Homemade Healthy Dog Food: Tip #3

So I just told you about using finely crushed egg shells for a calcium supplement, but I forgot to put in there that the eggs are a great source of protein, vitamins, and minerals for your dog.

Side Note:
There is a huge debate over whether you should cook the eggs or can serve them raw! Raw egg whites have a protein which binds with and depletes biotin (a B vitamin). However raw egg yolks have enough biotin to actually prevent deficiency. Raw egg yolks can also contain Salmonella. I don't risk it - but there are a lot of people out there who feed raw eggs to their dogs with no problems.

So here's my shortcut/tip:

I boil some water, turn it down to a simmer and poach about a dozen eggs. If I can rinse off the egg shells right away, I'll do that. Otherwise I put them in a bowl of water and just let them soak until I can rinse them off. Then I use the egg shells as stated in Tip #2.

I tried hard boiling the eggs, hoping to make it easier, but sometimes (not sure why) it was just too hard getting the egg shells off the eggs without egg white sticking. Poaching just ends up being easier for me to "harvest" the egg shells.

After the eggs are poached/cooked, I put them in a container and put in the fridge. Cook only as many eggs as you can use within 3 to 4 days. Use the eggs as a protein source in your homemade dog food, either alone or with another meat.

Eggs are great to have around in case you run out of meat for your dog food. They only take a couple of minutes to cook, most dogs love them, and they are great for your dog.

If you want to find out more about foods that are good/bad for your dog, download this e-book, Dog Food Dangers.

Easy Cure for Dog's Itchy Skin

Wow, after only 1 post I got an e-mail!

The person wanted to know what the supplement was that I used with the regular dog food to stop my Catahoula's itchy skin.

I honestly don't remember that exact supplement, but I also did not use just one! Once I got it from the grocery store (which was one brand), other times I got them from pet stores and large retail stores (other brands). Not much help, but then again I tried many brands and I believe most worked fairly well.

There are several kinds:

• pills - my dog DID NOT like - they smelled nasty and he'd leave them in his bowl. I had to put them in cheese so he would at least finish the bottle - which I never got again!! Although, they did still help with the itching - my dog just didn't like them.
• liquids - this worked best for my dog. It looks like an oil and I just squirted some on his dog food at each feeding.
• gravies - I did not like this option as it had to be refrigerated and so some times I forgot to add it. Plus, for some reason the one I got was kind of messy.

My choice - the liquid - Shadow liked the taste, it was easy to add, not messy, and could be stored with the dog food. Sorry I can't recommend an actual brand, but all three types worked well with my dog's itchy skin. For me it came down to ease-of-use more than brand name.

The thing about the supplement is that it's a little on the pricey side - not exorbitant, but not cheap either. Think about making your own homemade healthy dog food for your dog, where these nutrients that your dog needs so badly are naturally in his food. I started thinking, what else is my dog's body needing that he isn't able to show me!