Many owners choose to feed their dogs a natural diet based on fresh ingredients. The reason, in general, is to avoid the processed ingredients of industrialized feeds, which still contain several chemical additives, such as preservatives and dyes, which can be harmful to the animal’s health. Considering that the importance of offering natural food, based on fresh and organic ingredients is not only for the quality of the ingredients, but also for the possibility of properly balancing the diet of our furry friends, we will list here 5 tips for preparing homemade dog food.
Balanced Diet
Perhaps the most important factor of all is to balance the diet properly. Since we can, through the preparation of food with fresh ingredients, offer our dog the best food with regard to quality, there is no reason to do it “more or less.” If the amount of nutrients is not in balance, dogs can begin to suffer from nutritional deficiencies very quickly, especially in the case of puppies or elderly dogs.
Basic Ingredients
The basic ingredient for preparing a homemade dog food is meat, raw or cooked. The most suitable types of meat for the preparation of meals are beef, lamb, and chicken. Fish meat can also be offered occasionally, but with less frequency and quantity. It is important to know that meat’s maximum fat content must be between 15 and 20%, and the meat must be suitable for human consumption.
Vegetables
Vegetables, mostly vegetables, represent about 1/4 of the meal that should be offered to dogs and are responsible for providing vitamins, fiber, and minerals. It is best to offer these lightly cooked foods, preferably steamed, so that these nutrients are well absorbed. The most suitable vegetables for dog food are: pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, sweet potatoes, kale, Brussels sprouts, and green beans.
Ingredients To Avoid
Vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, raw beans, chard, garlic, and radishes should be avoided. Carbohydrates, such as corn, wheat, rice, and potatoes, which have little nutritional value for dogs, should also be avoided, or limited to a small amount. The reason why the feed industries add these products in large quantities to the feed is, in general, the reduction of production costs. This type of food can be considered as the main cause of some diseases in dogs, such as obesity, kidney diseases, and various types of allergies.
Complementation With Premixes
Many owners who feed their dogs with a natural homemade diet use the vitamin and mineral premix for adequate supplementation. Supplements can be useful as they make the preparation of meals simpler without adding a greater variety of ingredients to meet all the vitamins and mineral needs of dogs. The most widely used are powdered vitamin and mineral supplements, which can be added to every meal. Some diets may also be deficient in Vitamin E, and it is common among homeowners to use supplements to balance this deficiency, such as fish oil, rich in omega 3 and omega 6.
Varying The Menu
There is no reason to worry about offering your dog a varied diet. In fact, there must be variety in the ingredients offered over a period of time. When we talk about a balanced diet, we are not suggesting that every meal should contain exactly the same ingredients, nor be mathematically balanced. The most important thing is that your puppy receives all the necessary nutrients, for example, throughout the week. Dogs are not machines, and there is no reason to justify diets that always use the same ingredients. Of course, balancing the diet properly is essential, but there is nothing wrong with varying the menu a little. In fact, the variety of ingredients is exactly what makes the home diet richer and healthier. Remember that not all dogs are the same and what works for one individual may not work as well for another.