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Most dried kibble is nutritionally deficient. If this is all your dog eats, he may be missing out on some important nutrients. Also, grain-based kibble is likely to lead to excess inflammation, a very unhealthy situation that can creates conditions ripe for disease.
This is why some pet owners, including myself, have purchased grain free dog food with antioxidants.
In the wild, dogs have a more varied diet. They may snack on berries. They may eat some grass. They may eat fruit that falls from a tree. During a successful hunt, they also eat the entire animal, including the organs, which contain vital nutrients.
Clearly, the standard American dog diet is a deviation from what our pets are designed to eat. Although they may look much different, genetically, domesticated dogs are the same as wolves, and can interbreed with these wild dogs.
A few years ago, we realized we’d have a very unhealthy dog if we fed him only regular commercial dog food. So we started supplementing with people food. His favorite table scraps are raw organic chicken and organic cucumber slices.
Later, though, when our dog was 13, we needed to do something different. He developed signs of high blood sugar, so his diet needed an upgrade. He’s now going on 16. He stayed on this high-quality grain-free kibble for a year, before he lost his taste for it, and developed more of a taste for people food. Because he’s so old, we indulge him.
Dog Food With Antioxidants
Please understand that I am not a vet, nor am I qualified to give medical advice. So anything you read here is my personal opinion only.
Once we became aware of our dog’s health problem, we switched him to a grain-free diet. He had already been eating a lot of grain-free table scraps, so this wasn’t such a drastic change.
(It’s very important that you work through any dietary changes with your vet, especially if your pet is old or has a chronic health problem.)
What we should have been doing, all along, is providing our dog with grain-free meals, even when he was younger. But, in this case, better late than never.
Antioxidants Food for Dogs
(Update: The following information was written years ago, when our dog was still eating Taste of the Wild grain-free kibble. I keep it here in case our story can help other pet owners.)
Our dog still enjoys his table scraps. But he also eats a very high-quality, grain-free kibble made by Taste of the Wild. It also contains blueberries, raspberries and tomatoes as plant-based antioxidants.
We truly believe this formula has really helped our dog. (However, please remember this is my personal opinion and I’m not making any claims.)
Grain Free Premium Dog Food
Although many holistic pet care experts insist pets should eat only organic people food, at the time, we found this wasn’t possible or practical. For instance, if we wanted to take a trip, it would be hard to find a pet sitter willing to cook two or three meals a day for our dog, while we’re away.
So having a grain-free kibble in the house has also made our lives a whole lot easier, and relieved me of having to cook all of our dog’s meals from scratch.
Natural Antioxidants for Dogs
In addition to the dog food, our dog has other sources of antioxidants as well. These come from our kitchen. When I cook organic broccoli, no one tends to eat the stems. But our dog loves them. Now, when I serve broccoli, and I notice the stems are left behind, I chop them up and put them in freezer bags to later mix with his kibble. Our dog also loves scraps of carrots, as well as fruit peels.
Update: Our dog thrived on Taste of the Wild grain free kibble for nearly a year. Then he stopped eating it. His food preferences changed. So we started feeding him more soft food and a lot more people food.