Homemade Dog Food

The problem with commercially produced dog foods is that they contain many additives and preservatives that certainly would not be considered suitable for human consumption. If you wouldn't feed them to yourself or your children, why would you feed them to your dog?

Like many other people, you probably look upon your dog as very much being a part of your family. You therefore want to be sure that your dog, just like all your other family members is getting good healthy, nutritious food.

There is no doubt that making homemade dog food is healthier and can be cheaper than buying commercial dog food. However, there are several foods that you should never include in the ingredients of any homemade dog food recipes.

Compared to the digestive system of humans, a dogs digestive system is relatively simple. The consequence of this is that some combinations of human foods can cause stomach upsets, illness, nerve damage, seizures, or even death. There is a section on this site for foods to avoid feeding your dog.

When creating your own homemade dog food, you must remember that your dog doesn't need nearly as much protein as you might believe. In fact, a diet too high in meat protein could be bad for their health. Some people wrongly believe that because dogs are carnivores they should only eat meat and bones. Your dog will however still need other things added to their diet. Carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals should also be included in their diet in order to maintain their health and fitness.

It is essential to have a good balance of carbohydrates and some vegetables in order to keep up energy levels, but potatoes should be completely avoided as they may cause digestive problems in some breeds. Larger breeds of dog such as German Shepherds, are particularly susceptible to bloat (gastric digestive torsion or gastric digestive vulvulus, which can result in a very painful and sudden death). It is important therefore not to include any ingredients that could potentially expand inside the stomach after eating. To avoid this potentially fatal condition, rice or pasta should be overcooked to ensure it is completely expanded before feeding. To avoid bloat from occurring, larger breeds should ideally be fed twice a day rather than given one large meal.

Because a dog's digestive system and nutritional needs are far less complicated than the human digestive system, this means that the recipes for making your own dog food are also extremely simple. The addition of boiled rice, pasta and a selection of vegetables to your pet meat with each meal means you have an easy recipe that requires only a small portion of your day to prepare. You can also prepare your own homemade kibble to serve with your homemade dog food. When you realize how easy it is to make your own dog food, and how little time it can take, you will never want to feed commercial food to your dog ever again. Making your own all-natural dog food can also be substantially cheaper than buying commercially food.

Good quality pet meat which is used as the base for many of the homemade recipes can be obtained from most good butchers, pet stores and feed stores. Pet quality meat will not be prime cuts of meat, but neither should it contain by-products. It is generally created from lower quality cuts of meat than human grade meat. Likewise, dog food grade mince, which will consist of various off-cuts, can also be purchased from many good butchers.

There are very many benefits to actually making your own dog food, but probably the biggest benefit of all is that you are looking after your dogs health by taking control over what they eat.