This post may contain affiliate links. We are compensated for referring customers to our affiliate partners.
If you are considering a homemade dog food diet for your dog, there are some things that you should know before you start. It is a process, and it needs to happen over and over again in order to be sure that your pet is fed properly and receives the proper amount of nutrients to thrive.
There are recipes to be followed and food handling procedures to take into consideration.
Let’s take a look at some of the problems that could go wrong if you are making your own dog food.
Dr. Karen Becker Describes Why To Make Homemade Dog Food
Homemade Dog Food Diets Have No Inspections Or Quality Control Standards
One of the benefits of buying your dog food from a brand name is that the food comes from a factory is that factories are subject to inspections on the factory equipment and on the ingredients that they use. The ingredients that you use in your kitchen may have passed a safety inspection at the store, but no one is watching once you bring them home. If you don’t immediately prepare the food using proper methods, you might find that your food isn’t as safe as you thought. You also need to be ready to store it properly. Improper storage can also result in dangerous conditions, leading to health concerns for your pet. There is something to be said for dog foods that are made and processed in a factory that goes through inspections on a regular basis.
How Dog And Cat Food Is Made
Homemade Dog Food Can Be Expensive
Buying all the ingredients separately to make your own dog food can get really expensive. One popular recipe calls for cooked rice, potato, beef, chicken, liver, green beans, carrots, salt, soybean oil, dicalcium phosphate, dried yeast and calcium carbonate. On top of all of that, you also need to add in a commercial vitamin supplement, mineral supplements, fish oils, and amino acids to be sure that your pet is getting all the nutrients that he or she needs. All of these ingredients need to be purchased in bulk in order to make a large batch of food. This can get really expensive, especially if you have to ship all the ingredients to your home.
Substituting Ingredients Can Be Inticing
If you run out of one of these ingredients, the temptation is there to substitute for something else. There is a reason that homemade dog food recipes include so many ingredients. If you change the recipe, it won’t be the same and it won’t include the same balance of nutrients and calories. Substituting ingredients can seem harmless in the moment, but over time, you can deprive your dog of the nutrients that they need to survive. In rare cases, owners who make their own dog food have actually starved their dogs because they were not making the recipe with the correct ingredients. If you are going to make your own food, you’ve got to stick to a PROVEN nutritionally adequate diet, which means the recipe you’re following has been proven to be nutritionally adequate for your dogs life-stage in clinical trials.
Are You Willing To Do All The Work?
Making homemade dog food sounds like a good idea at first. But you have to be 100% committed to the process. Each ingredient needs to be cooked and prepared before putting the recipe all together. Then the whole batch of dog food needs to be put together. You need to invest in the right equipment and be able to give several hours per week to the process of making the food. You also need to want to make the food over and over again. If you think it sounds fun for a while, but then you decide it’s much easier to just buy food, your dog may suffer changes to their digestive system. Digesting homemade pet food is different than digesting store-bought food. You’ll want to make your change consistent, so you’ll need ot be all the way committed to making food when your pet needs it.
Storage
Proper storage needs to be considered when committing to making your own pet food. Dry dog food can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. That is fairly simple to accomplish. Homemade dog food usually needs to be refrigerated in order to maintain the ingredients. If you make it in large batches, you may have to think about dedicating an entire refrigerator just to the dog food. You’ll also need containers and a labeling system to keep track of what batch was made when. You’ll need to plan ahead and make enough to last until you have a chance to prepare and make another batch. Depending on how large your dog is and how much they eat, this can be a time consuming process that has to happen over and over again.
Check In With A Veterinarian Often
It is important to check in with a veterinarian often, but even more important when you are making your own food. A vet can help you catch any deficiencies in your pet’s diet before it becomes a larger problem. Regular check ups and blood work can provide proof that your homemade diet really is what is best for your pet. Be sure to ask your vet any questions you might have, and discuss everything that is going on. Something that seems like a small change to you might actually be an indication of something bigger. A vet will be able to figure out the warning signs before you. If you feel like something is off with your pet, it is important to get it checked out right away before it turns into a problem.
If you are really committed to making your pet’s food, it can be a great alternative to prescription foods. You can control the ingredients that go into the food and customize it to your pet’s taste. But if you are not committed to the process of making batch after batch of food, perhaps a bagged version is the option for you. There are some commercial pet foods that use all natural ingredients and very few fillers. Ask your vet for a recommendation if you need one.
