The Pet Food Bible Blog

Thinking about feeding your pet a homemade diet? You’re not alone. Many pet owners today are concerned about the safety of commercial pet food or they simply want to offer their pet a variety at mealtime. Home-prepared diets may also offer additional nutritional benefits not found in commercial foods.

Feeding your pet a homemade diet can be very beneficial if done correctly and for the right reasons. However, there’s so much bad advice on the Internet right now about homemade pet food. It really worries me. Pet owners with good intentions may be doing their pet a disservice by following the advice of misinformed and uneducated individuals.

Feeding a homemade diet is only for the most dedicated of pet owners. Some people say that cooking for your pet is a “no-brainer”. Other people say that cooking for your pet is a very complicated and labor-intensive process.

Honestly, I’ve been intrigued by the thought of feeding my pets a homemade diet. I don’t think it’s quite as complicated as many people would have you believe. But on the flip side, you do need to know what you’re doing. And there’s more to it than just throwing a bunch of ingredients together that seem yummy to you. Dogs and cats simply have different nutrient requirements. It also seems that many of us are not making good choices for ourselves and our families when it comes to nutrition. So how can we be expected to make good choices for our pets?

Some people will say, “Oh the pet food companies want you to think that formulating a pet’s diet is complicated so you buy their food.” A little part of that might be true, but I’ve read case studies and seen what happens to some pets that aren’t being fed properly with home-prepared food.

No matter who you listen to, there are a few important factors to take into consideration before embarking on this path. Before getting started I’d recommend asking yourself a few questions and answering them honestly.

I start with one question today, and post some more as the week goes on.

Am I willing to invest the time and money necessary to prepare my pet’s meals?

The bottom line is: cooking for your pet requires more time and money on your part. Think about how much time and money you spend preparing meals for yourself and your human family. Are you willing to do this for your pet too?

Careful consideration must be made when selecting recipes, shopping for ingredients, and choosing supplements. It’s not as easy as searching online for a recipe. The majority of recipes you find for free on the Internet are inadequate when fed for long periods of time and are not formulated by someone trained in veterinary nutrition.

A pet owner should only consider recipes that have been formulated and balanced by veterinarians trained specifically in the field of animal nutrition. Spending a little extra money to have recipes formulated for your pet’s unique nutritional requirements is beneficial and provides peace of mind.

A group of veterinarians at http://www.petdiets.com offer such a service.

© 2007 Amanda K. Jones

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