Everyone has their own opinion, and are entitled to it. I feed raw for a reason, and have done a lot of reading on the issue. I have based my opinions on that, and I will always go by that... Others may not agree, and I know some of the things re. this, a lot of people won't agree with me... I have my opinions though, and stick by them.

I don't think this thread should be turned into a raw debate, it's not what the original question was I very much believe in feeding what suits the dog, be it raw, kibble or homecooked.

Ditto I wholeheartedly concur

But this thread is not about raw food and it benefits.


It is about home cooked diets. I'm not sure why a few people are posting that they disagree with home cooked diets as the original query I posted is specifically asking those who DO give home cooked food for THEIR help.

There are plenty of threads expounding the benefits of raw. This is not one of them

Thank you, very well said.

So you are saying that every and any dog will thrive on a raw diet if it is done properly...?

Sorry but that is simply not the case. No ONE diet suits ALL dogs.

I'm not sure its that though. I think when people look into feeding raw they generally read a lot, speak to others, deal with raw meat suppliers etc, before making 'the switch' There are also vets who advocate the way of raw feeding and will give support and advice etc

So there are some sort of reasons to explain WHY they feed raw, in terms of not only their dogs enjoying their food but also in visible and known health benefits etc etc.

But in my experience the only sort of answers you recieve when asking someone who home cooks for their dog why they do tends to be; My parents done it, my dog likes it etc

I actually think the owners like it the most

So I don't think its a case of anyone saying one type of diet suits all dogs and owners better etc.

I just find it harder to understand WHY people home cook for healthy dogs, thats all. It's not 'downing' one way or another, just asking WHY.

For example; If someone cooked some eggs and rice and chicken for the dogs dinner. I would think well my dog can easily digest eggs and chicken without cooking and does not require grains, so why bother? I'd just give him chicken mince and an egg. Or a chicken and an egg, you get my drift

If you see what I mean?

Thinking back I think the only meals I have cooked for dogs are; boiled rice and chicken, porridge and egg, scrambled egg and rice, canned tuna and rice, liver and rice, white fish and rice.

In fairness if a dog does not do well on chicken but its the first thing the dog has been getting fed, many people may say it didnt work. Or someone may add too many different, new foods too soon and upset the dogs tum, or not feed enough bone hence loose poo's, or feed too much hence teh dog gets constipated.

The beauty of both raw feeding and home-cooking is that it is NOT ONE diet. It is the diet as the owner tailors it. In my case if I was just starting out and fed a diet of beef and heart, it would be a disater but equally, a diet of homecooked beef would be as bad and commercial food with mixed fats/beef etc, again disaster. Feeding raw I can avoid feeding certain ingredients and know for certain that he has not ingested certain foods, without relying on patchy labelling etc

I agree that both raw and home cooking can be very flexible and can work well for that reason.

You were asking why some people favour home cooking - in my case it's because the tray of wet dog food my Lab has every day is just not enough. I won't feed kibble, and though he does get some raw meat, when he was on totally raw for a while he had a constant upset stomach and also gobbled the food so fast it was alarming.

I did a lot of research before putting him on raw, weeks and weeks of reading in fact.

He still enjoys a few meals of raw meat each week, but he also seems to do very well with a home cooked meal almost every day, in addition to the tray of wet dog food.

I also think it's worth remembering that dogs survived on our (cooked) left overs for quite a long time prior to the advent of 'pet food', so some people would argue they are just as well suited to cooked food as to raw.

I think it actually needs to be a balance of what suits the dog, but also the owner, so that it can be best for the dog in the long run (if you know what I mean )