Hi, I’ve been noticing more and more human grade dog food delivery companies out there. I looked into it but it is pricey. I’m just curious to know if anyone cooks their own dog food? How is it working for your lab? I want to do some more research on recipes to make sure they have all the nutrients that my 7.5 month lab need. Thanks!
Hi @Michelle there are certainly more and more owners home cooking for their dogs and as long as you create a balanced diet yoyr dog will be happy and you will know exactly what he is getting. Home cooking is not recommended for puppies though because of the problems in balancing the nutritional requirements for a growing puppy. There's a lot more of concern that just the correct balance of calcium
Hi @Michelle , I did combos of raw/cooked for both of my non-Labs. I'm more of the mind that variety is the key to feeding fresh food and that having every meal perfectly balanced is more of a marketing idea than anything else. It was used to sell dry or wet commercial dog food, now it's being used to sell pricey raw or cooked food. However, my experience is anecdotal based on my own dogs who did well on fresh varied meals and I certainly respect the concerns that it may be trickier to meet the needs of growing puppies by putting all your own ingredients together. When I started raw and/or home cooked, there weren't any delivery services out there so it wasn't an option. To me, a big advantage of such services would be the time savings. However, the whole reason I started preparing food myself is that I wanted to know the food was fresh, where it came from and what was in it - which would be difficult with a service. For me, I'd be asking the same questions I asked about kibble and canned...what's really in here? But that's just me - I'm kind of a an ingredient freak on dog food. Too bad I'm not so careful about my own diet! One thing you could try now if you want is a sort of combo and see how that works for you and Koa. That would mean using both prepared (commercial) food and fresh stuff. Chicken (if Koa isn't allergic), sardines, boneless whitefish, apples, bananas, veggies (broccoli, okra, zucchini)...you can either make a specific cooked dinner a couple times a week or just add some fresh stuff to your regular kibble. The meat can be raw or cooked. Or just give raw bones a try. Chicken necks or wings and turkey necks are good starters. Just some ideas!
Absolutely, and balance can be over a one or two week period - for adults. Puppies need a balanced supply of nutrients fir healthy growth which if you follow the general ethos of balance over a number of days/weeks could leave a growing pup lacking in essential minerals etc at crucial times. @Michelle it was removed from my previous post by Moderator for some reason but there is a very good group on Facebook whose only focus is home cooked diets for dogs. Hopefully you'll be able to find it
