You want your dog to feel their best and enjoy their life to its fullest. Feeding your dog nutritious, high-quality dog food is the foundation for your dog’s best life. Preparing your dog’s food at home is one way to ensure the quality of your dog’s diet and the freshness of their food. However, if you are considering making homemade dry dog food, there are a few things you will want to know.
While following online recipes may seem straightforward, it’s always important to keep in mind these dos and don’ts to keep you, your dog, and your family safe:
1. Do: Understand What You’re Getting Into
Cooking your dog’s homemade food takes time, money, know-how, and effort. Dog nutrition is complicated, which is why most dog food manufacturers use qualified dog nutritionists to review their recipes. Additionally, there is no verified proof that homemade dog food is safer than foods that are commercially available [1].
It also takes practice and some adjustments to recipes to meet your dog’s taste and caloric needs. Furthermore, calculating the calories, protein levels, fat levels, fibre, vitamins, minerals and other nutritional variables can be difficult.
Proteins are particularly important in your dog’s daily diet since proteins convert to amino acids [2]. These amino acids are the building blocks of cells in your dog’s body. There are ten amino acids that your dog’s body cannot produce. Therefore, they must source these amino acids from the foods they eat.
The 10 essential amino acids:
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- Arginine
- Histidine
- Isoleucine
- Leucine
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
- Threonine
- Tryptophan
- Valine
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2. Do: Be Sure You’re Homemaking Your Dog’s Food for the Right Reasons
Dry Dog Food vs. Homemade: What’s Your Motivation?
Dog food has changed a lot over the past decades. There are now more nutritious and fresh choices of dog food on the market, making it easier to provide your dog a well-balanced, healthy diet. This makes it vital to consider why you would prefer to make your dog’s food.
The following chart indicates which may be a better choice for you and your dog based on what you are looking for in your dog’s food.
| Reason | Pre-Made Dry Dog Food | Homemade Dog Food |
| Balanced to meet all of your dog’s nutritional needs | X | |
| Greater control of the ingredient your dog eats | X | |
| More Affordable | X | |
| Tailoring dog food flavour for a picky dog | X | |
| Avoiding Allergens | X | |
| Changing recipes for greater variety | X | |
| Safety and responsible handling | X |
So, if you’re aiming to save money, you may be surprised to learn that it costs more to make homemade dry dog food than it does to buy dry dog food [3].
One of the biggest challenges of making homemade dry dog food is ensuring it meets all of your dog’s nutritional needs. Without a veterinary nutritionist ensuring a food is balanced and provides all of your dog’s needs, your dog may wind up with a nutritional deficit [4].
