Home-Prepared Diets for Canines

Many dog owners believe that a raw diet, including bones, is the most natural and therefore, healthiest diet that a dog can receive. Not all dogs will eat such a diet though, and certain owners will be concerned about the presence of both parasites and bacteria in raw meat. These owners may prefer to cook the meat that they offer their dog; but regardless, a number of home-prepared diets are well balanced and healthy for any dog. Although these diets are typically referred to as cooked diets, owners could still add raw meat to them.

  1. General Considerations

    • Cooking unfortunately destroys or reduces select nutrients, such as vitamins C and E. Minerals will also leach from meat during cooking. Therefore, the water in which meat and other food items were cooked should be added to the food as a gravy. Cooking meat at a low temperature is also preferable, as it is less destructive to nutrients.

    Meat Products

    • Home-prepared diets should ideally include a variety of meat types beyond beef, such as chicken, lamb and fish. If bones are not to be included, calcium will need to be added as well. Home-prepared diets must also be made up of a variety of different food types, not just meat and grains. Eggs, select leftovers from the main table and animal organs can all be considered for the home preparation of dog food. Grains and vegetables can be added, provided the meat portion of the die, makes up at least 50 percent of the meal. If a home-prepared diet is varied enough, it is not absolutely essential that each individual meal is perfectly balanced, provided your dog gets all of the necessary ingredients over a number of days.

    Calcium

    • The failure to add calcium to home-prepared diets is a common mistake. Your dog requires up to 1,000 mg of calcium for every pound of food that he eats. The calcium and phosphorus ratio must also be correct. Egg shells are an affordable and suitable source of calcium. Shells are best washed and left to dry over night. They should be ground to a fine powder and fed at a rate of half a teaspoon per pound of food consumed. Bone meal is another affordable source of both calcium and phosphorus in the correct proportions.

    Other Food Items

    • Eggs are a first-rate source of nutrition and can be prepared in any form, but the whites should be removed if you are planning to feed raw. Yogurt will supply your dog with probiotics, while leafy green vegetables, such as broccoli and zucchini, are the healthiest vegetables for your dog. Although many owners include starchy vegetables, such as potatoes in home dog food preparations, dogs should not be fed a great deal of carbohydrates. If carbohydrates are included, they should not make up more than a quarter of the diet. Both brown and white rice can be included in home preparations, as can barley and oatmeal.