Pet owners are all familiar with the mass-produced pre-packaged dog food which you can buy from the store. However, buying dog food was not always the prevailing practice of dog owners.

The first dog biscuits were manufactured in the 1860s; however, pet food production did not occur on a large scale until after the Second World War.

That was when there were improvements in the transportation networks and in adding preservatives to food, which enabled the distribution of dog food on a large scale.

Before there were kibble and canned dog food, dog owners would feed their dogs themselves; and today, many pet owners are resorting to those practices because they are more comfortable in knowing what they are feeding their dogs.

While you may think it is simple, making homemade dog food is not that easy. You really should not just feed your dog some of what you are consuming.

If you want to try making dog food for your dog, please see listed below some of the advantages and disadvantages, as well as some useful tips to guide you.t

Well, before we go any further, you need to see this.

• If you have plenty of time and would like to prepare raw food for your dog, here’s a powerful guide that will help you start your dog on a simple raw food diet.
• If time is a major headache, Raw Paws Pet Food is here to help you feed your dog the way nature intended.

Advantages of Making Homemade Dog Food

When you make homemade dog food, you will be sure of all the ingredients that your pet will consume. This is ideal if your dog has allergies. In addition, you will be able to make decisions on the quality of the food.

The homemade dog food that you make will be more nutritious than the dog food that you purchase from the store. Therefore, you should notice that your dog’s health overall will improve and you should see this in its cleaner teeth, improved breath, and shinier coat.

To capitalize so that you will not spend more than you do on commercial dog food, you should purchase the ingredients in large quantities, make up the food in batches and freeze. You may find that this may be an inexpensive way to feed your dog.

Disadvantages of Making Homemade Dog Food

The greatest disadvantage of making homemade dog food is that it is time-consuming. It involves shopping for the ingredients, preparing the food and then finding storage space for it.

If you want to make homemade dog food, the best thing for you to do is set a time every week to make batches that can last for a full week.

The cost of making homemade dog food depends on your preferences. You may opt to purchase cheaper meat cuts in bulk and freeze, and this would be cost effective.

However, if you prefer choice cuts of organic meat regularly for your dog, then the costs would increase and the homemade food would not be as affordable as store-bought food.

Making The Dog Food

While making homemade dog food is not difficult, you have to ensure that your dog receives a balanced diet. Vitamins and minerals are usually added to commercial dog food, and people who make homemade dog food add vitamins as well.

Therefore, to ensure that your dog is getting all the needed nutrients, you should ensure that your dog eats a balanced and varied diet, as you do personally.

Types of Foods Included in Homemade Dog Food

Anyone who wants to make their own dog food should invest in a recipe book for homemade dog food, and there are many options available on Amazon. The number of recipes available to choose from is vast and the range of ingredients to use is very wide.

The accepted guide for a dog’s diet is 50 – 60% of meat or fish; 25% of vegetables including starchy vegetables and grains; and 10 – 15% of dairy products. Fruits can be utilized sparingly in small portions.

Calcium is usually one of the nutrients missing from homemade dog food and this is because most people do not cook bones with their homemade dog food. For every pound of food that a dog consumes, it needs an estimated 800 to 1000 mg of calcium.

Therefore, you may have to add a calcium supplement in your homemade dog food.

Any type of meat that your dog prefers is good for making the homemade dog food. This includes chicken, rabbit, pork, chicken or beef. Organ meats including kidneys and liver can also be included in the food; however, these pieces should not be used exclusively.

The ideal place to purchase the meats for your dog food is from your local butcher, but you can also find a decent selection of affordable cuts in the local store or supermarket. Many of the recipes for homemade dog food are similar to making stew for your family.

Since vegetables should consist of at least 25% of your dog’s diet, a good mixture of vegetables will give your dog all the nutrients that it needs. You can include grains, such as brown rice, couscous, oatmeal, and barley, once they are thoroughly cooked.

The vegetables should also be well-prepared to ensure that your dog benefits from the nutrients they offer. You can also add starchy vegetables such as squash and potato, but these also need to be properly cooked, puréed or steamed to ensure that your dog can digest them fully.

When it comes to fruits, you can feed them to your dog in limited amounts. Too many fruits will make your dog put on weight and upset its stomach. Your dog can consume most fruits safely; however, raisins and grapes are known to be poisonous to dogs.

Making Homemade Dog Food

As previously mentioned above, the best first step in making your homemade dog food is to purchase a dog food recipe book so that you will be able to review the nutrients in each recipe, as they are outlined for you. You can find the best recipes in recipe books which were created by animal nutritionists.

It is important that you follow the instructions as closely as possible when you are making homemade dog food from a recipe book. These dog food recipes were created with the intent of giving a dog a balanced meal; therefore, experimenting with your own twist on a recipe is not the best idea.

It is important to note that dogs do not require seasoning in their food, so you should not add herbs and spices because you personally like these flavors in your food.

Once you follow the recipes and do not make any substitutions, you can avoid feeding your dog food anything that may poison it, such as avocados, garlic, macadamia nuts, onions, grapes, and raisins.

Making your own dog food is not a hard task and this practice ensures that you know all the ingredients that your dog is consuming in its food.

The consensus from lots of dog owners is that their dogs are much healthier once they are eating homemade dog food.

In addition, making your own dog food is not as costly as you think. The major disadvantage of making your own dog food is that it takes more time and effort to prepare than buying commercial dog food.

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