How to Prepare Dog Food at Home

Dogs are considered family members and you always want your dog to eat delicious and healthy food. However, do not assume that you can feed your dog human food. Dogs have different nutritional needs than humans, so you need to know what to prepare to create a balanced dog diet. Once you understand the nutritional balance, you can start cooking for your dog.

Table of Contents

Create a nutritional balance

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Understand the difference between domestic and wild dog diets. Wolves or wild dogs can survive in the wild without a balanced diet. However, their average lifespan is shorter. The food of a wild dog is also different from that of a domestic dog. Domestic dogs are fed pure protein, while wild dogs can eat organs such as kidneys, liver, brain and intestines. This creates a more complex diet than just feeding your dog meat (protein) and rice (carbohydrates) bought from the store. ^{[1] X Small animal nutrition research source . Agar. Publisher: Butterworth Heinemann.}

If your dog is fed a home-cooked but unbalanced diet, it will take a long time for health problems to appear. The reason is that the dog will have a micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) deficiency instead of a calorie deficit.
For example, a dog can live well for weeks or years, but after a while, it can break a leg from a long-term calcium-deficient diet. ^{[2] X Small animal nutrition research source . Agar. Publisher: Butterworth Heinemann.}

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Get a diet plan from an expert. You can’t prepare dog food based on a recipe that looks appetizing. In fact, since there’s no “one-size-fits-all” diet for your dog, you’ll need to feed your dog a meal that has been specifically formulated by your veterinarian. ^{[3] X Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, a technical report issued by the National Research Council as part of its Animal Nutrition Series. (Relied upon by the FDA to assess pet food standards)} For example, a growing puppy needs twice as many calories per 0.5 kg of body weight as an adult dog, while an older dog needs 20% less. compared with adult dogs. ^{[4] X Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, a technical report issued by the National Research Council as part of its Animal Nutrition Series. (Relied upon by the FDA to assess pet food standards)}

Basic diets, even those created by a veterinarian, are often nutritionally deficient. One study analyzed 200 recipes created by veterinarians. The majority of these formulas lack at least one key nutrient.

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Learn to prepare meals the right way. Once you have a specific formula, you should prepare the food according to the recipe to maintain vitamins and minerals. Always remember to follow the instructions exactly. If the recipe uses chicken with skin, you should follow it exactly. Do not remove the skin as this may unbalance the fat. You should also use a kitchen scale instead of a cup to carefully weigh ingredients. ^{[5] X Small animal nutrition research source . Agar. Publisher: Butterworth Heinemann.}

Do not overcook vegetables to preserve nutrients. Instead, it should be steamed or blanched to retain vitamins. ^{[6] X Research source Small animal nutrition. Agar. Publisher: Butterworth Heinemann.}
Do not create or substitute materials yourself. This can cause nutritional imbalance. ^{[7] X Research source Small animal nutrition. Agar. Publisher: Butterworth Heinemann.}

Prepare food

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Protein supplement. Adult dogs weighing 15 kg need a minimum of 25 g of pure protein per day. ^{[9] X Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, a technical report issued by the National Research Council as part of its Animal Nutrition Series. (Relied upon by the FDA to assess pet food standards)} Protein can include eggs (containing many of the essential amino acids that dogs need), followed by animal proteins, such as chicken, lamb or turkey. High-quality plant-based foods such as protein-rich beans, nuts, and eggs can be added to the diet. Make sure there is at least 10% quality protein (meat) in your dog’s meal. ^{[10] X Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, a technical report issued by the National Research Council as part of its Animal Nutrition Series. (Relied upon by the FDA to assess pet food standards)}

Proteins are made up of small blocks called amino acids. There are 10 amino acids that dogs cannot produce on their own and must be provided through the diet.

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Add fat. Adult dogs weighing 15 kg (about the size of a medium-sized Staffordshire Bun) need at least 14 g of fat per day. ^{[11] X Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, a technical report issued by the National Research Council as part of its Animal Nutrition Series. (Relied upon by the FDA to assess pet food standards)} You can feed your dog meat or chicken skin to ensure adequate fat in the diet. Experts recommend that at least 5% of a dog’s diet should contain fat (by weight). ^{[12] X Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, a technical report issued by the National Research Council as part of its Animal Nutrition Series. (Relied upon by the FDA to assess pet food standards)}

Fats contain fat-soluble vitamins that are essential for health. These vitamins also have a role in creating new functional cells.

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Add carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the main source of calories for dogs. Specifically, half a dog’s diet should contain carbohydrates. Dogs weighing 14 kg need about 930 calories a day. ^{[13] X Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, a technical report issued by the National Research Council as part of its Animal Nutrition Series. (Relied upon by the FDA to assess pet food standards)} You should include wheat, rice, oats, and barley in your dog’s diet to ensure that your dog is getting enough calories.

Carbohydrates provide energy (while some of the energy comes from protein and fat). Carbohydrates also provide fiber to ensure healthy bowel function.

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Mineral supplements. Dogs need minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, iron and copper. Mineral deficiencies can lead to a host of health problems, including weak bones that break easily, anemia, or poor nerve conduction that leads to seizures. Different foods contain different levels of minerals, especially fresh fruits and vegetables that require careful research to ensure your dog is getting enough minerals from each type in his diet. ^{[14] X Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, a technical report issued by the National Research Council as part of its Animal Nutrition Series . (Relied upon by the FDA to assess pet food standards)} You should add vegetables with high mineral content to your dog’s meal:

Green leafy vegetables (raw or cooked), such as spinach (spinach), kale, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, and collard greens
Pumpkin (cooked)
Radishes (cooked)
Yellow radish (cooked)
French beans (cooked)
Okra (cooked)

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Vitamin supplements. Vitamins are an important part of a dog’s diet. Vitamin deficiency can lead to problems such as blindness, weakened immune system, skin damage and susceptibility to infections. Vitamins are found in many foods in varying degrees, so you need to use a variety of vegetables. Green vegetables are often a good source of vitamins and minerals, but some dogs do not like the taste of vegetables and do not want to eat them. Green vegetables can be eaten raw, but can cause gas in dogs.

Avoid overcooking vegetables as this will break down the vitamins. ^{[15] X Research source Small animal nutrition. Agar. Publisher: Butterworth Heinemann.}
Vegetables that you wouldn’t normally eat raw (such as turnips, swedes, turnips, or potatoes) need to be cooked to reduce the risk of bowel obstruction and make it easier for your dog to digest.

Feed the dog

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Know how much to feed your dog. You need to find out how many calories your dog really needs to avoid becoming overweight or losing weight. Note that calorie needs do not follow a certain standard. For example, a dog weighing 18 kg does not need twice as many calories as a dog weighing 9 kg. ^{[16] X Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats, a technical report issued by the National Research Council as part of its Animal Nutrition Series . (Relied upon by the FDA to assess pet food standards)}

You can find a chart of your dog’s daily calorie needs. The chart will give you a general idea of your dog’s calorie needs based on body weight. ^{[17] X Research Source}
Once you’ve found general guidelines for your dog’s weight, you should consider whether there are any lifestyle changes that require adjustment (e.g. pregnancy, obesity, age of dog and dog). be castrated or sterilized). For example, a 4.5 kg puppy under 4 months of age needs 654 calories, while a neutered 4.5 kg dog needs only 349 calories. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

Advice

For convenience, it is recommended to cook meals for a whole week. Divide food into portions for each day and store separately in the freezer for convenient serving.
Remember to take the next day’s portion out of the freezer and put it in the freezer. Stick notes on the fridge for daily reminders.
Use hot water to heat food to room temperature. Then, add the necessary supplementary food sources such as vitamin C, flaxseed oil, salmon oil, vitamin E, …
Remember that some foods (such as grapes, raisins, chocolate, etc.) are not good for dogs. Therefore, you must first check what food you are using for your dog.
When buying frozen pre-mixed vegetables, you need to check the ingredients. Many have onions and spices that you shouldn’t give your dog.

Warning

Almonds are not toxic to dogs, but it is difficult to digest and can cause bloating or intestinal obstruction.

Steps

Create a nutritional balance

Prepare food

Feed the dog

Advice

Warning

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