Many people know that homemade dog food offers many nutritional advantages for their dogs, but they are reluctant to try it because they believe it’s prohibitive for many reasons. That’s simply not true. Feeding your dog homemade dog food is actually quite a great alternative to commercial dog food. In addition to the nutritional advantages of homemade dog, there are many advantages to making homemade dog food. In this article, we have put together the 3 top reasons why homemade dog food is the best choice for your pup.
1. Cost-Effective
Many veterinarians recommend prescription dog food. Unfortunately, specialty dog foods are exceedingly more expensive albeit healthier than the regular supermarket dog food brands. When you review the ingredients side-by-side, you will see why. Commercial dog food typically contains the following:
- Unhealthy fillers – like simple carbohydrates and corn
- Chemical preservatives
- Vegetable Oils
- What Gluten
- Many other chemicals
In other words, nothing you would ever want to put into your own body, let alone your best friends. Organic dog foods may not have these ingredients, but you have to pay a high often prohibitive price. When making homemade dog food, it’s as easy as buying organic chicken adding some healthy complex carbs and you have an affordable, healthy option.
2. Fewer Vet Visits
Dogs who are fed homemade dog food are less likely to suffer from common diseases and medical conditions as they age. In the long run, feeding your dogs a homemade dog food diet greatly reduces the need for your dogs to require medication, tests and extra veterinary visits as they age. Common preventable ailments in older dogs include:
- Heart disease
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
3. Earth-Conscious
Making homemade dog food allows you to repurpose many of your leftovers and kitchen scraps into nutritious meals for your dog. Instead of creating extra garbage and food waste, you can create wholesome homemade dog food recipes with chicken and other common ingredients like
- Cooked unseasoned proteins such as fish and meat
- Cooked carbs such as potatoes, brown rice, couscous
- Cooked vegetables such as carrots, peas, sweet potatoes
Bonus Tip: Menu Plans
If you enjoy meal planning for your family, you can take advantage of specials sales and buy your meat, fish, grains, and vegetables in bulk. You can save energy by cooking in large batches and using some of the food for your family’s meals and some for your dog’s meals. Take advantage of those bargains and take the parts of the chicken your family likes for meals, then find dog food recipes with chicken (Azestfor has several) and incorporate the rest of the chicken into a dog food recipe.
Takeaway
Homemade dog food is the best way to ensure that your dog stays healthy and happy. Many people feel that making homemade dog food is beyond their budget. Homemade dog food is a frugal, healthy choice because it allows you to repurpose kitchen waste, take advantage of bargains and meal plans. Keeping your dog healthy saves on potential veterinarian visits and medications and may offer savings on costly prescription dog food. In many ways, homemade dog food is the best choice for your wallet as well as for your dog.
