A homemade diet is not as difficult or expensive as you think! If you follow a basic 2:1 meat to vegetable ratio in you dog’s meals, add a high quality probiotic and enzyme supplement, and a balanced vitamin, mineral and omega supplement, you’ll have it made…literally!

The real key to feeding a homemade diet is a high quality probiotic and enzyme supplement. Not all probiotics are created equal: Multiple species of bacteria, and high numbers of each, as well as the same for enzymes, make all the difference. Perhaps you have tried probiotics, with no great result. It is very likely you had as little as one species of bacteria, very low CFU (colony forming units) of this bacteria, and, as is usually the case, no enzymes at all!

Probiotics are “good” beneficial bacteria, like Lactobacillus acidophilus, rhamnosus, and reuteri, Bifidobacterium bificum, longum, and adolescerntis, as well as Enterococcus faecium and Saccharomyces cervisia (beneficial digestive yeast). Probiotics naturally live in the dog’s digestive tract in very high numbers. These organisms allow the dog to take in solid food and convert it into bloodstream-ready particle sizes. They also allow the dog to digest, utilize and thrive on all types of food sources, even bad stuff! This is why a high quality probiotic and enzyme supplement is so important when changing a diet or moving to a home–made diet. This daily addition can also help prevent digestive problems of all sorts: Diarrhea, poor food usage, gas, constipation, vomiting undigested food, etc.

Probiotics can be a life changing supplement for some dogs with long term digestive issues. Natures Farmacy uses the highest quality, encapsulated bacteria available. They are bred so that they have a protective protein coating which withstands the stomach acids as well as heat and moisture factors. This means all of our probiotic and enzyme products do not need refrigeration and are shelf stable for up to three years.

Enzymes are proteins. Using a good probiotic and enzyme daily supplement enables the dog to populate the digestive tract with valuable enzymes and allow the body to convert food protein into enzymes that are specifically needed in other organs and systems in the body. When formulating enzyme supplements, it is important to use “acid stable” enzymes. This allows the enzymes to survive the stomach acids and reach the lower levels of the digestive tract where they are needed. Nature’s Farmacy uses these high quality enzymes in their products.

Making a safe, simple, homemade diet using fresh and frozen ingredients from the local grocery store is a great step in improving your dog’s health and improving longevity. Using bacteria and enzyme supplements that get the most out of these ingredients is important. Avoiding digestive problems when changing and improving a diet is really important. This is why BOTH probiotics and enzymes need to be used daily in a home-made diet program. It is also simple, cost effective, and your dog loves it. Balancing this diet with a calcium supplement is recommended. Combining this program with an excellent vitamin, mineral and omega supplement brings you full circle. All the bases are covered! Let the supplements do the hard work for you. Just choose food ingredients that fit your dog and fit your lifestyle. A simple one page recipe entitled “Homemade Diet for Dogs”can be downloaded from Nature’s Farmacy HERE.