Home cooked dog food

[user2848502016]

Does anyone cook for their dog? Do you use a recipe book or app etc? Does it work out more or less expensive than buying food? Any tips welcome

My dog is almost 5 and never been particularly fussy but last few months has been not eating his kibble unless it’s topped with wet food! (No there’s no health issues and his teeth are fine, he’s had a health check with the vet recently. It’s just like he’s a bit bored of just kibble)

He has a fairly sensitive tummy and needs grain free food, so putting him on a good quality wet diet will get expensive.

So thinking how would it work out if I made him a batch of food in the slow cooker once a week or so. We would continue to give some kibble too.

I'm so happy someone else is asking about this (sorry op!) 🙂

My two greys are a bloody nightmare with food, and I'm considering cooking "puploaf" that I will add dog specific supplements to.
They have always had a cooked breakfast - scrambled eggs, reduced sodium ham and a ramekin of natural goat yoghurt on the side.

Hopefully, a homemade lunch & tea will be tolerated for all our fussy monkeys, op !😂

Editing to add, have a look at Pinterest, op, I think some recipes there would be helpful 🙂

I cook twice a week for my dog, meat and vegetables that I cook and keep separate in the fridge then weigh out when feeding twice a day. I boil chicken, bake white fish, liver, heart, boil eggs, other meat/fish if on offer. I add in boiled/steamed veg too, butternut squash, sweet potato, broccoli, sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots. I add in the odd tin of mackerel occasionally. I used to feed raw food, but I have been doing this for over a year now and it’s not overly expensive and always well received by my pooch.

I did it for a couple of years because my dog had health problems, pancreatitis. Some of the things I used were low fat turkey, butternut squash and sweet potato. I bought a couple of great big pans and did it that way. Wouldn't say it was cheap and it was definitely time consuming, but I used to have to blend the veg to. Worth it for my dogs health but not something I'd choose to do to be honest

I think it would be much cheaper (and easier) to just give him a good quality, grain-free wet food. It really doesn't need to be expensive. My beagle is on grain-free food (Harringtons) and he gets a quarter of a tray a day stirred through his kibble - I pay less than £20 for 24 trays online and it lasts about six weeks.

I guess it depends on what level of expertise you have in dog diet and nutrition. You have to be careful with what is available on the Internet - you only have to look at the popularity of raw feeding, which is Internet fad and has zero scientific evidence to support it to demonstrate the disinformation there.

I agree with PP about a decent quality, grain free wet food, or a different brand of dry.

Sorry, no advice, but your post reminded me of this which I saw a few days ago and it made me laugh

One of the recipes that came up when I googled Pinterest and homemade dog food contained onions - not sure i'd be recommending random recipes off the interest given it's clear a lot of these 'experts' know nothing about food.

Making dog food at home is all well and good if you have the relevant knowledge and qualifications (and no, ability to google is not a qualification).

I echo PPs who say scout around for other dog food - you can even try butternut box topped with biscuits. One of mine has that (Golden) and it costs me about £100 a month to feed her BB and biscuits which, given her size, really isn't that expensive...

Op, I'm sorry for the Pinterest recommendation, I thought it might be useful for some meal ideas but didn't realise there were people advising feeding dogs unsuitable ingredients 😟

Raw feeding is not some form of fad! It certainly IS scientifically proven and Done correctly it’s a good option for the vast majority of dogs. Feeding dogs highly processed crap out of a tin which they then 💩 half of back out is no better for dogs than feeding children McDonald’s everyday!

I have done extensive research and could find no scientific evidence that raw feeding is and more beneficial. In fact, the only evidence I could find was that risk to humans of various nasties like e coli and campylobacter is significantly higher where owners fed raw food. Additionally, the whole raw thing is often quoted alongside the view they dogs are descended from wolves. They are not. It is true that dogs share a common ancestor with the grey wolf, but they are as close to wolves as humans are to apes. Dogs dietary systems have also evolved differently to enable them to digest more than just meat.

I am happy to be corrected if you can point me to any peer reviewed, properly researched studies?

there are plenty of articles out there if you look for them. These 3 article took me two minutes to find.

there are more happening now. I know of at least 3 long term studies taking place and which way the wind is blowing on two of them. I believe one will be reported very soon.

https://honeysrealdogfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Honeys-Raw-Proof-Report.pdf

https://phys.org/news/2023-02-non-processed-meat-based-early-diet-dog.html

https://phys.org/news/2024-05-dog-kibble-raw-meat-yields.amp

yes I cook for my dogs . It started when my first arrived as a puppy and refused to eat anything meaningful. In desperation I began cooking meat from the butcher , so ultimately now I cook for my two dogs , lean mince and veg , diced beef , salmon fillets , tuna steaks , roast chicken etc basically anything I would eat , and a portion for each on top of their kibble . They won’t eat dog food now funnily enough . The vet said a dog won’t starve itself but after 3 days I was panicking to get food in him .

Plenty of articles, but none based on scientific research. None of the ones you list are.

Even the study that is linked to does not conclude a concrete benefit.

I cook for my dog. He has a lot of allergies and can't tolerate wet food due to binding agents. You need to calculate the ration carefully to makes sure he receives all the necessary nutrients - if you don't know how, then consult a vet specialising in nutrition or a (good, vet-certified) nutritionist. Dogs have different nutritionally needs than humans so you can't just feed them like you would eat yourself. Home-made food must be supplemented, but this is not difficult, there are good complete supplements.

You don't have to keep trying out new recipes, dogs have far fewer taste receptors than humans and don't need much variety. I always cook for 3 weeks, portion and freeze everything. I rotate between two ‘menus’, but my dog would also eat the same thing every day (as long as it had chicken in it).

It can be good for the dog, but no better than cooked food - it's better in the sense that you can control exactly what you feed the dog and in what quality. In theory, because many people who feed raw buy ready-made mixtures of questionable quality. Many dogs that are fed raw have nutritional deficiencies because their owners have no idea what they are actually doing.
The ‘prey animal principle’ is total moronism and this has been scientifically proven many times, you are absolutely right.

I used to, he had steak, vegetables, fruits, boiled eggs, cucumber, salmon- not at the time. I did it twice a week, didn’t know enough about it to do it more than that. The vet said he had a lovely coat and good teeth. He had forthglade dog dinners the rest of the time.

Vets don’t generally recommend raw feeding from what I understand.

I don't feed raw but of course traditional wet and dry dog food is a multi billion pound industry so meaningful research studies are going to lack funding and be easily discredited. Freeze dried raw consistently gets the highest ratings on allaboutdogfood.co.uk and eliminates the risks of salmonella shedding etc. My vet recommends Hills which is basically cheerios for dogs so I think everyone should make their own minds up.
My dog is very fussy. I reckon in the early days I tried so many brands from Butternut to Butchers. I do now mainly cook but supplement with a high quality dried food for texture and to firm up his poo. It can be very expensive and you are making a rod for your back because it is a pain if you go away. I also buy joint supplements and a pre and pro biotic to add to his bowl.
On the other hand, he will wolf down any old crap he finds on the pavement so maybe he's just taking the piss?

I do sometimes. Usually mince and veg. Lily's kitchen have a dog food recipe book I sometimes use as well