Cooking for Dog

There are a number of dog foods available in the market but if you feel that you are not confident your dog is getting the required nutrition, you can try cooking for dogs at home yourself. Before this however, it is important that you consult with your vet on what are the nutritional needs of your pet.

Most people are under the common misconception that dogs enjoy a bone the most. This can be very dangerous – especially bones of chicken, which have a tendency to splinter when bitten. The splinters can lead a dog to choke to death. When cooking homemade dog food one meal you could try is a mixture of cooked oatmeal with bits of chicken and chicken stock for flavor. This should ideally form the dogs’ breakfast. You can also substitute oatmeal for another variant of cereal, but it is ideal if there is milk and some vegetables – such as carrots, peas and beans as part of the dogs’ diet. You can also make a mixture of minced meat – chicken, mutton or beef and mix that with egg and bread crumbs. This can be fried lightly – remember not to deep fry it and serve it to the dog with gravy made of the chicken stock. Another recipe is a doggy pie – where you can take three to four cups of chicken meat and boil it with a little salt. Cook some rice separately and mix the rice with some of the chicken broth. Add the chicken meat on top of the rice and steam or bake this for about ten to fifteen minutes.

If you choose that your dog should be a vegetarian, ensure that the animal gets enough nutrients and vitamins from vegetables it consumes. Soya is a healthy substitute for meat but the dog might need to eat more often in the day as opposed to a dog that is being fed meat. If you are following the instructions of a nutritionist, then make sure that the food is cooked exactly to the said specifications. It could be that by over cooking the food, or missing on some important ingredient the dog might lose out on vital vitamins. During the day, you can also feed the dog light snacks such as carrot sticks, strips of boiled chicken, beans, liver pate on dog biscuits etc. Use oil such as flaxseed and canola to cook your dogs’ food as they are a good source of essential fatty acids.