Homemade dog diet
A good diet should provide a full range and proper amounts of essential nutrients that us dogs need and be easily digestible to accommodate our short digestive tracts. It is not necessary for every meal to be nutritionally complete, as long as the diet you feed is balanced over time. Mix it up and give us a variety it makes eating more pleasurable, it also helps to ensure that we receive a good cross-section of essential nutrients. Think about your own diet, you mix it up all the time and that creates a balanced diet for you as well. Just be sure to make it tasty!
Proteins:
Proteins should be at least 50% protein in homemade meals. We dogs evolved as carnivores and thrive on high-protein diets. Protein provides the building blocks that are necessary for growth, maintenance, and repair of our tissues, organs, blood, and hair. It is also a source of energy. Proteins are made up of essential and nonessential amino acids. We dogs can produce the nonessential amino acids; however, we need a diet that supplies the essential amino acids that we need.
If we don’t get enough protein with the essential amino acids that we need horrible things can happen to us, such as anorexia, slowed growth, susceptibility to infection, emaciation, depression and even death.
So get to know what we love and is a good source of protein
The best sources of protein for dogs:
Meat: Beef, Venison, Pork, Buffalo, Lamb,
Poultry: Chicken, Duck, Turkey,
Fish: Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, Pollack, Trout,
Eggs: cooked shells and all
Organ meat: Liver, Heart,
Some dairy products: such as cottage cheese
Show me some carbs
Carbohydrates which come from fruits, vegetables and grains offer many uses in, the body. When they are broken down by the digestive system and converted to glucose, they supply the fuel we need for activities. They also supply fiber, which aids our gastrointestinal function.
However, keep the following info in mind when you’re preparing my meal.
Too many carbs can make me fat, it can also make me gassy and have diarrhea. Nothing worse than dog farts!
Please cook my grains it makes it easier for me to digest. I also prefer whole grain products
I usually prefer my fruit cooked, however, I can eat it raw and like can a bite or two of apple as a treat, however, to get the full nutritional benefit a little cooking helps. Please make sure if you’re feeding me fruit raw that it is ripe and fresh. Also when adding fruits to my meal, either puree them or cut them into small bite-size pieces.
My vegetables are best served cooked and again a little puree or chopped into small bite-size pieces make it all the more enjoyable.
I like the skin on most of my fruits and vegetables, however, if you’re peeling these for yourself, peel it for me too! Also, skip the pits and seeds please; I do not want to choke.
For newbies with carbs,
If you’re introducing new vegetables or fruit into your dog’s diet, observe their reaction, some dogs have difficulty toleration certain foods.
Many health problems may be linked to a high-carb diet, if your dog suffers from allergies, chronic ear infections, digestive disorders, omit grains and starchy carbs from your dog’s diet to see if your dog improves. This also includes commercial dog food as well. Check the label.
Just like people some dogs are gluten intolerant and can’t handle certain grains. Wheat can be a major problem, if so substitute with Smelt, arrowroot flour or use rice, corn, chickpeas or potato. Also supermarkets today offer a wide variety of gluten and wheat free pasta, bread and other products that would benefit a gluten intolerant dog.
Carbs that I like:
Cooked whole grains: brown rice, oatmeal, and barley
Whole-wheat flour, bread and pasta
Potatoes, sweet potatoes
Safe to eat fruit and veggies. See know the food I can’t tolerate.
Yummy fats
Fat is tasty and adds flavor to our food. Unlike you, we dogs don’t have to worry about clogged arteries or cholesterol problems, so saturated fats are really not a concern for us. However, if too many calories come from fat, I might not get the nutrients from other proteins or carb food sources. I can also get fat and have other problems such as pancreatitis. In order to control my fat intake please use lean meats in my recipes and supplement with a good fat for me.
We dogs need linoleic acid known as omega-6. This helps keep my coat and skin looking fabulous. It also helps with tissue repair, immune system response and reproductive function. You can find this important essential in some meats, especially dark meat, fat, and chicken skin. Safflower or canola oil is an excellent source as well and can be added to my diet.
Omega-3 is also another linoleic acid which is essential to us dogs, its health benefits when added to my diet in moderation can help treat skin disease and arthritis. You find this in fatty fish like salmon. However do not overdo it, and check with your veterinarian for guidance.
Remember though, too little fat leads to skin problems and a dull and lifeless coat. It also leaves me feeling hungry, which can make me act out.
What about my Vitamins, minerals, calcium?
The right combination and quantity of food from all the food groups’ should provide me an adequate supply of nutrients. However many home cook chefs like to supplement their dishes with additional vitamins and minerals. There are many ways to go about this.
- You can use a multivitamin and mineral supplement for dogs, which you can usually pick up at your local vet or pet shop.
- You could use a multivitamin and mineral supplement for people, however, be careful and read the ingredient list. It should not contain iron and I would suggest talking to your vet about this
- Adding your home cooked food with an all-natural high-quality dry dog food.
Calcium: Dogs have a greater need for calcium that you humans do. Back in the day when we were wild, we would get this calcium from eating bones. Today being a little more civilized my owner adds a bone meal supplement that she gets from the pet shop. However she did check with the vet so that I got the right amount, you owner should do the same. She also uses egg shells in some of my recipes due to it is an excellent source of calcium. She just grinds it up and adds about ½ teaspoon per 1 lb. food. (450 g)
This is just a short introduction to great things to feed to dogs and now it’s your turn to start experimenting and seeing how to tantalize your dog’s taste buds. A great way to start is to replace a small amount of the old boring commercial canned food with your delicious homemade creations, then increase the amount every few days until you can kick that can to the curb. Your dog is going love your homemade dog food and diet.
