What can I feed my dog? Homemade dog food?
I’m concerned about the ingredients in storebought dog food and want to start making my own….but I don’t know what to make for him! I know all of the things he can’t have but what are some things I can feed him to make sure he’s getting enough nutrition? Thanks! 
Joko on July 29th 2010 in homemade dog foods
MH Danes said on 29 Jul 2010 at 6:25 am #
Making dog food at home can be difficult. Your dog needs a balanced diet, as provided by store bought dog foods. But kibble often contain chemicals and nasty things bad for dogs. A balanced diet can be difficult to get. You need to look up NRC daily requirements for dogs, it shows how much of each nutrient a dog needs per kilogram of body weight. Next, you need to convert your dog’s weight into kilograms to determine how much of each nutrient your dog needs daily. Then you need to look up the nutritional content of certain foods to see what is in them and come up with a list of ingredients that will provide your dog all the nutrients it needs.
It sounds difficult and time consuming, but the alternative is feeding your dog a diet deficient in some vitamins and minerals and is unhealthy. A deficiency may take years to show symptoms, but that doesn’t mean it’s not affecting your dog before it shows symptoms. So when you hear people say, I made up my own diet and my dog is fine, it means nothing. The dog is probably deficient and they either can see the signs of a deficiency or the dog hasn’t presenting any yet.
For homemade diets, the BEST source is either K9 Kitchen by Monica Segal, or her Yahoo Group under the same name.
http://www.monicasegal.com/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Kitchen/
She provides information on cooked and raw diets as well as diets with or without grains.
Ravenhood said on 29 Jul 2010 at 6:25 am #
it really depends on the breed of Dog. if you are really concerned about store bought food, ask your vet what they suggest. store bought food is not bad, especially the organic ones, and you may very well be able to find one that caters specifically to your animal.
bloomorningglory said on 29 Jul 2010 at 6:25 am #
Do some googling on raw feeding. Or pick up a couple of books from the library.
http://www.rawlearning.com/
http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-nutrition/raw-food-diets.aspx
If you go that route your dog will need a good variety of organs, muscles, and bones, and possibly some supplements. If you’re not ready to jump in yet, you can start supplementing with some raw snacks, some boneless skinless chicken/turkey or lean beef or something like that.
Raja B said on 29 Jul 2010 at 6:25 am #
Home Dog food can be nutritious. Fedding can be given twice a day ,Noon & Night.
The food may consist of Chiken or Fish( BoneLess) boiled with little salt & tumeric.With this you casn add rice., & some Vitamin suppliments.