The Benefits of Homemade Dog Food

More pet owners are getting into the kitchen to whip up balanced, nutritious meals for their canine companions. Homemade dog food has many health advantages over processed kibble. Though it takes more effort, making your dog's food can provide them with natural whole food nutrition. Here's an overview of the many benefits homemade dog food offers your pup.

• Control over ingredients: With homemade dog food, you choose exactly what ingredients go into your dog's meals. This allows you to select high-quality whole food sources of protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. Home cooking gives you control over what does NOT go into their diet too.
• Better digestibility: The high heat used in commercial dog food processing can damage proteins, fats, vitamins, and gut-healthy probiotics. This renders many nutrients poorly digestible for dogs. Home cooking, on the other hand, uses lower temperatures for better preservation of nutrients.
• Avoiding fillers and allergens: Many dogs have difficulty digesting or show allergic reactions to common fillers used in commercial dog foods. These include corn, wheat, soy, rice, and chicken by-products. Home cooking avoids fillers altogether, using digestible whole food sources instead.
• Fresher ingredients: Dry kibble contains carbohydrate-rich binders to help form the pellet shape. Canned wet foods also often contain added gums or starches. As these breakdown, they can release sugars and acids that damage the natural proteins and fats during shelf storage.
• More hydration options: Kibble's dry crunchy texture helps clean dogs' teeth. But it requires soaking in water to become fully rehydrated for digestion. Canned wet foods contain around 75 percent water.
• Custom meals for life stages: Your dog's nutritional needs change as they age from puppy to adult to senior. They also differ between breeds, sizes, and activity levels. Cooking from scratch lets you adjust recipes to offer meals tailored to your dog's unique attributes and condition.
• Promotes mealtime interest: Feeding the same dry kibble daily can get boring for dogs. The variety and aroma of fresh homemade food keeps your dog interested and excited at mealtimes. This helps encourage picky eaters to eat.
• Supports bonding: Preparing homemade meals for your dog enables you to provide tangible care. The process can deepen the guardian-companion bond you share with your pup. Dogs pick up on the time and attention put into preparing their food. This helps them feel safe, loved, and connected with you.

Potential drawbacks: Home cooking does require an investment of your time and energy. Following recipes and guidelines carefully is important to create balanced nutrition. You must also supplement with certain vitamins and minerals normally added to commercial dog food.

It's a good idea to discuss homemade diet options with your vet, especially for dogs with certain health conditions. But with the right recipes and supplements, homemade food can be highly beneficial for many dogs.

If the preparation time is daunting, you can mix some homemade components into your pup's diet. For example, use kibble as the base then add homemade toppers like cooked eggs, cottage cheese, or salmon. Even incorporating some fresh whole foods boosts the nutritional variety your dog receives.

For pet owners willing to put in the kitchen time, preparing homemade meals tailored to your dog delivers outstanding nutritional and bonding benefits. Your dog's improved energy, skin, coat, digestion, and enthusiasm at chow time will show the rewarding effects.