I need help making homemade dog food!?

Question

I am looking to make dog food from home. I want it to have vitamins in it. I don't know if I am able to get "human" vitamins and mix in the food, or what can I give that is nutritional? Any recipes? I know oats, chicken, beef, peas, & stuff is good, anything else, or ideas would be helpful. Thank you. Oh and if you comment on feeding dogs "people-food" I don't care to hear it. Making my dogs homemade dog food is better than what I could buy at the store!

Answer 1

Homemade dog food can be good for animals, but ONLY if you do it correctly. Most homemade foods have too little calcium, to little protein and too much phosphorus. The 6 main categories of what an animal must have in its diet are water, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, nutrients, and fat. You need to do some major research on what exactly is needed and at what quantity. It'd be a sad situation if your pet ends up having a deficiency because you lack giving something to him/her in the diet. Make sure you understand it thoroughly before beginning your homemade food. As for "human" vitamins.. animals virtually need many of the same things but in different quantities that we do. I recommend setting up a meeting with your vet and figuring out what would work for your pet.

Answer 2

I feed my dogs a prey model diet (80% meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, 5% other organ) So it's pretty easy and cheap if your a smart shopper : D . Plus the main point is "balance over time". Feeding a raw diet also can help with many problems too, including allergies, anal gland problems, dentals, and some skin problems. But of course everything has a risk and possible risks include bacterial infection (more towards the humans than the dogs/cats; but it shouldn't be a problem if you clean properly) and you have to be careful especially when it comes to fish (some may contain very bad parasites) and also to be careful with trichinosis (depending upon where you live; but it's believed that freezing for a period of time will kill it), and also VERY VERY VERY VERY RARELY will a dog choke on a bone or become internally hurt from a bone and even then it's normally due to a gulper but even so the risk is ALWAYS there--- but please remember dogs can choke on kibble too. BUT when it comes to cooking a meal vs. kibble--- Cooking is better because you know what goes into the food BUT you have to be pretty careful and make sure he gets the correct balance of his dietary needs ESPECIALLY because you can't give dogs cooked bone-- and bone is a pretty major part; so you have to find a supplement/replacement for the nurtients found from bone. Kibble already is a pretty "balanced" meal, but you don't really know what's in it and besides that you cant CONTROL what's in kibble/commercialized dog food.... and once in a while extra ingredients could be added- remember the recalls a few years ago with the rat poisoning...? And kibble can be pretty expensive. Tooth problems (as well as allergies) and kibble normally go hand in hand. So EVERYTHING has a risk and a benefit and its up to the individual owner to decide what's best for the dog as well as the owner/budget/and lifestyle. ^_^

Answer 3

I am not sure about people vitamins, ask a vet or call a veterinary teaching program (at a university, like UC Davis in CA). Whatever you do, please be sure to become knowledable about which foods are dangerous and potentially deadly to dogs- like onions, chocolate, tea, coffee, moldy bread or grain products, etc. There are many websites that will guide you and several books as well. I have made dog food myself in the past, but after this latest food recall I am not going back to commercial dog food. I am giving a commercial dry food right now, but that makes me nervous too. If anyone knows of a site that has a recipe for a dry, or kbble style food I can make at home please let me know Good luck and kudos to you for be a informed and concerned pet owner,

Answer 4

The problem with homemade diets is they often lack the vitamins and minerals that are ESSENTIAL for a healthy pet.

I have a home made dogfood recipe for a 18 kg (40lb) ADULT dog that I used for my last dog who stopped eating regular dog food while he had terminal cancer.

white meat chicken 65 grams
hard boiled egg 81 grams
cooked white rice 325 grams
All Bran cereal 26 grams
calcium carbonate (TUMS) 2 grams
iodized salt 1 gram
salt substitute 1 gram

This is a recipe for what he should eat each day. I would make a triple recipe and keep it refrigerated, warming it up to encourage him to eat it. I would throw any leftovers after 3 days because it can go bad without looking bad.

I would also give him one human adult multivitamin (centrum) to make sure he had everything he needed.

Hope this helps :)

ps 30 grams equals 1 ounce

Answer 5

I make a big pot of vegie stew, include all the vegies you can think of, as well as rice and pasta,plenty greens and water,rice and pasta,Boil for 20 mins let cool, mix with a stick blender, to serve: mix raw meat,ie.beef,lamb chicken or mince with a couple of tbls of the vegies, and also mix in some good quality dry food,(of course feed according to the dogs size) This Vegie stew can be kept in fridge for a few days,and each day mixed with the meat and dry,I have used this for years, and shown dogs for years,They also get vitiamins,and they are in perfect condition.Good Luck to you. ps also give the animal RAW chicken necks, and frames

Answer 6

This page has a couple homemade diets
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/healthy_diet.htm

And this page discusses supplements for home cooked meals
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/supplements.html

Answer 7

google it online. there are plenty of great recipes, you just need to make sure that they are balanced. Calling your vet and asking about a nutritionist consult is not a bad idea either.

Answer 8

I'll give you my ex-wifes phone number, just ask her for her beef stew recipe, it will be perfect, trust me on this one.

Answer 9

search this question in yahoo answers to find others just like it. :)

Answer 10

http://www.seefido.com/html/dog_food_recipes.htm

doggie hash and chili are included