Chef Jason Hill may be able to stir up a decent guacamole, but his YouTube video recipe for homemade dog food left me scratching my head. I don’t think Jason has any mal intent by posting something he believes to be ‘Vet Approved,’ though with nearly 50,000 views and hundreds of misinformed comments, I felt it necessary to take a moment and explain why some ingredients and diets could be harmful to your pet.

Jason mentions that the pet food recall a couple years ago caused a surge in do-it-yourself diets for dogs, but he did not mention any of the ill effects that veterinarians saw as many owners made the switch with the best of intentions. Dental disease from lack of hard foods, obesity, malnutrition, and nutrient deficiencies are all problems that veterinarians saw across the country from owners who thought they were helping their pet by cooking homemade food.

While some homemade diets won’t necessarily hurt your dog, owners need to be cautious. For instance, owners should never feed a puppy homemade food. It is very difficult for puppies to get the nutrition they need early in order to grow strong and healthy. For instance, calcium and phosphorus need to be in a certain balance in order to promote healthy bone development, which is very hard to calculate in home-made meals.

Certain ingredients can be dangerous for dogs, if not deadly. In the video, the recipe calls for a pound of cooked ground beef, a cup of Monterrey Jack cheese, and a 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese – all of which can have high levels of fat content, and ingestion of fatty foods can cause pancreatitis in dogs. Pancreatitis can sometimes be caused by a single, sudden intake of fatty foods, and in some cases can cause death. Even if the cheese was fat free, 50% of the dog population is lactose intolerant, and ingestion of cheese could cause diarrhea and flatulence.

There is the note on the video about some dogs being allergic to Corn, which was undoubtedly added after some viewer comments. While adding whole kernel corn to the recipe isn’t a good idea, it isn’t because of allergy concerns. In fact, corn is among the least allergenic foods (along with rice), and accounts for less than 1% of all canine food allergies (top food allergens in dogs include chicken, beef, fish, wheat, and soy). The reason for not adding corn to the recipe is because whole-corn is difficult for a dog of any size to digest. In dog food, corn is prepared in a special way to make nutrients digestible.

Any sudden changes in a dogs diet (as a ‘special occasion’ food suggested in the video and in the comments) can cause vomiting and diarrhea – and as mentioned above, certain ingredients can be even more problematic than cleaning that spot on the new carpet.

Do your dog a favor: Feed them what YOUR veterinarian recommends, and for a special treat, stick with the name-brand biscuits from the store. Really want to treat your dog to something they’ll love and is really healthy? Take them for a walk.

 Here are some tips on controlling your pet’s weight: 

1)  Meal feed – feeding your pet in rationed portions 2 or 3 times a day can curb overeating and puts you in control of your pet’s calorie intake
2)  Read the back of the food bag – there is usually a chart that shows you how much your pet should eat in a day
3)  Keep a measuring cup in the bag/container – that way, you aren’t guessing about how much your pet eats
4)  Monitor treat intake – treats are often a part of interacting or training your pet, but keep track of how many your pet eats and decrease the amount of food you feed at mealtimes proportionally
5)  Don’t feed your pet people food – this is often the hardest part for most people (me too!).  Reserve people food for special times or only feed a few tastes if you can’t quite stop giving your pet its favorite people treats.
6)  Join petfit.com and contact your veterinarian to teach you how to “body condition score” your pet and other ways to help your pet stay healthy!