The massive pet food recall of early 2007 scared the willies out of most pet owners. One of our worst nightmares had come true. Some responded by feeding other brands of food. Others responded by making their own dog food recipes and being chef to their dogs. The argument for making your own dog food recipes is that you have total control over what ingredients go into your dog's dinner bowl. But you might wind up only making things worse for you and your dog.

The Complexities Of Canine Nutrition

Think of how difficult it is to feed yourself a healthy diet. Scientists and nutritionists still can't decide what the best diet is for people, let alone for dogs. All animals, including dogs, have complex nutritional needs that need to be addressed. For example, your body can't make Vitamin C, so you need to eat foods that contain Vitamin C. Your dog, however, makes Vitamin C all by himself, thank you very much. So adding any Vitamin C would be a mistake.

Vets caution owners against cooking up their own dog food recipes for Fido for many reasons. The first, is that you need to be aware of the ratios of protein, carbohydrates, vegetables and fats your dog needs. Secondly, this changes as the dog ages or develops any illnesses. Can you do the research and keep up with these changes and make sure your dog food recipes have exactly the right proportion of nutrients?

Practical Considerations

Another reason vets caution against pet owners cooking up their own dog food recipes is that most people are lazy and stupid. Cooking for your dog takes a lot of hard work, money for the best ingredients and dedication. Sadly, most people are not capable of this, due to natural laziness or perhaps an illness like advanced arthritis.

Commercial dog food is actually healthier for you than most people food. This is one reason why some low income and homeless people turn to pet food in order to survive. Some brands are better for you and your dog than others. And the nutrients are more or less balanced for dogs.

If you start cooking dog food recipes for your dog, get used to it and be committing to cooking meals for your dog every day of your dog's life. Once they get used to people food, they can really put up a fuss about going back to dog food.