5 Reasons to Make Your Own Dog Food

Learn the benefits to making home-cooked food for your pet

By Sabah Karimi


Photo by: iStockPhotos

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Your dog needs a balanced diet to stay healthy and strong. Yet feeding your pets commercial, processed foods and snacks can make their meals less than nutritious. Many pet foods contain additives and filler ingredients that do not provide any nutritional value, and can even make your dog sick. You can provide better nutrition for your dog by making your own dog food using some simple ingredients and cooking techniques. Here are just more five reasons why pet owners should make their own dog food.

1. Avoid pet food recalls
Dozens of major pet food brands have issued recalls, which means you always need to be vigilant about the brands you choose, which leads to changing your dog's regular diet. Most dogs do well with a simple and consistent diet, so changing brands regularly can be detrimental to their health. Plus, you might have to deal with the side effects of contaminated foods when you only feed your pet commercially prepared food.

2. Reduce the risk of allergies
Many commercially prepared foods contain chemicals, additives, and even some foods that can trigger an allergic reaction or cause a food intolerance. Animal byproducts and some whole grains can be indigestible. When you make your own dog food, you can use only the most nutritious and wholesome ingredients.

3. Supply only fresh, healthy ingredients
When you're in control of the food-making process, you get to choose only the freshest, most wholesome ingredients. Recommended foods include cooked brown rice, boiled vegetables, cooked ground beef and boiled chicken or turkey. There are hundreds of different homemade pet food recipes available. In most cases, you can refrigerate unused portions for up to three days, so your dog will always be fed fresh food at every meal.

4. Reduce the risk of bloating and indigestion
Many dogs experience bloating, indigestion or even diarrhea after eating certain types of store-bought foods. Holistic veterinarians say that many commercial foods (even premium brands) are made with fillers that absorb a lot of water in the stomach. This causes excessive bloating and discomfort, and can take its toll on your pet's health.

5. Improve your dog's health
If you feed your dog an all-natural diet, you may notice her coat become silkier, her eyes brighter, and she may have more energy. For meat-eating dogs, experts recommend the biologically appropriate raw food, or bones and raw food (BaRF) diet for domestic canines where nothing is cooked. Meals are comprised of bones with meat attached, organs, muscle, eggs, fruit, enzymes, vegetables, yogurt, whole-grain cereals and some supplements.

There are several nutritional benefits to feeding your dog homemade meals, but it can take time for her to adjust. You may need to use dietary supplements to make sure your dog is getting the proper nutrients at each meal, but homemade pet food is still a much healthier alternative to store-bought varieties. Research some recipe and check in with your veterinarian if you're planning on making the shift to homemade meals for your dogs and puppies.