Homeade dog food questions

[Triplem]

Hello, I am new to owning a mini schnauzer. My puppy is still at the breeder only one week old. I am trying to do all the research I can on nutritional requirements so I can make my own food. I'm having a hard time finding meat/ carb/ vegetable ratios. I plan on using a multivitamin to cover calcium,magnesium, iron, zinc, vitamins a,b,c,d,e, and k. I plan on using organ meat and a mix of brown rice, sweet potato and vegetables but I can not find how much of each thing should be in my recipe for a properly balanced diet. Can anyone give me any tips?

[zeta1454]

Welcome to the Forum

That is a great idea to make your own dog food for your new mini schnauzer. However, I would be cautious about adding a multivitamin / mineral supplement as some of these nutrients are in a fine balance and too much of these can cause health issues. If you have good quality meat/fish/vegetables etc. these should supply most of the nutritional needs without supplementing. Vitamins and minerals are added to processed dog food because the naturally occurring nutrients can be destroyed by the processing especially with kibble made at excessively high temperatures. It might be worth looking to see if you can find a book of recipes online via Amazon or another outlet which may give you more advice on this as home prepared food for dogs is becoming more popular.

Hopefully someone on the Forum will be able to give you advice from experience but, if not, there are a couple of links below which may give you some guidance on recipes for home-made dog food. You may also find more online as well as possibly via a Facebook group if you are on FB - just search under ‘homemade dog food ‘

https://www.thesprucepets.com/homemade- ... es-5200240

https://stellanspice.com/balanced-dog-food/

[Dawnspell]

I know Lilys kitchen did a recipe book.

If it was me I would feed a high quality dog food for at least the first year to year and a half. Main reasons being you are going to have your hands full with a puppy anyway and making your food is an extra task. My previous dog had to have home cooked diet due to health reasons. It took a lot of work initially researching to get several recipes organised and was quite time consuming making it every week.

Also with a growing puppy I wouldnt want to mess up and miss out an essential nutrient for growth and development by being new to home cooking.

allaboutdogfood.co.uk it a good website to look through for food recommendations. It would be a good idea to have a cupboard back up supply of a food for emergencies. I feed freeze dried raw and semi moist kibbles which in turn also double up as part of his training treats.

[Rambuddy]

It's great that you're doing research to ensure your mini Schnauzer has a balanced diet! A good starting point for a homemade dog food recipe is to follow these general guidelines: 40% protein (meat, including organ meat), 50% carbohydrates (like brown rice and sweet potatoes), and 10% vegetables.

However, it's crucial to consult with a veterinarian or a pet nutritionist to ensure that the specific needs of your puppy are met and that the diet is properly balanced with the right vitamins and minerals. They can provide tailored advice and help you avoid nutritional deficiencies.