Homemade Dog Food
Done well, home-cooked food gives owners total ingredient control. Done badly, it slowly causes deficiency disease.
Consult a board-certified veterinary nutritionist
Recipes below are educational frameworks. Final recipes for your dog should be balanced by a Diplomate of the ACVN or ECVCN — services exist online from £100–£250.
Benefits and risks
- Benefits: known ingredients, tailored to allergies and conditions, palatable for picky eaters.
- Risks: nutrient deficiencies (calcium, vitamin D, zinc), caloric mismatches, foodborne pathogens.
What makes a diet nutritionally complete
AAFCO and FEDIAF publish minimum and (for some nutrients) maximum levels per 1,000 kcal for each life stage. A homemade diet is "complete" only if it hits every one of those targets — protein, fats, all essential amino acids, EPA/DHA, calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, every vitamin and trace mineral.
Three balanced recipe frameworks
Quantities are starting points; final amounts must be balanced by a nutritionist for your individual dog.
Chicken-based (adult maintenance, ~22 kg dog)
- 350 g cooked chicken thigh, no skin
- 200 g cooked white rice
- 100 g cooked sweet potato
- 60 g cooked carrot
- 1 tsp fish oil (EPA/DHA)
- Calcium carbonate per supplement instructions
- Multivitamin/mineral per formulator
Beef-based (adult maintenance, ~22 kg dog)
- 300 g lean ground beef, browned
- 180 g cooked brown rice
- 120 g cooked pumpkin
- 50 g spinach, lightly cooked
- 1 tsp fish oil
- Calcium and multivitamin per formulator
Fish-based (adult maintenance, ~22 kg dog)
- 300 g cooked salmon, deboned
- 200 g cooked oats
- 100 g cooked green beans
- 50 g blueberries
- Vitamin E per supplement instructions
- Calcium and multivitamin per formulator
Supplement requirements
Plan to add at minimum: a complete vitamin/mineral premix designed for homemade diets, a calcium source (calcium carbonate or eggshell powder), and EPA/DHA from fish or algae oil unless feeding oily fish.