Why 95% of homemade dog food recipes fall short: the Stockman 2013 study explained
What the largest audit of homemade dog food recipes did, what it found, where its limits are, and what it means for brands turning a kitchen recipe into a product.
- 95% of 200 published recipes for adult dogs were short of at least one essential nutrient.
- Only 9 recipes met AAFCO adult minimums; all 4 by board-certified veterinary nutritionists were acceptable.
- Choline, vitamin D, zinc and vitamin E were the shortfalls of most concern.
- No dogs were fed: the study shows recipes are incomplete on paper, not that dogs became ill.
01The short answer
The largest published audit of homemade dog food recipes analysed 200 recipes for healthy adult dogs and found that 95% were short of at least one essential nutrient. Only nine met AAFCO adult minimums 1,2. Demand for vet-approved homemade dog food keeps growing, and so does the number of fresh food brands built on kitchen recipes. Here is what the study did, what it found, where its limits are, and what it means if you plan to turn a home recipe into a commercial product.
| Study at a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Citation | Stockman J, Fascetti AJ, Kass PH, Larsen JA. JAVMA 2013; 242(11): 1500–1505 1 |
| Design | Recipes evaluated with diet-balancing software; 15 also prepared and analysed in a laboratory 2 |
| Sample | 200 maintenance recipes for healthy adult dogs, from 34 sources: veterinary textbooks, pet care books and websites 2 |
| Benchmarks | NRC 2006 recommended allowances and AAFCO adult maintenance profiles 3,4 |
| Feeding | None: recipes were analysed, not fed to dogs |
02What the researchers did
The UC Davis team collected 200 recipes written for adult dogs, some by veterinarians and four by board-certified veterinary nutritionists 2. Each recipe was entered into diet-balancing software, which estimated its nutrient content from ingredient databases. The results were compared with NRC recommended allowances and AAFCO minimums 1,3,4.
The researchers also recorded how clearly each recipe was written. Where a recipe said “one chicken breast” or “a handful of green beans”, the analysts had to assume a weight, cut or cooking method. To check the software, 15 recipes were prepared as written and analysed in a laboratory; the two methods agreed on the deficiencies and excesses, with a few discrepancies 2.
03What they found
- 95% of recipes were below recommendation for at least one essential nutrient, and more than 83% had several shortfalls 1,2.
- Only 9 recipes (4.5%) met AAFCO minimums for adult dogs, and eight of those nine were written by veterinarians 2.
- Only 5 recipes (2.5%) met NRC minimum requirements, all of them written by veterinarians 2.
- All four recipes by board-certified veterinary nutritionists had acceptable nutrient profiles 2.
- 92% had vague or incomplete instructions, and 85% gave no calorie information 2.
Results reported by the study authors and UC Davis 1,2.
View data table
| Measure | Recipes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| At least one nutrient below recommendation | 190 of 200 | 95% |
| Vague or incomplete instructions | 184 of 200 | 92% |
| No calorie information | 170 of 200 | 85% |
| Several nutrient shortfalls | More than 166 of 200 | >83% |
| Met AAFCO adult minimums | 9 of 200 | 4.5% |
| Met NRC minimum requirements | 5 of 200 | 2.5% |
04Which nutrients fell short
The authors singled out choline, vitamin D, zinc and vitamin E as the shortfalls of most concern, and many recipes shared the same deficiencies 2. The pattern is predictable. A base of chicken breast or ground turkey, rice, sweet potato and green beans supplies ample protein but little of these. Lean beef helps with zinc but not choline. Fish oil adds omega-3 fatty acids but no vitamin D, and cod liver oil adds vitamin D alongside a risk of excess vitamin A.
Because so many recipes had the same gaps, rotating several of them for variety is unlikely to correct the deficiencies.
05A second study points the same way
Pedrinelli and colleagues analysed 106 home-prepared diets published in Portuguese (80 for dogs, 24 for cats and 2 for both) against the FEDIAF 2014 guidelines. Every diet had at least one nutrient below the recommendations 5.
Dog recipes include the 2 written for both species. Values from Pedrinelli et al. (2017) 5.
Two studies, two languages and two different benchmarks lead to the same conclusion: unbalanced recipes are the norm, and the gaps cluster in the same micronutrients.
06Limits, and what the study does not show
What it shows
- Most published recipes are incomplete on paper.
- The same micronutrients fail again and again.
- Recipes from board-certified nutritionists performed well.
- Vague instructions make a recipe impossible to reproduce.
What it does not show
- Whether dogs eating these recipes became ill, or how quickly.
- Which shortfalls matter most clinically.
- Whether homemade food is better or worse than commercial food.
- How recipes published since 2013 compare.
Software analysis relies on database values, which can differ from the ingredients a cook actually buys, and vague recipes forced assumptions that could change individual results. Only 15 of the 200 recipes were checked in a laboratory. One author, Jennifer Larsen, co-owned the company that licenses the software used, a conflict of interest the study disclosed 2. None of this overturns the main result, and a properly formulated home-prepared diet can be complete.
07What it means for product development
Many fresh and gently cooked brands begin as a founder’s kitchen recipe. The evidence suggests such a recipe will be short of several nutrients before it reaches a production line, and scale-up then adds cooking losses, ingredient variability and supplier substitution.
From recipe to product
- Weigh, don’t estimate: convert every cup and handful into grams of a specified ingredient.
- Set nutrient targets per 1000 kcal against NRC, AAFCO or FEDIAF, as in our complete and balanced method.
- Balance with a purpose-built vitamin-mineral premix, not a generic multivitamin.
- Check upper limits too, especially vitamin A, vitamin D and the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio.
- Verify the finished product with nutritional analysis, not software alone.
The gap between a recipe and a product is documentation: ingredient specifications, nutrient targets on an energy basis, a verified premix and finished-product test results that support a complete and balanced claim on the label.
A kitchen recipe is a starting point, not a formula. Assume it is short of choline, vitamin D, zinc and vitamin E until analysis shows otherwise.
08Questions brands ask
Are homemade dog food recipes balanced?
Rarely. In the Stockman 2013 study, 95% of 200 published recipes were short of at least one essential nutrient, and only nine met AAFCO adult minimums.
Are vet-approved homemade dog food recipes complete?
Some are. All four recipes written by board-certified veterinary nutritionists had acceptable nutrient profiles, but recipes by general veterinarians still often fell short.
Which nutrients are most often missing from homemade dog food?
Choline, vitamin D, zinc and vitamin E in the US study; copper, choline, vitamin E and zinc in a Brazilian study of Portuguese-language recipes.
Is homemade dog food better than commercial dog food?
The evidence does not settle this. The studies show that most published recipes are incomplete on paper; they did not feed dogs or compare health outcomes.
Sources
- Stockman J, Fascetti AJ, Kass PH, Larsen JA (2013). Evaluation of recipes of home-prepared maintenance diets for dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 242(11):1500–1505. Source ↗
- UC Davis (2013). Homemade dog food recipes can be risky business, study finds. UC Davis News, 15 July 2013. Source ↗
- National Research Council (2006). Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Source ↗
- AAFCO (2014). Revised AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. Pet Food Committee Report, Appendix A. Source ↗
- Pedrinelli V, Gomes MOS, Carciofi AC (2017). Analysis of recipes of home-prepared diets for dogs and cats published in Portuguese. Journal of Nutritional Science 6:e33. Source ↗
Evidence reviewed by the Guires Pet Nutrition Lab scientific team. This article is general information for product developers and is not legal or veterinary advice.
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Mehta, P. (2026, October 20). Why 95% of homemade dog food recipes fall short: the Stockman 2013 study explained. Guires Pet Nutrition Lab Insights. https://www.petnutritionlab.com/insights/homemade-dog-food-recipes-study
Mehta, Priya. “Why 95% of homemade dog food recipes fall short: the Stockman 2013 study explained.” Guires Pet Nutrition Lab Insights, 20 Oct. 2026, www.petnutritionlab.com/insights/homemade-dog-food-recipes-study. Accessed [date].
Mehta, P. (2026) Why 95% of homemade dog food recipes fall short: the Stockman 2013 study explained. Available at: https://www.petnutritionlab.com/insights/homemade-dog-food-recipes-study (Accessed: [date accessed]).
Mehta, Priya. “Why 95% of homemade dog food recipes fall short: the Stockman 2013 study explained.” Guires Pet Nutrition Lab Insights. October 20, 2026. https://www.petnutritionlab.com/insights/homemade-dog-food-recipes-study.
Priya Mehta, ‘Why 95% of homemade dog food recipes fall short: the Stockman 2013 study explained’, Guires Pet Nutrition Lab Insights, 20 October 2026, <https://www.petnutritionlab.com/insights/homemade-dog-food-recipes-study>, accessed [date accessed].
Mehta P. Why 95% of homemade dog food recipes fall short: the Stockman 2013 study explained [Internet]. Guires Pet Nutrition Lab Insights; 2026 Oct 20 [cited [date]]. Available from: https://www.petnutritionlab.com/insights/homemade-dog-food-recipes-study
P. Mehta, “Why 95% of homemade dog food recipes fall short: the Stockman 2013 study explained,” Guires Pet Nutrition Lab Insights, Oct. 20, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.petnutritionlab.com/insights/homemade-dog-food-recipes-study
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title = {{Why 95% of homemade dog food recipes fall short: the Stockman 2013 study explained}},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
howpublished = {\url{https://www.petnutritionlab.com/insights/homemade-dog-food-recipes-study}},
note = {Guires Pet Nutrition Lab Insights}
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