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Dog eating a healthy meal.

Balance IT Recipes for Healthy Homemade Pet Food

Home » Blog » Balance IT Recipes for Healthy Homemade Pet Food
August 24, 2021 by Sharon Seltzer
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • The experts behind Balance IT
  • How the website works+−
    • Here's a picture of my choices
    • The program also let me know I needed a supplement
  • Pet with medical conditions+−
    • Interested in reading more on the subject?
Dog eating a healthy meal.

If you could add more years to your dog’s life, you’d make it happen…right? That’s the reason I started cooking for my dogs nearly 10 years ago. It’s also how I found Balance IT® recipes, a website associated with a veterinary medical school that helps me create healthy homemade pet food.  

Balance IT® is a free site that teaches pet owners how to make nutritionally complete meals for dogs and cats. It’s a great find if your pet is a picky eater, has food allergies, a chronic disease or if you just want to cook for them. Bailey and Olivia have grown up on the recipes.

This isn’t a raw diet; it’s a combination of lightly-cooked proteins, grains, vegetables, fruits and oils.

I first started cooking for my dogs when Cody, my German shepherd, developed Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The condition is caused by a reaction to food that inflames the intestinal tract. Dogs with IBD have chronic vomiting, diarrhea and severe weight-loss.

When Cody was diagnosed with IBD, our vet prescribed a prescription dog food. Cody had a horrible reaction to the food and it that nearly cost him, his life. So, the veterinarian recommended we try the recipes on Balance IT. It was a life-saver for Cody and now it helps Bailey, who’s the pickiest eater I know.

Two dog eating a healthy homemade meal.
Olivia (L) and Bailey (R) finishing a homemade meal.

Note: I am not affiliated with Balance IT. It’s a resource I like and it’s my pleasure to share it readers.

The experts behind Balance IT

The website was founded by Dr. Sean Delaney, former Executive Chair of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. It’s associated with the University of California, Davis and managed by board-certified veterinary nutritionists. You can even make an appointment to talk with a nutritionist about your pet’s specific needs.

The goal of the site is to educate both pet parents and veterinarians. The group believes that when vets are knowledgeable about healthy food, they spend more time educating their clients and sharing dietary advice.  

Balance IT relies heavily on professionals sharing information for another reason too. There are relatively few board-certified veterinary nutritionists in the U.S. Less than 100 vets have entered the field.

So, every recipe you use from the website and share, is another opportunity to educate a pet family.

How the website works

Dog sitting at computer
Depositphotos

To get started, pet owners are asked to set up a user information page about their dog or cat. Once you’ve done that, I recommend taking a tour through the videos and then head to the Homemade Food tab. That’s where you’ll find a genius software program called the Auto Balancer®.  It turns your dog’s favorite food into a nutritionally sound recipe.

The program is easy to use. Simply choose as many ingredients as you want from the 5 categories: Protein, Carbohydrates, Oils/Fats, Vegetables and Fruits. Then press the tab to create a dog or cat recipe.

Here’s a picture of my choices

Balance IT dog food planner

The Auto Balancer will let you know if you’ve created a balanced meal or how you can improve it. Click on the View button to see if there were any adjustments. This screen will also tell you the quantity needed for each ingredient and the best way to cook it.

Autobalancer for Balance IT pet food

My recipe was a little too high in protein, so I clicked back to the ingredients page and deleted one of them. The change gave my recipe a passing grade. Over the years, I’ve learned to work with the Auto Balancer until I get the perfect menu.

I’ve also learned a few things about pet nutrition. For instance, instead of choosing olive oil for my recipes, I now know that corn oil or walnut oil are better choices. That’s because dogs need more linoleic acid than humans and corn and walnut oil have the highest levels.

Corn oil is the richest source of linoleic acid that is readily available in North America, so it is widely used in our recipes along with canola oil to minimize the amount of extra fat that has to be added to recipes. Walnut oil can be used as an alternative.

Dr. Sean Delaney

The program also let me know I needed a supplement

Supplements made by Balance IT are the one product sold on the website and they’re meant to be used solely with their recipes. They don’t come with general use instructions, because the amount of supplement to give, depends on your individual recipe.

You can read more about each supplement here.

Sometimes I choose to use the recommended supplement, and other times I use an alternative approach. My secret is to add a small amount of high-quality commercial kibble to complete a recipe. I’ve done this with my healthy dogs only.

Pet with medical conditions

Labrador retriever lying on table

Balance IT® offers two alternatives for sick dogs and cats. Both need a prescription from your veterinarian in order to access a recipe.

First, there are pre-determined recipes for pets with common illnesses. These include: Arthritis, Liver Disease, Diabetes, IBD, Heart Disease, Allergies, Urinary Crystals and Stones and more.

This is how I found the recipe that helped calm down Cody’s IBD. Your vet can also request that you work directly with a nutritionist. That way the veterinarian can get a complete history of your dog’s medical condition and develop a custom recipe.

Balance IT has been my “go too” source for a long time. I hope you find it helpful too.

Interested in reading more on the subject?

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About Sharon Seltzer

I’m a blogger, professional writer and co-founder of the Heaven Can Wait Animal Society. I’m also a pet mom who’s raised 9 dogs, 6 cats and lots of other critters. When my dog Sophie became paralyzed in 2008, it was a lonely experience. It took months to find all of the resources to help her live a quality life. My mission is to share those services with other pet owners and to teach people how to care for a disabled dog.

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DogWheelchairLife.com is a blog that teaches pet families how to care for their paralyzed dog. As the owner, I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Amazon Influencer Program. These are affiliate programs designed for sites to earn advertising fees (commissions) by linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate and Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more details, visit the Affiliate Disclosure page

We Are A Resource for Pet Owners

Dog Wheelchair LIFE teaches pet families how to care for their paralyzed dog. This is not a medical site and I am not a veterinarian. I am a blogger and pet mom who was the caretaker for Sophie, a paraplegic dog. I’m also a co-founder of the Heaven Can Wait Animal Society in Las Vegas, NV and an animal writer who has contributed to websites and magazines.

The information shared on this site is based on my personal experience and the research I do for each story. Please do not use the content from this blog in place of professional veterinary care.

Articles from this site may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from me, Sharon Seltzer.

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