Homemade Dog Food – Prepare High Quality Dog Food at Home – Part 2
According to Donald R. Strombeck (DVM, PhD.) In the book, Diets for Cats and Dogs; The healthy alternative: most commercial foods incorrectly contain carbohydrates as their PRIMARY energy source.
He also says that while dogs can digest some carbohydrates, an estimated 20% go undigested.
The excess levels of carbohydrates in some commercial foods are there primarily to add bulk, and since they are not fully digested, only space in the can or bag is wasted!
The beauty of homemade dog food is that you control the amount of carbohydrates and can vary it according to your dog’s individual needs!
Several homemade dog food recipes have a component of rice because it is one of the best assimilated carbohydrate sources for dogs.
White rice is digested faster, while brown is digested much more slowly, due to the protective husk of the rice. Diabetic dogs benefit from the slower energy release from brown rice or a mixture of the two.
I’ve also used pasta, either white or whole, depending on what I’m doing. But will you find that dogs, like us, prefer white paste?
Try to use both fresh vegetables and frozen mixed vegetables; homemade brand frozen vegetables are convenient and very profitable. Studies I’ve read for humans show that frozen vegetables are almost as nutritious as fresh ones.
These days we choose to cook our dog food, and dogs LOVE IT, but if you prefer the concept of a BARF diet (raw bones and food) you can also leave it raw, especially if you are using human grade meat sources!
One of the main reasons many vets recommend cooked meat over raw meat is food safety. Cooking meat kills many harmful bacteria; however, if you start with human quality meat or verified fresh pet meat, your risk is greatly reduced.
On page 26 of his book, Stromberg says, “Dogs and cats in the wild select diets that contain a negligible amount of fiber. Therefore, dogs and cats have low fiber requirements.”
Most recipes for homemade dog food have small amounts of plant fiber, this will be more than enough for your dog.
Recently it has been discovered that Omega 3 and Omega 6 are useful for human health, as well as for dogs. Dogs need more Omega 6 than Omega 3. Homemade dog food recipes should always contain good sources of Omega 3 and 6 in LSA (flaxseed, sunflower, almond).
I also supplement it with additional fish, olive, and sunflower oil, to provide additional sources and help maintain skin and coat condition. Our Staffordshire Bull Terriers are known to be prone to some skin conditions and grass allergies, using these oils can help reduce these problems.
When using my homemade dog food recipes, you can use any herb you like in moderation pretty well, BUT be careful with pepper and chili in large quantities, it can cause irritation to some dogs, especially puppies.
I use curry powder, broth powder without additives, and tomato paste in my recipes, these are added just for flavor.
NEVER add any type of onion to dog food as they lack the ability to digest it and can make them sick. Onion in sufficient quantity can kill your dog!
If you are ready to give your dog the BEST food you can; while still SAVING REAL $$$ compared to the rotten stuff they pack in cans and bags, then visit my site for more information!
Thanks for your interest!
Steve