Top 3 Tips on Cooking for your Dog

Thinking about getting started on cooking for your pup? You're not alone! More and more pet parents are taking to the kitchen to whip up custom meals for their dogs in lieu of store bought food. Whether your pup is itchy and allergy-prone, picky or you just want to offer them a delicious variety that benefits their health, here are the top tips to consider as you get going.

1. Use a supplement 

It's important that each meal you make for your dog contains the appropriate levels of vitamins, minerals and amino acids in order to sustain their best health over time. This means you can't just 'wing it' and feed random foods to your dog and call it a day. Using a supplement in conjunction with properly formulated fresh food recipes ensures they're getting the right balance of nutrition in every bite. 

2. Choose properly-formulated recipes

Not all dog food recipes are created equal. The simplest approach to finding a "good" dog food recipe is to pick those that are crafted by formulation experts or veterinary nutritionists. This will ensure your dog's food was created by a canine nutrition expert with AAFCO nutrition guidelines in mind. [Ready to jump in? Opal's free "guide to cooking for dogs" includes a simple starter recipe - get it here]

3. Start with taste-testing

Worried your pup won't like certain foods? A great way to experiment and learn their favorites is to try small pieces of safe and healthy fresh foods as snacks throughout the day. Small pieces of fresh fruit (watermelon, banana, strawberries), firm tofu, a few rinsed canned chickpeas, or steamed and sliced carrot rounds are a great place to start!