Many pet owners are very willing to make homemade dog food to feed their dogs in their free time. However, there are many principles that need to be followed when making homemade dog food, otherwise the dog may be unwilling to eat it, or it may cause malnutrition.
The principles of homemade dog food
1. Ensure that homemade dog food is nutritionally comprehensive
Each food contains different nutrients and content. If you want to ensure that your dog gets comprehensive nutrition, the best way is to regularly choose different ingredients. Of course, the ingredients used must be edible by dogs. . In addition, it is not advisable to change frequently, just change it once a week. For example, one week, make your own dog food mainly based on duck meat, the next week, it will be based on chicken, the next week, it will be based on fish or beef, and so on. Add olive oil to dog food today, and change it to salmon oil tomorrow. In addition, the types of vegetables should also be changed frequently. It is recommended that the poop scraper keep a record of the dog’s diet, so that if any problems are discovered, it will be easier to trace them.
2. Increase gradually
Dogs may have different reactions to different foods, and some dogs may develop allergies or indigestion when eating certain foods. Therefore, when the dog owner eats homemade dog food for the first time, it is best to give the dog a small amount to taste and make relevant records. If the dog does not have any adverse symptoms such as allergies, feeding can continue. In addition, it is recommended that the dog owner cook the food before feeding it to the dog, and try to feed the dog as little raw meat as possible to prevent the dog from being infected by bacteria and parasites in the food as much as possible.
3. Avoid cooking for too long and at too high temperatures
Just cook the food, and it is not advisable to cook it for too long. Cooking for too long or at too high a temperature can easily destroy the nutrients in food. When cooking meat and vegetables, you can boil the water first, then pour the chopped ingredients into the boiling water and simmer for a while. Take them out immediately after making sure they are cooked.
4. Foods rich in carbohydrates should be fully gelatinized
Dogs lack amylase in their bodies and have difficulty digesting foods rich in carbohydrates. Foods such as rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes contain higher amounts of carbohydrates. If you feed your dog this type of food, it is best to cook it into a paste as much as possible, and then Feeding is beneficial to the dog’s digestion.
5. No condiments added
The dog’s diet should be as light as possible. If the dog only eats homemade dog food occasionally and is mainly fed dog food, then the dog owner does not need to add salt when making homemade dog food, because dog food generally contains an appropriate amount of salt. Salt content can satisfy the dog’s body’s need for salt. Dogs do not have much demand for salt, so as to avoid excessive salt intake, which may lead to internal heat, increased tear stains, and even increased burden on the kidneys.
6. Under normal circumstances, meat should be the main food
A dog’s diet should be based on meat, supplemented by vegetables and carbohydrate-rich foods.
7. Pay attention to calcium supplement
Fish, livestock meat, poultry and offal have relatively low calcium content and are rich in phosphorus. Excessive intake of phosphorus will also affect the dog’s body’s absorption of calcium. Therefore, when pet owners usually make their own meat-based dog food, they should pay attention to supplementing their dogs with calcium to maintain a balanced calcium-phosphorus ratio. Pet owners can add an appropriate amount of homemade eggshell powder to their food or feed their dogs with some foods high in calcium, such as dairy products, soy products, etc.
8. The higher the digestibility of food, the better
Dogs generally digest and absorb animal protein better than plant-based protein. Therefore, when formulating a diet for dogs, it is best to use fish and meat as the main protein sources, while adding an appropriate amount of soy products as an auxiliary protein source. The same goes for other nutrients. Try to feed your dog food that is easy to digest.
9. Cater to your dog’s tastes
Dogs mainly rely on their sense of smell when tasting delicious food, so if you want to make food that dogs like to eat, the most important thing is to make the food emit the aroma they like. For example, you can use broth, chicken soup or a small amount of mashed animal liver and mix it into the dog’s food. Dogs generally like to eat such fragrant dog food. However, dogs also have their own taste preferences. However, dogs actually have no preference for salt and prefer sweetness, so pet owners don’t have to think about adding salt to their dog food for seasoning. In addition, the owner’s behavior will also affect the dog’s food preferences. Many dogs will think that the food their owner eats must be good, so when the dog doesn’t like to eat a new food, you can pretend that you like it very much to guide the dog to eat.
