I made a meal with shrimp and some other healthy ingredients, and my dogs got some too.
This is just another demonstration of how easy it is to incorporate nutritious foods into your dog’s diet.
The ingredients are:
- shrimp – offers protein, iodine, selenium and other important nutrients
- black beans – in moderation, beans are a good source of fiber, B vitamins and protein. But please don’t make beans a main source of protein. It is not adequate for dogs. See my article, “Vet Says No to Plant Based Diets for Dogs” and also my article on diet-related dilated cardiomyopathy.
- barley – a whole grain that provides fiber, vitamins and minerals
- asparagus – a green vegetable that offers many antioxidants, vitamins, fiber and non-nutritive but beneficial plant compounds
I saved out a couple tablespoons of this meal for each of my dogs. It was a nice topper to their regular meals. You can do this kind of thing, too!
Related Topic: Animal Based Functional Foods
Many animal-based ingredients not only provide vital animal protein, but functional properties. Foods with a specific purpose are sometimes called functional foods.
Animal-based examples of functional foods include, but are not limited to:
- animal organs and glands
- omega-3 fatty acids
- selenium-rich foods (like shrimp mentioned above)
As with other minerals, selenium is a vital part of the diet. But there are two especially interesting components about this aspect of the dog diet.
First, selenium is recognized for antioxidant, cancer-fighting properties. Conversely, while research is still underway, some studies suggest a synthetic form of selenium called sodium selenite – widely found in pet food – may actually be carcinogenic (cancer-causing).
Therefore, offering selenium-rich foods is a natural, safe way to protect your dog’s body from illness.
Selenium-rich foods for dogs include sardines, turkey, beef liver, halibut, eggs, chicken and more.
I hope you will visit my Services page for assistance.
By the way…If you have a golden retriever like I do, you might also enjoy my other site, GoldenRetrieverDiet.com.