Should I Make Homemade Dog Food?

Drawbacks of Home Cooked Doggy Meals

While kibble may be boring, it offers pet owners an easy way to guarantee a balanced diet for their dog. Cooking homemade meals for your pet requires more time and knowledge than you may think. Dogs require a certain balance of nutrients for optimal health and many human foods are dangerous for them to consume.

That means you can't just whip up an extra serving of whatever you are feeding your family that night for your pup. Most dog owners that try homemade dog food recipes quickly find themselves overwhelmed in the process of choosing ingredients, portion sizes and supplements.

The most common problems that pet owners face when making homemade dog food include:

• Untrustworthy Sources - It's no secret that Google or Bing is everyone's trusted resource when it comes to trying out new things. A quick search for "homemade dog food recipes" will bring up thousands of options. Unfortunately, very few of them are trustworthy. As we mentioned above, dogs require a unique balance of nutrients for their health. Nutrient needs can also vary depending on breed, age, size and any health issues. The recipe you found from an avid chihuahua-loving online stranger may not be nutritionally optimal for your golden retriever. If you're serious about doggy home-cookin', we recommend getting your recipes from a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.

• Unbalanced Meals - Just as humans can suffer health deficiencies from an unbalanced diet, so can our canine friends. Without advice from your veterinarian, it's very easy to prepare a meal that is lacking in one or multiple nutrients. Dog owners that are feeding their dog home-cooked meals should bring their pet into the vet regularly for weight and health checks.

• Unsafe Or Unhealthy Ingredients - It's widely known that chocolate is a big no-no for dogs. Many other foods are unsafe for canine consumption that you may be unaware of, including grapes, onions, garlic, raisins, avocado and more. It's better to stick to prepared foods or a vet-approved recipe than to risk poisoning your dog with an unsafe ingredient.

Natural Pet Foods Are A Safe Alternative to Homemade Dog Food

Understandably, many pet owners are searching for alternatives to commercial kibble. That dry, boring diet is certainly tiresome for dogs and lacking in flavor and variety. Thankfully there is an alternative to both kibble and the potentially unsafe, time-consuming process of home-cooked dog food.

Natural pet foods are now more widely available than ever before. From raw and dehydrated options to nutritionally optimal kibble with more flavor and higher quality ingredients, there are endless options to please your pup's palette. Wag n' Wash stores are stocked with these nutritionally optimal options as well as freshly baked doggy treats. If you're struggling with your dog's diet, feel free to stop in and talk with one of our knowledgeable staff members.