Category Archives: Nutrition

Homemade Dog Treats: Carrot Coconut Mini Cookies

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Homemade Dog Treats: Carrot Coconut Mini Cookies

You can roll your cookies and cut from the roll or use other shapes (small balls, cubes) and different sizes, just as you like. But the easiest and fastest way is to cut them from a cold plate of dough (as explained below). They look good and even smell yummy … 🙂

Now Revised for easier preparation!

Special tip - homemade dog treatsI have tried different kinds of holistic treats, which I still consider a good choice, provided your Bull Terrier does not have any issues with microorganisms (yeast) or her weight. Even many holistic treats contain large amounts of starch and sugars. There are differences in carbohydrates (“good” and “bad” ones). But even if they come from healthy sources, such as honey, it’s still carbs and bacteria or fat pads don’t care if the carbs/ sugars are organic or not.

After some research on the Internet and then came up with my own recipe, which turned out pretty good at first. Only the preparation process was a little bit tedious in the past and I’ve successfully tried to improve that process, too. This is the revised version of my popular Carrot Coconut Mini Cookie recipe.

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Lean, low starch, grain-free homemade raw food recipe for dogs (revised)

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Low starch, grain-free homemade raw food

Introductory comment: I have fed my Bull Terrier this recipe and she started to show signs of being hungry all the time. Raising the amount of food did not resolve the situation, as she was super active at that time. I would recommend this recipe predominantly for dogs who do not get lots of exercise or dog who are a little overweight, because it uses lean meat. Dogs who are very active should eat more fat and get more calories. For those dogs I recommend to choose meat with a higher fat content.
You will find a lot of comments in my recipe because over time I have gathered some experience and want to share all new information. You will see that this recipe is pretty flexible and can be adjusted to different activity levels and situations of a dog.

Here comes my basic recipe for lean, low starch, grain-free raw food, if you want to make your own raw dog food for your Bull Terrier or any other dog. It took us three batches to get to this recipe and figure out the tips and tricks. It will be subject to further evaluation with every new batch we make. This is how we produce it right now. The calculated amounts deliver enough food for up to 45 days for a 45-50 lb dog.

I have tried to describe everything as detailed as possible for you.

Enjoy raw “cooking” for your dog.

As Mila has some problems with yeast, I only chose low starch veggies in this batch in order to avoid feeding my dog AND her yeast.
If you don’t have such problems with your Bull Terrier or other dog, feel free to substitute some of the veggies by others.
Possible substitutes are sweet potato, pumpkin and lentils, only to name a few. This will also bring variation into the food.

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Some thoughts on a homemade over a manufactured diet for dogs with kidney problems

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Our last Bull Terrier eventually died of kidney failure at the age of 14. This is something, some people connect to aging and count as inevitable. I am not so sure. However, we will never know, if it was a birth defect or the consequence of all the medication she had been taking over the years for her various issues.
Her kidneys had not been monitored for a long time, only during the last one or two years or so.
That was when we also learned about limited ingredient diets.
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Your happy and healthy dog

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Maybe you are currently thinking about becoming a puppy owner for the first time in your life. Maybe you already own a puppy or an adult dog and just want to double check, if you are already doing all the good stuff. Either way, this post is intended to provide you with information on the basics of a happy and healthy dog – Bull Terriers included, because apparently they are dogs as well, although sometimes they behave more like little clowns. 🙂

The basic principles of a balanced nutrition, proper care, hygiene and exercise apply to any dog, no matter the breed.
In addition, there are often also some breed specific aspects to consider. But for now I will mainly cover information that applies to dogs in general.

Bullterrierfun - Your happy and healthy dog

 

I have prepared a cartoon style chart for you that shows the essentials of the happy and healthy dog. I am giving away the printing file for this poster for free. Contact me, if you want to have the file.

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Supplements for dogs – Keep your pooch healthy and energetic

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Bullterrierfun - Supplements for dogs - Keep your pooch healthy and energeticWhy add supplements for dogs when feeding an already balanced manufactured food, such as kibble or canned dog food, you may be asking yourself.

While many manufacturers promise “balanced” and “complete” on the package, the truth is that many processed pet foods have a very general and basic formula. As a result it is simply not possible to really meet ALL of your dog’s needs by just feeding this food.
Some processed foods can even cause deficiencies, if fed solely over years and not alternated with other foods or supplemented with nutrients.
Compared to humans some of those dog foods have the same level of quality as if you were eating nothing but fast food all your life.

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Healthy dog treats – Suggestions

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Bullterrierfun - Healthy dog treats - SuggestionsNot only the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. The way to a dog’s heart goes the same way with healthy dog treats and balanced nutrition. I sometimes wonder when I watch many people treating their dogs generously with pieces as big as half a meal. When doing dog training you really learn to divide your treats, because otherwise you will be feeding your dog fat in no time.
There’s nothing wrong with feeding treats, as long as they do not add calories in excessive amounts or if they are just being “burned” by some additional exercise.
Dogs have quite sensitive tastebuds. So, small treats even for big dogs are really doing the trick. This way they add less calories to the dog’s daily calorie intake.

Still, if you are using a lot of treats, for example in dog training, it’s not the worst idea to really count the amount of treats into your dog’s daily calorie intake.

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Choosing the right dog food

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Bullterrierfun - Choosing the right dog foodEvery owner wants his dog to be healthy. Choosing the right dog food plays a huge role in the health of your dog. When looking for the right dog food, there are some things to consider.

Ideally the nutrition of a dog is a close as possible to the natural nutrition of carnivores. Meaning based on fresh, raw sources of animal protein, such as meats and eggs, plus bones.

However the ideal way is not always practicable under every circumstance. Some owners consider raw food messy. Feeding raw is also very expensive.
In general there is nothing wrong with feeding processed pet food (kibble or can), especially because those foods are already formulated to meet a lot of the basic needs of your pet regarding nutrients, minerals and vitamins.
And luckily the pet food industry holds a whole lot of alternatives ready to choose from today. Actually so many alternatives that it is hard to find the right stuff at a glance.

However, with convenience and great prices, there always comes a catch.

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Dog treat balls – how to fill balls with two openings for freezing

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Especially when your filling is quite fluid, it may become hard to fill dog treat balls with two openings, such as the Kongs, for example, for freezing.

In this post I want to show you how I do it

Preparation

1. Have a sufficiently large piece of plastic wrap ready
2. Place your ball in the center, so you can completely cover it with the wrap later and tightly wrap the foil around the smaller hole of the ball.
3. Set the wrapped end of the ball in a coffee cup to make it stand upright and prevent it from tipping. Make sure that the hole at the bottom of the ball is still covered tightly!

Dog treat balls - how to fill balls with two openings for freezing

First cover the smaller hole with wrap and place the ball in a coffee cup with the smaller end/ hole at the bottom.

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Homemade dog jerky treats recipe

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Homemade dog jerky treats recipe

This is a closeup of what your jerky treats eventually will look like

During the last years there has been a lot of discussion about treats for pets, mainly because imports from Asia are still skyrocking.
A lot of different types of treats have triggered warnings and even recalls.
But not only questionable ingredients in or methods of preserving pet food are reason for concern.
Today all of our food – human food as well as pet food is being processed at a very high level. Competition causes a lot of cost pressure and triggers an ongoing search for more affordable ingredients in our food. Be it artificial cheese that is merely remotely related with real cheese or refined sugar, which basically can be considered THE poison of the 21st century. Flours completely drained void of any vitamins and minerals, gluten, fillers … the list goes on. Continue reading →

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Rawhide dog treats for your Bull Terrier

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Rawhide dog treats - Mila with rawhide

“Yummy!”

Rawhide dog treats are a very popular dog treat for chewing and available in all kinds of sizes and shapes. As many Bull Terriers like chewing a lot, especially the young ones, Rawhide dog treats can be a good choice to keep them busy.

What are Rawhide dog treats made of?

As the name suggests rawhide is made from hides – mostly cattle.
The hides are freed from all fat, meat and hair, cleaned, cut, pressed and processed into different shapes, such as sticks, braids, knotted bone shapes etc. before drying. After drying the product has shrunken to about half of its former size, which is one of the major reasons, why rawhide treats bear the potential of causing intestinal blockages and choking.
Some also come with chicken or beef flavoring. Careful with those: They can stain carpets and floors.

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