[Binkalete]

Ok, lets see if I am able to make this make any sense at all. When making dog food at home and aiming for certain percentages of protein, fat, carbs, do you go by percentage of calories, or percentage by weight?

For example: 88/12 ground beef, by calorie is 59% fat and 41% protein, but by weight, 88% lean protein and 12% fat.

So if I am aiming for a recipe to have 50% protein and 20% fat, which do I use?

 

[LeoRose]

Are you talking about feeding raw? Or feeding a home made cooked diet? If you are doing prey model raw, the usual percentages are 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organ meat.

 

[Binkalete]

Home cooked. The books offer a ballpark to shoot for with fat/protein/carbs, but don't specify if it's by calorie or weight.

 

[3GSD4IPO]

You still need to add bone for proper Ca/P ratio.

Be sure whatever you make also has the correct Vitamins and know that these are different for dogs than for humans or other animals.

 

[Binkalete]

You still need to add bone for proper Ca/P ratio.

Be sure whatever you make also has the correct Vitamins and know that these are different for dogs than for humans or other animals.

Yes. I am just concerned about if you are supposed to view percentages by calorie or weight.

 

[BigBlackDog]

Yes. I am just concerned about if you are supposed to view percentages by calorie or weight.

Ah, but you SHOULD BE VERY CONCERNED about making meals that are providing your dog with the balanced nutrition he needs to be healthy! Which, as others pointed out include bone and organ meats.

I get what your question is, and I don't have an answer. But don't neglect the dog's overall nutrition focusing only on the protein and fat ratios (however it's measured). It's very possible your well-intentioned home-cooked meals will cause your dog deformaties or deficiencies that will cause other issues as he grows. Taurine is essential, without it in adequate quantities the dog will die...

 

[storyist]

Just saying you want so much protein and so much fat isn't enough. You need to be aware of things like needs for calcium and phosphorus and that they need to be provided in balance. Then come the other nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium, etc.

There used to be forums for raw and cooked feeders. They've probably all moved to Facebook now, which I don't do, but I bet you can find them and get help there from people who feed those diets.

If you're the casual sort, you feed 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, and 10% organs (5% liver and 5% other secreting organs). Some add veggies, some don't. The meat needs to be varied.

If you're the compulsive, detailed oriented sort, you do a spreadsheet which has the needed amount of each nutrient, calculate how much of each nutrient (including fat and protein) each thing you feed provides, and come up with your diet that way. It only took me a few weeks. You can pay dog nutritionists to do that for you, of course, but you have to be careful they actually know what they say they do. I used Monica Segal's K9 Kitchen to get started.

There are also base mixes you can buy and and only provide the meat. They're even more expensive than doing a raw diet on your own, but they're easier and take the worry out of whether you're providing the right amount of every nutrient.