Discover the advantages of making homemade raw or cooked dog food and how to get started.
Making homemade dog food offers numerous benefits, and while it might seem challenging at first, it becomes easier with practice. It gives you full control over your dog’s diet, allowing you to select foods that your dog enjoys and that are nutritionally valuable. As you explore new sources and gain knowledge, you can adjust recipes to provide a diverse range of nutrients.
If you have ample freezer space, consider making various recipes with different proteins for rotating your dog’s meals. This variety can enhance their nutritional intake.
Dogs don’t require starch. Many owners, when preparing homemade dog food, are tempted to add grains, legumes, or other starchy ingredients. However, dogs don’t need starchy carbohydrates which can raise insulin levels and lead to obesity. High carbohydrate diets have also been linked to changes in gut bacteria. Instead, carbohydrates should come from non-starchy vegetables and fruits, not from grains or starchy vegetables like potatoes. Calculating the right amounts for your dog’s meals can be daunting. If you follow a balanced raw or cooked recipe, the calculations and ingredient lists are simplified. For those who prefer a DIY approach, here’s a formula for adult dogs based on a 10 lbs batch, enough to feed a 50 lb dog for 10 days: 5 lbs meat, 2.5 lbs organs, 1.5 lb bone, and 1 lb vegetables & fruit. For smaller dogs, adjust the recipe accordingly, or prepare the full batch and freeze it in meal-sized portions. Muscle meat should constitute about 50% of your recipe, ensuring it’s lean with no more than 10% to 15% fat. Common animal proteins include chicken, turkey, pork, and beef. While chicken is popular for its affordability, unless it’s pasture-raised, it’s high in omega-6 fatty acids and should be balanced with omega-3 fatty acids. It’s beneficial to rotate between different proteins like lamb, goat, rabbit, kangaroo, venison, and fish to provide a broader range of nutrients. Sourcing these meats can be done through butchers, farmer’s markets, raw dog food co-ops, Asian markets, specialty dog food suppliers, or even from hunters. Adding variety to your dog’s diet is crucial as feeding a single protein for extended periods can lead to food sensitivities. Whenever possible and affordable, opt for pastured, grass-fed, and grass-finished animals to enhance the nutritional value of the meat.Research indicates that grass-fed, pasture-raised meat, eggs, and dairy products offer higher nutrient levels and increased anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, providing better health benefits for your dog compared to grain-fed options. Don’t hesitate to shop at supermarkets for these wholesome foods, as they are superior to highly processed commercial dog foods. Additionally, you can save money by purchasing stale-dated meats at a discount, which are perfectly safe for your dog.
Fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are crucial for brain, eye, heart, and immune health in both humans and pets. You can add an ounce of fish for every pound of dog food, such as in a 10 lb recipe. Cold-water fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, and herring are the best sources. Cooked or raw fish can be used, with canned fish in water being an acceptable alternative. Opt for wild-caught fish over farmed, as they contain more nutrients and are less likely to have been given antibiotics. Fish also provide vitamins A, D, and B2, along with iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, and iodine. Eggs are a versatile addition to your dog’s diet, with most dogs able to consume a raw or cooked egg daily or a few times a week. It’s ideal to source eggs from a local organic farmer or farmers market, where you can include the shell in your dog’s meal. Avoid feeding the shell if the eggs are from a grocery store due to potential chemical coatings. Cooked eggs can be served soft or hard-boiled, or even scrambled in pastured butter. Organ meats should constitute about 25% of your homemade dog food, such as 2.5 lbs in a 10 lb recipe. These are nutrient-dense and rich in minerals and trace minerals, with each organ offering a unique nutrient profile. Kidney, heart, and liver are the most accessible and offer a broad range of nutrients. For greater nutrient variety, consider including other organs like brain, eyeballs, spleen, pancreas, lung, and glands, though they may be harder to find. A pre-mixed organ grind from a dog food supplier can simplify this process. If not available, an abattoir often provides a wider selection of organs. Freezing organs slightly can make them easier to slice, chop, or grind. Incorporate a variety of organs into your dog’s diet. As an alternative to organs, if you can’t find a good assortment, you can use whole fish in your dog’s diet.Fish is rich in vitamin D, minerals, and DHA. Add an ounce of fish for every pound of raw food. Another option is to use freeze-dried organ and glandular powders.
Bone Content: Bone in raw homemade dog food can vary between 10% and 25%, but should generally be about 12% to 15% of your food. For a 10 lb recipe, that’s 1.2 to 1.5 lbs. Give 15% bone to puppies. You can grind bones and add them to food, or feed raw meaty bones (RMB) 2 or 3 times per week. Here’s how to find bone content and calculate how to balance calcium. This chart also shows you how to calculate the amount of bone to feed once you know the percentage of bone in different cuts of meat from the link above. Caution: Only include bones in your formula if you’re making raw food. Bones should never be cooked. You can use bone meal as a bone replacement in cooked food. Feed adult dogs 2 tsp bone meal powder per pound of food. For puppies, give 4 teaspoons per pound of home-prepared food with 10% or less fat content, 5 tsp per lb for 11-15% fat content or 6 tsp per lb for 15-20% fat. You can also add bone meal to raw food if you prefer not to feed raw bones to your dog. Vegetables And Fruit: Fruits and vegetables should make up about 10% of a 10 lb recipe. Vegetables help balance out your dog’s diet and supply important phytonutrients not found in meat. They balance the alkalinity and acidity of your dog’s body, improving the function of organs like the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, hormones, heart, and kidneys. Vegetables are full of antioxidants that protect your dog from aging and disease. They’re also high in fiber and enzymes that help with the digestive process and support the microbiome of your dog’s gut. Phytonutrients help protect people and animals from cancers, heart disease, diabetes and more. Including a variety of fruit provides polyphenols that are anti-inflammatory, prevent tumor formation, improve cognitive function and fight cancer. Some nutritious produce to include are dark leafy greens, a wide range of colorful veggies for nutrient variety, low sugar fruits like berries, and microgreens. Fats: Fats should be added when you feed your dog, rather than stirring it into the mix before cooking or freezing. Fats should be 10% to 20% of your dog’s diet. The meat in your dog’s diet will be higher in omega-6 fatty acids, which can increase inflammation. So you’ll need to balance the fats by adding more omega-3 fats. We’ve provided some specific suggestions below on which types of fat to feed with different types of meat (ruminants like beef, lamb or goat vs poultry like chicken, turkey or duck). It’s a good idea to read this more detailed article about balancing fats in dog food. Whole Fish (Mackerel, Sardines, Anchovies): Whole fish is high in omega-3 fats. Try to avoid fish from the Pacific because of radiation concerns. It’s preferable to feed small fish that only feed on phytoplankton rather than bigger fish that eat other fish, leading to higher levels of toxins.When it comes to feeding your dog a healthy diet, certain oils can play a crucial role. Here’s a detailed look at some recommended oils and their benefits: Ruminants and Poultry Feeding: It is recommended to add 1 oz of fish for every pound of raw food. Fish oil isn’t always the best choice. Instead, consider Green-Lipped Mussel Oil, which is rich in EPA and DHA, similar to fish oil, but it contains 30 fatty acids compared to the 2 found in fish and other marine oils. It also includes ETA, an omega-3 fatty acid with potent anti-inflammatory properties. These mussels are sustainably farmed in New Zealand, feeding on phytoplankton. The recommended amount is ¼ tsp per 25 lbs body weight. Ahiflower Oil is a plant-based source of omega fatty acids, containing GLA, an omega-6 fat that reduces inflammation. It maintains a healthy ratio of 4:1 omega-3 to omega-6, aiding in omega fatty acid balance. The feeding recommendation is ¼ tsp for every 20-25 lbs of body weight. Hempseed Oil is another excellent choice, containing an ideal ratio of 6:3 omega-6 to omega-3, which helps manage fatty acid balance. It is recommended for feeding with ruminants only, with 2 to 3 tsp per lb of food. Feeding Guidelines: Most adult dogs should consume 2-3% of their ideal body weight per day. For puppies, feed 2-3% of their expected adult weight or 10% of their current weight, and feed them three times a day until they are about 6 months old. Adjust the amount of food based on the dog’s age, activity level, and weight changes. Homemade dog food recipes for large or small dogs are essentially the same, just adjust the portion size accordingly. For a balanced diet, it’s not necessary to feed a perfectly balanced meal at every sitting; balance over time is what matters. Click the link below for downloadable balanced raw and cooked dog food recipes. Cost Considerations: Making homemade dog food can save you money compared to pre-made raw or cooked options, but it requires time for sourcing and preparation. Savings can be achieved by watching for sales, building relationships with farmers and butchers, or getting bulk discounts with other raw feeders.
