Making Dog Food

How You Make Dry Dog Food

Making dog food can be done at home or in a factory. Here you'll learn how to make dry dog food in your kitchen, its almost the same way as commercial dog food is done.

There is nothing wrong with buying dry dog food. But it does not harm for you to understand the basics of how to prepare your own, just in case you need to do so at some point. Perhaps you need some alternative food in dog training or you just want to try it for the fun of it.

So why should you make dry dog food from home?

There are several great reasons for making dog food yourself.

The first and probably most important, is that you know exactly what ingredients go into the mixture, so you can tailor make a kibble that you know your dog will like.

Another benefit is that you can save some money in the process.

Buying dry dog food off the shelf can get pretty pricey since the manufacturers have to factor in their overheads such as staff costs, something that you can circumvent if preparing the food from home.

What's more most if not all of the ingredients you need to make dry dog food can be found in your kitchen.

Some Considerations - Making Dog Food

Nutrient content in your dog's food is vital.

Therefore, make sure that the dry dog food you prepare contains sources of protein such as meat, in addition to vitamin sources like vegetables, and finally minerals and fat.

While it is important that you know exactly what to include when making dog food, it is also critical that you note foods that you should never give to your dog.

Examples of foods you must never have in your dog's diet include chocolate, grapes, raisins, garlic, onions, concentrated sugars and processed fat.

Basic Home Made Dog Food Recipe

Now for the basic recipe for making dog food, dry:

• 3-4 eggs, depending on size
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 ½ cups liquid (milk, water, broth)
• 6 cups of any combination of flours
• 1 cup of powdered milk

The process

Gradually mix all the ingredients until you have a thick dough similar to that a bread dough.

Place the dough on a cookie sheet, slot into the oven, set a temperature of 350 F (160 C) and allow cook for about 45 minutes.

After the 45 minutes, remove the now ready dog food from the oven and allow it to cool after which you can break it up into bite size pieces.

That is it!

To make the food more appealing to your dog you may want to add some pureed meat, vegetables or cheese.

How Dog Food is Factory Made

Now. that you know how easy it is to prepare dog food from home, it is easier to understand the process that takes place at the factory.

Most manufacturers of dry dog food use a method known as extrusion.

Actually, extrusion has been the leading technique for making dog for more than sixty years and was in itself borrowed from the process used in manufacturing puffed cereal.

The ingredients used are similar to what can be used at home but at a larger scale.

The ingredients will also vary from one type of dog food brand to another.

As with making dog food from home, the ingredients are ground and mixed to form a rich dough.

This dough is then processed through a heater before it moves into an extruder where a combination of heat and high pressure is used to grind the dough into small morsels.

This kibble pieces are then dried and coated with appropriate flavor before they are packaged and distributed to wholesale and retail stores.

Overall, the process of making dog food is quite simple. In princip no difference between doing it at home and in the factory. Only scale and machinery (and some of the ingredients).

Whether you make dry dog food from home or buy it off the shelf, it is important that you balance what your dog seems to prefer with the food that contains the most appropriate nutrients.

This recipie is perhaps best as snaks or in dog training.

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