Good nutrition is one of the basics of a holistic lifestyle. Perhaps you pick your dog's commercial food with care or maybe you've heard about the benefits of feeding your dog raw food and wouldn't mind doing a little home cooking for your pet. With so many choices, however, choosing the right natural dietary care for your dog can be confusing.

First and foremost, a wholesome diet maintains good health and supports your dog's immune system. It provides natural healing energies and can make a monumental difference in easing the symptoms of some mild conditions such as allergies. Poor diets that are too high in saturated fats and carbohydrates or too low in fiber are often responsible for obesity, cancer, and heart and liver disease.

When considering your dog's diet, you should also consider her eating habits. While some canines will gobble up everything in sight, others will pick and choose their tidbits carefully. Giving your dog the very best food is pointless if she doesn't eat it.

After seeing their dogs walk away from half-eaten meals time after time, it's no wonder many well-meaning owners are ready to put just about anything in their dogs' bowls to get them to eat. This may include canned dog food, treats, or leftovers from the dinner table. While these additions usually make owners feel better because their dogs are eating, feeding a dog an unbalanced diet is not healthy in the long run.

Observing Your Dog's Appetite

One of the first questions your holistic veterinarian will ask you is about your dog's appetite. Having a picky eater is not unusual. If you are concerned your dog may be too fat or too thin, it helps to take notes or keep a log about how much or how little your dog eats. This will allow you to help your veterinarian spot a problem early. A healthy dog looks forward to dining and will usually lick up every last morsel. If he walks away from a meal it may be a sign of illness.

Meal Options

There are several ways to feed your dog healthy meals. If you want to use a high quality commercial dry food, switch off between a few different high-quality brands every few months as long as your dog can tolerate the transition without vomiting or diarrhea. Feeding your dog a variety of foods will prevent dietary imbalances and the development of food allergies from overexposure to one protein or carbohydrate source.

If you'd rather stick with the same quality brand, try adding fresh food to it. The vitamins and minerals contained in fresh fruits and puréed vegetables make a big difference. You can also prepare a home-cooked or raw foods diet for your dog. All it takes is a little planning and organization on your part, and the results are well worth the effort.

A Raw Diet

Holistic veterinarians, websites, and many owners tout the raw food diet. They argue that a balanced raw diet significantly increases the nutritional quality of the food. According to this line of thinking, cooking or extruding foods changes their biochemical structure and reduces their nutritional value, so raw foods are logically healthier. Before making a decision on switching the menu, discuss the pros and cons with your veterinarian.