Table of Contents
- My Favorite Books on Cooking for Dogs (which you should definitely try!)
- Home Cooking for Your Dog: 75 Holistic Recipes by Christine Filardi
- The Healthy Dog Cookbook by Jonna Anne
- Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook: Over 100 Treats by The Bubba Rose Biscuit Company
- Dog Obsessed: The Honest Kitchen's Complete Guide by Lucy Postins
- The Lucky Dog Weight Loss Plan by Vicky Marshall
- Food Pets Die For Shocking Facts About Pet Food by Ann N. Martin
- Give Your Dog a Bone by Ian Billinghurst
- Dinner PAWsible: A Cookbook for Cats and Dogs by Susan Thixton and Cathy Alinovi
- Cooking for Two: Your Dog & You! by Brandon Schultz
Here on Top Dog Tips, we love homemade recipes. And if you have finally decided to start cooking homemade meals for your dog as well, you might feel a little overwhelmed. Once you have thoroughly informed yourself of the safety rules, you are left with a dilemma: just what exactly do you make? The Internet is flush with dog food recipes and advice, and our list of favorite books on cooking for dogs would be a good starting place.
My Favorite Books on Cooking for Dogs (which you should definitely try!)
Home Cooking for Your Dog: 75 Holistic Recipes by Christine Filardi
This recipe book is filled with simple and practical recipes that you can easily prepare on a daily basis. Each recipe consists of a few simple ingredients, and they can be a great starting point for your weekly shopping list. What sets this book apart from others in a similar vein is that it starts out with useful information on what a canine diet should look like, which ingredients are good for dogs, and which ones should be avoided, as well as how much dogs should be fed. The book is beautifully illustrated with a combo of photos and art.
The Healthy Dog Cookbook by Jonna Anne
Another excellent cookbook, this one offers 50 recipes that will satisfy even the pickiest eaters. The author, Jonna Anne, an executive chef, has collaborated with a canine nutritionist and a veterinary editor in order to come up with dishes that will satisfy dogs’ dietary needs and appeal to their taste buds and sensitive sense of smell. The authors also take the time to explain important facts about supplements and address special dietary restrictions, such as allergies. You will also find menus customized inside depending on the breed and size of your pet.
Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook: Over 100 Treats by The Bubba Rose Biscuit Company
Perhaps you’re not ready to switch to homemade cooking completely, but you can at least start out with more wholesome treats. The treats in the book are soy, wheat, and corn-free, so even puppies with food sensitivities can enjoy them. Even though the book recommends using organic ingredients, each batch of treats still costs less than processed, store-bought ones. The best of all is that the instructions are clear and simple enough that even completely inexperienced bakers can tackle the recipes with success.
Dog Obsessed: The Honest Kitchen's Complete Guide by Lucy Postins
This book aims at those owners for whom their pet’s well-being is their first priority. What started out as an effort on the author’s part to ease her own dog’s chronic health issues has turned into a long-term exploration of human-grade cooking for dogs. The book is full not just of recipes and advice on handling chronic illnesses but also tips for special occasions such as holidays, picnics, and camping. Dog Obsessed also includes an extremely useful isolation diet that can be used to diagnose food sensitivities in dogs.
The Lucky Dog Weight Loss Plan by Vicky Marshall
Obesity among dogs is becoming a common problem that greatly affects their overall health. This book searches for the causes of the rampaging obesity epidemic and links it to processed foods. The author posits that there is a huge disparity between what wolves and wild dogs eat and what we feed our pets. Instead of putting our pets on restrictive diets and giving them smaller quantities of food, she argues that we should be aiming to give them food of a different quality – with much less bad fats and carbohydrates. This concise tome also proposes a simple but effective weight loss regime that focuses on meals that are quick and made with common ingredients.
Food Pets Die For Shocking Facts About Pet Food by Ann N. Martin
If you’re on the fence about whether to take the plunge and cook for your dog, this startling and, at times, scary book might just be the push you need. This thoroughly investigated book exposes some of the best-kept and most shocking secrets of the dog food industry – for instance, that most dog food producers conduct animal testing. The second part of the book is more conventional, with recipes and alternative diet suggestions.
Give Your Dog a Bone by Ian Billinghurst
A vet from Australia, Billinghurst, has been talking for decades about the benefits of feeding dogs raw foods. In fact, he is the man behind the unfortunately named but popular concept of the BARF diet (short for biologically appropriate raw food). Although his ideas were challenged in the beginning, nowadays, they are widely accepted. The book focuses on how to craft a raw food-based diet for your dog to satisfy all of his needs while saving money and time.
Dinner PAWsible: A Cookbook for Cats and Dogs by Susan Thixton and Cathy Alinovi
Ideal for pet parents who have both cats and dogs, Dinner PAWsible’s mission is to provide pet owners with recipes for both species. While some readers have complained that some of the ingredients the book calls for can be on the expensive side, it’s a well-researched collection of recipes that can serve as a basis for a varied and wholesome diet.
Cooking for Two: Your Dog & You! by Brandon Schultz
One of the reasons why a lot of people hesitate to cook for their dogs is because it seems like too much work when they already need to cook for themselves and their families. This book tries to address that issue by providing recipes for meals that you and your pooch can share. The author has actually adapted recipes for people by removing ingredients that could be harmful to dogs.
Great homemade dog food cookbooks are ultimately the ones that offer usable recipes that your pup will enjoy and that are healthy for the dog. They should also put emphasis on a good balance of ingredients and nutrients to ensure your pooch is receiving well-balanced meals.
READ NEXT: 21 Best Homemade Dog Food Books
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