Should I add apple cider vinegar?
Many owners choose to add nutritious apple cider vinegar as an ingredient to reduce the alkalinity of homecooked plant-based dog food knowing that it is an acid.
An alkaline environment occurs in our elderly pets and in the intestines of dogs on a plant-based diet and this reduces the levels of important nutrients that are absorbed such as Zinc, Calcium, Iron and Vit B so we prefer an acid environment for adequate absorption of nutrients.
Our veterinary nutritionist who helped formulate the balance of ingredients in our recipes, informed us that once cooked, the apple cider vinegar actually has the opposite effect of acidifying the food – it is broken down and actually becomes alkaline in the gut which is not what we want at all! We therefore do not recommend its addition to your dog’s homecooked food.
What will acidify the food?
Asparagus, peas, brown rice and lentils help to naturally acidify the urine and microbiome environment and these are just some of the ingredients we recommend you add to your dog’s homecooked food.
If there is the concern about recurrent bladder infections in your dog and you have been monitoring their urine pH with a urinary dipstick and you’ve noticed that the pH is not the normal 5-6, but is more than 7 or 8, then we would advise the addition of the amino acid only found in meat called methionine in your dog’s diet.
