Maintaining the health of your beloved dog is both your responsibility and your reason for living. Many dog owners would like to prepare homemade food with plenty of vegetables for their beloved pups.
This time, the theme is "Homemade Dog Food Introduction"! We will introduce a wide range of information for beginners, including the pros and cons of making homemade dog food, as well as points to note, recommended cooking methods, and how to find recipes.
Read to the end and get ready to make homemade food for your dog.
The pros and cons of feeding your dog homemade food
To start with, let's take a look at the pros and cons of feeding your dog homemade food.
merit
You can prepare meals that suit your dog's physical condition and constitution.
The biggest benefit of making your dog's own food is that you can create meals that are tailored to your dog's constitution and physical condition.
Every dog's health condition is different: senior dogs with illnesses, growing puppies, those with food allergies, etc. A major advantage of homemade meals is that you can make daily adjustments to suit your dog's condition. You can feed your dog warm, freshly cooked meals using safe and secure ingredients selected by the owner.
Efficiently absorbs moisture
The great thing about homemade food for your dog is that they can get plenty of fluids just by eating their food. Most of the body of both dogs and humans is made up of water, and hydration is essential for maintaining good health.
Dry dog food contains about 10% water, but simply adding vegetables or other toppings can significantly change the amount of water your dog can consume.
Homemade food is also recommended for those who are worried that their dog won't drink water or are concerned about whether their dog is getting enough water.
Easy to incorporate fresh seasonal vegetables
One of the attractions of making your own food is that you can easily incorporate nutritious seasonal vegetables into your dog's diet.
Seasonal vegetables are rich in nutrients and packed with flavor, making them a great choice for dogs with erratic eating habits.
It's great that seasonal vegetables have benefits that vary depending on the season, such as summer vegetables removing heat from the body and winter vegetables raising body temperature.
Disadvantages
Cooking takes time and effort
The downside is that it takes time and effort to prepare.
It's rare to use elaborate cooking methods when preparing food for your dog, but for those who are busy with housework and work, making every meal by hand can be practically difficult.
Nutritional imbalance may occur
One of the great attractions of homemade food is that you can provide care that is tailored to your individual dog, but at the same time, nutritional balance can be a concern.
Even if you have a dog, not many people have professional qualifications like a registered dietitian, so it can be quite a challenge to suddenly create perfectly balanced nutritional meals.
Even if you feed your dog homemade food with good intentions, there is a hidden danger that it may end up with an unbalanced diet, so be aware of this.
Dry food is necessary in emergencies such as disasters
When a disaster occurs and you are forced to evacuate, pet food that meets all three criteria of being "easy to store, quick to eat, and nutritionally balanced" is essential for your pet's diet.
In an emergency, when it is difficult to secure food, let alone infrastructure such as electricity and water, it is not realistic to cook your dog's meals every meal. In order to avoid panicking in an emergency, we recommend preparing by not only feeding your dog homemade meals, but also getting them used to the taste of dog food and keeping a stockpile of dog food on hand.
Let's prepare homemade food for your dog! What are some points to keep in mind?
Once you've understood the pros and cons of each, it's time to start making food for your beloved dog!
Here we have compiled some useful tips and things to keep in mind when actually making your dog's food.
Protein is essential for a healthy dog
First of all, it's important to remember that dogs are omnivores, so animal protein intake is essential to maintain a healthy dog diet.
Dogs, descended from carnivorous wolves, have difficulty digesting high-fiber vegetables. While there is nothing wrong with giving your dog vegetables, it is not a good idea to make their diet all about vegetables just because they are healthy.
When making homemade food for your dog, the basic rule is to make meat or fish the main ingredient.
Choosing the right food for your dog
As long as they are not toxic, eating vegetables is a good idea from the perspective of nutritional balance. However, it is very important to be mindful of choosing vegetables that are suitable for your dog.
For example, potassium is an important nutrient, but if the kidneys are not functioning properly, it can cause hyperkalemia. Oxalic acid, which is found in many vegetables, can cause kidney stones, so they are not suitable for children with weak urinary systems.
As such, not all vegetables are healthy for all dogs.
Keep in mind that there are foods that should be avoided depending on your dog's constitution or illness, and it is important to carefully observe your beloved dog every day and prepare food that is suitable for him.
This column provides detailed information about recommended vegetables to give to your dog and the precautions to take with each, so be sure to check it out as well.
Finding the right balance of nutrients for your dog and the right amount
The ideal nutritional balance for dogs is roughly as follows:
Protein [1]: Vegetables [1-2]: Carbohydrates [0.5-1]
It is said to be about that level.
Using this ratio as a base, you can make small adjustments to suit your individual dog's condition, such as giving slightly more carbohydrates to dogs that exercise a lot, or reducing the amount of vegetables for dogs with sensitive stomachs.
The appropriate amount of food a dog should eat each day is about 2-3% of its body weight.
・Weight 5kg...100g - 150g
・Weight 10kg...200g to 300g
Again, this is just a guideline, so adjust it based on your dog's age and how much exercise they get.
When you see numbers like "◯%" and "◯g," it can seem complicated, but these are just guidelines. Just observe your dog's behavior and adjust the amount as needed, and you'll be fine.
The information on the internet is a mixed bag. Always consult your veterinarian.
Even if you just open your smartphone and do a quick search, you'll find countless recipes for dog food. But take a moment to take a breather.
The internet is convenient because it allows you to easily search for various information, but whether you can trust everything you find is another matter. While some information is carefully supervised by experts, unfortunately, there is also information that is not very reliable.
Don't just blindly believe all the information you find online, but first consult your veterinarian.
Recommended cooking methods for vegetables to use in your dog's meals
The idea of "homemade food" can be a little intimidating, but there's no need to worry. With just a few simple cooking techniques, you can provide your dog with delicious and healthy meals.
With just a little effort, you can easily make homemade food for your beloved dog.
boil
Simply chopping up the vegetables you want your dog to eat and quickly boiling them is a big first step towards making homemade meals for your dog.
Vegetables in particular tend to be tough and difficult to digest when raw, so cooking them until soft makes them gentle on your dog's stomach.
Also, the potassium and oxalic acid content mentioned earlier decreases when boiled, so boiling is also recommended in that respect. Be sure to discard the boiling water when boiling.
bake
This is a very basic cooking method, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is also a mainstay when making homemade meals for your beloved dog.
Chop the vegetables finely and stir fry them with the meat for a delicious main dish!
If your dog has irregular eating habits or is a picky eater, we recommend adding a little sesame oil to the food. The aroma will stimulate their appetite even more.
simmer
If you're cooking food for your dog, it's a good idea to stew vegetables. Stewing vegetables in broth made from shellfish, kelp, chicken, etc. will enhance the flavor and aroma and stimulate your dog's appetite.
By the way, when we make mizutaki hotpot at home, we put only vegetables that dogs can eat in the pot, and then give the chicken and other vegetables that have been slowly simmered to our dog. Even if he has a low appetite, he will eat up the softened vegetables in the rich chicken broth. Please give it a try.
Dry
Although it is a bit more difficult than other cooking methods, why not try drying vegetables and giving them to your dog as dry food?
Dried vegetables and fruits have a crispy texture and are packed with flavor, making them the perfect little snack for your dog. They also last a long time and are easy to carry when you're out and about.
If you want to make it at home, you will need to purchase a dedicated food drying machine, but compact ones can be purchased relatively inexpensively.
Where can I find recipes for dogs?
When you decide to make homemade food for your dog, the first thing you're probably wondering about is the recipe. It's difficult to come up with an original recipe right away, so it's best to look for existing recipes.
To conclude this column, let's check out where to find homemade dog food recipes.
The number of recipes and menus is unmatched! Search on recipe sites
We've already mentioned that you shouldn't just blindly believe everything you find on the internet, but there's no reason not to use this medium, which has such a wealth of information. Compare various websites and find delicious, healthy recipes.
This time, we will introduce two recommended recipe sites for dogs.
Wanwan chef apprentice
This is a recipe posting site dedicated to homemade food for dogs.
You can search for recipes based on the ingredients you want to use or the age of your dog, or you can search for recipes posted by qualified professionals, so you can find what you like from a variety of angles.In addition, the site contains basic explanations of homemade meals and a message board where users can ask questions about homemade meals, making it a very encouraging content for beginners.
If you are trying to make homemade food for the first time, be sure to check it out.
Cookpad
Cookpad is a well-known recipe posting site, and it even has a wide selection of dog-friendly dishes! Just type "dog" into the search bar and you'll see nearly 3,000 recipes.
Anyone can easily post a recipe, so you will need to carefully consider which recipes will suit your dog, but just looking at the wide variety of recipes will likely give you some ideas for homemade meals.
I'm happy to feel a sense of security. I'm looking for a recipe book that's perfect for my dog.
Homemade dog food recipe books are often supervised by experts such as veterinarians and are published through publishers, which makes them highly reliable, which is a great thing.
Recipe books vary in direction, with some reflecting the ideas of Eastern medicine, others specializing in specific dog breeds or senior dogs, and many other unique books. Try reading a few to find one that suits you and your dog.
Conclusion
Although it's called homemade food, there are different ingredients and cooking methods that suit different dogs, and it can also be used in combination with dog food. There's also no need to make it every meal.
Instead of making blanket statements like "it has to be homemade food" or "homemade food is actually not good," try to find the right balance between you and your dog.