Making Dog Food

Preparation

First, talk to your veterinarian before putting your dog on homemade dog food. Puppies and older dogs have different requirements from an adult dog, and canine health problems may also alter nutritional needs. It's necessary to adapt a dog food recipe to the needs of the dog in question.

The Shopping List

An average dog needs a diet that is roughly 40 percent protein, 30 percent vegetable matter and 30 percent starches. Also, look up what is poisonous to dogs. Most people know that chocolate can hurt or kill a dog, but some don't know that onions and broccoli are also bad for dogs.

A popular dog food recipe is ground turkey, rice and carrots. Once you determine the dog's needs and what the dog can't eat, setting a shopping list for homemade dog food ought to be easy. For example, another recipe could be chicken livers, oatmeal and celery.

Cooking

All foods should be chopped and cooked as if under normal circumstances, but no seasonings should be added. This especially includes salt, which is hard on dog kidneys. Mix the foods and store them. The stuff can be frozen and thawed out to make it last longer. If this dog food seems strange compared to kibble, remember that dogs evolved to eat human scraps. The problem is, they can't eat all of our scraps, only some of them.

Resources

• ASPCA: People Foods That Are Dangerous For Dogs