A Wholefood and Balanced Diet
Wholefood
There are different opinions about the definition of Wholefood. Our understanding is that wholefood is food as natural as possible and with very little processing. It includes no additives, chemicals or the like. Dogs Dinner Delight is ingredients straight off the supermarket shelves as human grade. We consider this is as close to pure wholefood as is available – even for humans.
Obviously, there are some foods which humans eat which are not good for dogs, like onions, chocolate, garlic and avocado, so they are excluded. All we have is beef, chicken and 7 different vegetables. This is unlike what is industrially packaged as Dog Food – but which is not prime food. In fact manufactured dog food it is normally what is left over from their food production, after all that could be considered human quality has been removed. That is why many of the manufacturers and processors of human food also make dog food; Nestlé, Del Monte, Colgate Palmolive, Mars Incorporated, Proctor & Gamble (80% approximately of the worldwide market from these 5 companies). Dog food is a profitable outlet for their waste.
The cooking is vitally important. Dogs Dinner Delight is slow cooked for 6 hours. This process releases the goodness, making it easier for the dog to digest, and ensuring that the vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates etc. are easily assimilated into the dogs blood stream.
Nothing is lost in the cooking process. Slow cooking means that no goodness is destroyed by unnecessary heat and boiling water. All the juices are kept in the containers, so nothing goes to waste. What is left is all the goodness, appetising and beautifully presented. The dogs love it.
What are the natural elements in the wholefood menu
BEEF Contains:
Protein and good fat. Calories and no Carbohydrates. Vitamin B12 for blood, brain and nerves. (Beef is the only good dietary source of vitamin B12). Rich in Zinc, Selenium and Iron, Niacin, Vitamin B6 (blood formation) Phosphorous.
CHICKEN Contains:
Protein (54%) Calories. Amino Acids (for muscle tissue and bone density). Vitamins A, C ,B6, B7 and D. Calcium, Zinc and Iron. Healthy Fats. Chicken is best food available for improving Gut Health.
SWEET POTATO Contains:
High Fibre, Antioxidants – Beta-carotene (Converts to vitamins A, B and C for vision and immune system). Sweet Potato is described as ‘Nutrient dense’. Calories, Carbohydrates, Protein and Fibre. Calcium Iron and Magnesium. Phosphorous, Potassium, Thiamin and Zinc (these particularly in the potato skin)
WHITE POTATO Contains:
Calories, Carbohydrates, Fibre, Protein. Vitamins C and B6, Niacin, Folate, Potassium, Manganese. Phosphorous and antioxidants (Concentrated in potato skin).
PEAS and GREEN BEANS Contain:
Nutrients and Antioxidents. Low calories. Carbohydrates, Fibre, Sugar, Sodium, Potassium, Protein, Vitamins A, C, D, B6, Calcium, Iron, Cobalamin and Magnesium.
CAULIFLOWER and BROCCOLI Contain:
High in Vitamins K, C and B6, Low Calories, Sodium, Potassium, Carbohydrates and Fibre.
CARROTS Contain:
Protein, Carbohydrates, Fibre, Vitamin K, Calcium. Low in Calories.
Calories produced by this menu are variable according to individual elements used, even for a fixed menu. The estimated average is 450 cals per 100g Dogs Dinner Delight.
The range, quality and quantity of these natural ingredients covers all the food requirements of a healthy dog. None of the benefits are lost by any processing, including slow cooking for 6 hours, which enhances the release of these nutrients and aids assimilation. None of the liquid released from slow cooking is discarded – every bit is in the wet food. Unwanted fat is skimmed off before packing.
We do not subscribe to any reason why there should be a different menu for different breeds, or for varying dog ages. Nor do we agree with the need to add anything to these balanced and comprehensive ingredients. We recommend that dog owners take a stand against the toxic and harmful nature of most manufactured dog foods, and which some vets are suggesting actually harm the dogs.
Balanced Diet
Once again, there are many opinions about what is a Balanced Diet. What we have chosen as the basic elements are Beef (35%), Chicken (40%) and Vegetables (25%) and established a mix which provides for every dog, what they need for health and wellbeing. The meat part provides over 50% protein and the vegetables, vitamins and fibre. The mix means that there is plenty of all dietary elements required within every day’s luxury meal.
The calories required for Willow, who weighs 29Kg, are about 1000 – 1200 per day. This is provided by 2 meals of 120g each. Beef provides protein and healthy fat. The vitamins and minerals in this diet include calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, antioxidants, sodium, iron, and thiamine. They are all in these diet ingredients and not added artificially. Vitamin B12 particularly, is found in the ‘only good dietary source’ of beef, and is particularly for the blood, brain and nerves. Chicken provides amino acids, which are ‘building blocks’ used for proteins, muscle tissue and bones.
Vegetables comprise 25% of the mix, and we believe provide enough vitamins and minerals for maxim, fitness and longevity. Sweet potatoes are nutrient dense. As with white potatoes, the maximum goodness is in or under the skin. For this reason the potatoes are cooked ‘skin on’. High fibre, antioxidants, beta carotene, vitamins A B and C (for vision and immune system) and all the other vitamins. White potatoes also provide starch, vitamin C, B6 niacin folate. (Particularly good for skin).
The green vegetables are all providing vitamins, nutrients, fibre, protein, antioxidants and vitamin K. There are slight differences between them hence a mix is deemed best for the dog. They are low in calories but high in vitamins.
It should be clear to all that this is ideal for dogs. Willow is thriving, and so are many other dogs who eat it.
The fact that this food is crammed with goodness means that you will have to watch your dog’s weight. Willow has put on weight recently, and that could be because the winter season restricts her opportunities for exercise. We must watch this of course.
How Much Food for your Dog?
You will not be surprised if I were to say that there are differing answers. I cannot debate which are right and which are wrong. However, we know that it is dependent on many factors. The obvious factors are the weight of the dog, the breed, the lifestyle, the dog’s age and most important, the nutritional quality of the food being used. But the obvious question arises “Is my dog fat?”
As a starting point, we would suggest that the daily amount should be in the order of 1-2% of body weight. Say 1.5% for the average healthy dog of perhaps 3 years old. Willow is our guide: she weighs 29Kg therefore she should have between 290g per day, up to 580g per day. Actually we give her 250g Dogs Dinner Delight and 120g mixer – total 370g per day. She also has a few treats, and she eats apples off the lawn, in autumn!
Dogs Dinner Delight goes down her throat so quickly, there is a temptation to give her more. However, she is actually putting on weight. That is a crucial consideration. Whatever ‘the book’ says, is only guidance. The amount we are giving Willow is only half what the makers are recommending for a dog her size etc. but your dog should not increase in weight when they are aged 3. That indication must regulate how much food to give your dog.
The quality of food in the can, off the shelf is so low, the makers are forced to try to get you to give more, to protect the dog from malnutrition! But with Dogs Dinner Delight, we can see the food has everything in it which she needs, and consequently, the cost of feeding her is much lower than the standard processed food – she needs much less. It costs us maximum £4 per day at retail price. The standard issue from Butchers for instance, says she should have 2½ tins – 1000g per day. That will also cost about £4 per day, but there aren’t very many dogs who could eat that much without being very ill! And even if they could, that overdose of toxic waste will certainly harm them.
Qualified Advice
Having confidence in the integrity of specialist advisers is not easy. There are many vested interests. The manufacturers are continually putting money into veterinary organisations, financially assisting vets to recommend their products, and of course, with the increase in dogs needing veterinary attention because of gastro problems, means that there are very few people who can be genuinely honest. The report in Guardian Labs 9th May 2023, referred to earlier in this web site, is very helpful, and sounds impartial. Dr Anna Dengate is quoted, – a UK vet specialising in gastroenterology “I am seeing an increase in the number of dogs with bowel problems, and a wholefood diet often aids their recovery and then keeps them well”.
Suppliments
The manufacturers are very keen to advertise supplements and additives. They also try and catch the buyer with the temptation that your dog needs special treatment, and their specialist food will sort out that particular problem. They have a different offering for old, young, sickly, this breed or that breed etc. For each variety, there is a different range of additives and supplements. Without doubt these are only sales pitch claims, which at best tempt you the buyer to believe that this manufacturer has the edge on your dog’s special needs, but at worst it is playing games, to create fear for you the owner, and sell more product in a competitive market. Please allow the dog to heal itself! That is what happened in the wild hundreds of years ago, when dogs ate natural food, and lived well on it. It seems that the need for these additives etc is imagined, but at best it is clearly necessary if the quality of the food being eaten by dogs is so very bad.
We do not believe that every dog should be fed supplements and additives. It may be necessary if their vet says so, but not every dog, and always. What they need is a wholefood balanced diet. And you make the decision to give them Bob Martin’s and fish oil if you think that necessary. The wholefood balanced diet of Dogs Dinner Delight has everything the normal dog needs. It has no additives and supplements. It has no clotting agents, colourisers and flavour bombs. It has no sweepings off the floor, and no entrails and carcases from the slaughterhouse. It is just best quality food.