Any input from both sides on home made dog food?

Dogs are wolves. Species name for wolves is canis lupus, The word "dog" is the common term for what is termed canis lupus familiaris.

We humans have been doing a lot of genetic manipulation of canis lupus for thousands of years.

We have been selectively breeding wolves which had found that being around humans is a pretty good meal ticket.

The original wolves that were brave enough (or desperate enough due to lack of food) would follow our ancient ancestors taking advantage of any "leftovers" that the humans did not consume.

Eventually there came a point where wolves became part of the human pack and they traveled together.

Did wolves evolve into dogs? No, did humans actually selectively encourage breeding for certain traits, such as size, color, temperament. Yes, very likely.

Are wolves and dogs still the same species? Yes, the definition of a species is that if two organisms breed and their offspring are capable of having offspring, then they are the same species.

(counter example: If you breed a horse with a donkey, you will have a mule. Are horses and donkeys the same species ~~ No, mules are incapable of having offspring.)

Now is raw feeding Best? Yes. Dogs, being wolves have different digestive enzymes than humans.

For example Dogs should Never be given Cooked Bones ~ they will splinter and can damage the dog's digestive tract.

Raw bones are fine, dogs do have digestive enzymes that do handle raw bone matrix. Dogs love the rich marrow within raw bones and will savor their bones at every meal. ~~ If you inspect their scat (waste product) following their consuming a raw bone you may see small white bone chips, or very often a white powder distributed among the feces as natural waste product.

Commercial Dog Foods are full of lots of carbohydrate filler, and Dog Treats are practically pure sugar. There is an epidemic in dogs with diabetes, now. Dogs having diabetes and taking insulin injections was unheard of until this high carbohydrate Dry Dog Food and "treat business".

My beautiful German pinscher is on raw meat now and what a difference I have seen! High energy, super shiny coat, her teeth are whiter than white and she is... well, just the most perfect dog in the world!

She eats primarily raw beef, I prefer she has whole cuts, not ground beef. She loves lamb ribs, the bones are very digestible.

I feed her COOKED chicken and hamburger ~~ I was an Environmental Health Specialist "Health Inspector", and the trouble with uncooked Hamburger is e.coli (0157:H7) which can induce kidney problems. Raw Chicken and Turkey can carry bacteria such as staphylococcus and salmonella. These can cause foodborne illness that can give your dog diarrhea.

Wolves are omnivores, and in the wild they will eat certain plants and grasses. These fiber sources help them with any elimination issues. My dog gets about a half a cup of peas and cubed carrots each day. I buy the generic frozen package and microwave them for about 30 seconds) ~~ She is very regular and very energetic.

Research Commercial Dog Foods, dry or canned. They are so full of carbohydrates, (wheat, corn, rice, etc) . Remember that wolves (dogs) are primarily carnivores; occasionally they will eat some plant matter such as wild grasses. (Not exactly the "breakfast cereal" you find in commercial dog food).

For your consideration... here's to all our pets being their healthiest!

1. Human food not being good for dogs

Good concern, this is mainly chocolates, onions, soda, things like that. As well as corn...

2. Chemicals in our food

Another good point but what's not fit for human consumption, is put into pet food.

3. Too much fat

Dogs process fat differently than us, I do take the skin off chicken if there seems to be a lot of excess.

4. Diseases found in meat

That's why you get meat that's for human consumption. I'm not sure what exactly you're concerned about?

I feed a raw prey model diet. Ground is bad because you loose nutrients when you grind, same with cooking, and dogs cannot properly digest rice, carrots, or potatoes.

Raw food, which is typically mostly or all meat and bones, you feed 2-3% of the dog's body weight. I imagine that's probably a good place to start with a recipe like the one you listed, and then adjust up or down if she seems to be getting too heavy or thin.

I've made my own foods before, and I have to say it's terribly time consuming, but it can help a variety of issues.

As for your concerns, I'll address them in order:

1. Home-made dog foods containing fresh ingredients are not "people food". Fresh meats and vegetables are about as unprocessed as you can get. Foods that are not good for dogs are processed foods: hot dogs, potato chips, cookies, even meals you have cooked, since they typically contain things like butter, cream, salt, and other things dogs don't need.

2. There are not a ton of chemicals in fresh meat and veggies, and if you're concerned you can always use organic ingredients for your dog food.

3. Again, "human food" versus fresh ingredients.

4. Everyone has their own opinion, but the fact is, dogs have a VERY different digestive tract than ours. Carnivores have a very short, very acidic digestive tract which prevents bacteria from surviving/multiplying in order to cause problems. Dogs are not at high risk for catching things from fresh meats, as long as they have been stored and handled properly (for that matter, neither are humans- our meat sources are much safer now than they have ever been).

Your recipe is a fairly basic one, however, it follows the convention that dogs "need" grains/starches in their diet, and they don't. They also don't need much vegetable matter- most people say none at all, but if you use any, it should only be a small amount. Also, the grains and potatoes are put in there to cover up the lack of bone material, which is very important.

Here are the ingredients I used for my dog foods, I always made several different "recipes" but used this list:

-Ground beef, chicken, and turkey

-Fresh fish (usually salmon)

-Blueberries or cranberries

-Eggs (with or without shells)

-Bone meal

-Calcium powder

-Fish oil

-Small amount of carrots, peas, or green beens

I left everything raw, skin on, etc.

You may want to look up some pre-made natural raw food formulas first, you may find it cheaper and easier to feed your dog this way. Primal is a popular brand, Nature's Variety, K-9 Kravings, and many others are also good.

How is raw meat not good for dogs? Its what they are designed to digest. There may be chemicals in people food but there are tons on dog food. Most raw meat does not have too much fat. Dogs need a certain amount of fat to make use of certain nutrients. Its things like bacon that should not be fed because it had too much fat. Things like salmonella are in commercial pet food too. You don't really need to worry about parasites (unless you feed wild animals) If you are worried about parasites you can freeze the meat for 3 weeks to kill any parasites.

I feed my dog prey model raw and have not had any problems. Dogs are more likely to get sick from kibble.

That recipe is not balanced and should not be the only thing fed to the dog. If you do home cooked you need to add a lot of supplements because cooking it destroys nutrients. You also don't need to add the rice, potatoes and carrots. Dogs are carnivores and do not need those things.

Don't forget coffee in the not good for dogs catagorie it has the same stuff in it as chocolate thats bad for dogs.

Other than that i've heard that spices, sugar, and excess fats arent good for dogs, if you are making it yourself just try to make sure it has the right amounts of vitamins to keep the dog healthy. Plus dog food has crap in it too, its processed just like people food. I think mostly its just dont over feed or put in the taboo food thats really bad for dogs and make sure depending on the age, breed and certain needs for your dog that the right nutrients are in it. And as far and cooked or not meat i would cook just because raw meat is gross and dogs lick your face and canned dog food the meat is not raw. I dont think raw meat can hurt a dog but i'm not an expert and as it can hurt humans i'd rather be safe then sorry, but then again cats eat mice and thats raw meat so i dont know. If i got a lion though then i'd use raw meat lol, for a dog i'd stick with cooked. But i'm not a professional so listen to other people who have reasearched it. I hope you find the right stuff for your dog i'm lucky mine eats everything and doesnt seem to have a problem.

A friend of mine put her dog on the Pitcairn diet after the vet removed a malignant tumor. They didn't want to use chemo. The dog recovered and had 5 more cancer-free years, and died at 12. I would be uneasy about raw diets because dogs have been sharing humans COOKED food for ten thousand years or more... also because food safety standards and meat inspection are not what they should be. I wouldn't give my dog raw meat unless it came from a local farmer I trusted.

The big problem with homemade food, according to my vet (and Dr. Pitcairn) is that the lack of the right vitamin or minerals can make a dog ill - and not necessarily in a way that shows until some disease has developed.

The quantity will vary according to your dog's metabolism and exercise level. Read Pitcairn's book--he's got a lot of very useful info.

I'm not a fan of cooking meat or the BARF diet for dogs.

Dogs are carnivores and as such have no need for vegies and grains in their diet. Many people on this site feed their dogs the prey model raw diet with great success. Dogs can digest raw meats, bones and organs just fine. Their digestive tracts are design to handle these.

The diet you suggested of various minced meats and vegies is too devoid of calcium and phosphorous. A good source of these essential elements is bone.

You need to do plenty of research before you attempt either a prey model, BARF or home cooked diet yourself.

http://www.rawlearning.com/

http://www.rawfeddogs.net/

http://www.rawmeatybones.com/

Canidae all the way for my dog. It has omega 3 and 6 and human grade meat with no fillers or gleuten. There are many websites that compare dog foods. Just google dog food compare and lots of them will come up. Good luck.

do youre research, make sure you know what foods are toxic to dogs, generally poultry and pork are the best meats, some cant handle beef, fish is great too, pastas, veggies but veggies is where you want to do your research, some can be a big no no, for mine a wolfhybrid a shepherdX and a poodle, i feed them a mix of human quality meals and high quality dog food, natural holistic dog food only, the hybrid gets a bit of food strictly raw, but most of it is partially cooked, as long as you get the temp up enough to kill any bacteria it doesnt matter for them if its cooked thoroughly, remember their stomach acids are stronger than ours. also it depends on the breed, like my toy poodle theyve been "sculpted" more by humans than my wolfhybrid and shepherd, so i cook her chicken thoroughly, and her food is tad milder, dont use too much spices and the less salt the better. experiment with what your dog likes and consult wiht your vet what would be the healthiest

our cavaliers (approx 9 and 11kg) have homemade food for breakfast, and canned food +dryfood or tuna+dryfood or a meaty bone to chew for dinner. we prepare their breakfasts every month and so and freeze them, then defrost them each morning. they get 95-100g of raw meat, either mince or cuts that we have diced, mixed with three largish spoons of a mix of cooked pasta and chopped frozen veggies (corn and peas and carrot and potato). we put them in small plastic bags to freeze them. :3