What to Put In Your Homemade Dog Food

If your dog is experiencing a variety of symptoms like dry skin, frequent scratching, shedding, frequent vomiting and asthma, he may be experiencing food allergy, and you may need homemade hypoallergenic dog food. Different breeds of dogs have varied allergic reactions to certain types of foods. The first thing that you need to do to check if an allergic reaction to food is causing the symptoms is to know the dog's breed and research if there are any known allergens related to its breed. If there is none or if you are not sure of the dog's breed, you may consult your vet to have your dog tested. The followings are interested topics:

1) Preparation of Hypoallergenic Dog Food

If food allergy is the cause of your dog's symptoms, most vets would suggest stopping the most common food in the dog's diet. If you are feeding him or her specific brand of dog food, for example, the vet may recommend a more hypoallergenic food brand as a substitute. There are some hypoallergenic dog food brands available in the market. These brands are usually focused on allergies that manifest in the skin.

In many cases, the dog's allergy may be caused by way of preparing a dish. If the dog is being fed table food, the coagulated proteins and spices and oils used in cooking may be the allergens for the dog. In this case, you may try to make a transition from feeding a dog cooked food to feeding him with raw meat. Raw meat will be the natural food of dogs when they were not domesticated. You may consult your vet for advice if this is favorable for your dog.

2) Raw Meat Diet

The kind of raw meat that you feed your dog depends on what is available around you. Chicken is the most common meat fed to begin a raw meat transition because of its availability. Although there are some dogs, are also allergic to chicken meat. In this case, you may move on to the next common meat available to you. For some this may be pork, but for others, beef is more abundant.

If a dog has never eaten raw meat before, the transition between table or dog food may take some time. There are many techniques to make the transition easier. The most common among dog owners is to mix raw meat with the food the dog usually eats and slowly increase the percentage of meat in the diet with every meal. This way, the dog will hardly even notice the change in diet. Another technique is to chop the raw meat into smaller pieces to have the dog smell the meat.

3) Internal Organs in the Diet

If internal organs are more available to you, it can also be given to your dog raw if your pooch is allergic to the common dog food available in the market. The liver, spleen kidney and the lungs are the common parts that are available in the market. Some food diet experts highly suggest the inclusion of internal organs in a dog diet. Feeding internal organs to the dog doesn't need to be as frequent as other protein sources but it could be included as a possible option. When adding liver to the dog's diet, observe the stool of the dog if it becomes too loose. If so, only add liver sparingly.

4) Raw Bones for Calcium

Bones is another hypoallergenic source of nutrients for dogs. Some bones, like the thigh bones of cows, may be too hard for the dog's teeth and may break the dog's teeth if they persist in chewing it. Raw bones are better that cooked bones because they do not break into sharp splinters. Obviously, the bones are rich in calcium which may help create strong bones and harder stool.

Life Of A Mealworm

The life cycle of a mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) consists of four stages. Egg, larva, pupa, and beetle.

The darkling beetle goes through full metamorphosis or holometabolous metamorphosis.

Egg stage

Mealworm eggs are very small and usually laid in clusters. The eggs are greyish white and they are 1-2mm in size. The eggs hatch out in 6-8 days at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The colder it is the longer it will take to hatch.

Larva stage

After hatching the larva are visible within a week. They are white when they hatch and quickly become golden-yellow. From newly hatched to large size only takes 8-10 weeks at 80 Fahrenheit. If you wish to slow the growth rate of your mealworms down simply keep them at cooler temperatures.

During the Larva or "mealworm" stage, the mealworm will molt or shed its exoskeleton skin to grow larger. A mealworm will "molt" 9 -20 times depending on temperature. You can identify a freshly molted larva as it will be white in color. When the larva is about to enter the pupa stage it will curl up into a c-shape making it easy to identify.

The darkling beetle larva can be used for a variety of things such as live pet food for reptiles and other small animals. They can also attract wild birds. Or maybe you would prefer to use them as fish bait. Some cultures even use them for human consumption. A main coarse full of protein followed by dessert. You can eat them in candy or have them covered in chocolate.

Pupa stage

After your mealworms reach large size they will start to turn into pupa. When they are in the pupa stage they will not eat or drink. If you touch them they will wiggle around! They will stay in this stage for roughly 7 days if kept at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. They are creamy white and are between 1/2"-3/4" in size. If the pupa turn black they are dead and can be disposed of.

Beetles stage

When the beetles emerge they are white and will darken over the next few days until they become black and mature. Beetles will begin to mate and lay eggs within 4-6 days after emerging from the pupa stage. Beetles live between 8-12 weeks if kept at optimal conditions.

A female beetle will lay anywhere between 250 - 500 eggs in her lifetime.

Although they do have wings they do not use them unless under great stress.

Keep A Horse And Save Money

Keeping a horse can be exorbitantly expensive, but any equestrian with a little experience will know that there are ways of keeping costs down. However, as the cost of feed such as corn has risen over the past few years, the ability to mitigate price rises has become ever more difficult. This is particular the case when higher operating costs are forcing stables and vets to pass on the extra cost to owners in the form of higher bills. So faced with such demands on your resources, how can you ensure that you are not priced out of horse ownership?

Although not a huge expense, one of the areas that can often be cut back on is grooming products and accessories. For the absolute essentials, it is best to buy in bulk and reap the rewards of larger discounts. If you do not have the resources to pay for a large bulk order up front (and face it, few people do), then why not form a syndicate with other owners from your stables to share the cost across a larger group. Shopping online is also a great way to save money and this applies as much to food and tack as it does to other accessories. Online stores usually have a national reach and so they can benefit from economies of scale that can be passed on to the consumer. Moreover, because they do not have the same running and overhead costs, prices are not kept artificially high. A quick search online will elicit a wide range of results, ranging from the large, well known brands, to smaller niche retailers. Whoever you choose, however, make sure you look at their returns policy before committing to buying anything. Most online retailers will accept anything back if it has not been opened and is returned within a few weeks, however it does vary from store to store, so be careful and always check the fine print.

Another great way of saving is to share stabling fees by finding a stable that offers larger stalls and then sharing the costs between you. The reductions in lighting and heating make a big difference to your overall stabling charges and so long as the horses get on, you will not need to worry about having to shoulder large fee hikes on your own.

Feed is always expensive and this is especially the case if you use any food supplements or additives. However, many people do not realise that the efficacy of known brands is often no different to that of independent providers that have a less well-known name. 

Life On A Farm

When people visit a working farm they do not realise how much work, money and time is put into making it work. It takes a lot of hard work and effort put in by farmers to keep their business and livelihood ticking over. Whether they have it for meat, crops or dairy, it is a hard job to have and make work.

Many people envision farmers sitting in their lovely farmhouse relaxing after milking a cow but it is not as simple as this. They would first needed to purchase the animals that they have and also breed them to make sure they have more coming in as a farm without animals is not going to be of much use. They need to accommodate each of the different types of animals and make sure that these are kept clean regularly. If one animal is struck down by a disease or illness it can have a serious effect on other animals, so making sure their health is at its best is very imperative.

Not only do the animals need shelter, they need the correct animal feed too. If the farmer is breeding animals for meat then the right amount of animal feed is important to make sure they gain enough weight and grow to their full potential to produce quality meat. Of course buying in bulk is the easiest option and they will need different types to suit the animals. As well as taking care of the animals and providing for them, the farmer will also need to invest in a wide range of machinery and equipment that will allow them to carry out the necessary jobs they need to do. If they are milking cows as part of a dairy farm then the will have to buy machinery to cater for this, from big machines to the smaller things such as containers to hold the milk.

Of course they will have benefits to working on a farm, including having fresh produce that they have grown or made themselves. This will certainly cut the bill when supermarket shopping and will be a lot tastier too. They could also open up the farm to the public as many already do, this will encourage families to spend the day and see what it is like. It is a great side earner for the farm itself and they could set certain opening days, so they still make sure they can complete all the necessary jobs where it is best people are not in the way.

Zoe Robinson is an enthusiastic writer in the subject matter of pets, their supplies and also outdoor clothing. The websites recommended by Zoe Robinson have been thoroughly researched and come highly acclaimed from direct experience.

Pet for Christmas a Good Idea?

If you walk down the street and pass by a pet store, you just can't manage to resist taking a look at the wagging tails and those gloomy looking brown eyes which stare at you through the window. There is no doubt that countless people would love to purchase a pet for their loved ones this Christmas, seeing as it's the season of loving and giving. Needless to say, the urge can be quite strong, but should you really do it? Is buying a pet for the holidays truly a good idea? Below are a bunch of things to ponder on.

• You have to deeply consider whether or not there are other people living with the individual you plan to buy a pet for. While the recipient could be happy to receive a lovely, cute and highly adorable dog or cat for this Christmas, their roommates or relatives might not be so welcome to the idea. After all, you do not really know how well they'll be capable to manage the pet if the owner is not around at home. They just might finish up becoming annoyed with the litter in particular areas of the house, or the torn shreds of clothing and papers scattered all over. You'd have to ensure which each person agrees with the welcoming of a new pet.


• You'll want to make certain which no one in the house is vulnerable to allergic reactions. a bunch of people must be quite sensitive to the stray hairs being shed by pets, and this can really take a toll on their health. Yes, you are giving the pet to someone you care for, but even you have to take into account if he, she or their household companions can tolerate it, health-wise.


• Owning a pet could be really high maintenance, most particularly with the foods, the toys and other accessories they will need. With that in mind, you must contemplate on the financial situation of the recipient. Sure, you can always chip in with the expenses, but you can't do it all the time. Always make sure that the person you are giving a pet to is in a position to spend for the pet's needs. When the pet gets sick, the expenses for any treatment options and medication might be coming out of their pockets too, and we all know that curing ailments even in animals may be a pretty pricey affair.

These are just a bunch of the things you need to take into account if you are thinking of getting an individual a pet for Christmas.

Socialize Your Dog

Dogs are very social animals, and it's important for them to keep up their contacts with other dogs as much as social interaction is important for us. Of course, this can sometimes be more difficult than it sounds, as you may not know any other people with dogs of their own, or your schedule might make things complicated. In this case, you'll need to look into alternative solutions if you don't want to deprive your pal of this very important aspect of his/her life.

Boarding kennels are a very interesting and unique solution to this problem, and frankly, they're pretty much the best way to tackle the issue! They're quite the recent invention, and they weren't popular at all some decades ago - but nowadays boarding kennels are quite widespread and available in all places. They're not too expensive either, so you don't have to be rich to send your dog to a camp with other dogs!

The idea is simple, and it works much like a regular camp where you'd send your children to. Each dog is given its own kennel (most places separate dogs according to their sizes so that bigger ones get respectively larger kennels) and they've got a common playground on which they can do whatever they want. Care is taken for the animals all the time, and all good places that offer these services tend to have very competent staff on site to look after the dogs. You can usually count on a vet being available all the time as well, which can certainly be an important consideration, especially for some breeds which are naturally predisposed to problems.

This has many benefits for dogs, it's not just about building relationships with other dogs. Dogs need some time spent running free and this isn't always possible due to where you live - places like this can be the perfect opportunity to let your dog run wild to its heart's content and enjoy the cool breeze outdoors for a change.

It can also be a very effective method for stress relief for dogs, which is also extremely important. It's not always that obvious when dogs are stressed out and they need to let out some steam, but once you've sent your dog to a place where it can really unwind and enjoy itself for a while, it becomes immediately obvious that the dog has been craving this for a while.

Make sure you arrange your schedule with the boarding kennel service in advance though. Different people leave their dogs for different periods of time at these places, so you'll need to be specific when discussing this with the service personnel. You may be looking for a daily service, or for something where you can leave your dog for a few days - this is usually all possible with the right boarding kennel, but you'll need to talk about it in detail before signing anything. In the worst case scenario, if they can't give you the necessary services themselves, they should be able to at least point you in the right direction.