Homemade dog food can’t be compared to other commercial foods due to the fact that one can provide high-quality food that meets the nutritional requirements of a dog at a very low cost. This food is always fresh and has got all nutrients required by your dog and thus maintaining a healthy body which leads to happiness of your pet.
Effects of buying ready-made or processed dog food
For those who like purchasing different dog foods in the supermarkets or stores, they need to understand that these foods contain some chemicals that are harmful to their dogs as well as poor meat quality. If you pay attention to the list of ingredients used in making the food, you are most likely to see meat by-products as one of the ingredients.
Unfortunately, some of these by-products come from parts of animals that aren’t fit for human consumption such as feet and bones. In the short run, these ingredients used in making the food cannot bring any harm to your dog although they aren’t offering optimum nutrition for your pets. This is therefore connected with long-term health issues of your dog if one doesn’t take the appropriate measures in time. However, canned dog food can never be of good quality when compared to homemade food.
Raw vs. cooked dog food
Whenever an individual is making the homemade food, he or she should understand that the dog needs a nutritious food and hence one should base the diet on a 70% meat, and the 30% remainder should consist of carbohydrates and fiber. Depending on the age of a dog or its health issues, one can be able to get the best meat for preparing the food, eg. The overweight dogs, as well as the senior dogs, will benefit much from fish, chicken or even turkey since they have low-fat content when compared to other types of meat.
Apart from meat, there are other foods such as grains, fruits like bananas, green vegetables, dairy products and eggs which are also vital for the healthy living of a dog.
Cutting costs for homemade dog food
The two major challenges that may arise during the preparation of the dog’s food in the first time are time commitment and the cost. The idea of purchasing the best quality meat for his dog on a daily basis is not reasonable for many people especially in cases whereby an individual owns more than one dog. Below are some tips to ensure that homemade dog food is affordable:
1. Leftovers: One of the best ways to reduce the meat cost is by feeding the dog with leftovers, e.g., chicken or beef left over after the family is well fed.
2. Cut-offs: One can ask for cutoffs in the nearby butcheries although sometimes it can help if you are a regular buyer from that particular butchery.
3. Reduced meat: Looking for reduced meat or even fish in supermarkets is also a good choice. Before the supermarkets get closed, one can get this reduced meat at a lower cost.
4. Cook meat in bulk and freeze: If you cook meat in bulk and freeze it, you will be able to defrost and give your dog a portion every evening.
The benefits of homemade dog food
There are many benefits associated with giving homemade food to your dog. Some of these benefits are as explained below:
* When one feeds a dog with homemade food, he or she is sure that the dog is eating fresh food that doesn’t have any contamination as compared to ready-made dog food that is purchased from stores or supermarkets.
* Homemade dog food is much affordable when compared to processed dog food. Some manufacturers can decide to use poor quality ingredients and keep prices low. This food will have some negative effects on the dog’s health.
* An individual can give his dog a variety of recipes from one day to the other.
* One can be able to control the ingredients depending on the condition of the dog or health issues.
* Deciding on the type of meat in which to feed your dog is very easy as compared to buying packaged food which one can fail to know the meat included in the food and in what quantities.
In conclusion, it is advisable for people who own dogs to use homemade dog food instead of processed or canned dog food due to the benefits involved to maintain a dog’s health since a healthy dog is a happy dog.