Can My Pet Eat Homemade Foods
Yes, your pet can eat foods that you make at home, provided some guidelines are followed.
Before commercial pet food was an option for owners, our canine and feline companions just ate the same foods we did. Now that there are many cat and dog kibble and canned options ready for purchase at grocery and pet stores and online, the concept of cooking for ones pet has become completely foreign for most owners. However, homemade pet food has of late been an area of growing interest for many owners who want their pets to have healthy, long lives.
Here are some of the aspects of home-prepared ingredients that make them ideal for pets of any health status, but especially for cancer patients:
1. Human grade
The majority of commercially-available pet foods and treats are made with feed-grade ingredients that have been deemed unfit for human consumption and have higher than permissible levels of a variety of toxins, including mold-produced mycotoxins , animal excreta , and can include 4D components .
2. Free from grain and protein meals by-products
3. Lacking chemical preservatives or artificial colors
To prevent spoilage, chemical preservatives can be added to pet foods and treats and may be used to preserve the rendered fat that is sprayed on kibble to enhance palatability, as well as for protein meals like fish meal. If the chemical preservative is added before the ingredient arrives at the final food production site, it does not even have to be included on the products label.
Pros Of Homemade Dog Food
- Homemade dog food can be made fresh so that the ingredients retain their maximum nutritional value.
- If your dog suffers from food allergies, a homemade dog food diet may enable you to control his exposure to the offending ingredient.
- With homemade dog food you can control the ingredients, limiting your dogs exposure to artificial preservatives, flavors, dyes, and hormones.
- A homemade dog food diet may be more cost-effective than certain specialty diets like raw food diets for dogs.
- Making your own dog food enables you to cater directly to your dogs taste this is especially beneficial if your dog is a picky eater.
- You can make homemade dog food using many of the ingredients you purchase for yourself and your family .
- Homemade dog food will always be fresh this may make it more appealing and palatable for your dog.
Dietary Supplements For Home
Some supplements are required in addition to natural food for dogs. Others may be needed if you are not able to feed a variety of foods, or if you leave out one or more of the food groups above. In addition, the longer food is cooked or frozen, the more nutrients are lost. Here are some dog supplements to consider:
Calcium
Unless you feed RMBs, all homemade diets must be supplemented with calcium. The amount found in multivitamin and mineral supplements is not enough. Give 800 to 1,000 mg calcium per pound of food . You can use any form of plain calcium, including eggshells ground to powder in a clean coffee grinder . Animal Essentials Seaweed Calcium provides additional minerals, as well. And here is a good list of calcium-rich foods your dog may like. Just please note this list is for humans and includes orange juice, which is not a good thing to give your dog as the acidity can cause stomach upset.
Oils
Most homemade diets require added oils for fat, calories, and to supply particular nutrients. Its important to use the right types of oils, as each supplies different nutrients.
Fish Oil: Fish oil for dogs provides EPA and DHA, omega-3 fatty acids that help to regulate the immune system and reduce inflammation. Give an amount that provides about 300 mg EPA and DHA combined per 20 to 30 pounds of body weight on days you dont feed fish. Note that liquid fish oil supplements often tell you to give much more than this, which can result in too many calories from fat.
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There Are Some Unsafe Ingredients To Be Aware Of
Most dog owners are aware that there are certain human foods that are unsafe for dogs Unfortunately, not all dog owners or authors of homemade dog food recipes are aware of all of these unsafe ingredients.
The best way to avoid cooking a dog food recipe that includes one of these foods is to utilize recipes formulated or overseen by a canine nutritionist or veterinarian. Additionally, familiarize yourself with the complete list of unsafe human foods for dogs.
Taking Control Of Your Dogs Diet
Many dog owners are wary of the ingredients in commercial dog foods. Some foods have been recalled over safety concerns, while others are vague about the exact contents of their products, and a growing number of owners are turning away from store-bought food. Most pre-made foods are perfectly safe and healthy, but if youre concerned, then making your own dog food at home can give you peace of mind youll have complete control over each ingredient and will know exactly what your dog is eating. By preparing food from scratch, youll be able to assess the quality of everything that goes into the bowl and avoid any additives. If you need more information, try reading Dog food ingredients explained a vets guide to what’s really in your dogs dinner.
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The Pros Of Homemade Raw Dog Food
Youre in Control
Low Cost
The initial cost of ingredients may scare you at first but if you are willing to make the food in bulk, the overall cost will be much cheaper per serving rather than purchasing premade. In the long run, homemade raw food can save you money. Remember to consider that if you opt for organic ingredients the prices can quickly add up.
Reasons Why Dog Food Is Better Than Homemade Dog Food
It is a common practice for Indian pet parents to give their pooches homemade dog food as opposed to dry dog food . As holistic as it seems, homemade dog food may not always be the best idea. It does not contain all the essential vitamins and minerals needed to sustain your dog.
It is tricky to find the right balance between proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Lacking any of these nutrients can deteriorate your dogs health in the long run.
Many are under the impression that homemade dog food is cheaper than kibble, but that isnt always true. Homemade dog food has a very short shelf life and you need to invest a lot of time to prepare it. Even after giving so much time in the production, you may not give your dog an optimum product.
To provide a nutritionally balanced home-cooked meal, you must add supplements to their meal. If you dont give them the right food, they may have excessive shedding. So, at the end of the day, homemade dog food costs the same if not more.
Buying good quality dog kibble can solve all these issues and have a whole other set of advantages. Keep reading why you should give your pup dry dog food.
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What Kind Of Snacks Can I Feed My Dog With Kidney Disease
Our dogs walk a bit on the wild side when it comes to snacks as they love thin apple slices, banana chunks, carrots, whole unsalted peanuts in the husks, and dehydrated sweet potatoes! Dog’s with kidney disease should avoid meat based chews/treats that are high in phosphorus, so you may find that you need to explore doing friendly fruit and veggies for treats like we have. We still on occasion will offer Hooch bully sticks or a jerky treat, but it is better for him if we limit his intake due to the levels of phosphorous that those treats contain.
Cooking For Dogs Will Take Some Of Your Time
Unlike commercial dog food, following homemade dog food recipes requires a considerable time commitment. Instead of simply scooping food into your dogs bowl, you must measure, cook, portion, and store your dogs food routinely. It’s a chore.
Homemade dog food can be time-consuming, but cooking in bulk and freezing your dog’s food for later can help to reduce your overall time in the kitchen.
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Mistakes To Avoid When Buying Kibble
With kibble, you have no control over the ingredients that your dog eats. For this reason, the mistake of picking the wrong food will result in innumerable health problems for your dog. Some of these mistakes to look out for include.
Buying the First Kibble That You Come Across
When looking for the best dog food in the market, there is a lot that you need to consider. For instance, you need to consider the ingredients of the kibble. Check whether there is anything that your dog is allergic to. Additionally, confirm whether the food contains all necessary ingredients for dogs.
On the other hand, you need to confirm the best by date of the food. The ideal food to go for is one whose best by date is many months away. Therefore, do not buy the first kibble you come across without first confirming such crucial details.
Buying Too Much Food
Sure, its tempting to buy food that your dog will eat for some time instead of going to the pet store from time to time. However, as convenient as this may seem, it may end up causing more harm than good.
This is because when the food is exposed to oxygen for a long time, it oxidizes, which may have health risks for your dog. Therefore, when buying dog food, buy food that your dog will eat for at most three weeks to ensure that the food remains fresh.
Storing the Food at the Wrong Place
Avoid such mistakes when using kibble to avoid issues that could cause life-threatening symptoms or even death of your dog.
Should You Use Homemade Dog Food Or Kibble For Your Dog
From the information above, both kibble and homemade dog food have their advantages and disadvantages on dogs. However, there are several factors to consider to help you settle for either kibble or a homemade diet.
For instance, if you have a tight schedule with limited time to spend away from your job, you can go for kibble. It will save you the time and energy that you spend preparing the food.
On the other hand, if your dog is allergic to several food products and ingredients, you should prepare his food. This way, you will eliminate the ingredients he is allergic to in the homemade diet. Additionally, if you want to be in charge of everything your dog eats, the homemade food option is the best way to go.
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Homemade Dog Food For Small Dogs
You can feed your puppy homemade food too. It is absolutely healthy if you are careful about the quantity and the type of nutrients you are using. For puppies, it is also advised that you use hygienic and healthy ingredients for homemade dog food.
Dog genie presenting to you 2 of our all-time favorite homemade dog food for small dog within a smaller budget:
You Have To Follow The Recipes Exactly
Once you have a nutritionally balanced recipe for your dog, you need to follow it preciselyfrom the ingredient types to measuring the ingredients to the cooking methods used.
Cooking methods matter because steaming versus roasting versus boiling can change the nutrient composition of a food, which contributes to a balanced diet.
Adding or substituting ingredients, like adding chicken on top, or substituting chicken for beef in a given recipe, unbalances the diet and poses a risk for providing too much or not enough of one or multiple nutrients.
Generating several balanced recipes, using a reliable professional source, will allow you to offer a wider variety of ingredients while still making sure that you meet your dogs specific nutritional needs.
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When To Make Your Own Dog Food
Many owners worry if commercial dog foods are enough when providing their dog with some well-balanced dog food.
This worry is valid since some dog food is made from low-quality ingredients, although this isnt the case for all dog foods.
If you are one of these people, its best if you switch your dog to homemade dog food. There are many available homemade dog food recipes online that you can follow when making your own dog food.
Start With A Good Recipe
Many dog food recipes fall short in certain nutrients, especially iron, copper, calcium, and zinc. Even some recipes created by veterinarians don’t measure up. The University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine tested 200 recipes, many written by vets. The researchers found most of the recipes were short on some essential nutrients.
The best way to make sure a recipe has what it takes is to choose one created by an expert with training in dog nutrition, says Jennifer Larsen, DVM, PhD. That might be a certified pet nutritionist or a PhD-trained animal nutritionist with experience making pet food. Your vet should be able to point you in the right direction.
Your pet needs protein , fat and carbohydrates . They also need calcium , and essential fatty acids .
And if that’s not enough to consider, if your dog has a health problem, they may need a special diet. You may need a pet nutrition expert to create custom recipes.
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Science Says Homemade Food Better For Dogs
Aren’t we all trying to kick the junk food? Every New Year, we all promise ourselves no more takeout or highly processed foods.
Why? Because they’re packed with canola oil, sugar and all sorts of artificial ingredients. We know we should be eating a well-rounded, homemade diet.
So why wouldn’t dogs be the same? Why wouldn’t their bodies prefer nutritionally complete homemade dog food over processed dry food straight out the bag?
In this article, we’ll answer the question: is homemade food better for dogs?
The science suggests it isnot only that, but nutritionally complete homemade dog food can prevent the onset of obesity, diabetes, and other diseases. As long as you know how to make homemade dog food properly, you’re good to go.
Let’s explore the science behind what processed dog food is doing to your pup and why homemade food is healthier. But there’s a catch… we’ll also explain when home cooked food can actually be worse for your dog’s health.
Disadvantages Of Homemade Dog Food
- It is time-consuming to prepare the meal for your dog. It will require almost as much time as you spend to prepare your familys meals.
- It requires a lot to make it balanced and complete.
- Your dog may miss essential nutrients if you fail to include them in his diet and supplements.
- Buying the ingredients for homemade dog food may end up more expensive than buying ready-made foods.
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Do Dogs Live Longer On Homemade Food
Is it true that dogs who eat the appropriate diet live longer? Canines health and wellness improve when fed with homemade dog food without artificial additions, preservatives, or chemicals.
It also helps people live longer lives by reducing obesity and the prevalence of illnesses .
According to a Purdue University study, replacing just 25% of your dogs food with actual food, such as high-quality freeze-dried kibble or leafy greens, can reduce cancer risk by up to 90%.
According to a study published in Belgium titled Relation Between the Domestic Dogs: Well-Being and Life Expectancy, A Statistical Essay, dogs fed a high-quality, homemade diet lived 32 months longer.
I Should Use A Lot Of Vegetables In My Homemade Dog Food So My Dog Gets The Nutrients He Needs
Fresh vegetables are an important part of a homemade dog food diet, but they should not make up the majority of the formula. Protein is more important than carbohydrate for dogs and that protein should come from animal-based sources, not plant-based sources. There is a great deal of debate regarding how much carbohydrate a dogs diet should include and certain vegetables are better than others for dogs. In fact, some vegetables actually interfere with your dogs absorption of nutrients. Some vegetables are also too high in certain nutrients and others are too starchy.
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Should You Cook Your Dogs Food
Is cooking dog food at home really better for your pup? While there may be claims made to that effect, theres no hard scientific evidence to support it.
Owners are told by many sources that homemade food is superior to commercial products. However, there is no proof to support this claim, says Dr. Larsen.
Larsen cautions dog owners to be aware of fearmongering within the pet food industry. This is often driven by myths about ingredient quality. While there are no scientifically-supported benefits to homemade diets, whole ingredient-based diets are better in the long term. Commercial foods are made to be complete and balanced, adds Dr. Bartges, albeit not the most exciting of meals.
Think of it as eating the same highly processed food for every meal, day after day, for years, he affirms.
Put that way, feeding your dogs a variety of whole foods makes a lot of sense. In fact, there are a multitude of reasons why you might want to prepare homemade foods for your dog, according to Dr. Larsen and Dr. Bartges.
These include gaining control over your dogs diet, appeasing picky eaters, combatting food intolerance issues, concern over food recalls, or simply for the bond-building joy of preparing a home-cooked meal for your dog.