I want to put my dog on a healthy more holistic diet (my cat too really) what is a good step ?

google BARF. It is fairly popular in Australia and all about focusing on the types of food a dogs body is designed to eat and digest.

raw feeding is the first step, get off that crap in a bag/can!!!
Then you can research holistic pet care, one excellent book is Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats.
He lists common pet illnesses, and holistic/herbal/homeopathic remedies for each.
Most illnesses can be treated at home, as a vets first response is usually antibiotics, which are rarely needed, and do a lot of harm. He also gives advice on treating the problem at it’s core(which is almost always diet related) and not just treating the symptoms.
Good luck!!!

There is no single food that is “best”. For example, some dogs thrive on grain-free foods, while grain-free is too rich for other dogs.

What you want to find is the high-quality food that *your dog* does best on.

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Read the ingredients on the food you buy. Go with a high quality dog food.

Here is my “short list” of rules when I am looking at dog ingredients:
1) When I chose a dog food, I chose one high meat content. I want to see preferably at least 2-3 out of the top 5 ingredients be meat or meat meal (first ingredient must be!).
2) I want to see higher quality grains, such as barley, brown rice, and oatmeal, instead of seeing wheat and corn. Or an alternative starch/carbohydrate such as potatoes or sweet potatoes.
3) I don’t want to see any byproducts.
4) I don’t want to see a lot of fillers.
5) I don’t want to see preservatives that are believed to be carcinogens (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin).
6) I don’t want to see artificial colorings such as the Red, Blue, and Yellow dyes.
7) I don’t want to see added sugars (sugar, corn syrup). I don’t want to see mystery meats (meats identified only as “meat” or “poultry”.)

Here is an article about byproducts:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=ingrd

And an article on what ingredients to avoid:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

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Some GOOD foods are :
* Artemis – http://www.artemiscompany.com/
* California Natural – http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp
* Canidae – http://www.canidae.com/
* Chicken Soup – http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
* EVO – http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp
* Fromm – http://www.frommfamily.com/
* Innova – http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp
* Merrick – http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
* Nature’s Variety – http://www.naturesvariety.com/
* Orijen – http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/
* Solid Gold – http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
* Taste of the Wild – http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/
* Timberwolf Organics – http://timberwolforganics.com/
* Wellness – http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/

Or check this website for good foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
(I recommend only feeding foods rated 4, 5, or 6 stars. Anything 3 stars or less, I would stay away from.)

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Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, etc.)

Beware “premium” foods. “Premium” does not mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. It has the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc..)

Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that’s why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don’t focus a lot on nutrition. It’s not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told “this is good food”, so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it’s good as well.

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Higher quality food may seem more expensive at first, but it evens out. The higher quality the food, the less fillers eaten (and therefore the less poop comes out the other end). Your dog eats more to try to get the nutrition it needs, and most of the food just passes right on through. Also, it will make your animals healthier, so you save money on vet bills in the long run.

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“Big box” petstores like Petco and Petsmart rarely have quality foods. (I do believe that PetCo sells “Solid Gold” and “Natural Balance” brands and Petsmart sells “Blue Buffallo”, which are all quality foods, but most of the foods aren’t.)

Also, grocery stores and Walmart aren’t good places to buy food either.

Your best bets for getting quality dog food are:
- small, locally owned petstores
- dog boutiques
- farm supply stores

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When switching foods, do it gradually. I do this over about a two week timespan:
25% food A, 75% food B
50% food A, 50% food B
75% food A, 25% food B
100% food A

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Many people have also had good luck with a raw diet. It requires some research to get the proper nutrition (meat/organ/bone ratio) and feeding amounts (usually 2-3% of your dog’s weight) if you are interested in raw feeding, here a good place to start:
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_Diet/thread/431875

There are also several companies that make frozen raw diets, one such example is Nature’s Variety: http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?page=1483
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I would highly recommend Canidae All Life Stages! It is made for all stages of a dogs life. It’s all natural, human grade, naturally preserved, made in the USA, has NO corn, wheat, soy, grain fractions, fillers, by products, preservatives or dyes in it. Canidae has food for both dogs and cats. The cats food is called Filidae. It’s not sold in alot of stores, but if you go to this link:
http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html
click on the store locator link:
http://www.canidae.com/company/storelocator.html
type in the city you live in, and it will bring up a list of the stores in your area that carry it. It costs me $7.99 for a 5 lb bad, $23.99 for a 20lb bag, and $29.99 for a 40 lb bag. I have been feeding it to my dogs for a long time, and the have never been sick, they love it, they have no allergies or skin problems, and they have beautiful coats. I would try a small bag first and see if your dog likes it, and you can always get a bigger bag later.
Here is the link for Filidae:
http://www.canidae.com/cats/cat_and_kitten/dry.html
Store Locator Link:
http://www.canidae.com/company/storelocator.html
Hope this helps!