Recently, there has been an increasing awareness of sustainable pet food options. Similarly, there are growing concerns over traditional dog food options that might cause allergies.
This has led to the rise of sustainable, hypoallergenic dog foods containing insects like crickets. These sustainable dog food options contain protein, calcium, iron, and other nutrients. They also don’t cause any food-related allergies in dogs.
Thus, they provide ample dog nutrition, are suitable for dog gut health, and keep dog food allergies at bay. If you aren’t familiar with cricket dog food, you might have several questions running around in your head.
How do I feed my dog cricket-based food? What are the advantages? Is there anything else I need to know about cricket dog food?
Well, don’t worry. We have answers to all your questions. Here’s everything you need to know about cricket-based dog foods.
What Are Cricket-Based Dog Foods?
As the name suggests, cricket-based dog food contains crickets in them. The crickets are added in a powdered form to the dog treats. They are, thus, undetectable in the food. You won’t have to go through the stomach-churning feeling of seeing crickets in your dog food.
What Are the Nutritional Aspects of Cricket Dog Foods?
Crickets are highly rich in protein. They contain twice as much protein as beef. They are also rich in other nutrients like calcium, iron, omega 3, vitamin B12, chitin, and 9 amino acids.
Thus, cricket dog food fulfills the nutritional requirements of dogs easily. Additionally, the food is prepared with a tasty recipe that your dog will love to eat.
If you want to try cricket-based dog food, you can opt for a free dog food sample first. The sample is good to test whether your dog will like the food recipe or not. Once you are sure that they do, you can order a full-size treat pack. This will ensure you don’t necessarily waste your money on something your dog doesn’t like or something they can’t stomach.
What Are the Environmental Benefits of Using Crickets in Dog Food Treats?
One of the primary reasons for the popularity of insect dog food, such as crickets, is that they are eco-friendly. Crickets are one of the most sustainable dog food options available.
Crickets are highly efficient in converting water and feed into nutritious protein compared to traditional livestock like beef.
For example, they require about two-thousand times less water and twelve times less feed to produce the same amount of protein as beef. Additionally, they emit about a hundred times fewer greenhouse gasses.
Cricket breeding is also more efficient compared to livestock. Research has shown that harvesting crickets is seven hundred and fifty times better for the land than raising beef. They can be reared in dense spaces and require no new arable land. This makes them one of the most accessible and sustainable dog food items.
What Are the Hypoallergenic Properties of Cricket Dog Food?
Crickets are an excellent option to feed your dog if they have a food allergy. Many breeds are known to have a food allergy to protein sources. For instance, eating fish, meat, eggs, or dairy products can cause itching, rashes, or gastrointestinal problems in your dog. They can even fall severely ill.
Thus, cricket-based dog food proves to be the best alternative. They have a high hypoallergenic potential compared to other protein sources. Several clinical studies using cricket-based food have shown promising results in dogs with food allergies.
Thus, if you have a dog with food allergies, it is advisable to feed them cricket dog food as they are a safer yet healthier protein option.
What Are the Health Benefits of Cricket Dog Food?
Cricket-based dog food provides numerous health benefits that can help your dog’s overall growth and development. They can also prevent your dogs from developing allergic reactions or falling sick. Some of the significant benefits of cricket dog food include:
- Improves digestion
Crickets are high in prebiotic fiber, which makes them easier to digest. It also supports a healthier and balanced level of gut bacteria. This helps the dog to digest their food.
As a bonus, a cricket-based diet helps bulk the dog’s stool. This helps make it easier for you to clean up their work.
- Provides additional nutrients
Crickets offer a range of nutrition benefits in addition to protein. They are rich in macro as well as micronutrients. This helps support your dog’s physical and mental health.
For example, crickets are rich in vitamins, calcium, iron, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, and other nutrients. These help in the healthier development of your beloved pet.
- Provides a clean, complete, and nutritious source of protein
Crickets contain all the amino acids essential for a dog’s diet. Thus, they provide complete protein for your dog. Moreover, as discussed earlier, they offer more protein than other sources like beef.
However, most importantly, crickets are a clean source of protein. Crickets do not ingest heavy metals, GMOs, or pesticides, unlike livestock. Thus, they provide a better quality of protein.
- Suitable for dogs with food allergies
Certain dog breeds, like the German Shepherd, have food allergies. This makes them more sensitive to a large number of protein sources. This can cause scratching, irritation, and gastrointestinal problems in your dog.
Crickets, on the other hand, are hypoallergenic dog food. They, thus, offer a safer yet healthy protein source alternative for dogs with allergies. You can feed your dog cricket dog food without any issues or worries.
What Are the Other Benefits of Using Cricket Dog Food?
A significant benefit of using cricket-based dog food is that cricket harvesting and rearing is more humane and cheaper than raising livestock. Livestock is often raised in inhumane conditions such as overcrowding and underfeeding. This can cause illness and even the death of animals.
Cricket rearing is a much better option. The feeder crickets are raised as they would live in nature. The harvesting is done only when the crickets are at the end of their lifecycle, ensuring they get to live their lives happily.
Parting Thoughts
Cricket-based dog food is one of the best options for pet owners looking for an eco-friendly, hypoallergenic, sustainable, and protein-rich food source. You can easily buy cricket-based nutritious, sustainable dog treats that your pet will enjoy eating the next time your dog needs a new food to try.
