Is home-cooked food good for dogs in India?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
It can be, if the diet is complete and balanced, but most home cooking is not. WSAVA says home-cooked diets can be adequate when a veterinarian trained in nutrition formulates them and the dog has check-ups and blood tests about twice a year. A daily bowl of roti, rice, curd and chicken without a planned recipe usually misses nutrients.
If you want to cook for your dog, ask your vet to refer you to a veterinary nutritionist for a recipe written for your dog, follow it exactly, and never add onion, garlic, grapes or other toxic foods. If not, a commercial food labelled complete and balanced is the simpler safe choice.
Why is a home-cooked diet hard to get right?
Because dogs need dozens of nutrients in the right amounts and proportions, and kitchen food rarely supplies all of them.
WSAVA's Global Nutrition Committee says a pet should eat a complete and balanced diet, one that provides every essential nutrient in the correct amounts and proportions for its species and life stage. Commercial foods can be tested by chemical analysis or feeding trials. Home-cooked diets, by definition, cannot be tested, which is why WSAVA says a veterinarian specialised in nutrition should formulate them.
The evidence on recipes is sobering. A 2013 University of California, Davis study analysed 200 home-made dog food recipes from veterinary textbooks, pet care books and websites. Only 9 provided all essential nutrients at the minimum levels for adult dogs, and 8 of those 9 were written by veterinarians. About 95% lacked at least one essential nutrient, most often choline, vitamin D, zinc and vitamin E, and 92% had vague or incomplete instructions.
The Merck Veterinary Manual adds the practical drawbacks: preparation time, variable quality and consistency, higher cost, and the difficulty of making a diet complete. It advises using a recipe formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, not one from the internet or a book.
What does the Indian evidence show?
A survey of 91 adult pet dogs in Central Kashmir, published in the Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition in 2025, found that about 63% were raised on homemade diets and only about 5% were fed commercial dog food alone. The authors described the homemade diets as generally imbalanced, with little or no supplementation, and found calcium deficiency widespread, especially in dogs on homemade food. They recommended that owners plan diets with a veterinarian or animal nutritionist.
The same survey found that 12 to 31% of the commercial dry food samples it tested fell below recommended levels for one nutrient or another, so a packet is not automatically perfect either. What matters is whether a diet has been formulated and checked to be complete, not whether it came from a kitchen or a factory.
What do Indian owners often get wrong about home food?
You may have read
Dogs in India have always eaten roti and rice, so it must be enough.
Myth
What the sources say
Surviving is not the same as being well fed. In the Kashmir survey, homemade diets were generally imbalanced and calcium deficiency was common. Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition, vol. 42 no. 3 (2025, published 7 January 2026)study
You may have read
A recipe from a dog food website or video is safe.
Myth
What the sources say
WSAVA says generic online and book recipes may contain harmful ingredients such as garlic or have deficiencies that harm a dog if fed long-term. WSAVA
You may have read
Home food is fresher, so it must be healthier.
Myth
What the sources say
WSAVA's benefit of home cooking is a diet customised to your dog's preferences and health, not that it is automatically healthier. It still has to be complete and balanced. WSAVA
You may have read
Raw meat and bones are the most natural diet.
Myth
What the sources say
WSAVA says the claimed benefits of raw diets are not backed by science, raw meat carries bacterial risk, and bones can fracture teeth and block or perforate the gut. WSAVA
How do you switch to home-cooked food safely?
The steps the veterinary sources point to, in order.
1. Talk to your vet
Ask for a referral to a veterinary nutritionist. WSAVA says your vet or the veterinary college in your area can help you find one. WSAVA
2. Get a recipe for your dog
A recipe formulated by a veterinary nutritionist for your dog's age, weight and health, using ingredients you can buy locally. Merck Veterinary Manual
3. Follow it exactly
Do not swap ingredients or drop the supplement the nutritionist prescribes. The UC Davis study found vague instructions in 92% of recipes, a common way diets drift. University of California, Davis
4. Keep up check-ups
WSAVA recommends veterinary supervision, with examinations and blood tests about twice a year, more often for dogs with long-term illness. WSAVA
What should and should not go in a dog's bowl?
Do
- Use plain cooked foods the nutritionist's recipe names, measured, not guessed. Merck Veterinary Manual
- Keep treats and table extras to no more than about 10% of daily calories. WSAVA
- Use a recipe planned for your dog's life stage: WSAVA says a diet must be complete and balanced for the species and life stage, so a puppy needs a growth recipe. WSAVA
Don’t
- Add onion or garlic, including in leftover dal, sabzi or gravy. Both are toxic to dogs. Merck Veterinary Manual
- Give grapes or raisins, which can cause kidney failure in dogs. PDSA
- Give chocolate, macadamia nuts or anything sweetened with xylitol. WSAVA
- Feed cooked bones, which can fracture teeth and cause blockages. WSAVA
- Add vitamin or mineral supplements on your own. Some nutrients are toxic in high amounts. WSAVA
Can you mix home food with dog food?
WSAVA says generic home recipes can be fine as a single snack or treat if they contain nothing toxic, but should not replace the main meals unless formulated by someone trained in veterinary nutrition. A spoonful of plain rice or curd on top of a complete commercial food counts as a treat; half the bowl replaced with roti and dal unbalances the diet. Our answer on dry food versus home food covers this choice in more detail.
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Questions owners ask
Is roti and milk good for dogs?
- Not as a whole diet. A meal built on roti and milk, or rice and curd, misses essential nutrients. In a 2025 survey of Indian pet dogs, homemade diets were generally imbalanced and calcium deficiency was common. Small amounts as treats are fine for most dogs. A full home diet needs a veterinary nutritionist's recipe.
Can I give my dog the same food we eat?
- Not as a rule. Family food often contains onion, garlic, salt and spices, and onion and garlic are toxic to dogs. WSAVA says home recipes not formulated by a veterinary nutritionist should only be occasional snacks. Use our food checker for single foods and ask your vet about a full diet.
Do home-cooked diets need supplements?
- Usually, which is why recipes are formulated by veterinary nutritionists. The UC Davis study found 95% of 200 recipes short of at least one nutrient. Add only the supplement your dog's recipe specifies, because WSAVA warns some vitamins and minerals are toxic in high amounts.
Where can I find a veterinary nutritionist in India?
- Ask your vet first, or contact the veterinary college or university in your state, which WSAVA suggests as a route to a nutrition specialist. Bring your dog's weight history, health records and the foods you can easily buy.
Is home-cooked food better than kibble?
- Neither is better by default. A complete and balanced commercial food and a home diet formulated by a veterinary nutritionist can both feed a dog well; an unplanned home diet usually cannot. See our answer on dry food or home food for how to choose.
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Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- WSAVA: Frequently asked questions and myths (Global Nutrition Committee) (opens in a new tab)
- University of California, Davis: Homemade dog food recipes can be risky business, study finds (15 July 2013) (opens in a new tab)
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Dog and cat foods (full review November 2023, updated June 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Garlic and onion (Allium spp) toxicosis in animals (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: Grape, raisin, currant and sultana poisoning in dogs (opens in a new tab)
- Indian Journal of Animal Nutrition, vol. 42 no. 3 (2025, published 7 January 2026): Welfare evaluation of pet dogs through feeding protocols followed, nutritional composition of available feeds and blood metabolic profile (Beigh and others; abstract read) (opens in a new tab)