Cooking For Your Pet: Master Class

Dog food: it might be the single most sensitive topic in the exam room, the “American politics” of pet care. The number of dog owners I meet who are preparing their pet’s meals from scratch is on the rise, and those people usually have pretty strong opinions on the subject. A few do it because they have no other choice, but the vast majority believe their dog will be happier or healthier if their meals are prepared in the kitchen. Whether that’s true or not, there are a number of well-concealed pitfalls in home-cooking a pet diet.

Of course you are aware that some human foods are toxic to dogs. Do you have access to a complete, unabridged, factually accurate and up-to-date list of those foods? Some human foods are only dangerous in higher quantities: for example, while salmon and liver have valuable nutritional benefits, too much of either can result in vitamin and mineral poisoning for your pet. Do you know how much is too much?

Time and time again, studies have demonstrated that the recipes humans prepare in their home kitchens are incorrectly balanced for long-term canine consumption. This is where the chefs start to get their hackles up, but there is really no reason to be insulted. Just like plumbing, automobile engine repair, and neurosurgery, there is no reason for you to think you could perform this task perfectly without the proper training. Yes, even if you spent a few hours on YouTube! Nowadays, there is an eager audience of home cooks seeking advice on serving human-grade foods to their pets, and, unfortunately, anyone who cares to invest the time can come along like the pied piper and lead them astray. As with anything else you find on the internet, information is only as good as its source.

It is important to get this right! Poorly balanced nutrition is most damaging for growing puppies but remains important throughout the entire lifespan. Younger animals usually suffer from growth defects such as softer bones or painful, permanent joint damage. In later years, nutritional illness is more insidious and might remain invisible for months to years. That chronological disconnect can really obscure the diagnosis for general veterinarians, who are not specially trained in balancing diets and identifying nutrition-related health problems.

Luckily, there are specialists out there, available to you online, who can help at the outset to get you on a safe path. You will recognize these people by the letters after their name, “ACVN” (American College of Veterinary Nutrition) or “ACVIM(Nutrition).” They will tell you right off that a dog requires three times more calcium than a human but that it has to be fine-tuned against the phosphorus level of the diet. They’ll explain that olive oil is worse for your dog than corn oil even though it’s more expensive. They can make a legitimate canine chef out of you by formulating a safe, tasty recipe, tailored to your pet’s breed, age, and pre-existing health conditions. Cooking for your pet is a healthy and wholesome pursuit, as long as you’ve sought guidance from a genuine expert.

Dr M.S. Regan