Our food choices are deeply rooted in culture, personal preferences, lifelong habits and perceptions about food. Changing what we eat is often difficult, and extending that to dogs can be equally challenging. However, diet is a fundamental aspect of how our bodies perform, and offering our dogs a high quality diet is a central way to care for them. Moving beyond the concept of the modern day kibble, and into an indeed ancient practice of eating real, whole foods is an excellent way to care for your dog.

Considering pets are often viewed as family members, or at least important pieces of the family dynamic, it is in the best interest of not only animals, but caretakers, veterinarians and other professionals to optimize these animals’ health. Diet is one way to accomplish this. Feeding them healthy, human-grade foods can not only maintain their health in the short- and long-term, but may help avoid or minimize the emotional and financial turmoil associated with having a sick pet.

Pinpointing the most appropriate diet is a reasonable first step to this goal. As with humans, dogs may either thrive or languish as a result of the food they eat. There is a difference between subsisting on a baseline diet and thriving on foods that maximize health. Even arriving at a goal somewhere in between – eating relatively healthy foods most of the time – is a good start. As a result of risks associated with commercial pet food, feeding human-grade foods is, by default, safer than feeding commercial pet foods.

Pet caretakers spend billions of dollars on their pets per year. Diet is clearly an area of interest and necessity for dog parents, and attention should be given to what constitutes the best diet. But what food is best? To answer this question, we need to dig a little, with more questions.

What kind of diet is best for us humans? Is it processed, dry cereal-like food, served exclusively at each meal for years? Or is it food in its natural state, full of moisture, intact nutrients and non-nutrient protective compounds at each meal for years? What does your instinct – and science – say? When it comes to a balanced diet, should we eat the same thing all the time, or a variety? And before commercial dog food was invented, what did dogs eat? Here is my general answer to all of these questions: Our instinct, experience and science all tell us a variety of fresh, whole food is best, and always has been. That goes for us, and our dogs too.

Rotating foods and offering a range of options provides nutrient variety over time, and a quality multivitamin and mineral supplement helps cover all bases. While an individual homemade dog food recipe or meal may not be completely balanced on its own, this is certainly not justification to reject the idea of home cooking. This is much like our own diets; surely, every meal we eat is not 100% balanced, but eating a variety of foods is recommended for nutrient balance.  

As an added consideration, many nutrients work together or against each other when eaten together, so eating specific foods together or avoiding specific foods together is a factor and another reason to support the idea of varying foods over time.  

With all that said, this course will provide a balanced recipe formulated to meet AAFCO standards. These are the pet food standards often used in the United States and your vet may want you to feed a diet that adheres to these standards.