How to Make Your Own Dog Food

• by Kelli

Introduction

• Learning how to make your own dog food can be a rewarding experience for both you and your dog. It can be a healthy alternative to feeding your pooch store-bought food, and many owners find that homemade diets are great for dogs with food allergies or other health problems.^{1 2} Keep in mind, however, that these diets can be costly when the ingredients are not bought in bulk and should only be undertaken with a veterinarian's supervision.²

Step 1: Is a Homemade Diet Right For Your Dog?

• There are many different homemade dog food diets to choose from, so first you need to decide what kind of diet is right for your dog and for your lifestyle. Always consult your veterinarian before making any decisions regarding your dog's health and diet.

Pros and Cons of Making Your Own Dog Food

• Before choosing whether or not making your own dog food is right for you and your dog, it is important that you know the top reasons behind why people choose this method of feeding in the first place.

• Reasons for choosing to make your own dog food:

1. It is a healthy alternative to bagged, store-bought dog food brands.³
2. Homemade food is a way to avoid pet food recalls.⁴
3. You can create custom diets for dogs with food allergies or other specific health concerns.
4. There are no preservatives or colorings.
5. Some veterinarians believe that homemade diets can reduce bloating in dogs.⁵
6. You can choose specific diets that meet your personal values such as vegetarian diets.⁶

• Reasons against creating your own dog food:

1. It is time-consuming and does not work well for dog owners who have busy schedules.
2. Homemade diets are more expensive than dry store-bought foods, except in certain circumstances where an owner with multiple dogs, such as a breeder, can buy meat in bulk.²
3. You must be conscious of your dog's dietary needs and monitor ingredients and portions carefully.
4. It can be difficult to make sure your dog is getting proper nutrients.⁷
5. If you do not educate yourself on foods that are dangerous to dogs, you might accidentally put a hazardous ingredient in your homemade food.⁷

Different Types of Homemade Diets

• Homemade dog diets vary, but no matter what kind of diet you choose for your dog, it needs to be balanced and healthy. Check with your veterinarian if you are considering a specialty diet such as a vegetarian or raw meat diet. The most popular dog diets are ones that include cooked meat, vegetables and starches.⁸

Step 2: Creating a Meal

• A lot of owners who create their own dog food choose to use the same meal plan each day. As long as the food meets a dog's dietary needs, it is a personal choice whether or not to vary the ingredients within each of the meat, vegetable and starch categories.

Choose Your Ingredients

• For each meal, you need to choose at least one type of meat, one or two vegetables and one starch.

• Meats to chose from:

1. Chicken
2. Turkey
3. Beef
4. Pork
5. Venison
6. Fish
7. Liver
   • Too much liver can cause health problems, so use sparingly.⁹
8. Other organ meats
   • Small amounts of organ meats should be used along with another more substantial meat, such as chicken or beef, and should not make up more than 10% of the total amount of meat per meal. Organ meats are a great source of nutrients, but can be harmful if they are overused.¹⁰

• Vegetables to choose from:

1. Tomatoes
2. Carrots
3. Green Beans
   • Green beans are a great filler food for overweight dogs or over-eaters that you want to fill up without overfeeding.¹¹
4. Peas
5. Corn

• Starches to choose from:

1. Potatoes
2. Rice (brown or white)

• Portion size will be determined by your dog's weight. See Step 5: Portioning for more information.

Step 3: Cooking the Meal

• Homemade meals are usually cooked, although there are a few diets, such as the Bones And Raw Food (B.A.R.F.) Diet, in which the meat is left raw.¹² Most owners choose to go with cooked meals for the safety of their dogs and themselves, since raw meat can transfer salmonella and parasites.¹³

• Because raw meat diets are a bit controversial, this page will focus on homemade dog food featuring cooked meats.¹⁴

Remove All Bones and Cut Meat

• When preparing dog food using cooked meat, remove the bones beforehand; it is not safe to give your dog cooked bones because they may splinter.¹⁵

1. Get out a cutting board.
2. Cut meat off the bones; throw bones in garbage or compost.
3. Cut meat into square pieces sized about 1 inch for large dogs, 1/2 inch for medium sized dogs and 1/3 inch for small dogs.¹⁶
4. Put meat in large greased frying pan.¹⁶
5. Clean and disinfect cutting board and hands.

Cook the Meat

1. Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.
   • If you are using a type of meat that tends to dry out during cooking or if the meat takes a while to cook and the water boils out before the meat is cooked, add soybean oil or a natural chicken broth.¹⁷ Again, add just enough to coat the bottom of the pan and then add more as the meat cooks to keep the meat moist.
2. Put the meat on medium heat.
3. Stir pieces as they cook.
4. Continue until the water is gone and meat is thoroughly cooked.¹⁶

Cook the Veggies

1. Boil water in another pot.
2. Add vegetables.
   • If you are using potatoes as your starch, cook these along with the other vegetables. If not, proceed to the next step.
3. Cook vegetables until they are tender and drain water.¹⁷

Cook the Starches

• If you choose to use potatoes, they should be cooked with the vegetables. Otherwise, proceed to cook your rice. You should use 1 cup of water for every 1 cup of rice to boil.

1. Boil water.
2. Add rice.
3. Cook rice until tender and water is gone.

• 
  How To Make Tasty Beef Stew For Your Dog

Step 4: Mix Ingredients and Store

• You can save time by cooking ingredients in advance and refrigerating or freezing them until they're ready for use. However, this is fresh, homemade dog food. It should only be stored for 3-4 days maximum.¹⁷

Feeding Time

• Homemade meals can be fed with or without water on top of it. If your dog prefers water on his or her food, then add it.

• When Feeding:

1. Heat a portion large enough for one meal, so that it is slightly warm.
2. Add a calcium supplement or eggshells to each meal to make up for the lack of bones.¹⁸
   • If you are using eggshells, add 1/2 an eggshell per meal.¹⁸
   • If you choose to use a calcium supplement, talk to your veterinarian about how much to use for your dog.¹⁸

Step 5: Portioning

• Portioning meals correctly ensures that your pet maintains a healthy weight and gets the nutrients it needs.¹⁹ Because so many factors go into deciding what the ideal portion size is for your dog, you should consult a licensed veterinarian for advice.¹⁶

• Just some of the factors that may affect portion size include:

1. Extremely active dogs, such as hunting, agility or sled dogs, will need a higher protein food and will generally eat more a day than the normal house dog.
2. Dogs with certain health issues, such as thyroid problems, may not require as much food, but veterinarians still recommend a higher protein diet.
3. Less active dogs will not require as much food or protein per day.²⁰
4. To prevent bloating, especially in large breed dogs, food may need to be divided into two or three meals a day.²¹

Step 6: Switching to Homemade

• When switching to a homemade diet from a dry kibble or canned food, it is important to do so slowly. Never change your dog's diet without first consulting your veterinarian.¹⁶ Begin switching to a homemade dog food by first mixing small amounts of the homemade food with your dog's regular dry food. Increase the homemade food as you decrease the dry kibble until your dog is completely on the homemade food.

Step 7: Foods to Avoid

• It is very important that you are aware of which foods can be dangerous to dogs before you take on the responsibility of creating their food by hand. There are certain foods that can be hazardous to all dogs and some which are only dangerous to dogs that are allergic, but both should be avoided in homemade food for your pet's safety.²²

• Foods to avoid:

1. Onions²³
2. Chocolate²²
3. Grapes and raisins²⁴
4. Macadamia Nuts⁹
5. Mushrooms⁹
6. Citrus Oil²²
7. Baby Food²²
8. Caffeine²²

References for How to Make Your Own Dog Food

1. ↑ 5 Star Dog: Dog Food
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} AnimalPlanet.com: Homemade Diets
3. ↑ PetDIETS.com: Reasons For Homemade Diets
4. ↑ U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Pet Food Recall (Melamine)/Tainted Animal Feed (February 6, 2008)
5. ↑ PreciousPets.org: Bloat (Gastric Dilation) in Dogs
6. ↑ Healthy Animals: Vegetarian Cats and Dogs
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} PetDIETS.com: Problems With Homemade Diets
8. ↑ Suite101.com: Homemade Dog Food
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} PetEducation.com: Foods To Avoid
10. ↑ Pet-Grub.com: Organ Meats
11. ↑ Leesburg Veterinary Hospital, LTD: Obesity Fact Sheet
12. ↑ Barf World: The BARF Diet - A Healthy, Natural, Nutritional and Complete Raw Diet for your Pet!
13. ↑ USDA Food and Safety Inspection: Meat Preparation Fact Sheets
14. ↑ Working Dogs: Should Your Dog Eat BARF?
15. ↑ Pets 4 Life: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4} GourmetSleuth.com: Basic Balanced Dog Food Recipe
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1 17.2} PetSitters: The Benefits of Homemade Dog Food
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2} B-Naturals.com Newsletter: Cooked Diet
19. ↑ CNN.com: Are you "loving" your pet into an early grave? (September 26, 2007)
20. ↑ MSN Dog Central: Eating Habits: Helping Your Dog Lose Weight Safely
21. ↑ Dog Owner's Guide: Bloat
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4} The Dog Bowl: What Is Toxic To Dogs
23. ↑ LoveToKnow: Making Your Own Dog Food
24. ↑ 4 Love of Dog: Feed 'em Right

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