adding homemade food to current diet

Question
There are currently three dogs in our home, a 5 year old female boxer lab mix, a 14 month old female standard poodle, and a recently rescued 4 month old male standard poodle.   They are fed twice a day and eat Timberwolf Organics dry food on a rotational basis.  I would like to incorporate some organic homemade food into their diets but am having difficulty determining appropriate ratios/proportions to ensure the appropriate nutritional balance and still be relatively easy. I'm considering cooked eggs, raw beef, and cooked salmon for proteins; quinoa, mashed pinto beans, sweet potato and pumpkin for carbohydrates; and carrots, green beans, cooked tomato and apples for the veg/fruits.   I'm considering 65% dry food and 35% homemade food.  The homemade portion would be 40% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and 30% veg/fruit.  I also plan on using the crushed eggshells and Timberwolf Salmon oil as additional supplements. Finally, the question(s):  Is the proposed plan nutritionally sound?  If not, what are the weak points?  Thank you in advance, I look forward to your answer.

Answer
Hi Tish,
A number of issues here I see all the time with people starting out making home made food.

First - please do NOT use  35% of this very unbalanced recipe for a puppy. they have unique nutritional needs and can be actually damaged by inadequate nutrients in the diet, that first year. Please us a good quality canned food to augment the Timberwolf for the puppy. The others can deal better with imbalances, and the recipe you're suggesting here is suitable only as a treat or topping, 10 - 15% of the diet (calorically) at most.

the first mistake I see here (and don;t worry, I see this all the time) is that in your breakdown, you are comparing apples and oranges. you EITHER use nutrients - protein, fats and carbohydrates - OR you use foods - meat, grain, veggie - but it makes no sense to mix them up. fruits and vegetables ARE carbohydrate sources,  so the breakdown you listed doesn't make sense, it has to be further analyzed into fat, protein and carb/fiber.

The additional calcium from the eggshell may or may not be adequate, I can't know unless I analyze how much is in the basic diet and then how much you are adding,a nd weigh that against the individual dog's requirements.
and supplementation is required far beyond calcium (the Omega3 is a nice addition, but not strictly speaking necessary - the recipe may be low in Omega6, actually, bt I can't know unless I have precise amounts of each food and the dog's weights).
All of these diets require iodine (kelp) and a host of minerals such as iron, copper, zinc and manganese, again depending on which foods are used and in what quantity. Vitamin D is often low in these diets as is Vitamin A.
Formulation of a single home made recipe to suit three dogs is impossible, but you can get closer by learning a bit about nutrition and how it works, how to identify types of fat, types of fiber and various sources of other nutrients.



The optimal levels of these, will depend on the age, activity level and metabolic tendencies of the individual dog. I develop diets every day, and what works on paper may not work with an individual dog. If you are attempting home made food, I strongly suggest you join my yahoogroup and start reading through the Files, with regard to canine requirements,  and how to use a spreadsheet to balance out a diet properly.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePossibleCanine-Nutrition/

We provide a wealth of information about all things related to canine nutrition, including a reading list to get you started.
Hope this helps. It's straight talk here, but I know you do not want to do anything that's not in your babies' best interest.
All the best, Catherine