Homemade Dog Food: A Simple Guide

Homemade Dog Food: Balancing Nutrition

When making homemade dog food, it's important to balance your dog's nutritional needs. Aside from combining meat and vegetables, it's ideal to ensure that the ratios of carbohydrates, protein, fat, trace elements, and vitamins are equal. However, note that dog food should not contain ingredients like onions or garlic, and it's best not to add spices like oil, salt, and vinegar. You can choose meats like chicken, lamb, or pork, or animal livers combined with vegetables, flour, or rice for cooking.

Drawbacks of Homemade Dog Food

Dogs that eat homemade food for an extended period may develop bad breath, as food residue easily accumulates on their teeth. Over time, this can lead to tooth plaque, tartar, and cavities. The soft texture of homemade food can also cause dogs to become dependent on it, disliking chewing and reducing saliva production, thereby impairing digestion. Additionally, homemade dog food can contribute to obesity, and the salt content is often higher than commercial dog food. Excessive salt intake can cause severe tear stains and even dehydration.

Benefits of Homemade Dog Food

The advantage of homemade dog food is that it is fresh and can be prepared according to your pet's daily food intake, ensuring that each meal is fresh and beneficial to your pet's health. You can also adjust the recipe according to your pet's preferences and physical condition, offering high flexibility.

How to Make Homemade Dog Food

Here's an example of a chicken dog food recipe: Prepare enough chicken breast, one egg, half a carrot, five spoons of sheep's milk powder, and适量 cornstarch. Blend the chicken breast and carrot in a mixer, then add the egg, sheep's milk powder, and enough cornstarch. Stir in hot water and shape the mixture into similar-sized balls. Steam for 25 minutes. For pork dog food: Prepare pork belly, chicken liver, cabbage, soybean residue, and enough cornstarch. Blend the pork belly, chicken liver, and cabbage, then add soybean residue and enough cornstarch. Stir while adding hot water, then divide into small chunks and steam for 25 minutes.