Ask a Vet: Should I Add Supplements to My Dog’s Home-cooked Meals?

Q. I have been feeding my dog home-cooked meals made of 80% meat and 20% fruits and vegetables. Should I add supplements to ensure that she gets everything she needs?

Dr. Brian Loon: It is great that you care about giving your dog a complete and balanced diet.

But, the diet that you have described is likely unbalanced.

It may surprise you that a study revealed that out of 200 recipes for dogs taken from the web and books, only 5 (2.5%) were balanced. The not so surprising fact is that veterinarians with advanced training in nutrition prepared those 5 recipes.

Nutrition is a complicated science. Just adding supplements to a home-cooked diet does not make it complete and balanced.

An unbalanced diet can cause gradual but significant undesirable health effects over time. Thus, it is essential that you get your dog’s home-cooked diet balanced from the start.

To do that, I strongly recommend for you to consult a certified veterinary nutritionist.

A good nutritionist will customise a recipe for your dog based on various factors, which include age, lifestyle, pre-existing medical conditions, as well as the ingredients that you want to use.

Examples of certified veterinary nutritionist specialists who provide online services are petdiets.com and petnutritionconsulting.com.

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