Human-Grade Dog Nutrition

Human-Grade Dog Nutrition: What I Actually Bake for Benji

Joan Morell
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3 minute read

I’ve written about human-grade dog nutrition before, and Benji benefits from it all the time. But I want to shift the angle a little this time.

I see more and more pet parents treating their dog’s health the way they treat their own, and I get it completely, because I do the same thing. I treat Benji’s health as a priority just like mine. If there is one thing I have learned along the way, it is that prevention is key to feeling good, for both of us.

How I Actually Help Benji Stay Healthy

So what does that look like day to day? Benji gets baked treats, dog-appropriate veggies and fruits, and supplements to support his digestion, joint health, and overall well-being.

Where My Nutrition Journey Really Started

I started baking for Guinness before it was cool to bake for your dog. But even before that, I noticed how much nutrition affected my dog Einstein. Einstein had digestive issues early in his life. The slightest change in his diet meant tummy trouble, and I learned quickly to stay on top of it or deal with the consequences at 3 a.m.

Einstein was also a food-motivated pup, which actually worked in my favor for training. I used his own dog food as training treats, which meant no extra ingredients to worry about and a dog who was thrilled to work for his dinner.

From the Classroom to the Kitchen

That experience is what started my path toward holistic nutrition, and it became something I actually taught in my obedience classes. Yes, I taught obedience! I first taught at Petco, and nutrition felt too important not to talk about.

I would have class members pull their dog’s food off the shelf and read the ingredients out loud. The by-products were always what caught people’s attention. Once I explained what those actually were, I had people ready to switch their dog’s food on the spot. From there, I would walk them through how to transition their dog from the old food to the new one the right way.

That was really the start of my full journey into pet nutrition, and it’s where I learned about raw feeding, healthy ingredient choices, and what actually makes good food good. I already knew how much good food helped my own health. It made sense that it would help my dogs too.

What This Looks Like Day to Day for Benji

These days, during dinner prep, Benji gets a crunchy carrot or a slice of green bell pepper. Blueberries show up at breakfast, watermelon makes a great quick snack, and there is almost always a bit of scrambled egg after breakfast. And of course, I can’t forget the cheese tax.

Healthy nutrition isn’t just good for us as people. It’s just as good for our pets.