Homemade
Backed by Dr. Danielle Conway
INTRODUCTION
Homemade diets are the most customizable diet option available, with endless food combinations that can be formulated to meet the needs of your individual dog. While cooking for your dog can absolutely be part of a healthy feeding approach, their nutritional needs are not the same as ours. The success of a homemade diet depends far more on nutrient balance than on ingredient lists or cooking techniques. Homemade diets fail nutritionally because they are often not properly formulated by a qualified individual. Most of the recipes you will find online, in books, and even from other veterinarians are not balanced.
Dogs vary widely in their nutritional needs based on age, body size, activity level, and health status. Growing puppies require carefully balanced calcium and phosphorus levels to support skeletal development. Highly active dogs require more calories than sedentary dogs. Senior dogs may benefit from adjustments in calorie density or fatty acid composition. Because of these differences, recipes often need to be tailored to the individual animal. Working with a veterinarian or nutrition professional trained in diet formulation can help ensure that diets are appropriately designed.
NUTRIENTS
A study conducted by UC Davis evaluated 200 recipes from 34 different sources for homemade dog food and found that 95% of them were deficient in at least one essential micronutrient and 83% were lacking in more than one essential nutrient, according to nutrient minimums set forth by AAFCO. Successful homemade nutrition requires an understanding of macronutrient proportions (protein, fats, and carbohydrates), a deeper understanding of which ingredients supply which nutrients, and where common nutritional gaps show up.
Dogs do not thrive simply because a meal contains wholesome ingredients. They thrive because the diet provides the nutrients their physiology requires. The basic structure of a well-designed homemade diet includes protein, carbohydrates, fat, and supplements.
Function:
Protein provides essential amino acids necessary for muscle maintenance, immune function, enzymes, and hormones.
Amount:
In most well-formulated homemade diets, protein typically contributes ~25–40% of total calories on what is called a metabolizable energy basis.
Sources:
Rather than focusing on individual ingredients, it’s more useful to think in categories:
- Animal-based proteins: Chicken, turkey, beef, pork, lamb, fish, eggs
- Plant-based proteins: Legumes (beans, lentils), quinoa, certain grains
Dogs should not rely exclusively on plant-based proteins, however, plant ingredients can still play a role. They often contribute amino acids alongside fiber, minerals, and other nutrients. The key is that plant proteins are part of the system, not the foundation of it.
Function:
Carbohydrates provide digestible energy, dietary fiber, phytonutrients and antioxidants, and support for gastrointestinal health.
Dogs do not have a strict dietary requirement for carbohydrates, but that does not mean carbohydrates are without value. Many carbohydrate-containing foods, particularly plant ingredients, contribute nutrients that are difficult to replace elsewhere in the diet.
Amount:
In many balanced homemade diets, carbohydrates contribute ~20–40% of total calories. Some diets fall outside this range depending on individual needs, but for most healthy dogs this is a practical starting point. The exact amount matters less than how carbohydrates fit into the overall structure of the diet.
Sources:
Carbohydrates in homemade diets come from both starches and plant ingredients. Carbohydrates are complex. Sources can fall into multiple categories:
- Starches: Rice, oats, barley, potatoes, sweet potatoes
- Fiber-rich plant sources: Vegetables (greens, squash, carrots), fruits (berries, apples in appropriate amounts)
- Plant-based protein contributors: Beans, lentils, quinoa
Function:
Fat provides energy and essential fatty acids. Marine omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) are particularly important for skin health, neurological function, and inflammatory balance.
Amount:
Fat is often either overemphasized or unnecessarily restricted, depending on the conversation. Too little fat can reduce palatability, energy density, and not support a healthy skin barrier. Too much fat can dilute other nutrients and, in some dogs, contribute to gastrointestinal upset.
Fat also influences the overall caloric density of the diet, which in turn affects how much food is fed and how other nutrients are delivered.
Sources:
Dogs require the fatty acid linoleic acid (LA), which is an omega-6 fatty acid. Reliable sources of LA include poultry fat, sunflower oil, safflower oil, and canola oil.
Some commonly used fats are not meaningful sources of linoleic acid. These include olive oil, coconut oil, and fish oil (including salmon oil). Fish oil plays an important role. It provides omega-3 fatty acids, not omega-6s like linoleic acid. These are not interchangeable.
A Note on "Seed Oils":
There is a growing narrative, largely coming from the human wellness space, that seed oils are inherently harmful. That claim does not translate well to veterinary nutrition. Seed oils are one of the most practical and reliable ways to provide linoleic acid in a controlled and measurable amount. When used appropriately within a balanced diet, they are not harmful to dogs.
If you prefer to avoid them, that’s a personal choice. It does make formulation more complex. Alternative fat sources will need to be selected carefully to ensure linoleic acid requirements are still being met without pushing total fat intake too high.
Function:
Supplements play a crucial role in transforming a home-prepared meal into a nutritionally complete diet. This is the component that most homemade diets are missing.
Even thoughtfully selected whole ingredients rarely supply sufficient calcium, iodine, zinc, copper, and several other micronutrients required for long-term nutritional balance. The nutrient content of whole foods can vary widely depending on how they are grown, husbandry, processing, the soil, and other many factors.
Studies evaluating homemade recipes have repeatedly shown that most are nutritionally incomplete when analyzed against established nutrient requirements.
Dogs require more than 40 essential nutrients to maintain health. These include amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. Each nutrient plays a specific role in physiological function. If even one essential nutrient is chronically deficient, health problems can develop over time. This is not just in theory. Veterinarians and veterinary nutritionists are seeing more illness caused by unbalanced diets due to the increasing popularity of homemade diets. This is why we use the term “complete and balanced diet".
A complete diet provides all essential nutrients in appropriate amounts and ratios. Both of which are important. Cooking at home does not eliminate these requirements. It simply transfers the responsibility for meeting them from a commercial manufacturer to the person preparing the meals. Understanding this distinction is essential. A balanced homemade diet includes several core components.
| Nutrient | Function | Natural Sources in Pet Food | Synthetic / Supplemental Forms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium | Supports skeletal structure and muscle contraction | Eggshell powder, bone meal, dairy products, meat | Calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate, calcium citrate |
| Phosphorus | Interacts with calcium; supports energy metabolism | Meat, poultry, fish, bone meal | Dicalcium phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, sodium phosphate, bone phosphate |
| Potassium | Supports nerve and muscle function, fluid balance | Meat, fish, potatoes, leafy greens | Potassium chloride |
| Sodium | Maintains fluid balance and nerve transmission | Meat, poultry, broths | Sodium chloride (salt) |
| Magnesium | Supports bone structure and enzyme function | Meat, whole grains, leafy greens | Magnesium oxide, magnesium sulfate, magnesium proteinate |
| Chloride | Supports fluid balance and stomach acid production | Meat, poultry | Sodium chloride, potassium chloride |
| Iron | Supports oxygen transport via hemoglobin | Red meat, organ meats (especially liver, spleen) | Ferrous sulfate, ferrous fumarate, iron proteinate, reduced iron |
| Copper | Supports connective tissue, red blood cell formation, and pigment | Liver, shellfish | Copper sulfate, copper proteinate, copper amino acid chelate |
| Manganese | Supports bone and cartilage formation, enzyme function | Whole grains, leafy greens, mussels | Manganese sulfate, manganese oxide, manganese proteinate |
| Zinc | Supports immune function, wound healing, skin and coat | Meat, oysters, poultry | Zinc sulfate, zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, zinc amino acid chelate |
| Iodine | Supports thyroid hormone synthesis | Kelp, iodized salt, seafood | Potassium iodide, calcium iodate |
| Selenium | Supports antioxidant defense and thyroid function | Meat, eggs, seafood | Sodium selenite, sodium selenate, selenium yeast (organic form) |
Note: Synthetic forms listed reflect ingredients commonly found on pet food labels. Chelated/proteinated minerals (e.g., zinc proteinate, copper proteinate) are organically bound forms that may offer improved bioavailability. Selenium yeast is the organic form of selenium and differs from inorganic sodium selenite/selenate. Always evaluate supplement sources in the context of the complete diet and the individual animal's needs.
Recipes
Homemade diets have grown significantly in popularity. With that growth has come an expanding market of software tools and apps designed to help pet owners and veterinary practices formulate and "balance" recipes at home. The intention is good. The execution varies enormously. Not all diet formulation software is created equal, and the difference matters. A recipe that appears balanced on screen is only as reliable as the nutritional database and methodology behind the software generating it.
The gold standard formulation tools used by veterinary nutrition professionals, Balance IT, Concept 5, and MixIT Winn, have been developed with rigorous nutritional databases, are grounded in the peer-reviewed literature, and are the benchmarks against which any other formulation tool should be measured. Some newer tools have been built primarily within the raw feeding or fresh feeding communities, tested internally by the companies that created them, and have not been independently validated against these established industry standards.
A recipe that balances on paper within one of these platforms may not hold up when evaluated against the broader veterinary nutrition literature. The animal eating that food has no way to flag the discrepancy until a health problem emerges.
These are not adversarial questions. They are the same questions a responsible clinician should welcome. A veterinarian who has done their due diligence will be able to answer them. The goal is not to discourage homemade feeding because it can absolutely be done well, but to ensure that the tool being used to support it has been held to a standard rigorous enough to protect the animal eating the result.
The below recipes have been formulated by veterinary nutritionist, Dr. Danielle Conway. These recipes are designed to be prepared using gentle cooking methods. We understand some pet parents prefer to feed raw. If you choose to feed the ingredients raw rather than cooked, review the safety instructions below.
A gently cooked diet refers to meals prepared from fresh ingredients that are lightly cooked before feeding. The purpose of cooking in this context is not simply “nutrient preservation.” Cooking serves several practical functions in homemade diets:
arrow_rightCooking helps reduce microbial risk
Raw meats can carry bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli. While healthy adult dogs may tolerate some bacterial exposure, food safety still matters.
Dogs may come into contact with children, elderly individuals, or immunocompromised people both within and outside of their household.
arrow_rightCooking changes food chemistry in ways that can improve digestibility
Heat denatures proteins, unfolding their structure so digestive enzymes can break them apart more efficiently. Starches gelatinize during cooking, which allows digestive enzymes to access carbohydrate molecules more easily.
In effect, cooking begins the digestive process outside the body. For some dogs, particularly those with sensitive gastrointestinal systems, this can make cooked foods easier to digest and may improve nutrient extraction.
arrow_rightCooking methods can influence the formation of certain compounds created during heating
While research in dogs is still emerging, cooking techniques that use lower temperatures and higher moisture levels tend to produce fewer of these compounds.
The key idea behind gently cooked diets is moderation: cooking food thoroughly enough for safety and digestibility while keeping the more delicate functional aspects of foods intact.
One of the most common myths in pet nutrition discussions is the claim that cooking destroys nutrients. This belief often circulates in raw feeding communities, but the reality is more nuanced.
What We Know:
Cooking does change nutrients, but change does not automatically mean destruction. Those quick to vilifying heating foods, forget that there is a wide range of cooking methods and temperatures.
Heat denatures proteins and softens plant fibers, often improving digestibility. Cooking starches increases carbohydrate availability by gelatinizing starch molecules.
Some heat-sensitive vitamins, particularly certain B vitamins, may decrease with prolonged cooking. However, many essential nutrients are highly stable during normal cooking. An experienced formulator makes adjustments to the recipe/formula to account for these losses.
Minerals such as calcium, zinc, copper, and iron cannot be destroyed by cooking because they are elements. Fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A and vitamin D are also relatively heat stable.
The Bottom Line:
In most homemade diets, nutrient deficiencies arise not because food was cooked, but because the diet was never properly formulated to begin with. The cooking method matters far less than nutrient balance.
What We Know:
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) form through a chemical reaction called the Maillard reaction, which occurs when sugars react with proteins or fats during heating. This reaction is responsible for the browning and flavor development seen in many cooked foods.
Research in human nutrition has explored potential links between high dietary AGE intake and oxidative stress or inflammation. However, the relationship between dietary AGEs and health outcomes in dogs remains an emerging area of study.
AGE formation is often oversimplified as simply a function of cooking temperature. In reality, several factors influence AGE formation: cooking temperature, cooking time, moisture content, fat content, ingredient composition, and cooking method.
Dry, high-temperature cooking methods tend to produce higher levels of AGEs than moist cooking methods. We also know that certain cheeses and other foods that are fresh can contain high levels of AGES regardless of heat exposure and processing.
The Bottom Line:
At present, the veterinary nutrition field continues to study this area, and definitive conclusions regarding dietary AGEs in dogs have not yet been established. An unbalanced diet is more dangerous to your dog than AGEs.
COMMON MISTAKES
Calcium Balance in Homemade Diets
One of the most common nutritional mistakes in homemade dog diets involves calcium. Muscle meats such as chicken, beef, and turkey contain high levels of phosphorus but very little calcium. Feeding large amounts of meat without a calcium source creates a severe imbalance in the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of the diet.
Over time, this imbalance can lead to a condition known as nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism, in which the body pulls calcium from bones to maintain normal blood calcium levels. This results in broken bones, mineralization of soft tissues and damage to tissues and organs.
When pet parents learn that calcium is necessary, the natural instinct may be to assume that adding extra calcium provides additional protection. In nutrition, however, more is not automatically better.
Excessive calcium intake can interfere with the absorption of other minerals such as zinc and magnesium and may contribute to skeletal abnormalities in growing dogs. Balanced nutrition requires appropriate amounts rather than maximal amounts.
Bone meal is sometimes used as a calcium source in homemade diets. However, bone meal also contains phosphorus in proportions similar to natural bone. Adding bone meal therefore increases both calcium and phosphorus simultaneously, which may not correct the underlying imbalance created by meat-heavy diets.
For this reason, bone meal is often not the most effective stand-alone calcium solution. Calcium sources commonly used in homemade diets include calcium carbonate or carefully measured eggshell powder, which provide calcium without additional phosphorus.
Calcium metabolism is influenced by multiple other nutrients. Vitamin D regulates calcium absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. Magnesium contributes to bone structure and mineral metabolism. Phosphorus interacts directly with calcium in skeletal balance. Electrolytes influence systemic acid-base balance, which can affect mineral regulation.
Because nutrients interact with one another, adjusting one nutrient in isolation can create unintended imbalances elsewhere in the diet. This interconnectedness is one of the reasons diet formulation is more complex than simply choosing ingredients.
Removing Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are often removed from diets based on the assumption that they are unnecessary. What often gets lost in that decision is everything that comes with them:
Vegetables and fruits are carbohydrates
Fiber is a carbohydrate
Many microbiome-supportive compounds come from carbohydrate-containing foods
Antioxidants come from carbohydrates
Eliminating carbohydrates without replacing those contributions can shift the diet in unintended ways, often increasing reliance on fat or protein to fill the gap.
Carbohydrates help create balance in the diet. They provide a way to supply energy without pushing fat excessively high or protein beyond what is needed. Including them can have some very practical side effects too:
- High-protein diets can increase nitrogen excretion in urine, which contributes to lawn burn. Using carbohydrates as an energy source can help reduce that effect in some dogs.
- Carbohydrates can also help keep diets more cost-effective without sacrificing nutritional integrity.
Having no carbohydrates in the diet entirely is not automatically an upgrade. Using them intentionally is what makes the difference.
“Synthetic” vs “Natural” Vitamins
Another common concern among pet parents preparing homemade diets is the idea that synthetic vitamins are inferior to nutrients found naturally in food. From a biological perspective, nutrients are defined by their chemical structure rather than their origin.
Vitamin C from an orange and vitamin C produced through laboratory synthesis are chemically identical molecules. Once absorbed, the body cannot distinguish between them.
The same principle applies to many vitamins and minerals used in nutrition. Supplements allow nutritionists to provide nutrients in precise, predictable amounts when whole foods alone cannot reliably supply them. Without supplementation, most homemade diets become deficient in several trace minerals and vitamins over time.
The purpose of supplementation is not to replace whole foods. It is to ensure that the final diet meets the animal’s nutritional requirements. Cells respond to chemistry, not marketing language.
SAFETY
Sourcing of Meats
Homemade raw feeding presents all of the challenges of commercial raw, and then adds several more. When buying pre-made commercial raw pet foods, the FDA has a "zero tolerance policy" for pathogenic bacteria. Foods you purchase at the grocery store or butcher for homemade diets are regulated by USDA, which allows certain amounts of food-borne pathogens on raw meats since cooking eliminates them.
If you're feeding a homemade raw diet to your dog, there is no such "kill-step" in place. Where the meat comes from is one of the most meaningful variables in the safety of a homemade raw diet, and one of the least discussed. Not all raw meat carries the same contamination risk.
A skilled butcher who carefully removes the intestinal tract intact without rupturing it dramatically reduces the opportunity for fecal bacteria to contaminate the surrounding muscle meat. Intestinal contents are the primary reservoir of pathogens like Salmonella and Campylobacter in livestock. When the gut is breached during processing, contamination spreads.
Animals raised in clean, low-stress environments with adequate space, appropriate husbandry, and regular veterinary care tend to carry lower pathogen burdens than those raised in crowded or high-stress conditions without consistent health oversight.
A pet parent who sources meat directly from a small farm with transparent animal husbandry practices, or from a butcher they know and trust, is operating in a meaningfully different risk environment than one purchasing from anonymous bulk sources.
This does not make any raw meat inherently safe. No sourcing decision eliminates the need for proper food handling, but it is a variable that thoughtful sourcing can genuinely influence. Knowing where your meat comes from is not just a value statement. In the context of raw feeding, it is a biosafety consideration.
Safe Handling at Home
Homemade raw feeding requires consistent attention to food safety practices that go beyond typical home cooking habits. The following are the minimum standards for responsible raw food handling at home:
Handle raw meat on surfaces that are thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after each use. Wash hands thoroughly after handling raw meat and after handling food bowls.
Keep raw food refrigerated or frozen until use. Thaw only in the refrigerator or microwave. Never at room temperature.
Refrigerate or discard unused portions immediately after feeding. Do not leave raw food in the bowl between meals.
Wash food and water bowls after every meal. Plastic bowls require particular attention. Surface scratches can harbor bacteria even after routine washing. Stainless steel or ceramic bowls are easier to sanitize reliably.
Dispose of packaging, bones, and unused food carefully to prevent cross-contamination.
Minimize direct contact between raw food, food bowls, and children, elderly household members, or immunocompromised individuals. This includes limiting face licking from pets immediately after they have eaten raw food.
Monitoring
Even well-designed diets should be monitored over time. Being proactive is the best way to ensure health. Vets often recommend periodic wellness exams and routine bloodwork for dogs eating homemade diets. Monitoring may include body weight, body condition score, muscle mass, skin and coat health, and routine laboratory testing. Nutrition is not static. As dogs age or develop medical conditions, dietary adjustments may become necessary.
HOMEMADE DIET DRIFT
Homemade diet drift is the term for the gradual, often unintentional deviation from the original formulated recipe as ingredients are substituted, measuring practices become less precise, or portions shift over time. Drift is a documented and meaningful source of nutritional risk over time.
Periodic review of the actual feeding practice against the original formulation, and updated nutritional analysis when ingredients change, are important parts of responsible long-term homemade feeding. If you are making your dog’s food at home you should schedule rechecks to ensure you are not accidentally causing diet drift and to ensure the recipe is still appropriate for your dog.
arrow_rightReferences
AAFCO. 2023. Official Publication of the Association of American Feed Control Officials.
Freeman LM et al. 2006. Nutritional modulation of disease in dogs and cats. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
Hand MS et al. 2010. Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 5th Edition.
Larsen JA et al. 2012. Evaluation of recipes for home-prepared diets. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
National Research Council. 2006. Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats.
Stockman J et al. 2013. Evaluation of recipes for home-prepared maintenance diets for dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Swanson KS et al. 2002. Dietary fiber and gastrointestinal health in dogs. Journal of Animal Science.
Uribarri J et al. 2010. Advanced glycation end products in foods. Journal of the American Dietetic Association.