What you are eating matters to your health, so what you are feeding your dog matters to theirs too.

Herbs are wonderful plants to eat and they are also a natural medicine. I’m a firm believer in herbs being a good source of food, full of nutrition, to be consumed regularly for optimal health. Maybe in some cases you won’t need any medicines in your future if you are eating these nutritious foods. Don’t get me wrong I do think that pharmaceutical medicines are necessary in some cases. But sometimes if you research the cause of an issue you are having you can reverse it or cure it with what you are putting into your body. The same thing goes for our dogs. They need a healthy diet that consists of meat, organs and bones, vitamins and minerals (they get what they actually need from real food) and plants. Many of the problems that dogs have today can be connected back to what we feed them and the medicines we put into their bodies.

We really are what we eat

We really are what we eat and thats why I started on this journey in the first place over 10 years ago. I have learned so much about what I eat and how it effects every part of my body. I soon started to understand that I needed to change the way I look at a convenience foods. I’m not talking about take out at McDonalds or Taco Bell, (that is junk food because of all the additional salt and chemicals), but on occasion it's fine. I’m talking about what you find in stores made up for you ahead so you can just grab and go and the prep work is done for you. I’m noticing more cut up veggies in the produce section. When do you think they were cut, where and by who? We can only guess. Can’t we find the time to cut up our own fresh food. Have you noticed the lack of taste in that "fresh" cut up produce? The convenience may work in the moment but in the long run we pay a greater price for it. Its lack of nutrition that our bodies need everyday will eventually show itself in some type of problem.

Now think of the dog food that dogs are fed. There are bags upon bags in the pet stores and grocery stores.The all say they are the best one for your dog. They all have the best looking food on their bags, but think about how they are made, what it is made from and how long they sit there until they are eaten by your dog. Is the convenience of processed dog food really worth the health issues many dogs have?

Thinking outside the traditional box

Some foraged herb favorites

Learning to eat some herbs that are not common or familiar to us is a healthy way to nourish our bodies. Herbs are a great food source that are loaded with nutrients. So many of these same herbs are just as beneficial to our dogs. I am so grateful for all that the plants around us are offering. We need to pay attention and think outside the traditional box. Having a fresh Basil, Spinach and Dandelion salad instead of an Iceberg lettuce salad is something to think about. Puree' some of these herbs for your dog and freeze them in an ice cube try then add whenever you like to their daily food bowl. Their bodies will only benefit from the added nutrition these plants offer.

Ivy always goes with us when we forage

Over the last few years I have been drawn to seek out other places to get my fruits and vegetables instead of mass-produced sources. I have been increasingly researching how to wild forage for some plants local to my area in the Northeast. Many plants are easily accessible in our own backyards, fields, forests and grown on local farms. The nutrient content is so important as daily foods.

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