All About All-Pups Seasonings

Home cooked dog food doesn't have to be complicated

We took the week off from making content because Joelle was sick and instead shared a day in the life of Cedric and Edith, featuring their normal meals. Some of the comments wondered if we were going to bust out a bag of kibble. Spoiler alert: No kibble was fed. Today we will share why we made All-Pups Seasonings, what’s in it, and how we use it everyday. Before that here is this weeks recipe, a new senior low carb meal, plus, a new (BALANCED) All-Pups Seasonings recipe below!

The fear of home cooked dog food

As strange as it may seem now, when we first got Cedric the idea of home cooked dog food was super scary. We’ve been conditioned to worry about imbalanced meals and the dangers to our dogs. So, when Cedric came home our minds were made up, he was going to eat kibble.

That changed the very first week. Just before weaning, his litter contracted a stomach bug and the vets immediately put them on a course of antibiotics. When he came home his tummy was upset and he couldn’t keep any of the kibble down. His poops were a tar-like mess.

Out of sheer desperation we gave him a boiled egg. It was scary because of all the conditioning we got about people food being dangerous for dogs. We googled, searched, and made sure the egg was extra hard boiled, even though we often eat runny eggs. It was irrational for sure, but so is the idea that dogs can only eat shelf-stable food that keeps for months or even years.

That one egg set us down this path and changed our lives. As we continued to make homemade food for Cedric and then later Edith, there was a shortage of resources on what to do. It all seemed complicated, yet so sparse at the same time. We decided that we had to do deep research ourselves and went straight to the original sources to read as many books and research papers as we could. This newsletter and our products are the result of this journey.

What’s in All-Pups Seasoning?

We source ingredients from human food manufacturers. Everything in these seasonings is made from the highest quality ingredients intended for human consumption. They are manufactured in a facility that also makes food for people. We only write “not for human consumption” because it’s a dog product. Below is a list of all the ingredients and the nutrients that they supply.

Oysters-As one of the the richest natural sources of micronutrients, oysters are an essential part of our formulations. Dogs have higher requirements per body weight for copper and zinc, and oysters are abundant in both. Oysters are also a great source of selenium, vitamin B12 and iron. They are a nutrition powerhouse.

Egg shell-Dogs also have higher requirements of calcium than people do, and eggshells are a great source of natural calcium. Calcium is essential for maintaining bone and tooth health in addition to functions in muscle, nerve and blood clotting.

Sea kelp (A. nodosum)-Iodine is an essential component of thyroid hormones which help to regulate metabolic functions such as body temperature and heart rate. In the United States, iodine is typically added to our table salt. For our formulations we use sea kelp instead of potassium iodide. Sea kelp is also rich in B vitamins, magnesium and potassium among many others. There are some concerns about sea kelp causing thyroid issues, but we find these to be misguided. Sea kelp is safe and beneficial in appropriate amounts. See our post on dental supplements.

Spinach-A rich source of anti-oxidants like vitamin C, spinach is also high in plant compounds like lutein, quercetin and Zeaxanthin. There is some concern about oxalates contributing to kidney stones, so our amounts here are low.

Carob-In addition to fiber and minerals, carob offers a rich aroma that our dogs love.

Turmeric-Curcumin is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant found in turmeric. Also, there is some evidence that turmeric may help with memory and cognitive improvement, in addition to having a pleasant aroma.

How we use All-Pups Seasonings

Because of its versatility, we put All-Pup Seasoning in every homemade meal. Balanced food like Pup Pot Meals and other commercial dog foods are usually completely balanced and don’t need any more micronutrients. This is why we say “Don’t use on commercial dog food” on the label.

When we whip up new things, All-Pups Seasonings saves us time from adding the individual ingredients that ensure Cedric and Edith get the things they need the most. Here are our All-Pups Seasoning recipes.

That’s all for this week.

All the best,

Joelle and The Precious Creatures Team