Nutrition - Cooking For Your Dog What To Know

I decided to add this section on the website because, like for myself I like to know what my dogs are truly eating. When I go grocery shopping I always check the labels and I buy raw ingredients or worst case the very least processed food. Pet food in general is highly processed, contains a lot of fillers and the meat origin doesn’t have to be provided.

If you read Animal By-Product meal that includes: Rendered tissues or animals, not including added hair, hooves, horns, hide trimmings, manure, stomachs, and rumen contents except as unavoidable in processing. Not that great in my opinion…
I am not saying you shouldn’t buy kibbles for your dog and I know quite a few dogs who thrived with kibbles all their lives. I am, also, not pretending that my dogs will necessarily live longer with my food vs processed one but at least they do better. Leo and Chester kept getting itchy paws with kibbles (we had to buy some during the pandemic as it was hard to find leg quarters or whole chicken) and their coats weren’t as soft as they are compared to prepped meals.
Plus I think as a dog owner we always try to provide the best we can afford for them.

So I started to read extensively on what are the dogs daily requirements and because I now cook for them they get bloodwork once a year to make sure they are not lacking anything. All the products I use are human grade.

As I said, I read extensively and I discovered that a dog Calcium:Phosphorus (Ca:P) intake ratio should be 1.1:1 up to 2:1 but NEVER below 1:1. Article from National Institute of Health (NIH) (.gov)
By grinding the bones and the marrow all together with the meat they get that good Ca:P ratio. This is why the recipe where whole chicken or quarters legs is involved you MUST have a very good blender because you will grind the bones.

 

Nutritional information

To know what are your dog daily requirements check go on the member login section create an account and you’ll get an estimate of your pooch daily intakes according to its breed, sex and activity level.

I usually add on what I cook for them either Turmeric, Ginger and Salmon oil as a supplement based on their individual weight. Not all of them at once, though they always have the Salmon oil (about 80 calories as they get about 1 TBSP). Don’t forget to take this in consideration. These supplement can be find here

Disclaimer: I am not a dog nutritionist but I feed them these recipes and once a year each dog gets bloodwork to make sure they don’t lack any nutrients and everything is fine. I did that for the first 3 years I started cooking for them because sometimes, by thinking we’re providing something good we can actually create some harm.

The TCVM Approach

In TCVM, food is not just about calories—it’s about energetic properties. Every ingredient is categorized as Warming, Neutral, or Cooling. For example, Leo is an “Earth” dog, which means he runs “Hot” and is prone to inflammation. Dr. Hein had us replace warming proteins like chicken with cooling proteins like turkey and white fish to balance his system.
Knowing your dog’s specific element is the key to customizing their holistic care. (Our free Be A Better Pup app actually calculates this for you automatically!)

Also depending on your furry friend element you will hve to prioritize deffirent ptoteins, grains and vegetables. Because I have 4 dogs it’s hard to get the same energy level so to be on a safe side I stick to the neutral food. This is why lately I implemented Pork loins, Ground Turkey and Rolled Oats/Barley. You can find these recipes along with the meal creator and calories calculator in the Pack App.

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Holistic Pack Guide
Hi! I'm your BeaBetterPup holistic assistant. Ask me anything about TCVM, food therapy, or how to use the app!
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