As a dog owner, you know how important it is to provide the best dog food to feed your dog, especially if it’s a senior pup. But when mobility becomes an issue due to stiff joints, special considerations need to be made.
Fortunately, cooking up homemade dishes can give your four-legged friend the nourishment they need, while making sure their joint health stays top priority. Here are a few options to consider.
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Savory Slow Cooker Stew: A Cozy Meal For Your Dog’s Joints
If you’ve got a slow cooker at home, this stew recipe provides all the ingredients necessary for joint support in older dogs, while being an enjoyable comfort meal as well.
Start by adding diced carrots, sweet potato and broccoli into a slow cooker, before adding chunks of stewing beef and enough water to cover. Include brown rice or barley grains for added carbohydrates and protein.
Finally, add a small quantity of turmeric, which helps reduce inflammation related to stiff joints. Don’t go overboard with this, as it’s only recommended for dogs to have very modest amounts of this particular spice. And remember that ingredients like onion and garlic, which we’d happily eat in a stew for humans, are actually toxic to dogs, so need to be left in the kitchen cupboard!
Once you’ve got these ingredients in the slow cooker, turn it on and let everything simmer until fully cooked, then serve warm. It will be perfect on cold winter days.
Homemade Salmon & Sweet Potato Treats: Supporting Mobility in Older Canines
Treats can be a great way to reward your senior pup and show them some extra love! But treats don’t have to just be empty calories. As evidenced by Honest Paws’ NASC certified probiotics for dogs, a well balanced diet can include tasty yet healthy snacks which will be a joy for animals of all ages.
If you’re after a homemade option, this salmon and sweet potato recipe is packed with nutritious ingredients that support joint health, mobility, and energy levels in older dogs. Plus it’s tasty enough for even the pickiest of pooches.
Start by mixing cooked wild-caught salmon with mashed boiled sweet potatoes plus crushed oats or oat flour as a binding agent. Once again, add turmeric to reduce inflammation.
Roll into small bite sized balls then bake until golden brown, making sure not to overcook them so they remain chewy yet crunchy at the same time. Then enjoy watching your furry friend savor their special snack with gusto!
Carrot-Apple Bites: Fruity and Fun
If you’re looking for a fruit-focused twist on the aforementioned salmon recipe, you can swap out the ingredients in favor of carrots and apples instead.
Begin by blending together grated carrots with mashed, cooked apples, plus our old friends crushed oats or oat flour to bring everything together. Take out the turmeric once more, and probably order an extra batch as you’ll have been blasting through it so far.
Combine everything together, and using your hands you can ball up these bites, then pop them in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the surface is starting to crisp up.
These snacks can be enjoyed hot or cold, but always remember that dogs can get over-eager to eat any food put in front of them, so ensure those that come fresh from the oven have cooled sufficiently before serving.
Wrapping Up
Before going ahead with any homemade recipes to offer to your aging dog, remember to consult your vet to ensure that the ingredients you’re thinking about using are right for the unique needs of your pet. Every dog is different, and so you need to prioritize their health in this scenario.
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