Pros & Cons of Homemade Dog Food

When it comes to dog nutrition, every dog owner looks for food that can give their pooch well-balanced & wholesome nutrition. Most dog owners get confused about whether to stick with commercial food or cook homemade food for their pooch.

Well, this is where the struggle begins as we all know dog nutrition is completely different from human nutrition, so before switching to homemade food, it becomes necessary to ensure that it meets your dog’s nutrition requirements. We all know the conventional commercial food is not that good for our dogs as it is advertised, which is why most dog owners go for homemade dog food. Also, there is food sensitiveness, allergies, etc. so, it can be very challenging for dog owners.

Home-made dog food is all about preparing a mouth-watering meal of mixed vegetables, lean protein & healthy carbohydrates. Just feeding rice and chicken may not be enough to meet your dog’s dietary requirements.

Still, wondering whether or not homemade food makes a good fit for your furry companion? Well, no worries! We’ll help you better understand all the advantages & disadvantages associated with it so that you can decide for yourself.

What is homemade dog food?

Home-made dog food refers to meals prepared from scratch with human-grade ingredients to meet the dog’s dietary requirement. Unlike commercial food, homemade food is prepared with fresh vegetables & meat. However, it is important to prepare meals in a balanced way so that the dog can get all the needed nutrition.

Pros of Home-made dog food

#1. Can be helpful with allergies

If your dog is struggling with food allergies, homemade food is the best option for you as it allows you to control the recipe so, you can simply remove the allergic food from his meal. Most commercial foods have allergic ingredients so switching to homemade food is good for avoiding the occurrence of allergy in the dog.

#2. It’s a lot cheaper

When it comes to the price of the food, Homemade food is a lot cheaper than commercial food. Commercial food company charges a big sum of money even for a small can of food so, switching to home-made food can help you save a lot of money as you can get fresh scrap meat & veggies from your grocery store at much lower prices.

#3. Regulate the quality

The benefit of preparing food for your furry companion is that you can easily regulate the quality of the food. In commercial food, you can’t know about the quality & safety of the dog food, but in homemade food, you can decide the quality of the food that you want to feed your pooch.

#4. Eliminate unnecessary fillers

Commercial dog foods have unnecessary fillers in them that make your dog pull but doesn’t provide nutrition. Feeding fillers are not good for your pooch’s health as it just passes through your dog’s system without giving any nutritional value to the dog. In homemade dog food, you can eliminate unnecessary fillers and add only those ingredients that have nutritional value it. Also, not many dog owners are aware that fillers are often allergy-causing ingredients so by preparing home-cooked food, you can also eliminate potential allergens.

#5. More variation

Another major benefit of feeding homemade food is that you can try so many different recipes. Well, you don’t have to feed new recipe every day, just pick a couple of recipes & you are sorted.

#6. It’s fresh

The next benefit associated with hand-made dog food is that it is freshly prepared with veggies & meat so it contains a maximum nutritional value. Commercial food has preservatives in it to increase its shelf life, but in homemade food, you can feed fresh ingredients to your pooch.

So, these are a few benefits of feeding freshly-prepared homemade food to your furry companion. Just like any coin, homemade food also comes with some cons so, let’s head over to some of its disadvantages.

Cons of home-made food

#1. Finding the right balance is challenging

We all know that a dog’s nutritional requirement is quite different from a human’s which is why it can be quite challenging to find the right balance of nutrients that are good for a dog’s well-being. If you don’t feed your dog the necessary nutrition, then it can develop a nutritional deficiency in your pooch.

#2. Increased risk of toxicity

Lack of proper knowledge about which food to include and which to exclude in your pooch’s meal can increase the risk of toxicity. Many human-grade foods can cause toxicity in dogs such as chocolate, grapes, onion, etc. so dog owners should be cautious about the food ingredients.

#3. Inconvenient

As fun, it may sound to feed home-made food to your pooch, but you can’t deny the amount of time it actually requires to prepare the meal. When it comes to saving time & hard-word, commercial food is better than home-made food. If you have enough time in your busy day to prepare meals for your pooch, then you can choose home-made food.

So, these are some disadvantages associated with home-made dog food. Make sure to evaluate both pros & cons of home-made dog food before you jump into any decision.

No matter what you feed- home-made or commercial, always make sure that your pooch is getting all the necessary nutrition to keep his body & mind healthy. Also, don’t forget to consult your veterinarian to better understand what nutritional value your dog requires to stay healthy & happy.

Final Thoughts

Wrapping it up, we can say if you think home-cooked food is good for your dog’s health, then you should go for it, however, make sure to gather all the information regarding all the necessary ingredients that can cater to your dog’s nutrition needs.

What Is Fish Oil For Dogs? What Are Its Benefits?

11 July 2022

Pros & Cons of Homemade Dog Food

27 May 2021

5 Easy & Delicious Dog Food Recipes that Your Dog will Love

27 May 2021

Benefits of feeding proper nutrition to dogs

14 August 2018

Benefits of high-fiber dog food

05 July 2018

Benefits of Bone Broth

30 March 2018