Lesson 2

How to Build a Balanced Homemade Meal for Your Dog

Now that you know your dog’s daily nutritional requirements from Lesson 1, you’re ready to start turning those numbers into real, balanced meals. In this lesson, we’ll walk through the core ingredients that make up a complete homemade diet and explain how each one contributes to the nutrients your dog needs. You’ll learn how proteins, organs, fats, vegetables, and calcium sources work together, how to identify which nutrients come from food naturally, and where gaps usually appear in home-cooked diets.

By the end, you’ll understand the basic structure of a balanced meal and how the foods you choose can help meet your dog’s nutritional needs each day.

Understanding Typical Ingredient Ratios in Homemade Meals

Now that you’ve calculated your dog’s nutrient needs using NRC guidelines, the next step is choosing ingredients that can actually meet those requirements. But here’s the part many people overlook: no two dogs are the same, and that’s exactly why these feeding ratios are presented as ranges, not fixed numbers.

Every dog processes nutrients differently. Age, metabolism, activity level, weight goals, sensitivities, and even gut health all influence how much protein, fat, carbs, and organ meat your dog may need. Some dogs thrive on the higher end of the protein range; others do better with slightly less. Some need more fat for energy, while others require a leaner bowl. Finding the right balance is often a combination of informed decisions, careful observation, and—when possible—discussing adjustments with your veterinarian.

The ingredient ratios below are meant to give you a helpful starting framework, not rigid instructions. They show how each food group typically fits into a balanced homemade meal and make it easier to build recipes that align with the nutrient targets you calculated in Lesson 1.

As you begin creating meals for your dog, expect to adjust within these ranges until you find the combination that best supports their energy, digestion, coat, and overall health. The goal isn’t to force your dog into a formula—it’s to use these guidelines to confidently build meals that meet their unique needs.

3 Key Parts to Every Bowl

What Makes a Balanced Homemade Meal

(Protein & Amino Acids)

60–80% Muscle Meat

Muscle meat is the foundation of the bowl because it supplies most of the amino acids your dog needs to meet the NRC protein requirements you calculated earlier. The wide range (60–80%) exists because different dogs have different needs—active dogs, puppies, or dogs recovering from illness may benefit from the higher end, while seniors or low-activity dogs may do better with less.

Meat alone doesn’t meet all NRC requirements, but it determines the bulk of the meal’s protein and energy. Choosing a variety of proteins over time—chicken, beef, turkey, pork, lamb, fish—helps support balanced amino acids and micronutrients.

(Optional but Extremely Nutrient-Dense)

Up to 5% Secreting Organs

Organs are optional, but incredibly helpful. They naturally provide many of the micronutrients on your NRC list, including vitamin A, copper, folate, and other vitamins and minerals that muscle meat alone cannot supply.

Including up to 5% secreting organ (like liver, kidney, or spleen) helps meals meet NRC targets with fewer supplements. If your dog cannot tolerate organs or you prefer not to use them, that’s okay—balanced meals are still possible, but you will likely rely more on supplement support to fill the micronutrient gaps organs normally cover.

(Energy & Fiber Support)

10–30% Complex Carbohydrates or Vegetables

Carbohydrates and grains are optional in a homemade dog diet, and opinions vary widely about whether dogs should eat them. Some dogs digest grains and starchy foods very well, while others do better without them. 

We’ll explore this topic in depth in a dedicated blog, but for now, it’s important to understand that carbs are not required to meet NRC nutrient needs—they are simply an optional tool you can use based on your dog’s health, preferences, and your veterinarian’s guidance.

When included, complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, oats, quinoa, and lentils can provide digestible energy, fiber, and certain vitamins and minerals. They help support healthy stools and can be useful for dogs who need additional calories without increasing fat or protein levels too high.

Low-starch vegetables—like broccoli, zucchini, green beans, carrots, pumpkin, and leafy greens—are also optional but beneficial. They contribute fiber, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and digestive support, helping round out a homemade meal even though they aren’t used to directly meet NRC nutrient requirements.

Whether you choose to include carbs, vegetables, both, or neither, balanced meals are still achievable. The key is making sure the ingredients you select fit your dog’s needs and work alongside the nutrient targets you calculated in Lesson 1.

Grains are optional in homemade dog food, and we cover the pros, concerns, and real-world considerations in our Grains for Dogs: An Unbiased Look at Grain-Free and Homemade Diets.

Elements That Complete the Bowl

These components are essential for meeting NRC nutrient requirements but are taught in their own lessons, so here is a brief overview.

Calcium

Because boneless meat contains almost no calcium, a calcium source must be added to every cooked meal to safely meet your dog’s NRC calcium requirement.

Essential Fatty Acids

Most meats are low in EPA and DHA, so every homemade diet needs intentional omega-3 support from foods like sardines, salmon, or appropriate oils.

Supplements

Even with great ingredients, some nutrients—like vitamin E, iodine, and copper—are difficult to meet with food alone, so supplements help fill these predictable gaps.

Bringing It All Together

Now that you understand your dog’s nutrient requirements from Lesson 1 and the core components of a balanced meal from Lesson 2, you’re ready to take the next step in building safe, confident homemade meals. Before we get into exact quantities or supplement strategies, it’s important to understand how to choose safe ingredients, how variety supports long-term balance, and how to think about meeting your dog’s nutrient needs either per meal or over time. These principles help you create meals that are not only nutritious, but sustainable and enjoyable for both you and your dog.



In the next lesson, we’ll walk through how to select safe, high-quality ingredients, how to rotate proteins and whole foods to naturally support balance, and how to decide whether you want to balance each meal individually or rely on balance over time. This lesson sets the stage for building real recipes with confidence.