When I first started researching how to make my own dog food, I was overwhelmed by the information out there. There are many resources that will tell you how many milligrams of each ingredient, each nutrient, each vitamin to feed them. Then there are many discussions around the benefits of raw vs. cooked diets.

Another concern was budget. I expected homemade meals to be more expensive than kibble, but when purchasing ingredients in bulk, the home-made route turned out to be a little less expensive than the premium grain-free kibble I was purchasing before. I also discovered several pet food meal delivery that delivered pre-made, portioned food. This is a great option if you don’t have the time to make your own food, however it can be a bit pricier than homemade meals or kibble.

Many resources are very informative, but I quickly realized my concerns and issues parallel similar questions when I think about how I feed myself:

Why make your own food vs. eat take out?

Why do we strive to eat more natural and less processed ingredients?

When you ask these questions about your own diet, you can start to see why making your own dog food has its benefits.

**There are situations that require vet supervision, but if you have a healthy active dog, the main guidelines are balance of essential nutrients. Like any diet, meals can be altered for your dog’s eating habits, sensitivities, allergies, weight goals, and age group.

Our frenchie friend Momo is a ceaseless bundle of energy and excitement. Just six months old when these shots were taken earlier this year, she commanded the camera gracefully, with the help of some carrots. We invited her over and took these snapshots of our Rasta and Momo, our favorite velvet pups.

Follow Momo @momo_for_president

On a recent spring birthday trip to Iceland, we bit off more than we could chew and decided to drive around the entire ring road in 5 days and 4 nights. An exciting challenge, we decided to not seeing everything and instead opted for road side pull offs, lesser known hot tubs, and scenic jaw-droppers. We were amazed by the unworldly like and vastly diverse ecosystems of the island.

This excitement of Iceland’s natural resources spawned the inspiration behind our search for a natural dog throw. Born and raised in a harsh climate, we found that Icelandic long-wool sheep had a distinct character to their coats: their longer hairs repel water, while the shorter inner hairs maintain warmth, making their coats a perfect canine nesting pad or a textured throw. Here are some snapshots from our trip.