What to feed your dog is the most common and haunting question several pet owners are faced with and an experienced vet says that a home-made diet definitely isn’t the answer.
When a couple of fellow pet owners told me that ultra-processed food is “bad” for my dogs as opposed to freshly prepared meals, I spoke to Qualified veterinarian Dr. Joanna Woodnutt with over 10 years of experience, and she strictly advises against what social media preaches about feeding home-made diet to your furry companions.
Vet advises against home-made diets for dogs
It’s a fad on social media – people posting videos and pictures of fancy home-cooked meals for their dogs. Although they claim the diet is packed with nutrition, Dr. Joanna flags several issues with the same.
The vet said: “From a nutritional standpoint there are a lot of issues with home-cooked diets, especially following ‘recipes’ you see online”
“Home-cooked diet recipes are often vague, requiring you to make assumptions when you’re preparing them for your dog. And many of them have nutrient imbalances that can cause severe problems, especially in growing dogs,” she further added.
The pet specialist backed her opinion with facts based on a number of studies that found even the recipes hand-written by veterinarians did not meet the recommended nutritional values.
As a general warning, Dr.Joanna said: “Pet owners wanting to feed a home-cooked diet should get a recipe from a board-certified veterinary nutritionist and follow it carefully. “
“It’s possible to introduce nutritional deficiencies by making simple substitutions or cooking the recipe in a different way than expected,” she added.
What about kibble?
It’s a common myth that buyers aren’t well aware of the “animal by-products” included in kibble, but the vet says one shouldn’t be worried about that as long as they rely on a well-recognized brand.
Dr. Joanna said: “Kibble isn’t all bad, and many vets feed their dogs kibble (myself included!). A lot of people worry that they don’t know what goes into kibble.”
“‘Animal by-products’ sound scary, but these have a specific definition in labeling rules and actually mean that the diet contains the same ingredients that other brands and homemade recipes tout – organ meat, chicken necks, and damaged muscles that are too ‘ugly’ to make it into the human food chain,” she added.
She said some brands may prefer the term “animal by-product” because they may swap meats, depending on whatever is cheaper.
You needn’t have to worry much if you’re choosing a diet from a well-known brand as WSAVA recommends, believed to have “stringent quality control processes to make sure their finished diet meets all the nutritional analyses.”
However, the vet suggests cooking treats for your dogs if you wish to improve your relationship with them and not worry about the nutritional value. But make sure the treats make up no more than 10% of their daily calorie ratio.
