We have more and more clients who have either started making their pet’s homemade food, or are interested in doing so. We LOVE this! But we wanted to make sure you’re not giving them just chicken & rice, or googling ‘Homemade Dog Food’ and following the first “Vet Recommended” homemade recipe video that you find. Making your pet’s food at home isn’t difficult, but it does require some initial research.

The first thing to remember is that every pet is an individual. Your dog or cat’s age, size, activity level, and health conditions should be reflected in your homemade diet. It may need specific ingredients or may need to lack certain ingredients. This is when working with a certified nutritionist would be your best option. More on that below.

When done right we believe homemade diets are one of the best ways to feed your pet! So we wanted to give you a few resources to help start your research and to help you better understand what it takes to create a homemade diet that your pet can thrive on for years to come. We really don’t want homemade diets to become vilified by our pet’s healthcare providers. We want to make sure homemade diets are made so that our pets can represent all the amazingness of quality homemade diet!

RECIPES:

For a basic homemade diet following some already well researched and balanced recipes is a great first start! This way you can get used to making your pet’s food and quickly learn what it takes to make sure the recipe has everything your pet may need. Using a few (or all) of these recipes in rotation would be our recommendation.

• Dr. Karen Becker & Rodney Habib’s Balanced Beef Recipe (RAW)
• Dr. Karen Becker & Rodney Habib’s Balanced Chicken Recipe (RAW)
• PawDega’s ‘The Flavours of the Middle East’ Adult Dog Recipe‘ (RAW)
• The Forever Dog Recipe Page (RAW & COOKED)
• Dr. Judy Morgan’s PupLoaf Recipe (COOKED)
• Dr. Judy Morgan’s Fall Stew Recipe (COOKED)
• The Natural Canine Kitchen’s Fluffy Butt Chicken Dinner – Link to recipe at bottom of page. (COOKED)

For Cats:

• Fishy Dish for KITTENS** (RAW)
• Turkey Recipe for Adult Cats (RAW)

NUTRITION CONSULTANTS:

If you’d rather work with a professional to create some balanced, homemade recipes for your pet it can be well worth it. They will create recipes for your pet as an individual. This is, in my opinion, the best option if your pet suffers from any health issues. We believe every pet is different and their diet should reflect that.

• The Animal Synergist; Sarah Griffiths, DCH
• List of Consultants around the world

FORMULATION AIDS:

Once you’re comfortable enough making other people’s recipes and you’re ready to move onto making your own, you can get a little help with some formulation websites or software. Here you can choose your ingredients and these will tell you what you may need, or what might be missing. As well as the nutritional information about your recipe.

• Feed Real Calculator (for raw feeders only)
• Animal Diet Formulator (Must purchase the software)
• Pet Diet Designer (Must purchase the software)
• BalanceIT
• Dr. Peter Dobias’ Recipe Maker (RAW)

CALORIE CALCULATOR:

Make sure you’re giving enough calories to your pet each day. Here are links to a calorie calculator for both cats and dogs.

• For Cats
• For Dogs

PRE-MIXES:

If this all sounds like too much work, research, or time, you can start small by feeding your pet fresh meat with an added a pre mix to it. These are products that you can purchase to add to fresh meat (or a meat, bone, organ mix). There are plenty of amazing options on the market. We currently sell just a one brand, but we hope as lower processed diets become more and more popular to offer more! Pre-mixes take the guess work out of the homemade food process.

• Honest Kitchen’s Base Mixes

I hope this has given you a great base of information to get you started on making a homemade food for your pet! If you have any questions or concerns, or want to chat about your recipe with me (Katrina) feel free to stop by the shop or give me a call! If you feel the need you can run your recipe by your veterinarian, we do recommend making sure they have been educated in canine and/or feline nutrition. Again, if you’re unsure or need any assistance there are canine and feline nutritionists out there (linked above). Always check their credentials and in my opinion the more experience they have the better!

Happy homemade food making!