We get it; nobody has the time to get out the apron, hit the kitchen, and cook their dog foods from scratch. Everybody is just so busy with their personal lives that they barely have time to make their own food, let alone that of their canine family member.
But did you know that there lots of benefits of making your dog foods at home? According to several analyses, it has been established that homemade dog food saves you more money than feeding your dog with store foods.
Not to forget that making your dog food at home also gives you the chance to satisfy your canine friend – if he’s a picky eater – build a better bond with him, while also monitoring and managing his diet.
Now that we’ve established the importance of homemade dog foods, here are the tips you need to follow when making smarty’s foods. Because if you want your dog to thrive on homemade foods, then you’ve got to get the procedure right.
Balancing the diet
Don’t even think for a second that dog foods are as easy to make as your own food because they’re not. Therefore, before you decide to start making them, you should ensure that you’ve equipped yourself with all the right cooking tips and recipes you need to make a long-lasting cooking procedure and of course the list of beneficial human food for your dog.
This is because dogs cannot survive with anything less than a balanced diet. The moment any nutritional component becomes missing from their diet, they begin to show vivid signs of deficiencies.
This is the reason why many vets are usually against pet owners making their dog foods at home as compared to the raw dog food because they know just how tricky the procedure can be, and the likely consequences when you fail to make the ideal food.
So, let’s say you’ve gone with the Goldendoodle for sale advert you saw on your social media page, and now you own a doodle pup; the following are the essential nutrients that must be present in his diet.
- 2 to 3 months old: 4 meals daily
- 3 to 6 months: 3 meals daily
- 6 to 12 months (up to 24 months for the largest breeds): 2 meals daily.
Essential nutrients include protein, carbohydrates (sugar, and fiber mainly), vitamins and minerals (vitamins E, D, A, K, B-complex, selenium, calcium, phosphorus) fats (Linoleic acid, Omega-6, and Omega-3), and water.
Meat selection
Strange as this may sound to you, there are still some pet owners that feed their dogs with meat that are not even fit for human consumption. If you’re one of them, please stop. Dogs should be fed with meats that are fresh and fit for human consumption.
In case you haven’t noticed, many of the dog treats and dog foods you buy from stores are meat-based, and they contain a pretty high percentage of meat protein. Have you ever wondered why this is so? Dogs are obligate carnivores, and they thrive on a protein-based diet. So if you want to prepare anything for them to eat, you need to make sure that it contains an appreciable amount of meat protein.
Depending on the breed and age of your furry friend (whether it is a pup or a large size dog), here are some of the most popular meat options you can try.
- Pork
- Fish
- Beef
- Lamb
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Ostrich
- Buffalo
- Venison
But be sure to find out whether your dog is okay with any meat before feeding him with it. You can get this information from the breeder you’re buying from.
Veggies
You can add as many veggies into your dog’s diet as you desire because veggies provide dogs with the essential minerals, fiber, and vitamins they need to thrive. As a general rule of thumb, you can make the veggies content in their meal run up to about ¼ of the entire meal size.
Meanwhile, dogs get more nutrients from vegetables if they are lightly steamed, chopped, or pureed. Common veggies for dogs include cauliflower, pumpkin, squash, broccoli, sweet potato, beets, peas, zucchini, yams, and green beans.
Please avoid vegetables such as onions, bell peppers, tomato, raw beans, spinach, garlic, chard, and beet beans.
Avoid heavy carbs
Carbs don’t offer dogs too many nutritional benefits. The only reason why they’re added to pet foods is because it saves the manufacturer some production costs. And if you must feed your dogs with carbohydrates, you can limit their intake to sugar and fiber.
The reason is that dogs lack the digestive enzymes to metabolize carbohydrates, and as such, when they consume them, the thing just goes right through their digestive tract.
In fact, several studies have proven that carbohydrates are the main cause of many canine diseases, such as kidney disease, obesity, inflammatory bowel, and allergies.
Play around
Finally, be free to mix any veggie with any meat, and any fiber with any treat. That is, play around with any food mixture that works for your little pet. But be sure to make your recipe research first before going ahead with any homemade food.
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Interesting related article: “Planning to get a dog? Read this first.”