Home Cooking for your chihuahua

Home Cooking for your chihuahua: Why Good Intentions Aren’t Always Enough

What Every Chihuahua Owner Needs to Know About Proper Canine Nutrition

Home-cooking for your chihuahua is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. It allows you to provide fresh, local food, full control over ingredients, and a sense of comfort knowing exactly what’s in your dog’s bowl. Many owners turn to the kitchen out of love, hoping to give their dogs something better than processed kibble.

But while the intentions are good, home-cooked diets can fall short, sometimes dangerously so, if not done correctly.

The Risks of Homemade Dog Food

Fresh food can be a huge improvement over commercial diets, but it must be nutritionally balanced. Unfortunately, this is where many homemade diets miss the mark.

Dogs, including small breeds like chihuahuas, have very specific dietary requirements. A meal that looks healthy—and that your dog eagerly devours—might still be lacking critical nutrients.

Calcium: A Critical Nutrient That’s Easy to Get Wrong

Calcium is one of the most common nutrients missing in home-prepared dog diets. Dogs need much more calcium than humans to support healthy bones, teeth, muscle function, and nerve signalling. Puppies are at risk when calcium levels are too low or too high.

Without proper calcium balance, dogs can develop skeletal issues such as:

Osteochondrosis
Hip dysplasia
Hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD)
Panosteitis

These disorders are painful, expensive to treat, and often preventable through proper diet formulation.

Taurine and Other Essential Nutrients

Another often-overlooked nutrient is taurine. Taurine is an amino acid that supports heart function, eye health, and fat metabolism. While dogs can synthesize taurine from other amino acids, this process isn’t always efficient—especially on low-meat, high-fibre, or poorly formulated diets.

Taurine deficiency has been linked to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a potentially life-threatening condition that affects heart muscle function. Certain breeds may be more sensitive to dietary taurine levels, but any dog can be at risk if their diet lacks sufficient precursors or bioavailable protein.

Dogs Are Carnivores

Dogs are classified as facultative carnivores, meaning they thrive on a meat-based diet, even though they can digest some plant matter. They are not herbivores, and they are not designed to live on plant-based or vegan diets.

Unlike humans, dogs lack certain enzymes and gut flora needed to break down plant nutrients efficiently. Feeding a dog a vegetarian or vegan diet can lead to serious nutritional deficiencies, especially in protein, fat-soluble vitamins, and essential amino acids like taurine.

The Truth About Rice in Your Dog’s Bowl

Many owners turn to ingredients they know, like rice, when preparing dog food. But while rice is familiar and easy to digest, it offers very little nutritional value to a dog.

Rice contributes mostly carbohydrates and fills up a significant portion of a dog’s daily caloric intake without providing the protein or fat their bodies need. For dogs, especially active or small breeds like Chihuahuas, this means lost opportunities for essential nutrients that support energy, muscle maintenance, and organ function.

Feed What’s Right for Your Dog

Just because something is healthy for you doesn’t mean it’s right for your dog. That’s why balanced formulation, proper nutrient ratios, and evidence-based feeding plans are critical when preparing homemade meals.

References

National Research Council (NRC). Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2006. https://doi.org/10.17226/10668
Fascetti, A. J., & Delaney, S. J. (2012). Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition. Wiley-Blackwell.
Freeman, L. M., et al. (2018). “Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs: what do we know?” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 253(11), 1390–1394. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.253.11.1390

Want to Make Sure You’re Feeding Your Chihuahua Right?

Chihuahuas may be tiny, but their nutritional needs are mighty. If you want to give your pup a healthier, home-prepared diet without the risks, start with the right knowledge.

Download our Ultimate Guide to Feeding Your Chihuahua.

A must-read for any chihuahua parent who wants to provide safe, balanced, and delicious meals. Includes two balanced recipes for home cooked food, raw & cooked. Get your copy only £12.99 Shop here