Healthy Homemade Dog Food Diets
How to Make Healthy Well-Balanced Food and Treats for Your Dog
Apr 8, 2009
There are numerous reasons a dog owner might decide to start using a homemade dog food diet for their dog instead of a commercially available diet.
- Many people are concerned about the safety of commercial diets, especially since the massive pet food recall which occurred in 2007 as a result of melamine contamination.
- Some people feel a homemade dog food diet allows fresher ingredients for their dog, thereby promoting their dog's health and well-being. These people dislike the idea of feeding preservatives to their dog and feel a homemade dog food diet is more natural for their dog.
- Some people feel that cooking and preparing the foods for their dog allows them to bond more deeply with their dog.
- Some dogs have medical issues such as allergies which some owners feel are better managed through the use of homemade diets.
- Some dogs have multiple concurrent medical issues which no commercially prepared diet is specifically designed to treat. Homemade diets allow manipulation of ingredients to better allow managing specific nutrient requirements.
How to Make a Healthy Homemade Dog Food Diet for Your Dog
The main objective to formulating any dog food, homemade or otherwise, is to provide a nutritionally balanced food which provides all the essential nutrients necessary to maintain a dog's health and well-being. Evaluating a homemade dog food diet for complete and balanced nutrition can be difficult, especially if the diet changes from one day to the next as is often the case. One of the major concerns with any homemade dog food diet is that if the diet is not complete, it could lead to serious long-term health effects for the dog.
Any homemade dog food diet must start with a source of protein and a source of carbohydrates. Potential protein sources for a homemade dog food diet are:
- skinless chicken breast - roasted
- ground beef - pan browned
- pork loin - broiled
- lamb chop - broiled
- Atlantic salmon - baked
- whole egg - hard boiled
- cottage cheese
- tofu
Potential sources of carbohydrates for homemade dog food diets include:
- long-grained white rice - cooked
- long-grained brown rice - cooked
- white potatoes - baked, flesh and skin
- sweet potatoes - baked, flesh only
- spaghetti - enriched, cooked
- oats - cooked
- barley - pearled, cooked
- couscous - cooked
- tapioca - dry
Once a proper protein and carbohydrate source are chosen, a recipe or number of recipes need to be developed and balanced to provide complete nutrition. For the average dog owner, properly balancing a diet to provide adequate nutrition over a span of years for their dog is a nearly impossible task. Ideally, a diet should be formulated with the aid of a nutrition expert who has the knowledge to develop a well-balanced, nutritionally complete diet for your dog.
If your dog is a young, healthy adult dog with no medical issues, it is possible to purchase a customized diet certified by a veterinary nutritionist for a nominal fee. These diets are not recommended for young puppies, for senior dogs which are debilitated or for dogs with medical health issues requiring a specialized diet. These diets can be purchased through companies such as Pet Diets and Balance It.
Some nutritional companies can also provide you with recipes for homemade dog treats in addition to a well-balanced dog food diet you can make yourself.
If your dog has medical issues, many veterinary nutritionists are willing to work in conjunction with your veterinarian to develop a homemade dog food diet which will meet your dog's individual needs. You should consult your veterinarian if you feel this option is one you wish to pursue for your dog.
Potential Hazards Associated with Homemade Dog Food Diets
As previously stated, the primary hazard associated with feeding a homemade dog food diet is that the diet may not be well-balanced nutritionally and may, over time, cause your dog to become malnourished. By making certain that well-balanced recipes are chosen and followed closely at home while making your dog's meals, this should not be a major concern. However once a balanced homemade dog food diet is formulated, you should resist the temptation to add to or change the diet.
Contaminants such as E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Yersinia and other bacteria can become a problem with raw meat. As with foods for human consumption, all meat and poultry should be well cooked to help control these contaminants.
When making your dog's homemade dog food diet, use the same precautions in the kitchen which you would use when preparing a meal for yourself.
- Wash your hands thoroughly before handling any foodstuffs.
- Use a dedicated cutting board for handling meats and poultry.
- Thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
- Do not allow meat to thaw and then refreeze.
By carefully choosing the ingredients for your dog's homemade dog food diet, it is possible to provide a good nutritious meal plan for your dog. However, no matter how well thought out and planned the homemade dog food diet is, your dog still needs to be monitored carefully for signs of malnourishment.
If feeding a homemade puppy food to a young growing dog, special care needs to be taken as puppies and young adult dogs can suffer the effects of malnutrition more quickly, often showing greater severity than adult dogs.
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