How to Fix Your Dog Natural Food

In 2007, thousands of dogs and cats across North America died after being poisoned by food contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, reigniting a long-standing controversy about the safety of commercially prepared food. If you want to be sure that every meal your dog eats is healthy and wholesome, home-cooking meals using ingredients from the supermarket is one way to go.

Things You'll Need

  • Cooked bite-size meat
  • Vegetables
  • Starches
  • Chopped garlic
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Instructions

    • 1

      Consult your vet before changing your dog's diet. Like people, dogs need a nutritionally balanced diet consisting of meat, vegetables and starch to thrive but the optimum ratio will depend upon your dog's age, activity level, breed and overall health. Your vet will advise you on the best balance of ingredients and how to make a smooth transition from commercially prepared to home-cooked food. One common formula is to mix starches, meats and vegetables in a 50/25/25 ratio.

    • 2

      Experiment with shortcuts. Making your dog's food need not take much extra time and effort. By using a crock pot or rice cooker, you can toss all the ingredients in at once, add water to make a gravy, and prepare big batches to label and freeze in meal-sized zipper bags or containers.

    • 3

      Try different combinations of ingredients. Another similarity between dogs and people: some will wolf down almost anything while others prefer to stick to a few favorites. You might find that your dog prefers chicken to beef, rice to potatoes, and won't touch certain vegetables. If so, there's no harm in sticking with two or three winning recipes, meaning less work for you and less wasted food.

    • 4

      Make friends with the butcher. There are cuts of meat that most people don't find palatable (for instance, some organ meats, tripe, sheep's trotters) but your dog might love and your butcher might give you free for the asking. Beef, lamb or pork marrow bones can be cooked in the same pot as your dog's food to add flavor but dropped into the bowl separately as a special after-dinner treat.

    • 5

      Save kitchen scraps to mix into the stew. Leftover rice, vegetables and peelings, scraps of meat and crusts of bread all make perfectly wholesome additions to cooked dog food.

    • 6

      Mix powdered nutrients into the food after cooking. One more way to ensure that your dog is getting the best possible nourishment. Ask your vet to recommend which supplements are best for your dog and how much to add per meal.