10 Homemade Dog Food Recipes Every Dog Parent Should Know (2024)

FAQs

What should be the main ingredient in homemade dog food? ›

Your pet needs protein (animal meat, seafood, dairy, or eggs), fat (from meat or oil) and carbohydrates (grains or vegetables). They also need calcium (from dairy or an ingredient such as egg shells), and essential fatty acids (from certain plant oils, egg yolks, oatmeal, and other foods).

Without the proper guidance, homemade pet food may lead to nutrient deficiencies or excesses that could negatively impact your pets' health. This is why AAFCO-compliant pet food is more generally recommended to dog parents and cat parents.

The best dog foods will always have meat as the top ingredient, and you should look for recipes that emphasize real animal proteins, rather than just meat meals. Because your dog's food should have more meat than any other ingredient, it's vital to choose a meat source that will benefit your dog's health.

There is a wide variety of unhealthy and unsafe foods to avoid when preparing meals for your dog. Potentially toxic ingredients are of special concern, including chocolate, xylitol, avocado, grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, and macadamia nuts.

Chemicals & Preservatives

Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), and Ethoxyquin are 3 nasty chemical preservatives.

Feeding dogs a diet made with natural, real ingredients, such as beef, chicken, lamb, peas, spinach, carrots, and blueberries, can do wonders for their overall well-being — promoting heart health, increasing energy level, making coats shiny and breath smell better, improving eyesight, and even impacting a dog's stool.

What is a good grain to add to homemade dog food? Many grains can be included in healthy homemade dog food. Good options include barley, pasta, millet, oats, potato, sweet potato, white rice, and brown rice.

Raw Food. A raw diet for your dog might sound great, but vets say it's not safe. “The number one thing I would not feed my dog would be a raw food diet,” Cohen said. Studies on raw food diets show that many contain harmful bacteria, and some are multi-drug resistant.

What is the 25% rule in dog food? ›

The 25% Rule

The named ingredient(s) must comprise at least 10% of the total product by weight and at least 25% of the product by weight not including the added water. Additional descriptors, such as “dinner,” “entrée,” “platter” and so on, appear in the name.

The 95% Rule

At least 95% of the product must be the named ingredient, for example, “Chicken for Dogs,” or “Salmon Dog Food,” must include at least 95% of chicken or salmon, respectively.

Raw or cooked meat is the main ingredient in homemade dog food. Dogs are essentially obligate carnivores and need a protein-based diet. Meat should be fresh and fit for human consumption. The ideal fat content should be between 8 and 15%.

Beet pulp, tomato pumice, the fiber in beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and vegetables are true fillers. People and pets do not get direct nutritional benefits from fiber but it adds to the bulk of the diet. But even though it is a filler, fiber feeds the “good” bacteria in the colon.

The general rule of thumb for a home-made diet for a healthy canine patient is 75% meat/15%vegetables/10% carbohydrate. Variety is the key to a healthy diet so be sure to vary your meat, carbohydrate and vegetable sources from time to time.