Healthy Dog Recipes

When thinking of dog recipes, most people think of cooked homemade dog food. However, there is a lot of variety in dog food recipes that include raw dog food diets, natural organic dog food, and more.

You can purchase raw dog food from a retail store. Normally this type of dog food is available in specialty pet stores. The raw dog foods are usually sold in frozen form.

The American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) are in charge of the regulations of commercial dog foods sold in the United States; check your country and region to see if raw food for dogs is managed and controlled. Because of the AAFCO, most raw dog foods sold commercially can claim to be balanced and complete.

There are also commercial grain and supplement mixes available specifically for a dog's diet. These mixes are to be added to purchased raw foods. As with the commercially sold raw dog foods, these supplements are subject to the regulation of the AAFCO and claim to provide enough nutrients (when added to a high value protein) for a balanced meal for your pet.

Make sure you look for the AAFCO labeling and certification in you are in the United States, and if outside of the U.S., that you know and understand the appropriate regulations for animal food in your country.

Raw dog food recipes are simple and consist of raw foods that you provide and put together. There are many books and websites available that give raw diet recipes.

You need to make sure when you feed your dog a raw food recipe that you are feeding them a well balanced meal. All raw dog food recipes and diets need to include protein and carbohydrates.

Because you are not subject to the AAFCO for providing homemade dog food, you are responsible for making sure that the foods provide all the nutrients needed daily for your dog.

Ian Billinghurst from Australia has created a popular homemade raw food diet for dogs. In his recipes he lists bones, raw meat, and organs as well as dairy, grains and vegetables. His dog recipes are known as BARF (bones and raw food).

If your dog is a picky eater, or has food allergy and/or digestive problems, make sure to you manage your pet's diet carefully. When adding new foods to your dog's diet or when changing from cooked to raw foods, start small and don't mix with other new foods.

Watch carefully for at least two to three weeks to see if there is any reaction (sometimes there is an immediate reaction to the food, other times it can take a number of weeks before you see a bad reaction.)

Provide your dog with a herbal supplement that will help balance stomach or digestion issues, we recommend PetAlive Digestive Support which is a herbal remedy developed to treat digestive system problems in pets and is FDA approved.

Return to the Top of Dog Recipes.

Return to Raw Dog Food.

Return from Dog Recipes to The Dog Biscuit Home Page.