Are you beginning to run out of funds for your dogs feeding requirements? We cannot deny it”dog food is quite expensive. Moreover, as your dog grows bigger, his feeding needs intensify as well. And if you are one who has more than one dog to feed, the expenses could really be a pain in the ass.

Instead of feeding your dog these expensive commercial dog foods, you can make your dog homemade dog food. If you have never tried this before it’s really not that complicated, and quite simple to incorporate into the busiest of routines or schedules.

The first step is to compile a list of good dog food recipes. You can find plenty of enticing recipes on the internet that will keep your dog satisfied for years to come. The list of sites offering these recipes are almost endless. Listing them here would take too much time. It’s much easier for you to search on your own and find which of these recipes would be the right ones for your dog.

Simply type in the Keywords “dog food recipes” into the search box of any search engine and hundreds of listings will appear. You can narrow down those results by just being more specific with the type of keywords you use.

You can come across some interesting recipes while conducting your search. You can find homemade recipes for Wheat Puppy Crunch, Dogie Pretzels, Peanut Butter Treats and Dog Brownies. Some sound so good you may want to eat them yourself.

It doesn’t take a lot of money to feed your dog. Homemade dog food recipes are economical and at the same time are more nourishing. Your dog will be more alert and live longer.

Since the pet food recall of 2007 dog owners have been more aware of what they feed their dogs. Homemade dog food gives the dog owner more control over what their animals eat. Finding and compiling a collection of the right dog food recipes is the best way to maintain your dog properly fed. Visit www.onlinedogfoodrecipes.com to learn more about proper dog food nutrition.

The Association Of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) regulate and set standards for the pet food industry. AAFCO runs tests on the ingredients used in the preparation of pet food to assure that they meet certain nutritional guidelines. These guidelines have a rather wide range of acceptability due to the number of different qualities of pet foods. Therefore, having the AAFCO stamp of approval on a dog food label does not necessarily mean the food is good for our dogs.

One can quite easily get misinformed when reading a dog food label. Much of the information provided can be vague or misleading. In order for us to know what exactly it is that we are feeding our dogs, we must learn how to read what is on the label correctly. By doing so we can give our animals a more nutritious variety of foods.

Many of us are loyal to certain brands of dog food mostly because of the many marketing programs we have been subjected to. We think that we are buying a good product. However, many of us don’t know that if a product name has an ingredient in its name (beef chow,) then 95% of that products weight must be of that ingredient, if it is a dry food or 70% if it is a wet food product. If the label mentions the word dinner or formula (chicken dinner,) then 25% of the weight of that product must be of that ingredient.

Pet food labels list their ingredients by weight. Ingredients weighing the most are listed first. Taking the above example into consideration, a “dinner” labeled product will only contain 1/4 of the mentioned product. So even though the ingredient is part of the labeled product name it is not necessarily the main ingredient. Corn or bone meal is more than likely the main ingredient. Both these ingredients can be found in cheap discounted or generic brands.

Many labels don’t mention an ingredient in the product name. Instead the word “flavored” will be used. In this case there is no amount requirement for a percentage of an ingredient in the product. The product, with whatever ingredients are used, is just flavored with the taste of say chicken. “Natural” dog food is another word found on labels. All that this is stating is that no artificial colors or ingredients, and preservatives are being used. “Premium” dog food is worth mentioning because products using this word in their labels follow the AAFCO standards to the fullest and their products provide good nutritional value.

A sure fire way to find the best dog food products when reading the list of ingredients is to find the first fat ingredient such as “chicken fat.” All the ingredients before the fat source are the main part of that food product. The fewer the ingredients the better. All the other items on the list are used for flavoring or preserving the product. By finding where the fat source is listed we can then find ingredients that maybe harmful to our dogs such as corn gluten.

Because of busy schedules many of us have to feed our dogs commercial brands. By just taking a little extra time we can prevent exposing our animals to poor quality foods. If we read an ingredient that we are unfamiliar with or that we would not eat ourselves, then why would we think of feeding it to our dogs. Lets be more careful when reading those dog food labels.

As dog owners we are totally in control when it comes to caring for our dogs. Knowing what the best dog food is, what are the right dog food ingredients and what dog food nutrition they provide can sometimes be confusing. Learn more about commercial and homemade dog food recipes by visiting www.onlinedogfoodrecipes.com.