Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Preparing Homemade Dog Food

This page is about dog health. To learn how to make nutritious homemade dog food please visit www.barkbarkimhungry.com

People sometimes hold back from preparing homemade dog food for their pets because they think it will require more time and is much more difficult than if they serve commercial dog foods. This is not necessarily true. Many homemade dog food recipes require a short time to prepare and the steps are very easy to do. You can even make your dog’s meal while you are preparing your family’s meals as well. Your dog is a part of your family. And it means they get to eat more or less similar foods that you and your family enjoy.

In preparing homemade dog food, there are some things that you should consider. Here is a list of those important things.

Search through the internet on recipes that you can easily prepare for your dog. Choose meals that are very easy to prepare and fit in your daily schedule and ingredients should be within your budget.

Ask your pet’s vet regarding the recipes that you have prepared. You can also ask for dog food recipes which you can make. Vets know a lot about dogs, especially if he or she is your dog’s personal vet. They have a record about your dog’s conditions and health history which makes it easier for them to formulate or make recipes that are suitable for your dog based on the health records.

After consulting with the vet, you can test several recipes every week or so. Change in recipes should be gradual. Do not surprise your dog’s palate with a different recipe every day. Gradual change in diet will also allow you to know if there are some foods or food groups that your pet canine is allergic to. You will also know your dog’s preference or favourites among the foods that you are preparing for him.

Know their daily nutrient requirements. Ask yourself how much protein, fats, starch, or other food groups does your dog need. Make sure that each meal has all the required daily nutrient in their proper amount. Giving homemade dog foods that are not balanced to your dogs is the same as giving them unhealthy, artificial commercial dog foods.

Dogs will prefer one recipe over another. There will be instances when your dog will not eat what you have prepared. If this happens, be patient and prepare another meal. At least you now know that your dog does not like those foods.

Make a list of the meals that you have given to your dog and the ingredients that you have used in preparing them. You should make a list of their favourites and another list for those foods that they ignored. Even if they have favourites, do not feed them one kind of food everyday for a long period of time. Rotate your dog’s favourite recipes.

Take note of the foods that should not be eaten by dogs because they cause diseases and even death. These foods have ingredients or substances I their natural form that are harmful or toxic to canines. Some of these foods include chocolates, apples, peaches, cherries, grapes, raisins, raw meats and eggs, macadamia nuts and a lot more. Ask your dog’s vet or research on the internet to get the complete list of these harmful foods for dogs.