Planning for the correct dog food is very important and there are many things that have to be taken into consideration while doing so. Canines and feline in general, have different nutritional needs than that of the humans. Dog food also differs from the normal human food and hence one must be aware of all the needs of his pet that are essential in proper pet care. There are many ways by which the dog food can be prepared and fed to the dogs, what gets important here is the exact knowledge of the needs of the dog as an individual and plan accordingly.

If you have come to the conclusion that the homemade dog food is the best for your dog, then there is nothing wrong in it but it only makes your job much more difficult. Nutritional balance in the dog food is the first rule that one has to maintain. Especially, the ratio of calcium and phosphorus is very crucial for dog health and fitness. If it is not maintained, then the dogs phlebotomize from their own blood which is just not right as far as the dog health is concerned. It is a common thing to find a perfect food that will accomplish these requirements of the dogs and in the same quest, the discovery took place about the bone meal for dogs.

What is Bone Meal?
Bone meal is a mixture made of ground and crushed bones. It is originally used as an organic fertilizer for growing plants and also in animal feed. Bone meal is a rich source of calcium and phosphorus. As a matter of fact, bone meal used to be a major component in human dietary supplements but after a while it was found out that bone meals are contaminated with several toxic metals and hence the practice was stopped. They are often mis-conceptualized by the dog owners, that eventually costs bad effects on the pet health.

Meat and bone meal is a byproduct of the rendering industry. It contains lots of protein, fat, moisture and ash. It is used mainly in the animal food to increase the profile of amino acids in the animals of all sorts like cows, sheep, cats, pigs and dogs, etc. It was in the 80s, a research shown that the bone meal was a victor for the mad cow disease and the usage of the bone meal came at stake. Due to the fact that dogs and cats are not susceptible to mad cow disease, the bone meal is still very popular.

Apart from the above mentioned nutritional facts, this meal is a rich source of calcium, phosphorus and other trace minerals. Phosphorus that exists in the meal helps all the nutrients to get extracted in the bloodstream and hence it is a bliss for the dogs, especially those suffering with digestive disorders. Bone meal calcium is also very helpful to fill in the calcium requirements and deficiencies in dogs. It is also seen that a little of organic bone meal for dogs is capable of evading diarrhea and flatulence in dogs. What kind of bone meal supplements should one get for his/her pet then?

There are a lot of brands that market the bone meal for dogs. The dog owner must realize the fact that the bone meal fertilizers can be toxic for the dogs. These fertilizers differ than the content of bone meal for dogs. Well, if you are looking for the bone meal supplements available in the market, look for those guaranteed to be free from lead and other toxic components. There are several bone meals that are high with vitamin D which is a strict no-no for the dogs. Another option is to find supplements that are specially designed to fill all the dietary requirements of the dogs with limitations put on the amount of the nutrition. The best way in my opinion is to make the meal the DIY way!

How to Make a Homemade Meal?
Making a bone meal at home is an easy and safer option rather than the dog falling for the ill effects of the ready-made meal supplements. There are chicken and other meat bones in the house that we generally throw away after the meat has been used. One can utilize these bone meals, dry them and grind them in a bone crusher. Try making it using the chicken bones as they are supposedly the safest of them all. You can make the meal using dried raw bones and also by cooking, steaming or boiling the bones first and then grinding them. You can also boil the bones for very long, dehydrate it and then turn it into bone meal powder for dogs. It might take some time though!

As a responsible dog owner, one has to be very careful about the pet health and pet food. Bone meal is a thing that can have a bad effect on plants as well as dogs equally, but dogs cannot tolerate its side effects as positively as the plant do.