Top Ten Tips to Keep Your Dog Healthy

At Ruff Greens, our primary focus is YOUR DOG. Period. One thing we strive to do, is to give you our best advice for keeping your dog happy and healthy. In this bonus article you will learn things you may not have known (like ‘What is 4D Meat’) or if you’re like me, Things You Knew but May Have Forgotten.

We All Agree: Having a dog is a BIG responsibility and there is much to remember. So we have put together a TOP TEN list that if you just do these things, we’re pretty sure your dog is headed in the right direction.

I have spent many years studying pet nutrition and learning from veterinarians, certified canine nutritionists and others in an effort to narrow down the vast amount of information concerning pet nutrition and how you can make better food choices for them.

1. Clean Their Bowls! Would you use the same plate for a week of meals without washing it? I hope not! Unfortunately, most people don’t think twice about leaving their dog’s bowls on the floor for days or longer without washing them! This practice alone can expose your pet to bacteria and contamination that can contribute to vomiting, diarrhea, bad breath, and lack of appetite (Who could blame them!). I also HIGHLY recommended you use stainless steel, ceramic, or glass bowls in place of plastic.
2. Is your pet lacking energy? Ditch the Wheat. That’s a start to fix the GI difficulties that your pet is experiencing. Get a protein-rich diet in place. Taking this step will provide your dog with tons more energy. This is difficult to do since most shelf stable commercial pet kibble foods are high in wheat and lack protein. YOU MUST READ THE LABELS.
3. As much as possible, I recommend that you give your dog Human-Grade Food: this means you give them 100% Human-Grade ingredients made by Human-Grade manufacturers. Have you heard of 4D Meat? Probably Not! 4D Meat Stands for “Meat from Dead, Dying, Diseased, and Disabled Animals”. This is completely legal, Very Disgusting and unfortunately, a common practice for big pet food kibble manufacturers. Ruff Greens is made from Human-Grade ingredients in a 100% FDA Regulated Human-Grade facility and is 100% VEGAN! *(Never Any Meat Products). At Ruff Greens we say: “If we wouldn’t take it home to our pets, we won’t send it home to yours”.
4. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. Always ensure that your Fur Buddy has plenty of fresh, clean water in a clean bowl! The MINIMUM recommended water intake for a dog is ½ an ounce of water, per pound, each day. The average dog weighs 40 pounds so that is at least 20 ounces of water every day (more for hotter or higher altitude climates). In reality, no matter what language you speak to your dog in, you should let them have as much Aqua, Tubig, Wasser, L’eau as they want!
5. Ever see the words “Chicken Meal” or “Pork Meal” on your dog’s food bag and wonder…”What is that”? Well unfortunately, “meal meats” is just another way of saying “processed scrap meats”. The truth is this can actually be ANY scrap pieces laying around on the butchers floor including inedible animal parts like beaks, tails and feet. It is horrible and disgusting to see. Imagine the worst and then multiply that by 10. DON’T FEED THIS!
6. Fresh is Best: This is the unfortunate TRUTH. Dog Food Manufacturers are REQUIRED to ensure that the kibbles *(the Brown Round Food in the Bag) are absolutely sterilized and shelf-safe for a minimum of 2-3 years. This may SOUND GOOD, but the process they use to accomplish this KILLS all of the good things in your dog’s food! You have to find a way to get those good things back into your dog’s diet. We know that making your dog’s food can be time consuming but in the long run, your dog will be healthier and you might just save a few bucks in the process. And just to TOP IT OFF, be sure to add Ruff Greens to their food, it will show in their long term health!
7. Avoid the following foods at ALL costs: Cooked Bones, (especially chicken and turkey), Macadamia Nuts, Onions, Stevia, Grapes, and chocolate (of course). Keep in mind that COOKED bones can splinter and cause many issues for your pet. Raw beef bones are probably ok. This is certainly not a complete list, but I will write another article to cover this issue in detail.
8. Do NOT give your pet preservatives: Unfortunately to make the kibble food shelf-safe, manufacturers must add in preservatives. Artificial preservatives have proven to be toxic when consumed for long periods of time. Hard to believe these “ingredients” are still legal in the United States, despite being made illegal in other countries. Fresh food is ALWAYS better!
9. Your dog is an OMNIVORE and NOT a Carnivore. Despite the fact that dogs share around 98% of DNA with wolves, that other 2% is REALLY important. Your pet does NOT require a 100% raw-meat diet. For centuries before big dog food manufacturers existed, people fed their dogs scraps from the family dinner table… and they did just fine! Of course, those people ate all natural, non-chemical, vine ripened, FRESH, organic foods daily and probably had a much better diet than ours is now, but again, that is a topic for another day.
10. NUMBER ONE: I may be a bit biased, but I honestly believe that given the food choices Pet Parents have, if you want to give your dog their best chance for a happy and healthy life…. give them RUFF GREENS every day to ensure they get all the nutrition they require.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If it was helpful for you, please feel free to ‘Pass It On’ to someone else.