Keeping Your Pets Safe and Healthy

editor — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:22:33 +0000

You may not realize it, but pets are a lot more vulnerable to bad weather incidents and being picked up as an assumed stray than you’d imagine. There are several things you can do to keep your pets safe, out of trouble, and happy at home!

Make sure your pet enclosures are secure and big enough. A pet likes nothing more than free space to move around and being closed up too tightly can be unhealthy. Also, you wouldn’t want a pet that needs to be closed up exploiting a weakness in the enclosure!

If it’s storming outside, don’t forget to bring your pets inside. Some pets may not understand weather the same way that humans do, so it can be quite a scare for them.

Make sure your pets are tagged or collared if they are going to be out of the house. You wouldn’t want someone picking up your pet to call their own. They also run the risk of being taken to the pound if they’re not collared and/or tagged.

Keep your pets healthy! This is a big one. Keeping your pet healthy is one of the most important things you can do. Make sure you keep your pets free of parasites and common diseases. Be positive that your pets’ vaccinations are up-to-date.

Following these simple steps can assure that your pet remains safe and out of harms way. Keeping a safe, healthy environment is very important for your pet!