Homecooked, Low-Fat Diets for Dogs

Some dogs, especially dogs with pancreatitis, must be put on a low-fat diet. Even prescription low-fat kibble may not be low-fat enough for some dogs-or the dog's owner prefers to feed a homecooked diet. When feeding a homecooked diet, you must still provide calcium for the dogs, as your dog will not get the calcium from cooked bones unless you grind the bones up with the meat. If you are not comfortable with ground bones, you can substitute ground eggshell.

  1. Preparing the Foods

    • Cook the meat. The best way to make a homecooked diet is to make enough for three to five days, so you are not cooking for the dog every day. Store the meat in the fridge or if you prefer ground, grind the meat. If the meat has a lot of fat or skin, remove some, but not all. Dogs do need fat to help keep their coats in good condition and for other health reasons.

      Prepare the vegetables--either cook them until they are very soft or, if you prefer raw vegetables, put the vegetables in a food processor. Blend until pulverized. You can add other food items such as an egg or canned jack mackeral to the veggie "glop."

      Cook the eggs if you do not want to feed them raw. These will also keep in the refrigerator. Rinse the eggshells and allow them to dry thoroughly. Grind the eggshells in a coffee bean grinder. Keep the ground shells in an airtight container or a zippered sandwich bag.

    Feeding Options

    • Feed all components separately, or, if you prefer, you can grind the meat and add the other ingredients for a "canned food" texture. If you choose to mix everything, add an extra egg or two (depending on the amount of food you are making) to bind the food together.

    Feeding Amounts

    • Feed according to the dog's weight. Guidelines are approximately 2 percent of an adult dog's weight. If the dog is an "easy keeper," meaning it puts on weight easily, you can drop the amount to a bit less than 2 percent. If the dog is highly active, you can feed a bit more than two percent. Each dog is different, and ingredients (such as how much fat is each type of meat or how much fat you leave on the meat, including chicken skin) play a role in the amount of dog food fed for each meal.