Five Reasons to Make Your Dog's Dinner

Although it's not about to happen around our house, Donald Strombeck's book cooks up nutritious recipes for your dog.

When he wrote Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets: The Healthful Alternative, Donald R. Strombeck, DVM, PhD, created one of the first-of-its-kind pet nutrition books. It went on to become a standard reference for veterinarians and those looking for an alternative to commercial pet food.

Once again the professor emeritus at the University of California School of Veterinary Medicine is breaking ground and demonstrating that his overriding concern is for the health of dogs and cats. When the first edition went out of print, the good doctor made all the information available free at dogcathomeprepareddiet.com.

So, why DIY? Here are a few simple reasons to homeprepare your dog’s food, according to Dr. Strombeck.

1. You can select and know the quality of the ingredients. Even when ingredients are listed on a commercial pet food label, you can’t verify the quality.
   
2. When you prepare food at home, you can avoid the risks of contamination by bacteria, fungi and chemicals, including ingredients added to produce the desired color, texture, shelf life and palatability.
   
3. You also avoid errors that can happen during any one of the many steps in the processing of commercial pet food including inadequate cooking and contamination from poorly cleaned equipment.
   
4. You won’t be being misled by claims of formulations being balanced and complete when they are not.
   
5. Doing it yourself gives you more control over special-needs diets. Commercial pet foods’ special diet claims often have no merit.