When we tell people how we make our dog’s food and the other ways we take care of them, sometimes people look at us like we have three heads. They say that our dogs are pampered. We say they are well cared for. There is a difference?

dog people

Dog lovers are a special ‘breed’…pun intended entirely. We care for our dogs as if they were our children, and in some cases, they might as well be. You only want the best for your little four-legged friends, and sometimes that includes doing things yourself instead of buying them pre-made. Dog food is something that is hotly debated among veterinarians, dog owners, pet store owners, and manufacturers alike. From kibble to raw diets, from cans to bags, manufacturers are adding vitamins, vegetables, fillers and all sorts of additives to make their foods “the healthiest foods money can buy”; but is it really? Special breeds need special care, so is all dog food good for all dogs?

special foods

Check the shelves and you’ll see dog food for senior dogs, inactive dogs, puppies and overweight dogs. There’s high nutrition, high energy, high prices…whatever happened to the old-fashioned dog food? I hesitate to even remember what my uncle’s farm dog ate every day and lived to a ripe old age. Trust me, my uncle didn’t like buying dog food. I’m pretty sure they bought whatever was cheap and a lot. Any slaughter done on the farm would, of course, produce discarded items. The cats, the dog, and any other vermin on the farm could fight over the scraps. My aunt threw leftovers that no one was interested in to the patio. Oddly enough, this is probably what kept the old farm dog healthy. Raw meat and fresh vegetables.

there is your recipe

The question of how to make homemade dog food is relatively easy to answer. All you need to do is look at the life dogs led in the past when they ran in packs. They would kill for their food, eating it raw and ingesting the already digested fruits and vegetables their prey had eaten. 60% to 80% of your dog’s diet should consist of raw meats. Their systems are experts at handling bacteria that our bodies cannot tolerate. Rabbit, eggs, duck, turkey, lamb, chicken, beef, fish, venison, ostrich, and even emu are particularly good meats for a dog’s nutritional needs. Cooking them destroys their natural vitamins.

The same goes for your vegetables. Fresh is best, but many vegetables need to be blanched to aid in digestion and reduce gas tendencies. These vegetables must then be ground in a blender or food processor that simulates the already digested fruits and vegetables of the prey they would eat in the wild. Some fruits are very tasty to dogs due to their natural sugars, but some should be avoided.

We joke from time to time that our dogs eat better than us. And sometimes they do!