How to Make Homemade Dog Food

By Susan M. Keenan ©2008

Whether you simply love your dog and want to do what’s best for him or your precious pooch is simply a fussy eater, making homemade dog food can be a winning situation for both of you. Providing all of the nutrients for your dog is essential to his health. Another one of the reasons for making homemade dog food is the fact that it can be less expensive than many of the brands sold in stores today.

Making his dog food in the comfort of your own kitchen puts you in charge of his nutritional diet. Therefore, it is important to consider the ingredients that you use carefully. Plus, you should go into this prepared to go through a few batches before you find one that he actually likes to eat and shows a preference for.

Since most canned dog food uses many of the same meats that we currently eat, you can probably make his meals at the same time as your own. You can even use separate pots of you want.

Perhaps the first step you should take is to read the labels of a few cans of dog food to see what is contained in them. This will give you a better idea as to what you are doing. Start with your dog’s personal favorites.

Preparing homemade dog food is a relatively simple task that will also provide some additional bonding time for you and your pet. In fact, your dog can be the official taste tester for you. What better way to know if you are on the right track with your recipe than to have your dog sample it as you go through the cooking stages.

Ground meat is relatively easy to work with and is a good place to start for your first effort. If you use ground turkey, your dog will receive less fat in his food, providing a healthier dinner. You can also use ground pork or veal for options with less fat. However, these two types of ground meat are usually a bit more expensive.

If you cook the meat on a slow heat such as low to medium-low, you won’t need to add oil. If you cook the food on a low temperature setting, it will cook in its own juices. Turning it constantly will allow the food to stay moist as it cooks, keeping flavor in. You can also add chicken or beef broth to the meat while it is cooking to avoid the meat sticking to the pan. Not using any oil also makes the food more nutritional for you dog.

Try not to add salt of any kind to the food either. Extra salt in the food can create a seemingly unquenchable thirst in your pet. Plus, adding broth to your dog’s food will also add salt in most cases.

Precook any vegetables that you will be adding to your dog’s meal. Use the ones that he liked when you fed him table scraps If you never fed your dog any table scraps, then you will need to do a trial-and-error type of process to discover which ones he likes. Ideally, you should select vegetables with a high nutritional value, such as green ones.

You can also add rice or small pieces of diced potato to the food for your dog. As soon as the meat is finished cooking, add in the remaining ingredients and serve your pet. Once your dog is finished eating his homemade dog food, you will be able to tell how well he liked it by the scrapes on his plate.

Next time you prepare homemade dog food, eliminate the food choices that your dog refused to eat from the last batch. Try new food choices sparingly if your dog is a finicky eater.

Plus, you should not prepare more than your dog can reasonably eat within three days. In fact, the fresher the homemade dog food is, the better he will probably like it. Another rule of thumb that you should pay attention to is the one that suggests that you change your dog’s diet gradually. Any sudden change in diet can bring on digestive and elimination problems. Simply continue feeding your pet his regular diet while introducing small portions of homemade dog food.