Homemade dog food: recipes, ratios and the real risks

Homemade dog food can be very good, but only when a veterinary nutritionist writes the recipe and adds a mineral supplement to it. Most recipes don't meet that bar: in a UC Davis study, only 5 out of 200 met all NRC standards.

Cooking has real advantages. You know what you bought, the meat is fresh and the smell wins over even a picky eater. The problem is what you can't see in the pot.

Why most homemade recipes are unbalanced

Researchers at UC Davis (Stockman et al., JAVMA 2013) analysed 200 homemade dog food recipes. Only 5 met all NRC standards. 95% had at least one deficiency, most often choline, vitamin D, zinc and vitamin E.

You can't see these gaps in the bowl, or in the dog during the first weeks. The dog eats happily and looks fine while the deficiency builds slowly. "My dog has eaten this for a year and is healthy" says little about balance.

The most common mistake is calcium. Meat is high in phosphorus and very low in calcium, so a bowl of meat, rice and vegetables has the ratio upside down. The Merck Veterinary Manual gives a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of roughly 1:1 to 2:1 for dogs. Too little calcium over a long time can weaken bones, and in puppies the growing skeleton. How much calcium to add depends on the recipe and the dog's weight, so I'm not giving a dose here.

Homemade dog food recipes and ratios

Rules like "half meat, a quarter rice, a quarter vegetables" describe a plate, not a dog's needs. They say nothing about calcium, zinc or vitamin D. A nutritionist's recipe looks different: ingredients in grams, energy calculated for a specific weight and a supplement with a dose.

A balanced bowl is usually built from five groups:

1. Protein: cooked lean meat, fish, egg, organ meat. Liver only in small amounts.
2. Carbohydrates: rice, potatoes, grains or oats, well cooked.
3. Vegetables: for example carrot, courgette or pumpkin, as a side.
4. Fat: vegetable oil or salmon oil, because lean meat alone doesn't supply all the fatty acids a dog needs.
5. Calcium and a vitamin-mineral supplement in the dose the recipe gives. Without this step the first four aren't enough.

Work out the portion from calories, not volume. A 4 kg neutered dog needs about 200 kcal a day. How to calculate it for your dog is in how much to feed a dog.

What to leave out of homemade food

• Onion, garlic, chives: they damage red blood cells, including in powder, sauces and seasoning. Vegetable stock often contains them.
• Cooked bones: they splinter into sharp pieces that can injure the oesophagus and gut.
• Grapes and raisins: they can damage the kidneys. Nobody knows from what amount.
• Salt and spices: your dog doesn't need them. Set its portion aside before you season yours.
• Xylitol: a sweetener in baking and "sugar-free" products.

The full list is in what dogs can't eat.

Homemade dog food for allergies

If your vet suspects a food allergy, home cooking makes sense as an elimination diet. The vet picks one protein and one carbohydrate your dog has never eaten. For 8 weeks or longer the dog gets nothing else: no treats, no chews, no bites from the table (VCA Hospitals).

This diet is for diagnosis, not for feeding for years. A long-term menu still has to be balanced with a nutritionist.

Time, cost and what we do at home

Cooking means shopping, cooking, portioning and freezing. Every day, for the 12–15 years a small dog lives. The daily cost for a small dog is medium: more than kibble, less than natural wet food.

For us, cooking was the exception. We cooked for Zuzi, my maltipoo, when she was pregnant and there was a stage when she didn't want to eat anything. On a normal day Zuzi eats about one 180 g jar of ZoozyJars plus a few treats, sometimes a piece of apple or a few blueberries. She has never eaten dry or mass-market food.

When ready-made food is the better choice

If you want real meat and low processing in the bowl but don't have time to calculate supplements, choose a complete natural wet food. A professional recipe already balances protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, with the right calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. You open the jar and serve.

On the label, look for meat given as a percentage and named species, for example "lamb 60%", not "meat and animal derivatives". Check for the word "complete" too: complementary food doesn't cover all of a dog's needs. More on this in wet food for small dogs.