Why Homemade Pet Diets Require Balance to Be Beneficial
I frequently address concerns about commercial pet foods, from questionable ingredients to occasional recalls. Many pet owners turn to homemade diets as a perceived safer alternative, seeking control over their dog or cat’s nutrition. However, homemade diets are only beneficial when meticulously balanced. An unbalanced homemade diet can pose risks as severe as—or worse than—the issues associated with the commercial foods owners aim to avoid.
Pets require a precise combination of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals to maintain optimal health. Commercial pet foods, despite their flaws, are formulated to meet standards set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), ensuring minimum nutrient requirements are met (as discussed in my April 17, 2025, blog). Homemade diets place the responsibility of achieving this balance on the owner. Without proper formulation, deficiencies or excesses can occur. For instance, a patient in my practice, a Labrador Retriever, developed skeletal issues due to a calcium-deficient homemade diet—a preventable condition that caused significant distress.
The risks of an unbalanced homemade diet mirror the concerns often raised about commercial foods. Owners wary of nutrient deficiencies in low-quality kibble may inadvertently create similar gaps with homemade meals lacking essential nutrients like zinc, vitamin D, or taurine. These deficiencies can lead to compromised immunity, cardiac issues, or neurological disorders. For example, insufficient taurine in a cat’s diet can result in dilated cardiomyopathy, a life-threatening heart condition. In my experience, unbalanced homemade diets have caused dermatological issues, unintended weight loss/gain, and bone disease—outcomes as detrimental as those from subpar commercial products.
To ensure a homemade diet is beneficial, balance is paramount. Collaboration with a veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist is essential to develop recipes tailored to a pet’s specific needs, considering factors such as age, breed, and activity level. For dogs, a balanced diet might include 30% high-quality protein (e.g., chicken or beef), 20% complex carbohydrates (e.g., sweet potato), 10% healthy fats (e.g., fish oil), and appropriate vegetables, supplemented with calcium and vitamins. Cats require higher protein (~50%) and specific nutrients like taurine, often sourced from organ meats. My Pet Food Scoring System™ (PSS™), detailed in my book, The Reasons We Feed, provides a framework for evaluating any diet, regardless of preperation, to achieve this balance. Without such precision, homemade diets risk replicating the nutritional shortcomings of poorly formulated commercial foods.
Pet owners must approach homemade diets with diligence to avoid unintended harm. To guide pet owners toward balanced nutrition, I strongly recommend viewing my recent video, linked below, which demonstrates how to utilize Balance.It to formulate homemade diets that approach the nutritional balance required for optimal health. While Balance It is a powerful tool, bringing diets closer to perfection, it falls short of the precision achieved by meticulously formulated commercial preparations, which undergo rigorous testing for consistency.
