Homemade dog food

It's not just kibble. Dogs can also eat homemade food, provided that risky products are excluded and the nutritional content is complete. Homemade dog food saves a lot of money and is certainly very healthy, provided you know all the ingredients used carefully. Homemade dog food does not contain additives that, in the long run, can be harmful to the animal's health. Homemade dog food must contain: protein, starches, and vegetables. Only in this way can a dog be nourished healthily and comprehensively. Proteins protect the animal's immune system, muscles, and blood; vitamins protect the thyroid. A dog's diet must always be very balanced. The ingredients used must be fresh. Dogs can eat beef, lamb, chicken, and fish; they can also eat beans and even eggs, although not often. Turkey is also highly recommended, especially for its high digestibility. Liver should be introduced, but with caution, as it can contain many impurities and contaminate the animal that ingests it. As for vegetables, virtually all are welcome: carrots, broccoli, spinach, peas, cauliflower, celery, squash, and green beans. Carbohydrates can be introduced into a dog's diet in the form of potatoes, oats, rice, and pasta. Homemade dog food should always be cooked to prevent the onset of illnesses caused by pathogens present in raw foods. Ideal cooking temperature is 80°C. Food should never be seasoned with spices or salt.

What should I feed my dog ​​instead of kibble?

To prevent your dog from eating exclusively kibble, you can cook food specifically for him, avoiding feeding him dinner leftovers, which could be harmful. Instead of kibble, your dog can eat boiled meat, oily fish, zucchini, carrots, celery. Eggs should be fed in moderation and always cooked. Generally, a balanced dog diet should consist of about 80% meat or fish, boiled and preferably lean; about 15% boiled vegetables; and 15% grains, potatoes, or rice. Dairy products should be avoided because they are too salty, unless you opt for fresh ricotta or sour yogurt. Seasonal fruit can be eaten cooked, raw, or even dried. Apples, pears, bananas, and plums are recommended. A tablespoon of olive oil or fish oil is sufficient as a source of Omega 3.

The vegan diet

Some opt for a vegan diet, which consists exclusively of fruits, vegetables, fats, plant-based proteins, grains, and soy. However, meat is essential to a dog's diet and should therefore never be eliminated.

The Barf diet

The BARF diet consists exclusively of raw meat with minced bones and vegetables. This is an extreme diet that should be discussed with your veterinarian, as consuming raw meat can increase the risk of contracting diseases such as salmonella. Here are some DIY recipes for dogs prepared according to the BARF diet rules.

Beef

Ingredients

• A piece of beef cartilage based on the dog's weight
• Beef
• A handful of kohlrabi leaves
• Natural sugar-free yogurt

Preparation

• Place the beef in a bowl, blend the kohlrabi leaves or cut them into small pieces and blanch them in a little non-boiling water.
• Add the leaves to the meat and mix everything together.
• Place the piece of cartilage on top of the bowl: your dog will almost certainly eat the meat first and then the cartilage.

Cod

Ingredients

• Cod or other fish of your choice
• A potato
• A courgette
• Cod liver oil

Preparation

• Place the fish in a container or directly in the dog's bowl,
• Cook the potato and cut it into cubes.
• Cut the courgette into strips and blanch it in boiling water: blend it if necessary.
• Mix everything together and add a little cod liver oil based on the dog's weight.

An advice: If your dog has trouble eating raw fish, cook it in the oven, removing the bones. If the fish is from the salmon family, keep it frozen at -20°C (-4°F) for at least a week or at -36°C (-31°F) for 24 hours before serving it to your four-legged friend, to prevent the spread of rickettsiae.

The grain-free diet

This diet completely excludes grains, even if the dog can digest them easily. These are usually eliminated when the animal suffers from specific intolerances or perhaps because the dog wants to limit its intake of Omega 3s.

How to make pasta for dogs

Dogs are carnivores, but they eat essentially anything. Their diet should consist of a balanced mix of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, including pasta. However, excessive pasta intake should never be consumed, as it can cause diabetes and obesity, especially in those animals that aren't very active, aside from going outside to relieve themselves. Pasta provides folic acid. selenium, manganese, and is a good food for dogs, unless they are intolerant to flour. This can be seen if, after ingesting it, the dog vomits, has loose stools, difficulty digesting, or develops skin problems. There is a specific pasta for dogs that is more digestible because it is made with oat, barley, and even flaxseed flour. Some types of this pasta are made with whole grain flours, which are even more digestible for dogs. Pasta should be cooked like human pasta, just longer. It should be tossed in hot water and cooked for the time indicated on the package. Never add kibble to pasta, as this would only add more calories to the dog's diet, without enriching it with essential nutrients.

Homemade dog food

Instead of turning to large retailers and buying packets of commercially produced kibble, you can prepare it at home, using simple, carefully selected ingredients, avoiding waste and ensuring you know exactly what you're feeding your pet. Let's see how.

• First, you need to get the right ingredients, which could be approximately 200g of carrots, 150g of courgettes, 200g of lean minced meat, an egg, approximately 50g of wholemeal flour, 50g of rice flour, and approximately 200g of boiled rice.
• At this point, you can proceed to wash all the vegetables, then cut them into slices and boil them in water.
• The minced meat should be browned in a pan for about 5 minutes.
• Next, combine the boiled vegetables with the meat in a blender to blend them together and create a cream.
• The cream is then mixed with the boiled rice and then with the flour. rice, wholemeal and egg.
• Spread the resulting mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. It should form a rectangle.
• Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes. Once cooked, dice the rectangle and bake it again to firm up and give it the consistency of croquettes.
• The resulting kibble should be stored in a plastic bag for up to 10 days.
• When storing, kibble must be completely dry as humidity could cause mold to form.

What carbohydrates do dogs need?

Carbohydrates are not harmful to dogs if administered in moderation. Keep in mind that dogs' energy source is protein, not carbohydrates, as is the case for humans. carbohydratesFurthermore, they can cause weight gain in dogs. Let's see which ones are most recommended.

• Pasta is suitable for dogs, as long as it's well-cooked and unseasoned. Pasta should always be mixed with meat, which remains the main ingredient in a dog's diet.
• Bread should be that homemade and better if stale, since the fresh one, due to the yeast, could ferment in the animal's stomach causing pain.
• Rice, and all cereals in general, can be eaten if cooked well.

What foods to avoid

Let's see together which foods are absolutely forbidden in the canine diet.

• Il chocolate It's forbidden for dogs, as it contains alkaloids that the canine body cannot metabolize. Consuming chocolate, especially dark chocolate, causes heart failure, hyperactivity, and tremors.
• - alcohol They are very dangerous, given their ethanol content, which causes difficulty in moving and vomiting.
• I desserts They cause backache, diabetes, dental damage, and weight gain. Some sweets contain lactose, which dogs cannot digest.
• Le nights They should be avoided because they contain toxins that cause fever and fatigue.
• Le eggs They should never be fed raw, given the high risk of salmonella, which also affects animals.
• La fresh pasta It should not be administered because it increases in the dog's stomach, causing swelling, vomiting, and exhaustion.
• - savory snacks They contain too much salt, which is harmful to dogs, especially those suffering from heart problems.
• I mushrooms They cause digestive problems, as do avocados. Both foods also contain a toxin called "fungicide," which is lethal.
• The garlic , onion cause damage to red blood cells, stomach upset, increased breathing, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• The grape and raisins cause acute kidney failure, with vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and dehydration.

Read also:

• How to Talk to Dogs and Make Yourself Understood
• Dog fleas: natural remedies to eliminate them
• Who to leave your dogs and cats with when you go on vacation