By Kate Rae

With so much conflicting information about pet food available today, home made pet food is becoming a more popular choice of pet owners. Of course we all want to feed our canine and feline friends the best food possible, giving them the best nutrition possible. The biggest question is always how, considering that just about every commercial food out there claims to be "the best for your pet". While many available pet foods are high in quality, there is still much to the fact that the pet food industry, while improving, does not police manufacturers enough. This means, in truth, that we have no idea what actually goes into most pet food other than what the bag label says, and much of that is up for debate, too. For this reason, interest in home made diets and raw food has increased greatly.

The biggest benefit to feeding a home made or raw diet to your dog is the peace of mind in knowing exactly what your dog is eating. You'll know exactly what nutrition he's getting, where the ingredients came from, that there are no chemicals or additives, and the diet is high quality. Just as with people, our pets are what they eat and many experts believe many health problems we now see in dogs can be prevented by feeding home cooked or raw food. However, deciding to switch a dog to home cooking requires more than simply making extra servings of whatever the family dinner is to give to the dog. Canine nutrition is very different to that of humans, and an incorrectly fed home made diet can potentially do more damage than good.

Regardless of what cooked or raw diet is chosen for your dog, the most important thing to remember is supplementation. In order to meet canine nutrition requirements, either the diet must be completely analyzed and balanced to need, or a vitamin-mineral supplement must be included. Home cooked or raw diets that have neither can put your your dog at risk of being under-nourished, which can cause its own problems over time. A holistic veterinarian or pet nutrition expert (someone who has undergone actual training in pet nutrition) can help you determine what your dog's individual needs are, and what should be added to your home made food. By doing this, it is much less likely that there will be any kind of malnutrition developing.

For feeding raw food, there are a number of additional thoughts to consider. If the purpose of feeding raw is to avoid preservatives, chemicals and other toxins, it would be best to buy organic (though non-organic is still much better than commercial food). The cuts of meat should be good quality - something you'd eat yourself - not butcher leftovers. There should be no bones and little fat, and, as previously mentioned, there should be appropriately supplemented. Raw foods should not be fed frozen, either, which can present a freshness concern since meat left out for too long will begin to go rancid, and can attract insects that could lay eggs in the meat which your dog will ingest. A lot of care needs to be taken when feeding raw, as simple as it may seem.

Finding acceptable home cooked meals for dogs is fairly easy. Recipes can be searched online and, so long as they list nutritional information, or you can calculate it on your own based on ingredients, they are fine. There are also quiet a number of books available, written by veterinarians, documenting the right way to start feeding home made or raw and offering balanced, nutritionally complete recipes. It is also possible to find special recipes for feeding dogs with chronic illness such as diabetes or kidney disease, which are created with the appropriate restrictions in mind to manage these conditions. It is still always good to go over any potential feeding plans with a vet though, especially if the dog has a diagnosed condition that needs managing through diet.

There is a wealth of information available for owners to learn about feeding home made or raw diets, and pros and cons of both. The best advice is to learn more, ask the advice of a trusted canine nutrition specialist or holistic vet, and decide if it is something your family can incorporate into the daily pet care routine. While it does involve a little extra work, most pet owners who opt for home made pet diets feel it is well worth the effort to support the well-being of their pet.

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