Everything people ask.

Start with the Chicken with butternut recipe. It is the gentlest and most forgiving — mild flavors, easy to digest, hard to mess up.

Use the calculator to work out your dog's daily calories. Then use the shopping list tool to get exact quantities for the week. Cook on Sunday, portion into containers, feed Monday-Friday from the fridge, freeze the rest.

Plan for a 7-day transition from your dog's current food (see the transition planner).

About 60 minutes including prep, cooking, cooling, and portioning. The recipes are designed to be done in one pan. If you cook for yourself anyway, this barely adds to your kitchen time.

Tip: Most home-cookers settle into a Sunday batch-cook habit. Pair it with meal-prepping your own lunches.

Yes, over the long term. The Premix supplies calcium, vitamins D and E, taurine, iodine, and trace minerals that home-cooked food does not provide at AAFCO levels. Without it, the recipes are deficient over months of feeding.

You can use a complete supplement formulated for home cooking (such as Balance IT) as a substitute. We are open about the fact that The Premix is the thing we sell.

Short-term (a few weeks) — yes, it's probably fine. Long-term — no, you'll create nutritional deficiencies.

If The Premix is not available where you are or you prefer another supplement, get a complete-and-balanced home-cooking supplement from a reputable source. We will publish a buying guide for alternatives shortly.

Rotating 2-3 recipes per week is better than feeding only one. Variety improves micronutrient coverage (different ingredients have different micronutrient profiles) and reduces the risk of developing food sensitivities to a single protein over time.

If your dog tolerates rotation, do it. If your dog has sensitivities and one recipe works well, stick with it.

First, give it 3-5 meals — many dogs are suspicious of new food. Try mixing the new recipe 70/30 with their current food.

If they still refuse, try a different recipe. Different proteins, different textures, different smells. Kangaroo and turkey have stronger smells than chicken — for some dogs that's more appealing. For picky eaters, warming the food slightly often helps.

Our recipes are designed to be cooked, balanced, and used with The Premix. Adding raw ingredients changes the nutritional profile and the food safety equation.

If you want to feed a partly-raw diet, that's a different approach (BARF / raw feeding) with its own rules. We can't guarantee balance if you start modifying recipes — talk to a pet nutritionist first.

Small swaps (carrots for parsnips, broccoli for cauliflower) are generally fine — they're nutritionally similar.

Bigger swaps (chicken for beef, sardines for tuna) change the recipe's nutrition. We don't recommend it without checking — different proteins have different fat content, amino acid profiles, and calorie density.

"Better" depends on what you measure. Home-cooked has more moisture, fewer processed ingredients, and full ingredient transparency. Premium kibble is shelf-stable, fortified to AAFCO standards, and consistent.

For dogs without specific health issues, both can keep them healthy. For dogs with allergies, skin issues, or weight problems, home-cooked is often a measurable improvement. We outline the honest tradeoffs in Why home-cooked.

Three things:

1. Use the recipes as designed. Don't modify ingredient ratios. The proportions are formulated to balance macronutrients and key micronutrients.

2. Always add The Premix. Without it, calcium, vitamins, taurine, and trace minerals fall short.

3. Annual vet checkup with blood panel. Best long-term signal that nutrition is right.

AAFCO-aligned = formulated to meet AAFCO adult maintenance nutrient profiles when prepared as written with The Premix.

AAFCO-certified = commercial pet food that has passed lab analysis or feeding trials. This is a regulatory framework for packaged commercial products, not home cooking.

Home-cooked food cannot be "certified" in the same way because each home-cook produces a slightly different batch. What we can do is provide formulations designed to align with the AAFCO targets, which is what we do.

If you're using The Premix, the omega-3 is already covered. Extra fish oil can push omega-6:3 ratios off-balance and isn't needed.

If your vet recommends a specific supplement for a medical reason (e.g. joint supplement for arthritis), follow their advice. But avoid stacking "general health" supplements — more is not better with nutrients.

For a medium dog (~15kg, normal activity), expect roughly:

• Kibble (premium): AU$80-160/month
• Home-cooked: AU$145-270/month incl. premix
• Fresh subscription: AU$300-550/month

Home-cooked is typically typically 40-60% cheaper than fresh subscriptions. For exact numbers based on your local prices, use the savings calculator.

One large pan or pot (5L+), a sharp knife, a cutting board, and food storage containers. That's it.

Nice-to-have: a kitchen scale (gets portioning more accurate than eyeballing), a slow cooker (for set-and-forget batch days), and stackable containers that fit your freezer.

Refrigerator: 4 days in airtight containers.
Freezer: Up to 3 months. Portion before freezing so you can defrost daily.

Defrost overnight in the fridge — never at room temperature. Reheating is optional (room-temp food is fine for most dogs). If you do warm it, add The Premix after warming, not before.

For trips under 3 days: cook ahead and freeze portions. Defrost as you go.

For longer trips: keep a high-quality kibble for travel. Many home-cookers maintain a small bag of premium kibble for emergencies and trips. Switching food temporarily won't undo months of home-cooking benefits.

Talk to your vet first. The recipes are designed for healthy adult dogs at maintenance — not as treatment plans for medical conditions.

For these conditions in particular, professional input is needed: kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, pancreatitis history, cancer, severe allergies, IBD, or heart disease. Your vet can advise on adjustments or whether home-cooking is appropriate at all.

Not these recipes specifically. Puppies need different calcium, phosphorus, and protein ratios than adult dogs. Feeding adult recipes to puppies can cause skeletal development issues.

Puppy-specific recipes are in development. In the meantime, work with your vet to plan puppy nutrition.

Mild loose stools in the first 2-3 days of transitioning are common. Slow down the transition (more days of mixed food) and add a tablespoon of plain pumpkin per meal.

If symptoms are severe — persistent vomiting, refusing food for 24+ hours, lethargy, blood in stool, or diarrhoea longer than 3 days — stop the new food and see your vet. Bring a note of what they've been eating.

Common dog allergens we use: chicken, beef, lamb, fish, eggs (none in current recipes), dairy (none in current recipes), wheat (none in current recipes).

Less common allergens: turkey, kangaroo (rare). If your dog has known sensitivities, check every ingredient on a recipe page before using. For dogs with multiple sensitivities, the Kangaroo recipe is the cleanest starting point.

No. Garlic, onion, chives, leeks, and grapes/raisins are toxic to dogs in even small quantities. These never go in dog food, regardless of how "natural" or human-healthy they are.

If a "natural dog food" recipe online includes any of these, that's a serious red flag — close the tab.