Frequently Asked Questions

We provide a free, self-service Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes and sell supplements to fortify homemade dog and cat food recipes.

If you have a healthy adult dog or cat, you can use the Recipe Builder. You’ll be able to instantly create a personalized recipe for your animal companion’s weight/energy needs that include their favorite ingredients that provide wholesome and safe nutrition.

If your animal companion has a medical condition under a veterinarian’s care, you will be required per the FDA (CPG Sec. 690.150) to submit a veterinary approval request before you can view a nutritionally complete recipe made with our free custom Recipe Builder or purchase certain supplements that can only be sold under the direction of a veterinarian. We will ask for your veterinarian’s contact information and contact them on your behalf (note: approval usually happens within 3 business days). 

See also:

I am unsure where to start. How do I create a recipe for my healthy dog or cat?

and 

How can I submit a veterinary approval request for my animal companion with a medical condition? And why do I even need to do this?

Supplementation is recommended based on the exact recipe you create on our website or that is provided to you by your veterinarian. Once you create or get a recipe, it will indicate which supplement(s) to use and how much need(s) to be added. Basing the amount of supplement solely on body weight can lead to nutrient deficiencies and/or excesses.

A valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) with you and your animal companion, that is established by physically seeing them, is needed to provide specific recommendations in most jurisdictions. The lack of a valid VCPR legally limits the information/advice we can provide directly to human companions. You can have your veterinarian/veterinary practice contact us directly instead, and we may be able to provide them with general guidance. They can email us at info@balanceit.com. 

We will then forward the information to our nutrition team (i.e., a licensed veterinary nurse and/or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist®) for review and follow-up with your veterinarian/veterinary practice. Our nutrition team is still not able to do consults, but they may be legally able to offer more direct assistance and guidance to your veterinarian about your animal companion’s care. We do not charge for this service, but your veterinarian may need to charge you a fee to cover their effort/time.

We understand that your veterinarian may not be able to give you the nutritional guidance you desire. However, we have found many are and we are happy to assist you and them through the process of using our site to get additional help. After you submit a FDA CPG Sec. 690.150 compliant veterinary approval request through our site, we reach out to confirm with your veterinarian that your dog/cat has been diagnosed with any selected condition(s). Once your veterinarian confirms and approves, we are able to guide you to accessing vet-approved recipes for your dog/cat.

As noted above, we are happy to offer helpful guidance to your veterinarian/veterinary practice if they reach out to us directly to learn more about how we can best serve you and your animal companion. Our email address is info@balanceit.com. 

At Balance It^®, our mission has always been and remains to improve the health of as many animals as possible through better nutrition and medical care. 

As a small, family-owned company with fewer than 20 total team members, we have always embraced the use of technology to achieve this mission. Through the growth of our free online tools and resources launched over the last 20 years, we can now proudly share that we serve tens of thousands of users monthly with millions of requests – completely free of charge. 

To continue providing accurate, expert information to as many people as possible, we’ve completely shifted to an online-only customer care support model. This change aligns with the same philosophy and goal of our free self-service Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes and our other free tools. Be accurate, accessible, efficient, and scalable to support and empower both human companions of animals, and our colleagues, veterinary professionals.

By continuing to leverage the latest technology — including Artificial Intelligence (AI) — we’re able to offer faster, more consistent support while also ensuring our veterinary-guided resources remain available in an era where misinformation from large language models (LLMs) is increasingly widespread.

As part of this modernization, we’ve invested significant resources into making our online software completely self-service over the last few years. These tools have been designed to meet the needs of 100,000s of human companions of animals, over 40,000 veterinarians, and 1,000s of veterinary specialists including most small animal board-certified veterinary nutritionists worldwide — whether in private practice, aspects of industry, or academia. This unparalleled software is and remains completely free, and intentionally self-service, so that we can help as many people as possible sustainably and without subscription or licensing fees.

We understand that while we have made every effort for these tools to be as user-friendly as possible, and will continue to do so, dynamic and evolving technology is not always easy for everyone. Thus, we’re still here to support our users and customers in finding the best path forward. Therefore, if you’re experiencing a difficult time or challenge using our website, we suggest you consider the following options after reviewing our FAQs at balance.it/faqs.

If you still need assistance, consider these options: 

1. Reaching out to a family member or friend who may be able to assist you with navigating our site or already helps you with technology.

2. Requesting assistance from your veterinary practice or veterinarian who can sign up for a free veterinary account (if they don’t already have one) and create recipes on your behalf. 

3. Consulting with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® that provides consultations elsewhere for a fee. Directories for these specialty referral veterinarians can be found at balance.it/dacvim or vetspecialists.com.

If you are having an issue with one of our products, we want to hear from you and get or make things right. Please email us at info@balanceit.com.

By completely focusing and enhancing our efforts online, we can continue to extend our impact, ensure consistent ongoing support, and stay true to our mission of improving animal health through accessible, expert-driven tools and information.

We truly appreciate our users’ and customers’ ongoing support and understanding as we continue to grow and adapt.

Thank you for your interest in Balance It®. We are always happy to help to the best of our ability; however, we do not offer nutritional consultations. You are welcome to utilize our free online service to create or build and access recipes that are customized to your animal companion. Our Recipe Builder (powered by the Autobalancer®) automatically determines nutrient gaps based on lifestage & any available conditions and specific foods to then calculate the correct supplement(s) and amount(s). If you are looking for a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® to make specific recommendations for your dog/cat, you may need to pursue a paid consultation with one of the options at the directories found at balance.it/dacvim or vetspecialists.com.

We are always happy to help to the best of our ability. When a user or customer asks us about specific ingredients or recipes or the nutritional management of specific conditions that can be selected or created with our Recipe Builder, we have some limitations per state and federal laws, regulations, and policies. We are always able to help navigate users and customers through the use of the site and online processes including requesting veterinary approval from your veterinarian. We can also address questions about supplement’s nutrient profile or guaranteed analysis as well as food quality and safety. However, we cannot guide you to make specific decisions  about the care of your specific animal companion which might include selecting/avoiding specific conditions, ingredients/supplements, and/or recipes. We cannot do this as we do not offer medical/nutritional consultations at Balance It®. A valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) with you and your animal companion, that is established by physically seeing you/them, is needed to provide consultations in most jurisdictions. The lack of a valid VCPR along with FDA CPG Sec. 690.150 legally limits the information/advice we can provide directly to human companions of dogs and cats. Therefore, regrettably, we may not be able to answer your specific question(s). 

We are able to provide two options/suggestions:

1. Ask your veterinarian to contact us directly with their/your concerns. Your veterinarian can send an email to info@balanceit.com from their veterinary practice email address. We will then forward the information to our nutrition team (i.e., a licensed veterinary nurse and/or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist®) for review and follow-up with your veterinary practice. Our nutrition team is still not able to do consults, but they may be legally able to offer more direct assistance and guidance to your veterinarian about your animal companion’s care. We do not charge for this service, but your veterinarian may need to charge you a fee to cover their effort/time.

2. You may seek a consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® that provides consultations for a fee. A list of these specialty referral veterinarians can be found at balance.it/dacvim or vetspecialists.com. Some of these ACVIM (or ECVCN in the EU) Nutrition Specialists will have the same requirement of working directly with your veterinarian, while others may be willing & able to work with you directly/remotely based on their local laws/regulations and own policies.

We hope this helps, and we wish you and your animal companion all the best. If you have any questions about our limitations or on subjects, we are able to assist you with, please feel free to contact us via the options under Support in the website footer. 

You may also be interested in the Do you do any nutritional consultations via your veterinary nurses or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®? and What if I cannot use your online self-service myself as I find it too difficult or cannot get it to work for me? FAQs.

At Balance It^®, our free online tools and resources are designed to be self-service. This enables our small, family-owned, Certified B Corp company to sustainably provide and maintain this free access to tens of thousands of people and veterinary professionals each month. However, we understand that not all potential users may find it easy to navigate any online platforms, and when that unfortunately includes our site, we want to give those users an alternative path forward.

If you’re having difficulty using our free, online self-service tools and resources including our Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes, we recommend that you start with our AI-powered FAQ page at balance.it/faqs . This tool is designed to dynamically answer questions you enter on its own from our detailed knowledge base it references in its reply. There you’ll find assistance like detailed written instructions and video tutorials that walk you step-by-step through the most common processes, such as creating recipes, troubleshooting technical issues, including those related to managing any orders, subscriptions, or auto-orders.

If you still need help after asking your question using the AI-powered FAQs, here are some other options to consider:

1. Ask a family member or friend who may be more familiar with technology to walk you through the site.
2. Reach out to your veterinary practice — your veterinarian or their staff can set up a free veterinary account on our site if they don’t have one (tens of thousands already do) and create recipes for you. Note they may charge you for this service/their time.
3. Consult with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® for a fee. These specialists can work directly with you and/or your veterinarian to design customized nutrition plans. Many use an even more advanced version of our software that we support for free, so hopefully we will be indirectly still providing some help to you. Directories for these specialized service providers are available at balance.it/dacvim and vetspecialists.com.

By offering these alternatives, we hope to continue to empower both animal guardians and veterinary professionals to improve animal health through custom and evidence-based nutrition.

You may also be interested in the FAQ: "Do you provide any nutritional guidance via your customer service?"

No, unfortunately, we are unable to accept visitors. We are a secure State of California & FDA registered food (aka human) grade facility with a robust FDA-compliant Food Defense Plan. Therefore, we do not allow any returns to be made in person nor do we allow any onsite visitors without prior written permission. All employees, contractors, and visitors, including State of California and FDA inspectors (these government officials can inspect without written permission or warning), must review/be trained on and comply with a variety of practices & prerequisite programs that ensure food or human dietary supplement quality and safety. Note that we also have third-party auditor visits for both food (aka human food) production current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs) and human dietary supplement cGMPs.

Here. 

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• Cachil Dehe [CATCH-ill DEE-HEE]
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• Wintun [WIN- tune]

Yes, as a small, family owned California Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corp, we strive to support charitable & educational efforts when possible through small donations. To be considered, the requesting organization must meet the following criteria:

1. Be a registered 501(c)(3) US-based nonprofit

2. Have a mission/event that is veterinary- or animal-related

3. Be able to accept donations via credit card

If your request meets these criteria, please email us at info@balanceit.com with your 501(c)(3) verification, payment instructions, and any other information we should be aware of. 

Please note that we do not have any affiliate/marketing programs or the like nor do we support paid sponsorships or pay for reviews. 

We wish you success in your efforts.

We suggest using the Google Translate feature in Google Chrome to translate our site that is in English to many other languages if desired.

To do this go to the desired web page using the Google Chrome browser

Right click on your mouse and click the "Translate to..." option:

If not the right language to translate to, click the three dots:

Then select "Choose Another Language..."

And select the desired language, scroll down to see all options:

Then click Translate.

Here is an example translation to Japanese of the Recipe Builder page:

and an example translation to Spanish:

Of course, we are very proud of these unique achievements, the independent confirmation of our commitment to food quality & safety, and strongly believe in transparency. Please see all four below including our newest GRMA certification (the highest one we can attain for human dietary supplement manufacturing). We also are a third-party Certified B Corp reflecting our commitment to meeting "the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose."  

The GRMA's certification program was developed to consistently asses, evaluate the implementation of, and seek conformance of the auditee's quality management system and product safety plan to the program's requirements. Certification indicates commitment to:

-Comply with GRMA product safety & quality management system requirements

-Provide proper resources, staff, equipment, training, and processes to support the implemented product safety & quality management systems

-Achieve products that meet product safety and quality requirements

-Establish and maintain a state of control within the supply chain

-Foster and facilitate continual improvement

To learn more, please visit GRMA's site here and read details about ANSI standards here.

The formulation software including requirements for medical conditions and recipes were created over the last twenty years by multiple veterinarians who are board-certified veterinary nutritionists, and who hold graduate degrees (MS or PhD) in nutrition. You can also read more below or head over to the About Us page to see a brief bulleted bio about our veterinarian founder, Sean Delaney, BS, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Nutrition), and his extensive experience and expertise in the world of veterinary nutrition. 

Want to learn more, please see below:

We were established by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist®. Recognized as a world expert, our founder, Dr. Sean Delaney, previously served as a clinical faculty member at a top-tier U.S. veterinary school over a decade (2003-2013) while successfully training many other specialists. He has served as  the Executive Chair of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN®), and he subsequently helped merge it into the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) in 2021. He was also elected as the Chair of the AVMA Veterinary Specialty Organizations Committee representing over 13,500 veterinary specialists in 46 distinct fields working on improved competencies, and was the R&D head & SEVP for an industry-leading natural pet food company that developed the first grain free and 95% organic pet food brands and was acquired by Procter & Gamble while he was one of four “C-suite executives”. He is one of two original editors and authors of the prominent and widely referenced veterinary nutrition textbook, Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition, 1st & 2nd Editions, published by Wiley. He is currently the volunteer Board Chair of MMI, a non-profit that teaches veterinary nutrition at 25 veterinary schools in North America and the Caribbean. He also founded Vet Assistant AI, Inc. which offers solutions to improve veterinary communications and patient outcomes. Balance It® is a brand of Davis Veterinary Medical Consulting, Inc. which is a California benefit corporation (see mission below) with Dr. Delaney, Siona Santos Delaney, a chemical engineer, and Aniel Santos, a software engineer, as its shareholders & Board of Directors. It became a Certified B Corp in March 2025. 

For nearly two decades, Balance It® has provided solutions for safely feeding animal companions fresh food. Our many firsts include the first (and patented) all-in-one-powdered supplements to fortify human food fed to dogs and cats as well as the first online formulation software to dynamically and instantly create complete and balanced pet food recipes. Balance It® has been used by over 30,000 veterinarians and is used by most clinically active small animal board-certified veterinary nutritionists around the globe and in academia. With tens of millions of recipes generated, we are the number one trusted source of recipes that veterinarians do & can recommend and clients can rely on with confidence. The Balance It® formulation software and/or supplement(s) has/have also been used in the most challenging patients & referrals cases and numerous peer-reviewed studies as found in the following publications:

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) 240(5) (2012) 532-538;

JAVMA 241(11) (2012) 1453-1460; JAVMA 242(11) (2013) 1500-1505;

Journal of Physiology and Animal Nutrition (JAPAN) 97 (2013) 400; and

JAPAN 99 (2015) 818-819.

Balance It® has also supported research on vitamin retention factors to bolster the data available from the USDA and that is important for one pot cooking (via Yuki Okada, BA, DVM, PhD’s 2022 AAVN Symposium award-winning ACVIM (Nutrition) residency project that Balance It® funded) and canine taurine metabolism at the University of Missouri (via a 2022-23 research gift to Robert Backus, MS, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Nutrition)’s laboratory). To further specialty veterinary knowledge, training, competence, and practice, Balance It® is an ongoing supporter of the ACVIM (e.g., Bronze Sponsor of the 2023 40th Anniversary & 2025 ACVIM Forums).  

Davis Veterinary Medical Consulting, Inc.'s Mission:

Davis Veterinary Medical Consulting, Inc. is a California Benefit Corporation founded by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist in 2003 to improve the health of animals through better nutrition and medical care. We recognize and support the mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship of the human-animal bond. We develop and produce innovative educational materials, services, and products that nourish animals and inform their caretakers. We are committed to pioneering sustainable practices across our operations, from sourcing ingredients, powering our facility, selecting our packaging, and empowering our stakeholders, aiming to leave a positive environmental legacy. Through professionalism, creativity, transparency, and empathy, we strive for healthier lives and a thriving Earth for all.

Yes. In addition to the very comprehensive FAQs at balance.it/faqs our founder, Dr. Delaney, co-edits and co-authors a comprehensive text book entitled, Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition, 1st & 2nd Editions published by Wiley (it is available for purchase online including at Amazon.com in Kindle e-book form). There are also contributions in the text by many other board-certified veterinary nutritionists. It is widely used by the veterinary profession and is a recommended resource by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) for candidates that hope to become board-certified veterinary nutritionists. Dr. Delaney has also contributed to several other prominent textbooks including the Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine (multiple recent & current editions), Advances in Small Animal Care (2020), and Kirk and Bonagura's Current Veterinary Therapy XVI. 

You may also be interested in the Nutritional Management of Common Diseases section of our FAQs that includes timestamped videos for several common diseases. 

For the veterinary professional, Dr. Delaney also serves as the volunteer Board Chair of the non-profit organization, Mark Morris Institute (https://www.markmorrisinstitute.org), that provides many educational resources including instruction at 25 veterinary schools in North America and the Caribbean. Finally you may be interested in the Who created the homemade dog and cat food recipes or the free Recipe Builder/Autobalancer®? Are they reputable and credentialed? FAQ as it summarizes some of the supportive peer-reviewed research using/regarding Balance It®.

You are also always welcome to Contact Us via the link in our website footer for additional support.

Davis Veterinary Medical (DVM) Consulting, Inc., A California Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corp does not currently perform or do consultations for individual patients or industry and instead exclusively supports the Balance.It and vetnutritionist.AI brands and their offerings. This focus allows us to best support the now over 40,000 veterinarians including over a hundred veterinary nutrition specialists and millions of their patients using and relying on these unique resources. 

We suggest contacting a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® who offers consulting services. Directories for these specialty veterinarians are available at balance.it/dacvim or vetspecialists.com.

We sincerely appreciate your interest and wish you the best/luck with your dog/cat/patient and/or in your business efforts/endeavors.

Due to existing commitments and extensive demands already for his expertise, our founder, Sean Delaney, BS, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Nutrition), board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®, Life Member Inductee of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (AAVN), and co-editor & co-author of the widely referenced Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition*, 1st & 2nd Editions, is not currently available for interviews or other media engagements.

If you need assistance with the Balance It^® brand or have general questions, we encourage you to visit our website at balance.it, including our AI-powered FAQ page at balance.it/faqs.

If you are interested in vetnutritionist.AI, please reach out once it has launched before the end of 2025. 

*Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition, 2nd Edition, published in 2024 by WILEY Blackwell has contributions from 24 other leading veterinary nutritionists that you may wish to reach out to and/or see the directory at vetspecialists.com maintained by the ACVIM. 

We appreciate your interest and wish you success with your effort to increase veterinary and animal nutrition awareness and knowledge.

Balance It^® offers nutritional strategies for thousands of health conditions, but not all conditions have specific nutritional management strategies. If you don’t see a condition, you can:

First: Search for alternate condition names

Your veterinarian may refer to a condition differently than it appears in our system. Use the search bar in Step 1 of the free Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes to check if the condition is listed under an alternate name.

Understanding nutrient requirements

To determine if a discovered condition is appropriate for your dog or cat, you or your veterinarian can:

1. Click the green eye icon next to any condition name to view its specific nutrient requirements
2. Review the description at the bottom, if available, to understand the nutritional strategy

These icons are available on Step 1 of the Recipe Builder and on the Veterinary Approval Request processes’ search.

If your condition isn't listed or a match/appropriate 

Some conditions don't have established nutritional management strategies, or nutrition isn't the primary treatment approach. We recommend consulting your veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® for personalized guidance in those cases.

We're happy to assist veterinary professionals directly—veterinarians can contact us at info@balanceit.com. The FDA and state laws prevent us from directly giving laypeople guidance about specific dogs or cats.  

Common Conditions Not Currently Offered

Click "CONDITIONS NOT LISTED?" under Step 1 of the Recipe Builder to view this detailed information (see red arrow below):

This will open a slider like this:

Below are brief summaries of these not available or listed conditions:

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) / Chronic Enteropathy / Food Allergies / Adverse Reactions to Food

These conditions require ingredient selection based on your dog's or cat’s individual tolerance and diet history*. While one can select the  "Let Me Pick Ingredients" option on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder to:

1. Select ingredients a dog or cat tolerates*

2. Exclude ingredients that cause adverse food reactions* 

3. Create a “novel” protein and/or limited ingredient diet when needed*

*Consult your veterinarian about which ingredients to select or avoid AND whether this free Recipe Builder tool at balance.it/recipes is the right solution as diet history is essential for determining what's appropriate. DO NOT USE this tool for any condition not specifically approved by your veterinarian.

You may be interested in this other FAQ: I can’t find recipes for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), chronic enteropathy, or food allergy. What should I do?

Canine Struvite Urolithiasis

We don't offer recipes for struvite stone (aka urolithis) dissolution or prevention in dogs. Current veterinary guidelines focus on antibiotic therapy rather than dietary management, as canine struvite stones are typically associated with bacterial infections that produce urease enzymes (see ACVIM Consensus Statement Recommendation 3.2).

For cases requiring nutritional management beyond healthy adult recipes, consult a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®.

Cancer (aka Neoplasia)

We don't currently offer cancer-specific recipes. Nutritional recommendations for cancer remain controversial, with strategies like low-carbohydrate diets lacking evidence. Some veterinarians recommend diets with lower n-6 to long-chain n-3 fatty acid ratios, which may be available on our site with veterinary approval.

For personalized nutritional support during cancer treatment, consult a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®.

Elevated Liver Enzymes

There are no specific dietary strategies for elevated liver enzymes alone. However, if a specific diagnosis is made—such as copper hepatopathy, portosystemic shunt, or hepatic encephalopathy—we do offer targeted nutritional management strategies with veterinary approval.

Consult your veterinarian, a veterinary internist, or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® for appropriate diagnostics and treatment.

Cushing's Disease (Hyperadrenocorticism)

No specific nutritional management approaches exists for this condition. Lower energy-density foods (fewer calories per volume) may help with satiety and can be achieved by speaking with your veterinarian about:

1. Using lower-fat ingredients

2. Increasing safe vegetables and fruits and/or total dietary fiber

Cautions:

1. 1. If a dog (or cat, hyperadrenocorticism is extremely rare in cats) is also diabetic, reducing fat increases carbohydrate content

   2. If calcium oxalate stones are a concern, select vegetables and fruits carefully due to their oxalate content

Addison's Disease (Hypoadrenocorticism)

Dietary modification doesn't address the electrolyte imbalances (hyperkalemia, hyponatremia) associated with Addison's disease. Hormone replacement therapy with mineralocorticoids (and glucocorticoids) is required to restore normal blood electrolyte concentrations.

Canine Silica Urolithiasis

This rare condition requires individualized guidance. Consult a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®, who typically recommends:

• Avoiding cereal grains (higher in silica)

• Adding water to meals to increase urine dilution (targeting urine specific gravity ≤1.020 for dogs)

Recurrence rates are generally low.

Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI)

With appropriate pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, most EPI patients thrive on standard growth and maintenance diets. If symptoms persist (loose stools, weight loss), the enzyme dosage typically needs adjustment under veterinary guidance.

Lower-fat diets may be recommended in some cases to reduce enzyme costs, but this isn't necessary for all EPI patients.

Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) / Feline Interstitial Cystitis (FIC)

Dietary changes aren't generally recommended for FLUTD/FIC without concurrent urolithiasis. If stones or crystals are present, select the appropriate urolithiasis condition.

Focus on environmental management and stress reduction is generally recommended. See the Ohio State University Indoor Pet Initiative for evidence-based guidance: https://indoorpet.osu.edu/cats

For Fanconi Syndrome, please contact your veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary criticalist and/or internist to make sure that any underlying toxic exposure or condition/disease has been addressed/diagnosed/medically treated. Then for any nutritional recommendations, please work with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist®. Popular nutritional management strategies may not be proven and/or appropriate given patient specifics and/or response may need to be carefully monitored to adjust any treatments including diet. 

You may also be interested in this FAQ: Why can I not get a homemade recipe for the nutritional management of hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism?

Need Additional Help?

If you're still unsure which condition(s) to select or whether a recipe is appropriate for your dog or cat, consult your veterinarian. Veterinary professionals can contact us directly at info@balanceit.com. The FDA and state laws prevent us from providing nutritional management guidance to specific dogs and cats. Access to any recipes for nutritional management of any condition must be approved by one’s veterinarian.

In addition to trillions of possible healthy dog and cat recipes, we also offer free recipes for the nutritional management of hundreds to thousands of medical conditions and combinations of medical conditions. However, there are certain conditions for which we do not provide specific recipes for.  Common examples include food allergy, adverse reactions to food, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) (now referred to as chronic enteropathy), and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). These conditions are not available as we do not collect and evaluate a diet history to then know what ingredients or foods may be novel (or new) and/or tolerated for a specific dog or cat. The alternative of suggesting some uncommon antigen food or ingredient pairings does not offer the needed precision for specific cases and would be inherently limiting. 

With that said, all users can select the exact ingredients or foods they wish to feed, and they can also easily exclude any (see FAQ link below on how to exclude (a) specific ingredient(s) or food(s)). Users can also adjust recipes and make substitutions to ingredients and foods. Thus, all users can create custom recipes using any of the thousands of ingredients and foods we have available to select, and when appropriate or indicated, rely on their veterinarian’s direct advice about when certain ingredients should or should not be fed. 

Consequently, if you have questions about what should be fed and/or not fed to your specific dog or cat whether healthy or with a medical condition, please speak with your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®. 

Please see our FAQ: How do I exclude or leave out (an) ingredient(s) I wish to avoid feeding?

This video by Sean J. Delaney, DVM, MS, DACVN (now DACVIM (Nutrition) given the ACVN-ACVIM merger in 2021) covers the nutritional management of renal disease in-depth. Specific strategies such as phosphorus restriction, protein restriction, low omega-6 to long-chain omega-3 fatty acid ratio, sodium reduction, increased water soluble B-vitamins, increased water need, avoidance of acid-base imbalance, potassium adjustments, and increased energy density are addressed. Diagnosis and monitoring are briefly covered as they relate to the nutritional management of the disease. This video was made possible by: Balance It®. If you would like to watch this video with captions, please do not click the automated captions. The non-automated English captions are much more accurate and can also be somewhat accurately translated via Google's software to other languages.

Time Stamps for Sections:
Beginning: 0:00
Diagnosis: 0:39
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Phosphorus Restriction: 2:00
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Protein Restriction: 4:09
*Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Low Omega-6 to Long-chain Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio: 6:49
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Sodium Restriction: 8:27
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Increased Water Soluble B-Vitamins: 9:08
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Increased Water Need: 9:42
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Avoidance of Acid-Base Imbalance: 11:05
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: As Needed Potassium Adjustments: 12:12
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Increased Energy Density: 12:58
Monitoring: 14:11

This video by Sean J. Delaney, DVM, MS, DACVN (now DACVIM (Nutrition) given the ACVN-ACVIM merger in 2021) covers the nutritional management of weight loss in-depth. Specific strategies such as feeding less calories than are needed, nutrient enhancement, reduced energy density, caloric distribution modifications, increased feeding frequency and treating, supplemental L-carnitine & other compounds, and exercise are addressed. Diagnosis and monitoring are briefly covered as they relate to the nutritional management of the disease. This video was made possible by: Balance It®. If you would like to watch this video with captions, please do not click the automated captions. The non-automated English captions are much more accurate and can also be somewhat accurately translated via Google's software to other languages.

Time Stamps for Sections:
Beginning: 0:00
Diagnosis: 0:59
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Feeding Less Calories Than Are Needed: 3:03
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Nutrient Enhancement: 4:52
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Reduced Energy Density: 6:39
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Caloric Distribution Modifications: 8:09
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Increased Feeding Frequency and Treating: 9:42
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Supplemental L-Carnitine & Other Compounds: 11:02
A Brief Comment on Exercise: 12:04
Monitoring: 12:46

This video by Sean J. Delaney, DVM, MS, DACVN (now DACVIM (Nutrition) given the ACVN-ACVIM merger in 2021) covers the nutritional management of osteoarthritis in-depth. Specific strategies such as weight loss, low omega-6 to long-chain omega-3 fatty acid ratio, and glucosamine & chondroitin sulfate are addressed. Diagnosis and monitoring are briefly covered as they relate to the nutritional management of the disease. This video was made possible by: Balance It®. If you would like to watch this video with captions, please do not click the automated captions. The non-automated English captions are much more accurate and can also be somewhat accurately translated via Google's software to other languages

Time Stamps for Sections:
Beginning: 0:00
Diagnosis: 1:05
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Weight Loss: 1:41
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Low Omega-6 to Long-chain Omega-3 Fatty Acid Ratio: 2:26
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Glucosamine & Chondroitin Sulfate: 4:18
Monitoring: 5:40

This video by Sean J. Delaney, DVM, MS, DACVN (now DACVIM (Nutrition) given the ACVN-ACVIM merger in 2021) covers the nutritional management of diabetes mellitus in-depth. Specific strategies such as weight loss, fiber, lower glycemic index foods, and caloric distribution modification are addressed. Diagnosis and monitoring are briefly covered as they relate to the nutritional management of the disease. This video was made possible by: Balance It®. If you would like to watch this video with captions, please do not click the automated captions. The non-automated English captions are much more accurate and can also be somewhat accurately translated via Google's software to other languages.

Time Stamps for Sections:
Beginning: 0:00
Diagnosis: 2:56
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Weight Loss: 4:16
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Fiber: 5:32
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Lower Glycemic Index Foods: 6:52
Nutritional Therapy Strategies: Caloric Distribution Modification: 8:26
Monitoring: 9:16

No, there are no known and proven breed-specific conditions that all members of a breed have. Therefore, we suggest the selection of any condition(s) your specific dog has to make the most tailored and bespoke recipe for them possible. If you are unsure what condition(s) your dog may have or doesn't have, please speak with your veterinarian.

Therefore, you won’t find a list like the one below to select from when making a free custom recipe at balance.it/recipes but you will have access to thousands of conditions to choose from. 

Affenpinscher
Afghan Hound
Aidi (Atlas Mountain Dog)
Airedale Terrier
Akbash
Akita
Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog
Alaskan Klee Kai
Alaskan Malamute
Alopekis
American Akita
American Bulldog
American Cocker Spaniel
American English Coonhound
American Eskimo Dog
American Foxhound
American Hairless Terrier
American Leopard Hound
American Pit Bull Terrier
American Staffordshire Terrier
American Water Spaniel
Anatolian Shepherd Dog
Appenzeller Sennenhund
Ariegeois
Artois Hound
Aspin (Philippine Aspin / Asong Pinoy / Philippine Dog)
Australian Cattle Dog
Australian Kelpie
Australian Shepherd
Australian Silky Terrier
Australian Stumpy Tail Cattle Dog
Australian Terrier
Azawakh

Barbado da Terceira
Barbet
Basenji
Basset Artesien Normand
Basset Bleu de Gascogne
Basset Fauve de Bretagne
Basset Hound
Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound (Bayerischer Gebirgsschweisshund)
Beagle
Bearded Collie
Beauceron
Bedlington Terrier
Belgian Laekenois
Belgian Malinois
Belgian Sheepdog (Groenendael)
Belgian Tervuren
Bergamasco Sheepdog
Berger Picard
Bernese Mountain Dog
Bichon Frise
Biewer Terrier
Black and Tan Coonhound
Black Russian Terrier
Bloodhound
Blue Lacy
Bluetick Coonhound
Boerboel
Bohemian Shepherd
Bolognese
Border Collie
Border Terrier
Borzoi
Boston Terrier
Bouvier des Ardennes
Bouvier des Flandres
Boxer
Boykin Spaniel
Bracco Italiano
Braque d Auvergne
Braque du Bourbonnais
Braque Francais (various types)
Braque Saint-Germain
Brazilian Terrier
Briard
Brittany (Brittany Spaniel)
Broholmer
Brussels Griffon
Bull Terrier (Standard)
Bull Terrier (Miniature)
Bulldog (English Bulldog)
Bullmastiff

Cairn Terrier
Canaan Dog
Canadian Eskimo Dog (Canadian Inuit Dog)
Cane Corso
Cardigan Welsh Corgi
Carolina Dog
Catahoula Leopard Dog (Catahoula)
Caucasian Shepherd Dog (Caucasian Ovcharka)
Cesky Terrier
Cesky Fousek
Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Chihuahua
Chinese Crested
Chinese Shar-Pei
Chinook
Chow Chow
Cirneco dell Etna
Clumber Spaniel
Cocker Spaniel (American)
Cocker Spaniel (English)
Collie (Rough/Smooth)
Coton de Tulear
Croatian Sheepdog
Curly-Coated Retriever
Czechoslovakian Vlcak (Czechoslovakian Wolfdog)

Dachshund (Smooth, Longhaired, Wirehaired)
Dalmatian
Dandie Dinmont Terrier
Danish-Swedish Farmdog
Deutscher Wachtelhund
Doberman Pinscher
Dogo Argentino
Dogue de Bordeaux (French Mastiff)
Drentsche Patrijshond
Drever
Dutch Shepherd

East European Shepherd
East Siberian Laika
English Cocker Spaniel
English Foxhound
English Pointer
English Setter
English Springer Spaniel
English Toy Spaniel (King Charles type)
Entlebucher Mountain Dog
Estrela Mountain Dog
Eurasier

Fila Brasileiro (Brazilian Mastiff)
Finnish Lapphund
Finnish Spitz
Flat-Coated Retriever
French Bulldog
French Spaniel

German Longhaired Pointer
German Pinscher
German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian)
German Shorthaired Pointer
German Spitz (various)
German Wirehaired Pointer
Glen of Imaal Terrier
Golden Retriever
Gordon Setter
Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen
Great Dane
Great Pyrenees (Pyrenean Mountain Dog)
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
Greyhound (English)
Griffon Bruxellois (Brussels Griffon)

Hamiltonstovare
Harrier
Havanese
Hokkaido
Hovawart
Husky (Siberian Husky)

Ibizan Hound
Icelandic Sheepdog
Irish Red and White Setter
Irish Setter
Irish Terrier
Irish Water Spaniel
Irish Wolfhound
Italian Greyhound

Jack Russell Terrier / Parson Russell Terrier
Jagdterrier
Japanese Chin
Japanese Spitz
Japanese Terrier
Japanese Akitainu (Akita Inu)
Kai Ken
Kangal (Anatolian Shepherd variant name)
Karelian Bear Dog
Keeshond
Kerry Blue Terrier
Kishu Ken
Komondor
Kromfohrlander
Kuvasz

Labrador Retriever
Lagotto Romagnolo
Lakeland Terrier
Lancashire Heeler
Lapponian Herder (Lapphund)
Large Munsterlander
Leonberger
Lhasa Apso
Loch Ness Hound (sometimes listed as local/rare)
Lowchen

Maltese
Manchester Terrier (Standard & Toy)
Maremma Sheepdog (Maremmano-Abruzzese Sheepdog)
Mastiff (English Mastiff)
McNab
Mexican Hairless (Xoloitzcuintli / Xolo)
Miniature American Shepherd
Miniature Bull Terrier
Miniature Pinscher
Miniature Schnauzer
Molossus (ancient type; modern molosser breeds include Mastiff/Bullmastiff/etc.)
Mudi

Neapolitan Mastiff
Nederlandse Kooikerhondje (Kooikerhondje)
New Guinea Singing Dog
Newfoundland
Norfolk Terrier
Norrbottenspets
Northern Inuit Dog
Norwegian Buhund
Norwegian Elkhound
Norwegian Lundehund
Norwich Terrier
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever

Old English Sheepdog
Olde English Bulldogge
Otterhound

Papillon
Parson Russell Terrier
Pekingese
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Peruvian Inca Orchid (Peruvian Hairless)
Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen (PBGV)
Phalene
Pharaoh Hound
Plott Hound
Pointer
Pomeranian
Pont-Audemer Spaniel
Poodle (Standard, Miniature, Toy)
Porcelaine
Portuguese Podengo (various sizes)
Portuguese Pointer
Portuguese Sheepdog
Portuguese Water Dog
Presa Canario
Pudelpointer
Pug
Puli
Pumi
Pungsan Dog

Pyrenean Mastiff
Pyrenean Shepherd

Rafeiro do Alentejo
Rajapalayam
Rampur Greyhound
Rastreador Brasileiro
Rat Terrier
Ratonero Bodeguero Andaluz (Spanish Bodeguero)
Ratonero Murciano
Redbone Coonhound
Rhodesian Ridgeback
Rough Collie
Romanian Mioritic Shepherd Dog
Romanian Raven Shepherd Dog
Rottweiler
Russkiy Toy (Russian Toy)
Russian Spaniel
Russo-European Laika

Saint Bernard
Saluki
Samoyed
Schapendoes
Schillerstovare
Schipperke
Schweizer Laufhund (Swiss Hound types)
Schweizerischer Niederlaufhund
Scottish Deerhound
Scottish Terrier
Sealyham Terrier
Segugio dell Appennino
Segugio Italiano
Serbian Hound
Shar Pei (Chinese Shar-Pei)
Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie)
Shiba Inu
Shih Tzu
Shikoku
Shiloh Shepherd
Siberian Husky
Silken Windhound
Sinhala Hound
Skye Terrier
Sloughi
Slovak Cuvac (Slovensky Cuvac)
Slovensky Kopov (Slovakian Hound)
Small Munsterlander
Small Greek Shepherd varieties
Smooth Collie
Smooth Fox Terrier
Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier
South Russian Ovcharka
Spanish Mastiff
Spanish Water Dog
Spinone Italiano
Stabyhoun
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Standard Schnauzer
Styrian Coarse-haired Hound
Sussex Spaniel
Swedish Lapphund
Swedish Vallhund
Sznaucer (regional spellings normalized above)

Tenterfield Terrier
Thai Bangkaew Dog
Thai Ridgeback
Tibetan Mastiff
Tibetan Spaniel
Tibetan Terrier
Tornjak
Tosa (Tosa Inu)
Toy Fox Terrier
Toy Manchester Terrier
Transylvanian Hound
Treeing Cur
Treeing Feist
Treeing Tennessee Brindle
Treeing Walker Coonhound
Tweed Water Spaniel (extinct; sometimes listed historically)

Utonagan (and similar phenotypic breeds like Tamaskan — landrace/modern breeds)
Volpino Italiano

Vizsla
Volkosob (rare/regionally named varieties)
Weimaraner
Welsh Hound
Welsh Sheepdog
Welsh Springer Spaniel
Welsh Terrier
West Country Harrier
West Highland White Terrier
West Siberian Laika
Westphalian Dachsbracke
Wetterhoun
Whippet
White Shepherd (White Swiss Shepherd / Berger Blanc Suisse)
Wire Fox Terrier
Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
Wirehaired Vizsla
Working Kelpie
Xiasi Dog
Xigou
Xoloitzcuintle (Xolo / Mexican Hairless)
Yakutian Laika
Yorkshire Terrier
Zerdava

Thank you for your interest in using Balance It® to create safe, custom, and wholesome dog/cat food at home. Guidance on supplement selection and use is available for free via the online Recipe Builder, powered by the Autobalancer®. This advanced software determines nutrient gaps from the specific foods and portions fed to then determine the correct supplement(s) and amount(s).

If you are unable to access the website or are unsure what to select, please speak directly with your veterinarian. If you are looking for someone to make specific recommendations for your dog/cat, you may need to pursue a paid consultation with one of the options available at vetspecialists.com or from the directory at balance.it/dacvim.     

Here’s How To Get Started:

To sign up for a FREE account go to www.balance.it. In the upper right-hand corner click on Login to begin your FREE Sign Up. Once you have successfully created your free account and are logged in, you will see Logout in the upper right-hand corner.

If your adult dog/puppy/adult cat/kitten is healthy, please use the FREE Recipe Builder. We have an interface for healthy animal companions with thousands of foods available to select from. 

1. Under Step 1: Your Dog/Cat, enter/select your dog’s or cat’s name (you may even add a photo of your furry friend!) in the right species and age section for them.

1. 1. Enter their current & ideal weight 

      1. You may change the units from lb (pound) to kg (kilogram) if necessary. 

   2. Enter their age in years or if a puppy or kitten, in months

   3. Enter their gender and reproductive status

2. AAFCO Dog or Cat Maintenance or Growth and Reproduction will automatically be selected and cannot be removed as it is used for calculations along with any selections under Any special needs or diet we should be aware of?. If health conditions are selected a vet approval will be required to be FDA compliant.

3. Click Build Recipe Now if you need some help with selecting ingredients or click Let me Pick Ingredients to go to the ingredients page to select your own ingredients.

4. If you click on Let me Pick Ingredients, under Step 2: Ingredients (optional) you may search & select ingredients you wish to feed your dog or cat. Note: To create convenient one-pot cooking recipes, please check the box stating Show one-pot cooking ingredients & recipes ONLY under Step 2: Ingredients (optional).

1. 1. Using the search bar, you may search for & select ingredients such as “chicken” or “rice”. Adding details/keywords like “chicken breast cooked” or “rice white cooked” will refine your search results.

   2. Alternatively, you may instead select some proteins, carbs, fats (we suggest letting the Recipe Builder choose fats/or oils for you to meet fatty acid requirements), veggies, fruits, and/or treats & enticers by clicking “Most Popular” and the buttons that appear.

      1. Tips for Selecting Ingredients: When using the Let Me Pick Ingredients option, it’s important to understand how the Recipe Builder interprets your selections:

         1. Selecting multiple ingredients: Some users assume that choosing several ingredients will generate multiple recipes, each using different but not all combinations of those ingredients. However, the system will attempt to use ALL selected ingredients within a single recipe. If you wish to prepare recipes with less ingredients, select less ingredients.

         2. Selecting only a single protein rich food: Some users expect the system to automatically add complementary ingredients when only a protein rich food is selected. However, if you select just one protein source, the Recipe Builder will only try to create an "all protein" recipe. While these recipes can be nutritionally balanced when combined with the correct supplement(s) including fat(s)/oil(s) sometimes, they may not reflect the variety or type of recipe the user intended/desired.

         3. Be sure to select all the ingredients you want to feed your dog or cat every day, as the Recipe Builder will try to balance them together in a single recipe. You can try different selections/combinations to create a variety of recipes.

   3. If there are ingredients you wish to LEAVE OUT or EXCLUDE from your recipe(s), you may click on “ANY INGREDIENTS YOU’D LIKE TO LEAVE OUT?” and enter keywords you wish to exclude (or filter out) so they will not show up in search and recipe results.

      1. At the bottom of the page, you will see a light red box with all the keywords you wish to leave out in strikethrough text. To no longer exclude a keyword click the X.

5. After selecting your ingredients to include (and to exclude), scroll down and click on Get Recipe.

6. You will then be able to view the recipes that pass on the next screen. Recipes take thousands of calculations to be created & are checked in real-time and not all options will meet all current nutrient requirements. The first recipe presented to you will often be an All Protein option that just uses  protein rich foods that you selected and fats/oils. If you selected additional ingredients then you will want to look at the recipes lower on the page under the relative/comparative headers of Higher Protein/Fat and Lower Carb, Mid-range Protein and Carb and Higher Carb. Some or all of these may not be possible, and they will not appear when they are not. Sometimes none of them are possible and alternatives will be suggested or guidance to try something else. Please click on View Recipe on one of these successful recipes to see the full recipe report.

7. ONLY if the one-pot cooking option was selected, you may learn more on how to correctly use your one-pot recipe by seeing the Directions in your full recipe report.

8. At the top of the page after clicking View Recipe, you have a few things you can do: 

1. 1. You may print your recipe by clicking on the printer icon. This does NOT save your recipe in your account.

   2. You may save your recipe to your account by clicking on the heart icon. 

   3. You may download your recipe as a PDF by clicking on the arrow pointing down icon. This does NOT save your recipe in your account.

9. Under Yield/Servings, you may click on Adjust this Recipe to edit/adjust the recipe. There you can:

               a. Change the current & ideal body weight of your dog or cat (if not done initially)

               b. Adjust the feeding frequency and/or batch cooking preferences under Recipe amount

               c. While there are additional options like changing the distribution of calories on this page, we recommend that you only do so under the guidance of a veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®.

10. Then click on Update My Recipe

11. You will see a light green recipe stating Adjusted By You appear at the bottom of the previous results if successful. Please click on View Recipe to see the full recipe report of this Adjusted By You option. Some adjustments/edits may not be possible.

12. Again click the heart icon at the top to save your recipe in your account. You can also print or download the recipe but that will NOT save the recipe in your account.

13. To purchase the supplement to fortify your recipe, click on Buy Supplement or Buy Now if made by Balance It® OR if a combination of supplements designed for humans, please see the recipe report for guidance on where to purchase these needed supplements elsewhere (e.g., online retailers, drugstores/pharmacies, healthy food stores, etc.).

Click here to build your FREE custom recipe(s).

While trillions of different recipe options are possible, you may sometimes find that certain recipe results are limited–or even unavailable–when using our free online Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes. This can happen for several reasons and you might get, the "Sorry, our ingredients didn't quite balance" message. Below, we’ve outlined the most common issues and provided general tips and guidance to help you create a recipe for your animal companion if it’s possible based on your selections. You’ll also find alternative options to consider if you’re unable to generate a recipe through our free, self-service online service that meets your companion’s unique needs and/or your/their preferences. 

Your selected medical condition(s) have very restrictive nutrient requirements.

When multiple health/medical conditions are listed in Step 1: Your Dog/Cat of the Recipe Builder, the software combines these requirements. This can significantly limit the number of possible recipes—or in some cases, prevent the software from generating any results at all. Additionally, certain medical conditions are highly restrictive on their own, which can also reduce or eliminate desired food pairings and options.

What You Can Try:

1. Try letting the system to find options: Click “Build Recipe Now” under Step 1:Your Dog/Cat. The software will try to automatically create recipes for you using ingredients that are most likely to work.

2. If you are selecting ingredients yourself, try starting with simple combinations of just two or three ingredients. For example, try selecting only one protein and one carbohydrate under Step 2: Select Ingredients. Lean protein sources often work best as do starchier grains. 

3. If more ingredients are preferred/needed, gradually add ingredients: If a “simple” recipe is successful, you can use the "Adjust This Recipe" tool to add more ingredients one at a time if adding all at once fails. Making multiple adjustments to a recipe at once, makes it hard to know what is causing an issue.

You've selected too many ingredients on Step 2.

Some users assume that choosing several ingredients will generate multiple recipes, each using different but not all combinations of those chosen ingredients. However, the system will attempt to use ALL selected ingredients within a single recipe. Selecting too many ingredients may result in limited or no recipes.

What You Can Try:

1. Keep it simple: Choose only the ingredients you’d like included in a single recipe. If you want to try different combinations, you can create multiple recipes—just be sure to build them one at a time.

2. Try selecting more ingredients when adjusting the recipe and concurrently making it for more days: The software can be thwarted in meeting energy needs when many foods are selected at once as the minimal measurable amounts for those foods exceed the target(s) when all added together. 

Your ingredient selections are not suitable for the type of recipe you need to create.

The ingredients you choose will affect your recipe results. For example, if you’re creating a recipe for an approved low-fat condition, selecting a higher-fat cut of meat, such as chicken thigh or ground chicken, may prevent the recipe from working. Even small adjustments—like choosing chicken breast instead of chicken thigh—can make a big difference in fat content and help a recipe to pass.

What You Can Try:

1. Try selecting a different version of your ingredient—for example, a different cooking method or a different cut of meat. We have thousands of ingredients you may search for under Step 2: Ingredients (optional) when using the Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes .

You are trying to make adjustments to a recipe that just do not work.

Sometimes modifying an existing recipe—such as changing ingredients or adjusting amounts—can cause the recipe to not meet nutritional requirements. Even small changes may alter nutrient concentrations enough that the software cannot generate a single passing recipe.

For your reference, instructions to adjust a recipe can be found in this FAQ: How do I manually adjust the ingredients and/or ingredient amount(s) in my recipe?

What You Can Try:

1. Make one small change at a time to see how it affects the recipe.

2. If a change does not work/pass, try a smaller or different adjustment. For example, if you want to reduce an ingredient by 10 ounces, start by reducing it by 5 ounces instead. You can also try increasing the amount of another ingredient at the same time to help maintain the overall calorie amount. You can also try to change the amount(s) to a blank for similar ingredient(s) as this let’s the software try to fill in the blank amount to make up for or adjust to your manual change. For example, if you manually increase the amount of a protein rich food while continuing to force the amount of another protein rich food in the recipe to stay the same (as you didn't make the amount blank for this second food), it is very easy to exceed a target protein range and/or other nutrient target like calories or fat. 

3. When changing ingredients, try ingredient versions with similar nutrient profiles when possible (e.g., chicken breast for turkey breast and not chicken thigh).

4. If your recipe failed after attempting to change the batch size, you can find more detailed guidance in this FAQ: I adjusted my recipe to a larger batch size or different feeding frequency and it failed. Why did this happen?

If no recipes are possible—or if the results provided are not a good fit for your companion’s needs and/or your preferences after trying the tips above:

Please start by consulting with your veterinarian. They may be able to suggest alternative options or guidance if certain conditions need to be prioritized as their optimal nutritional management is in conflict. If they don’t already have one, they can also sign up for a free veterinary account to build recipes on your behalf (if possible). Please know they may charge for their time/effort.

If suitable recipes are still not possible or available to you, please consider working with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® who provides consultations for a fee. They can help navigate conflicting requirements following a thorough medical history review and diet history evaluation. They also can leverage their experience to select optimal ingredients as well as provide support/education on many topics of interest especially as they may relate to a specific patient. Directories of these specialists are available at balance.it/dacvim or vetspecialists.com.

1. Log into your current account

2. Click on the avatar (head and shoulders icon) at the top of the page or go to https://balance.it/myaccount in the same browser you are logged into Balance It already

3. Scroll down and click the I am a Veterinarian check box:

4. Enter the requested information

5. Click the Save Changes button

Then when you log back in you will be able to access more features and FAQs specific to a veterinarian that is compliant with FDA guidelines and state laws.

We currently support three browsers - Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Apple iOS Safari (for iPhone and iPad) & macOS Safari (for Macs). 

AAFCO, the Association of American Feed Control Officials, is a non-profit organization made up of state regulatory officials that sets standards for both animal feeds and pet foods in the United States. The organization publishes ingredient definitions, label standards, and sets testing & laboratory guidelines for animal feed manufacturers that are then adopted by their respective states. Our Recipe Builder uses AAFCO Dog or Cat Maintenance or Growth and Reproduction nutrient profiles as a preselected “condition” or requirement to calculate a complete and balanced recipe for your healthy dog/cat. These requirements are used in conjunction with other conditions if selected in the “Any special needs or diets we should be aware of?” field.

If you're experiencing login or strange site behavior issues, please check that you are using a supported browser (i.e., Google Chrome or Apple Safari) and that your internet connection is consistently strong (try https://fast.com/ by Netflix as a good speed test option and look for a speed of at least 50 Mbps). If the internet speed is inconsistent then make sure no one is concurrently using most of your internet bandwidth for videocalling, gaming, and videostreaming. If they are, ask them to pause and see if that fixes the issue. 

If you are using a supported browser and have a strong, consistent internet connection, then here are two ways to reset things to see if that helps:

Quick reset: Copy and open this link in the browser where you're having trouble:

https://balance.it/r/logout-reset

After visiting this link, try logging in again with your credentials.

If that doesn't work: Clear your browser's cookies and cache for balance.it, close your browser completely, then reopen your browser and try the reset link again.

Still having issues? Try opening the reset link in a different supported browser (like Chrome or Safari).

If the issue still continues, you may need to try later and/or consider setting up a new account.

The software creates a custom recipe for your animal companion based on their species, gender (neuter status), age (growing or adult), body weight, and any special health condition(s). These variables tell the program what nutrient concentrations are appropriate as well as how many calories should be provided for a daily recipe. You also can select the preferred ingredients to use or have the system make some suggestions. Then our industry-leading Autobalancer® software typically does at least several million (yes million!) calculations to dynamically create a special recipe to meet your dog’s or cat’s specific needs…and voila, a custom & free human (aka food) grade* recipe for your favorite friend. *Some veterinary fish oils, sold by others, may be feed grade depending on your selections. 

Please note that while we do use & develop a growing number of AI-powered tools, the Autobalancer® and the Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes that it powers is not probabilistic, stochastic, or relying on probability to give an approximate answer like a large language model (LLM) does or can. Instead, it is doing mathematical calculations within a sophisticated, rule-based expert system that has been refined and tested by hundreds of veterinary nutrition specialists and their graduate students, residents, fellows, and interns over two decades. This means reliable precision and accuracy that just doesn't sound right, but is in fact right based on math that one can replicate and if you have enough time verify by hand.   

You are welcome to utilize our free, self-service online formulation tool to create or build and access recipes that are customized to your animal companion. Our Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes (powered by the Autobalancer^®) automatically determines nutrient gaps based on lifestage & any available conditions and specific or preferred foods to then calculate the correct supplement(s) and amount(s) for all ingredients. Balance It^® supplements do not come with general use instructions, because the amount used is dependent on the recipe fed. Fortifying otherwise, including solely on body weight, can lead to essential nutrient deficiencies and/or excesses.

When medical condition(s) and/or dietary restriction(s) are selected under Step 1 of the Recipe Builder, results will vary. Some combinations might produce few or even no successful recipes if the restrictions are too many/limiting/narrowing. You can use the Recipe Builder to “test” whether your desired selections generate passing recipes and/or simply to see which supplements may be required/needed. However, we do not recommend purchasing any supplements until you have access to the full recipe report (many pages long) for your animal companion. 

You may consider previewing or testing potential recipe results before submitting any veterinary approval request to see what recipes appropriate for the nutritional management of specific conditions are available. Please note that full recipe reports won’t be accessible/viewable until a request is submitted by you through our online form and is then approved by your veterinarian per FDA guidelines. For more details, see this FAQ: How can I submit a veterinary approval request for my animal companion with a medical condition? And why do I even need to do this? Recipes for healthy dogs and cats do not require veterinary approval to be accessed or viewed.

The simplest way to test or check for available recipe options is by using the Build Recipe Now option, which will try to generate several recipes using popular and automatically selected ingredient combinations. Please follow the steps below to try this yourself.

1. Log into your Balance It^® account at balance.it by clicking on Login at the top right (you can make an account for free at https://balance.it/signup ); you can tell when you are successfully logged in when the upper right says “Log out” and not “Login” anymore.

2. Under Step 1: Your Dog/Cat, “Enter who is this recipe for below:”, please type in your animal companion’s name under the appropriate species & age option then click on their name if it appears (because you have previously entered/saved them). 

3. Edit, enter, or confirm  your animal companion’s current weight (even if weight loss is needed; if weight gain is needed, discuss entering a higher weight with one’s veterinarian), age, gender and reproductive status. 

4. Under “Any special needs or diet we should be aware of? (optional)” search for and select any of your animal companion’s health condition(s). If you cannot find a condition, try alternative names for it or see the Conditions Not Listed link. If not available, we recommend speaking with your veterinarian.  

5. Once you have confirmed the information for your animal companion is accurate, click Build Recipe Now.

If recipes are possible based on your selections, you’ll see a list of recipe results. Each recipe preview box will show which Balance It^® supplement(s), if any, are required for a recipe. You can also click “Show More Recipes” to view additional potential recipe options.

If no recipes are possible based on your selections, you’ll see the message: “Sorry, our ingredients didn’t quite balance.” This means that the selected dog/cat profile including selected condition(s) were too restrictive for the system to successfully generate recipes using our automatically selected ingredient combinations.

If nothing was possible when trying the “Build Recipe Now” option, you may still be able to create recipes by manually selecting your own ingredients by clicking the “Let Me Pick Ingredients” option under Step 1 which will take you to the optional Step 2 where you can search for or select ingredients/foods to try. However, this manual approach can involve some trial and error and may not always be efficient for users like yourself and/or result in a successful recipe regardless of the selections chosen. 

If you are ultimately unable to utilize our free, self-service online formulation tool to create preferred recipes for your dog/cat or unable to determine which condition(s), if any, you should select, you should speak with your veterinarian and may also wish to consider pursuing a consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®. A list of these specialty referral veterinarians can be found at balance.it/dacvim or vetspecialists.com.

There may be many reasons for differences. We suggest contacting the other source for questions about their recipe or formulation and the resulting nutrient profile. 

For Balance It^® recipes, you can view the nutrient requirements used and the contributions of all ingredients on the nutrient profile page. This allows the math to be manually checked if desired. To view the recipe’s nutrient profile, see FAQ: How do I view my recipe's nutrient profile? Why are some nutrients well over 100% of requirements? To view ingredients’ nutrient profiles, see FAQ How can I view and/or compare the nutrient profile or nutrition facts of an ingredient in a recipe?

You may also be interested in this FAQ: How do I manually adjust the ingredients and/or ingredient amount(s) in my recipe?

The nutritional information is mainly derived from the USDA FoodData Central database. This is the most comprehensive, open reference database on the nutrient profile of foods. In addition, because the USDA does not typically evaluate for some essential nutrients for dogs and cats (e.g., chloride, iodine, vitamin D (often), choline, and taurine), very common or representative foods used in homemade dog and cat recipes have been evaluated by an outside lab for these additional nutrient concentrations, by referencing additional published nutrient databases, and/or by relying on expert knowledge to create a more complete nutrient profile when possible. For foods that have not been evaluated for these additional essential nutrients, the formulation software treats the value as zero to avoid under supplementation. For foods with known higher concentrations, like vitamin D in marine fish, some foods are automatically excluded from use to avoid over supplementation (e.g., dogs are very sensitive to vitamin D, so we don’t want to underestimate the amount naturally found in vitamin D rich foods).

Some commercially prepared pet food companies or manufacturers report only a minimum or maximum value for a limited amount of nutrients as required on the product’s Guaranteed Analysis to meet regulations or other claims. In the US this means that one should report at least minimum protein and minimum fat concentrations along with at least maximum fiber and maximum moisture concentrations. Minimums are required for these two essential and more expensive macronutrients (i.e., protein and fat). Maximums are required for these two (i.e., fiber and moisture) that have no or limited nutritive value (noting that in some cases dietary fiber quantity & quality and higher moisture can be very important). While an ash maximum is not required, it may be available or at times extrapolated to be used along with these other four to calculate carbohydrate by difference. When declaring minimum or maximums, manufacturers are usually conservative because any released products outside of those guaranteed ranges are subject to removal from the marketplace by regulators and could also be perceived as at least poor quality control or worse economically motivated food fraud. Consequently, the typical or actual value is likely above any guaranteed minimum and/or below any guaranteed maximum. For some companies/manufacturers, they wish to provide veterinarians and/or purchasers additional information and may provide these data elsewhere outside of the label. We also provide min and max vitamin & vitamin-like values for static one pot homemade recipe nutrient profiles that are available to some users.

When these data are published or available, we may use them with the following logic. If a typical or average value is provided (we do NOT average the min and max values to produce a novel or unique average value not provided by the company/manufacturer), it will be used for calculations. If a minimum value (regardless of any maximum value) is available, but no typical or average value is available then the minimum value will be used to populate the typical value and that will be used for calculations. Any food/ingredient/product maximum value is only for display purposes when looking at details for a food/ingredient/product with the exception of homemade recipes where the formulated maximum value from summing typical/minimum values is used to exclude passing results.

A specific recipe is important to ensure that all nutrient requirements are met given your animal friend's species, gender (neuter status), age (growing or adult), body weight/energy need, and any special health condition(s). Many generic recipes are balanced for a medium-sized dog or cat, and may not remain balanced when the recipe is scaled down or up. In addition food nutrient profiles can change with time as can known nutritional requirements. These types of changes cannot be accounted for in static materials. Independent evaluations of published home-cooked recipes for dogs and cats have shown that most recipes are deficient in one or more essential nutrients (Lauten, SD, et al. ACVIM Proceedings, 2005, Larsen, JA, et al. JAVMA.240.5.532, 2012, and Stockman, J, et al. JAVMA.242.11.1500, 2013), while the Balance It® Autobalancer® software is “highly predictive of deficiencies or excesses of nutrients as measured via laboratory methods'' (Stockman, J, et al. JAVMA.242.11.1500, 2013). 

We have added the ability to better track/log, handle, and calculate energy and nutrient needs for these lifestages, so they are now more accessible and/or available. 

These are the equations used to estimate initial calorie/energy needs/requirements:

Our software will use your dog’s or cat’s entered body weight to determine an average amount of daily calories. However, some animal companions are able to maintain their body weight when getting 50% more or 50% less calories than what is initially calculated by the Recipe Builder using the best equations we have in veterinary medicine. This wide range will be noted in the Yield/Servings section of the recipe report as shown below.

If your dog or cat needs more or less daily calories per your veterinarian’s guidance, you may increase or decrease the body weight setting in the system or use our adjustment tools to change the ingredient amounts. 

Please note: It’s important to ensure the daily calories you are generating and feeding your animal companion are within the +/- 50% range calculated for their body weight. Do not adjust the daily calories outside of this range to prevent nutrient imbalances, deficiencies, or excesses. 

If you are unsure how many calories your animal companion should be consuming per day, please speak with your veterinarian for guidance. 

You may also be interested in our FAQ, "I noticed the Calorie Counter - BETA on Step 1 of the Recipe Builder & Support/FAQs. What is this tool, and how do I use it?"

Our software calculates your animal companion’s energy requirements based on their age, weight, and neuter status using the best equations available in veterinary medicine. However, even for dogs and cats with an ideal body condition, the individual’s actual energy requirement can vary by as much as +/-50% from this calculation. Accounting for known intake that maintains an ideal body condition is a more precise solution. Consequently, we've created an optional & innovative tool called the Calorie Counter - BETA. This new tool allows you to input your animal companion’s current diet including portion sizes to determine and better set a specific dog’s or cat’s daily calorie needs. Using our unparalleled, dynamic, and growing database of about 10,000 human, dog, and cat foods and artificial/alternative/synthetic intelligence (AI) technology, this cutting-edge feature helps more accurately calculate the calories your animal companion is consuming, and can be used to set the daily calorie amount for recipes that are created using our Recipe Builder.

Now on how to use this cool, new AI-powered tool...

If you want to just calculate your animal companion's total daily calories based on the foods they currently eat, you can go to and use the Calorie Counter at balance.it/counter. Jump down to the SEARCH INSTRUCTIONS below.

To use this tool with the Recipe Builder, please go to balance.it/recipes. The total daily calorie amount calculated will be used to generate homemade recipes with around the same amount of calories. 

Under Step 1: Your Dog/Cat on the Recipe Builder, enter/select your dog’s or cat’s name (you may even add a photo of your furry friend!) in the right species and age section for them.

1. Enter their weight 

   1. You may change the units from lb (pound) to kg (kilogram) if necessary. 

2. Enter their age in years or if a puppy or kitten, in months

3. Enter their gender and reproductive status

Once you enter this information, you will notice that the software will indicate the average amount of kcals that your dog/cat needs per day. 

To enter your animal companion’s currently fed food(s) and amount(s), click on Calorie Counter. This will allow you to search for foods in our database, or even add your own! 

SEARCH INSTRUCTIONS: By using the search bar, you can type in commercially prepared dog and cat foods, along with homemade ingredients/human foods.

Once a selection is made from the drop down menu of search matches (*see below if there is no match), you can enter the amount fed per day, along with the unit measurement. 

In the example below, you will see that Barry eats 1.5 (or 1 ½) cups of commercial food daily, along with chicken breast and carrots. The software has calculated his total Calories (or kcal) per day to be 682.60. 

If using the Calorie Counter link from the Recipe Builder, you can use this new total daily calorie amount by clicking on the “Use Total Kcal Above For Recipe(s)” button. If the amount you enter is less than or greater than 50% of the calculated amount an error message will be given to prevent under- or over-feeding and to ensure that an appropriate diet is fed for outlier dogs/cats. The slider will recess and you will be back on Step 1, and you will now see the updated daily calorie amount used instead. 

You may now proceed with creating free custom recipes using this newly daily calorie amount based on what you have been feeding!

*If you do not see your currently fed food in our database, please see the FAQ “The Calorie Counter does not seem to have my dog or cat’s currently fed food. How do I enter this information?”. To view details about a food entry, select it and then click its name. If there is an error in the food entry, you can correct/report it by clicking the yellow exclamation icon. Clicking the red X icon will remove the selection. 

While our database comprises about 10,000 commercially prepared dog and cat foods as well as human foods, there may be instances where we do not have your animal companion’s specific food information available. In such cases, fear not, for our AIs might just be able to 'fetch' it for you and make it available for you now and others in the future!

Simply click on '+ New Food URL'. From there, you'll have the choice to either let our AI try to extract information directly from a provided URL (the URL must be copied and pasted from your dog’s or cat's food company and contain the detailed calorie and nutrition data for that specific food or treat) or you can input the information manually yourself. 

If a specific link is submitted, you'll observe two special AI assistants, we call 'Canis' & 'Cattus' (Latin for dog and cat ;-)), working to retrieve the information from the website.

If the process is successful and both AIs retrieve matching results, you'll have the choice to 'Use New Added Food & Enter Amount Fed'.

Enter the amount of food being fed for the newly added food. Once completed, you can enter new food items or simply click on 'Use Total Kcal Above for Recipe(s)' to continue with the Recipe Builder if using the Calorie Counter from Step 1. 

*In the event our AI can't retrieve needed and matching information for the provided URL, you'll still have the opportunity to manually enter the dog/cat food calorie information yourself, which can be found on the product’s label or possibly on the company’s website or by calling the company (humans sometimes are still better than AI’s at this).

You may be interested in more details on how to use the Calorie Counter at the FAQ, “I noticed the Calorie Counter - BETA on Step 1 of the Recipe Builder & Support/FAQs. What is this tool, and how do I use it?”.

Body condition scoring is very helpful in grading the degree to which an animal is underweight, overweight, or even obese. Typically, veterinarians including board-certified veterinary nutritionists use a 9-point scale to grade the body composition of dogs and cats. In dogs, a body condition score (BCS) of 4 or 5 out of 9 is considered ideal. In cats, a BCS of 5 out of 9 is considered ideal. Each point above or below indicates being 10-15% under- or overweight. A score is assigned by looking and feeling for fat in certain body areas like the chest and abdomen where it is lost or accumulates. Although a BCS can be useful in communicating the degree of adiposity, it is not as helpful in predicting energy needs. This is because even for animal companions with an ideal body condition, the individual energy requirement can vary by as much as +/-50%. 

For example, if a dog is 1 out of 9 then they are as little as 30% underweight. 30% is less than 50%, so the normal variation that is addressed with any recipe is already accounted for. If a dog or cat is underweight then they should be fed enough additional calories to gain 1-2% of their body weight per week. Typically this is done by entering their goal weight when using Balance It®’s free Recipe Builder that is powered by the Autobalancer®. If an animal companion is unable to eat that much food, increasing meal frequency can be helpful so that the volume that needs to be consumed at any one meal is reduced. 

You can also speak with your veterinarian about increasing the overall energy density (amount of calories per unit of volume) of the diet by increasing the percent of calories from fat (if tolerated) as well as by the selection of denser and more highly digestible foods (if appropriate). If needed weight gain is not happening then a visit with your veterinarian is always indicated to make sure that there isn’t a medical reason that needs treatment besides a typical diet and feeding more calories. 

If your dog or cat is overweight or obese then entering that as a condition on the first step of the Recipe Builder will create nutrient enhanced recipes that are restricted in calories and less energy dense to help lead to needed weight loss at a safe & comfortable rate. Instructions will also be provided to adjust the amount of calories/food fed based on response to achieve a weight loss rate of 1-2% of body weight per week. 

Balance It^® maintains a database of thousands of ingredients searchable in Step 2: Ingredients (optional) at balance.it/recipes. If you're having trouble finding a specific ingredient, try these search strategies:

Search Tips

1. Try synonyms or alternative names

Some ingredients are listed under different terms than you might expect.

Example: Search "deer" instead of "venison"

The system may suggest synonyms with a tooltip, but you should try your own too:

This suggested synonym tooltip may include non-animal protein ingredients:

2. Simplify your search terms

Overly specific searches may limit results. Use broader terms and scroll all the way down through the matches to find a specific option.

Example: Search "chicken breast" to see various cooking methods and cuts

Using Organ Meats

If you want to use organ meats, especially to reduce supplementation needs, we suggest searching for "liver"—the most nutrient-dense organ meat.

Other organ meats (e.g., heart, lung, kidney) are less nutrient-rich and won't reduce supplementation requirements as significantly.

Important: If your dog or cat has any health conditions, consult your veterinarian before incorporating large amounts of liver, as it may be contraindicated in some cases.

You may also be interested in this FAQ: Can I use eggshells in my recipe? and possibly this FAQ that discusses a whole prey feeding approach: Are your supplements synthetic? Why is that intentional and helpful?

Do Not Substitute Unlisted Ingredients

Never substitute ingredients with items not available in our free self-service Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes. Substitutions can dramatically alter nutritional values. Even seemingly minor changes—like switching chicken cuts—can more than double fat content while reducing protein and essential amino acids, even with identical weight and cooking method.

Still Can't Find What You Need?

If your desired ingredient isn't available:

1. Consult a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® (find one at vetspecialists.com) who can:

   1. Identify suitable alternatives

   2. Arrange food laboratory analyses

   3. Formulate recipes with your desired ingredients

2. Contact other supplement manufacturers directly if you wish to use their products for fortification

Important notes:

1. Balance It^® does not accept user requests to add specific ingredients

2. We do not provide formulation options using other pet food companies' supplements (although we do have/provide options for fish oils from some others if a generic human grade one is not selected/desired; note we do not sell fish oil nor do we have any business relationship with a fish oil company). If you are looking for a recipe using a combination of supplements designed for humans, see Where can I find the supplements designed for humans recommended in my recipe?

In order to calculate the shifts in water and fat (and with it fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins) as well as to accurately account for vitamin heat degradation, the Autobalancer^® that powers the free Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes, needs to have both the raw/dry/uncooked version and the prepared/cooked version of the food or ingredient in its database and to have those versions linked. If there is no available entry and/or they are not linked then there will not be a one-pot option to select when "Show one pot cooking ingredients & recipes ONLY" is checked:

If you want to use a food or ingredient that is not available for one-pot cooking using the free, self-service Recipe Builder, please consult with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist (see directory at vetspecialists.com). They can work with you to do the needed calculations and/or analyses to potentially use your desired food or ingredient in a one-pot homemade pet food recipe.

You can now use the new “leave out” or exclude feature on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder to avoid ingredients that are not desired in search results and recipe results.

You can start with raw foods and ingredients when making a one-pot home cooked recipe by selecting that option on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder process, see FAQ: Why are some ingredients not available when I click “Show one pot cooking ingredients & recipes ONLY?” on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder? Note: all recipes from the Recipe Builder are to be cooked even when starting with raw animal proteins/ingredients, see the FAQ, Do I really need to cook the ingredients in my recipe? - I hear raw food is good for dogs/cats. for more details.

We do not allow users to start by entering an ingredient amount because our experience shows that leads to less success and increases the amount of time to get a result in practice. Therefore, we allow the Autobalancer^® that powers the Recipe Builder to provide options using preferred ingredients that then can be adjusted, see FAQ: How do I manually adjust the ingredients and/or ingredient amount(s) in my recipe?

Below are the steps on how to adjust or edit the amount of an ingredient in your recipe for a healthy dog/puppy/cat/kitten using the Adjust Ingredient Amounts feature:

Manually Editing/Adjusting Recipe 

1. Click on Adjust Recipe then Adjust ingredient amounts to edit the ingredients and amounts in your recipe. 

2. Under Ingredients you may remove ingredients and change the amount of ingredients by entering the desired amount in the box to the left of the unit and ingredient. You may also switch the units (e.g., oz, cups, tbsp, tsp, etc.) of many ingredients. If you change the unit only then the closest amount to the original using the old units will automatically be inserted.

3. If desired, you can also search for and add new ingredients.

4. If removing an ingredient or (an) changing amount(s) significantly, it can be helpful to make the amount field(s) blank (not zero but blank) for (an)other ingredient(s) (especially similar ones, for example, like all protein rich food ingredients when removing or changing another protein rich food ingredient). Making the amount value blank allows/tells the software to try and recalculate other ingredients for you to adjust for the effect/impact of your manual change(s).  

5. When done with edits/changes, click on Update My Recipe. 

6. On the next screen you will see an Adjusted By You or We Tried Your Adjustment box. Please click on View Recipe to see the details and confirm whether your adjustments were successful. Only edits/changes that are successful should be prepared/fed. This can be a more iterative and time intensive process. If you become frustrated or do not have the desired success using our free, self-service online tool, you may wish to consider pursuing a consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® elsewhere (directories can be found on our site at vetnutritionist.com or ACVIM’s at vetspecialists.com).

For added convenience and increased palatability, you can now create recipes that start out with raw ingredients and can be cooked all together in one pot including in a slow or pressure cooker! Less cooking steps and more flavor melding - chef’s kiss!

Below are the steps on how to use our one-pot cooking option for your dog, cat, puppy, or kitten:  

1. Under Step 1: Your Dog/Cat, enter/select your dog’s or cat’s name (you may even add a photo of your furry friend!) in the right species and age section for them.

   1. Enter their weight 

      1. You may change the units from lb (pound) to kg (kilogram) if necessary. 

   2. Enter their age in years or if a puppy or kitten, in months

   3. Enter their gender and reproductive status

2. AAFCO Dog or Cat Maintenance or Growth and Reproduction will automatically be selected and cannot be removed as it is used for calculations along with any selections under Any special needs or diet we should be aware of?. If health conditions are selected a vet approval will be required to be FDA compliant.

3. Click on the Let Me Pick Ingredients at the bottom of the page. 

4. To create convenient one-pot cooking recipes, please check the box stating Show one pot cooking ingredients & recipes ONLY under Step 2: Ingredients (optional) before selecting your ingredients.

5. Under Step 2: Ingredients (optional), you may search for & select ingredients you wish to feed your animal companion. 

   1. Using the search bar, you may search for & select ingredients such as “chicken” or “rice”

      1. Alternatively, you may also select proteins, carbs, fats, veggies, fruits, and/or treats & enticers from the “Most Popular” section

      2. You may find that options are more limited as we need to have data for the raw/dry/uncooked as well as the cooked version to correctly calculate changes in fat, moisture, and vitamin concentrations when cooking in one pot/vessel. 

   2. If there are ingredients you wish to EXCLUDE from your recipe, you may click on “ANY INGREDIENTS YOU’D LIKE TO LEAVE OUT?” and enter keywords you wish to exclude so they will not show up.

      1. At the bottom of the page, you will see a pink box with all the ingredients you wish to leave out with a strike through in the text. 

6. After selecting your ingredients, scroll down and click on Get Recipe.

7. To confirm you have created a one-pot recipe, you will see a steaming pot icon on the successful recipe option. 

To learn more about correctly using your one-pot recipe, please see Directions in your full recipe report for more detailed information.

Some recipes now have the capability to be cooked in one pot using our “one-pot cooking” method! One-pot cooking is convenient, reduces the amount of effort to cook fresh food for dogs and cats, and can increase palatability by better melding flavors. 

One pot means any covered vessel that can have heat applied externally such as, an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, Crockpot or slow cooker, cast iron/enameled Dutch oven in an oven, microwaved casserole dish with lid, or a metal pot with a lid placed on a burner/stove/rangetop.

General one-pot cooking steps include the following steps. For specific instructions, please see your recipe report. 

Combining all measured ingredients, including any called for added water into one pot, except any vitamin containing supplements or fat trimmings and mixing well.

Heating the pot (initially with a “medium” setting or amount of heat, but a lower setting can be used later for slower cooking) and stirring occasionally to prevent any burning at the bottom of the pot. If you are unsure on how to use your pot/oven/burner, please refer to your pot’s/oven’s/burner’s manual for instructions. 

Recipes are ready when any raw meat, poultry, fish, and/or other animal derived ingredients like eggs and egg whites is cooked to a food safe temperature of 165 degrees F or 74 degrees C*. 

*Very important: Food should not be continued to be heated/cooked after this food safe temperature has been reached as it could lead to additional vitamin heat degradation that has not been accounted for in the recipe.

When first attempting to cook a new recipe with one pot, it may initially take a little trial and error to determine the length of cooking time to reach a food safe temperature of 165 degrees F or 74 degrees C. This variable amount of time is because a “pot” can vary as can the amount and starting temperature of food to be cooked. Once this cooking time in your kitchen is determined, please note it for future preparations. This time can be used to know when to check if the food safe temperature has been reached next time. 

We hope this new feature allows you to more easily home cook much enjoyed recipes for your animal companion!

Our free online Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes can generate two types of recipes: “standard” recipes and “one-pot” recipes. The main difference between these two recipe options is how the ingredients are prepared and cooked.

In short:

1. Standard recipes = cook ingredients individually, then combine. This provides the broadest choice of ingredients.
2. One-pot recipes = cook most ingredients together (typically excluding any supplements or raw fruit) in one pot or closed cooking vessel for convenience.

Standard Recipes

In standard recipes, each ingredient is prepared separately using the method listed in the ingredient name (boiled, baked, roasted, etc.). After cooking, ingredients are measured, chopped/cut into small pieces if needed, and then combined. Oils are always measured and added separately — they are not used for cooking ingredients or added as a pan or pot coating. 

The image below shows an example of how ingredients appear in a standard recipe.

You can generally distinguish a standard recipe by the ingredient names that usually include the cooking method. See below for the steaming pot icon that will NOT be present as that icon only appears to indicate a one-pot recipe. Your recipe directions will also explain the preparation process with these general steps.

*Steps to prepare standard recipes:

Step 1: All ingredients should be purchased and prepared. Ingredients should be cooked/prepared separately, and then measured. 

Step 2: Measure or weigh and then chop large pieces. After preparing and measuring each ingredient as indicated in Step 1, you can chop any large pieces into smaller bite-size pieces as needed for your companion.

Step 3: Combine all ingredients and mix well.

*Please read your recipe’s actual directions carefully for more and important details.

One-Pot Recipes

In one-pot recipes, all ingredients (typically excluding any supplements or raw fruits) are combined into a single pot or closed cooking vessel with any needed water added and cooked together until any animal-derived ingredients reach a safe internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C). Ingredients in recipes are typically listed as “raw” since that is their starting state before cooking. Oils are used in recipes to add needed calories and fat, and are carefully calculated to also provide essential fatty acid(s) and meet any desired fatty acid ratio(s). They are not being added as a pot coating and should be added on top of other ingredients before mixing well.

The image below shows an example of how ingredients appear in a one-pot recipe.

You can always distinguish a one-pot recipe by seeing a steaming pot icon next to the ingredients list (see lower right in screenshot above). Your recipe directions will also explain the preparation process with these general steps.

*Steps to prepare one-pot recipes:

Step 1: All ingredients should be purchased.

Step 2: Trim any excess fat based on the specific meat description, if any. Measure or weigh ingredients and then chop large pieces into small bite-sized pieces as needed.

Step 3: Combine and cook all ingredients, including any called for added water (the amount of water may need to be adjusted per recipe instructions to ensure full cooking) into one pot, EXCEPT any vitamin containing supplements or fat trimmings or raw fruits and mix well.

*Please read your recipe’s actual directions carefully for more and important details.

You can also find more guidance about preparing one-pot recipes in our FAQ titled “I created or am considering a one-pot cooking recipe. How do I cook this type of recipe?”

There are two places or times you can view the nutrient profile or nutrition facts for an ingredient or food when making or viewing a recipe. When selecting ingredients on Step 2 of the free Recipe Builder process at balance.it/recipes , click on the light gray i in a circle icon. This will open a slider as shown in the GIF below:

The second place the profile or facts can be viewed is on the recipe itself, by also clicking the light gray i in a circle icon next to the ingredient’s listing (see red arrow below):

This will also open the slider with all of the nutrient profile or nutrition facts as shown previously.

Comparing a value

Often the total lipid or fat amount is of most interest if one is trying to match a fat content. For the example, if a ground chicken example has 8.1 g/100 g as is shown on the slider that is ~8%. Subtracting that from 100% tells us that this is ~92% lean ground chicken. If one needs to convert any nutrients to different/common amounts for comparison, this free Nutrient Concentration Converter at https://balance.it/convert_units can be very helpful:

You may also be interested in the How do I view my recipe's nutrient profile? Why are some nutrients well over 100% of requirements? FAQ.

These nutrient IDs (and nutrient names) largely correspond to the ones used by the USDA FoodData Central. Longer nutrient IDs with more than 4 digits are ones unique to the Balance It® software. Nutrient names with numbers separated by a colon (:) are fatty acids. This is a comprehensive list and may include nutrients not important for dogs and/or cats as well as nutrients/compounds not commonly reported in many food entries. 

To save a recipe that you have generated through the Recipe Builder, you must be signed into your Balance It® account. If you have not already created a free account, you may do so by going to www.balance.it/signup .

When logged in and viewing a recipe, you'll see a heart icon at the top of the recipe page—located between the Download and Print buttons/options. Simply click the heart to save the recipe to your account for easy access later–you’ll know it’s been successfully saved once the icon turns red (as shown below)*

*Please note: downloading or printing a recipe will not save it to your account.

Here is how to find a saved recipe:

To view your saved recipe(s), please make sure that you are still logged into your free Balance It® account. When logged in, click on the Avatar icon in the upper right next to the shopping cart icon and Log out link (see where red arrow is pointing to below) and then you will see your Account Information page.

Select Saved recipes, located to the left of the screen, then Recent & Migrated Legacy Reports.

This will show all of your saved recipes under your account that you can then click on by name to view in detail or again.

If you're signed into your account and don't see any saved recipes, it’s possible that the recipe was created while you were logged out. Recipes created without signing in are not saved to your account and unfortunately cannot be retrieved later.

We recommend recreating your recipe and taking the steps here to log in and click the heart icon to save and then confirm that the recipe has been successfully saved to your account. You can also use the Print or Download icons to print a copy for your records or even save as a PDF. Please note: downloading or printing a recipe will not save it to your account.

Commercial food is typically measured on a dry matter/as-fed basis. Our recipes are measured on a calorie content basis. The Guaranteed Analysis Converter is a helpful tool used to compare/convert the percentages from as fed found on pet food labels to % of calories from protein, fat and carbohydrates (which is what our recipes calculate & report). Making comparisons on a calorie content basis is much more accurate and as such is preferred and used by regulators for most requirements and board-certified veterinary nutritionists.

Here is a direct link to the Guaranteed Analysis Converter: balance.it/convert

You may notice that the Caloric Distribution values in our recipes appear higher than the Guaranteed Analysis values found on commercial pet food products. This is simply a result of the different calculation methods used. For example, 10% Crude Fat (min as fed) on a Guaranteed Analysis percent as fed or as is basis can be equal to a value over 2 times as high (e.g., 25.22%) on a Caloric Distribution or a percent of metabolizable energy or fat calories basis. See the example image below:

Please follow the instructions below to update your animal companion’s gender/sexual status, age, and/or weight: 

1) Log into your www.balance.it account

2) Click on the Avatar icon

3) Choose Dogs & Cats, and then click on your animal companion’s name

4) Click on the green EDIT on the right side of the screen 

5) Please make the desired changes*

6) Click on Submit. You will see a green message stating you have successfully updated the record. 

*Balance It® does not have any homemade recipes available to support late gestation or lactation as their very high energy density needs are very difficult to meet using higher moisture, fresh foods. Please see your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist® for further help with these lifestages. Also there are no known, consistent changes in nutrient requirements once a dog or cat is an adult; therefore, there is no impact on choosing older ages after 12 months or 1 year of age. If a “senior”/“elder” dog or “senior”/“elder”cat has (a) special need(s) that may become more common with aging like weight loss, osteoarthritis/joint disease, or kidney/renal disease, please pick the specific health condition of concern on Step 1 of the Recipe Builder and make recipes for that/those condition(s).

We'd love to see your animal companion! You can share a photo of your dog or cat to be featured on our website.

To submit a photo:

1. Go to https://balance.it/shared_friends/new

2. Enter your companion's name

3. Provide your email address (grayed out in screenshot below)

4. Include your location (where you live)

5. Upload your pet's picture (we recommend images that are 1024 pixels or less and typically under 1 MB for best results)

6. Submit your photo

We love seeing the happy, healthy companions who enjoy our recipes and supplements!

Please note that all photo submissions are reviewed for appropriateness prior to being made public.

Please note, deleting a “dog/cat entry/record” from your account is permanent. This action cannot be undone/reversed. Any associated vet approval or recipes and access to new recipes for previously approved health conditions will also be lost.

1. Log into your www.balance.it account.

2. Click on the Avatar icon on the top right corner. 

3. Choose Dogs & Cats in the left column to add or remove a dog/cat. 

4. To delete a dog/cat entry, simply click on the red circled X next to the dog/cat name and then click “OK” in the deletion confirmation dialog box that appears. 

Once this action is taken, your dog/cat entry/record will be permanently deleted.

Here are the steps to update any of your account’s email address: 

1. Log into your Balance It® account at balance.it

2. Click on the Avatar icon and you will see your Account Information page

3. Enter your preferred email address in the Email field. Note: changes made here do not update any underway or existing orders information.

4. Click on Save Changes. 

5. Log back into your account with the new email address. 

If you are logged in, click on the person avatar/icon in the upper right then on the page that appears click on Password. This will give you the option to Change Password by entering your current/old password and then entering a new password two times. 

If you are unable to login or forgot your password but know and can access the email address associated with your account use this direct link to reset your password: 

balance.it/forgotpassword

Please enter and submit your email address at the page above to get an email from us (info@balanceit.com) to reset your password. Please make sure to check your spam or junk folders, if you do not see the reset email in your inbox within a few minutes. Please contact us if you need further assistance.

If you cannot remember the email address you used to create your account or can no longer access that email address, please create a new account*. 

*If you are a veterinary practice or veterinarian, we may be able to, in very select/limited instances, reset/change your email address, but will need to get some additional information to confirm your identity. This process can take several business days.

We have enabled the account cancel or deletion feature for our customers. Here are the steps to cancel and/or delete your account. 

1. Log into Balance.it 

2. Click on the Avatar icon in the upper right and then click on Account Info 

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page to select Delete Information

4. Click OK to confirm your choice after reading the following info. that appears:

*Please confirm that you want to DELETE your account and its associated information. This CANNOT BE REVERSED. ALL data associated with your account will be deleted including any entered dogs/cats, veterinary approvals, and created recipes. Any pending orders will be canceled within the next 24-48 business hours. Due to credit card industry requirements, any past orders will be held to address any credit card refunds/issues over the next 180 days. Due to traceability requirements from multiple regulatory agencies, already shipped/received orders' lot(s) and shipping address(es) ONLY will be retained for legally required notification purposes if a quality or safety issue were to arise in the future. Do you wish to proceed and permanently DELETE your account and any information associated with it?

5. Your request will then be sent and processed within a few days. 

Our Balance It^® Customer Care Team is always happy & ready to assist your direct use of the site; however, they cannot directly create/build and send you recipes. Providing that service requires one to work directly with the attending veterinarian to meet state and federal policies, regulations, and/or laws (e.g., valid VCPRs, veterinary practice acts, and FDA CPG Sec. 690.150). With that said, you are always welcome to use our Recipe Builder for free at balance.it/recipes yourself to create your own recipes customized to your animal companion’s needs and their favorite ingredients. 

If you are seeking personalized recipes for your animal companion from a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®, please see the directories at vetspecialists.com or vetnutritionist.com. In addition, many other veterinarians offer this as a service to their practice’s clients/patients typically using their own free veterinary account with us and charging for their time to do so.

Looking to get an amount of supplement for your dog or cat, please use the free, self-service Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes. 

Why Fortification or Supplementation Is Essential

Feeding common human foods differs nutritionally from whole prey diets. Meat prepared for human consumption has been butchered—exsanguinated (drained of blood), eviscerated (organs removed), and deboned. This removes concentrated sources of essential nutrients:

1. Electrolytes and trace minerals (from blood and organs)

2. Vitamins (especially from liver)

3. Calcium & phosphorus (from bone)

Let’s Also Address Two Myths: 

Myth 1: Human foods aren't fortified, so why fortify pet food?

Human foods are extensively fortified to prevent nutritional deficiencies:

1. Iodized salt → Prevents goiter

2. Enriched grains → Prevents beriberi, pellagra, anemia, and birth defects (B-vitamins, iron, folic acid)

3. Fortified milk → Prevents rickets (vitamin D)

Pet food fortification follows the same public health principle: preventing serious deficiency-related diseases when feeding processed or butchered foods.

Myth 2: Rotating between different recipes prevents nutrient deficiencies

Diet rotation or variety cannot compensate for nutritional deficiencies if the rotated diets are themselves incomplete or unbalanced. This approach is fundamentally flawed for several reasons:

Why rotation doesn't prevent deficiencies:

1. You can't average out deficiencies over time Most essential nutrients (except fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K) are not stored in the body for extended periods. Water-soluble vitamins, minerals (aka sometimes as electrolytes), and amino acids must be consumed regularly because excesses are typically excreted rather than stored.

2. The body compensates at a cost When essential nutrients are deficient in the diet, the body extracts what it needs from tissues and reserves to maintain critical life functions—but this occurs at the expense of optimal health. For example, bones lose calcium, electrolytes shift from inside cells to the blood stream, muscles break down for amino acids, and organ function can become compromised over time.

3. Deficiency is cumulative, not balanced: If Diet A is deficient in calcium and Diet B is deficient in thiamine, rotating between them doesn't prevent deficiency—it just means your dog or cat is deficient in both nutrients over time rather than continuously deficient in one.

The bottom line: Feeding multiple incomplete and/or unbalanced diets does not create one complete and balanced diet over time. If you're investing the time and effort into home cooking for your dog’s or cat's health, that commitment should include proper fortification or supplementation to ensure every meal is nutritionally adequate.

Diet rotation and/or deficient but diverse diets as nutritional strategies are not supported by peer-reviewed research or established veterinary nutritional science. When evaluating countering nutritional advice, consider the source's credentials, scientific backing, and potential conflicts of interest. Board-certified veterinary nutritionists^® have completed rigorous, accredited training in veterinary nutrition and are the most qualified professionals to provide dietary guidance.

Balance It^® is committed to evidence-based nutrition:

1. We provide free recipes using human supplements we don't sell or profit from (see: How can I use the supplement designed for humans option? Why do you make this option freely available, no else seems to provide a similar completely free service or option?)

2. We're the only service we are aware of offering this completely free and proven alternative

3. We recommend commercially prepared complete and balanced diets over incomplete and unbalanced homemade diets

Our goal and mission is to ensure dogs and cats receive proper nutrition, whether through our products, combinations of supplements designed for humans, or commercial diets—not to promote home cooking when it's not in the dog's or cat’s best interest.

Now that the myths are addressed…Benefits of homemade pet food supplementation:

1. Ensures consistent nutrient potency

2. Avoids potential allergens from organ meats

3. Eliminates natural toxins (many compounds are present when consuming another animal's "filter organs" like liver)

4. Reduces cross-contamination concerns from feeding raw, but more nutrient dense foods, as heat degrades vitamins

If you prefer a whole prey diet, consult a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®. They can work with on a formulation and any testing that is needed to ensure an optimal diet and response.

Balance It^® Fortification Options

Balance It^® offers three approaches to fortify human foods:

Method 1: Balance It^® supplements (most common)

1. Healthy adults: Balance It® Canine, Carnivore Blend®, Balance It® Feline

2. Medical conditions: Canine K, Canine -Cu, Feline K (selected automatically based on your pet's needs); these require veterinary approval to purchase

3. Non-heatable, food-grade amino acid, mineral, and vitamin powders

Method 2: Heatable supplements (for batch cooking)

1. Canine Plus or Canine K Plus (Canine K Plus requires veterinary approval)

2. Extra vitamins added to withstand one-time heating to 165°F (74°C)

3. Eliminates need to add supplement before each meal

Method 3: Human supplements combination

1. Typically 8-10 different supplements designed for human nutrition

2. Available at local stores or online

3. Check "Use human supplements ONLY" under the "Get Recipe" button in Step 2

4. Less convenient but a free alternative*

*Balance It^® uniquely offers this free option to counter the many incomplete online homemade pet food recipes.

Consequences of Inadequate Fortification

Without proper supplementation, severe—and completely preventable—health problems can occur, for example:

1. Broken bones: Inadequate calcium

2. Heart failure and death: Inadequate methionine (dogs) or taurine (cats)

3. Anemia: Inadequate iron and other trace minerals and vitamins

4. Neurological dysfunction: Inadequate thiamin (vitamin B1)

Critical: If you cannot adequately fortify a homemade diet, feed it only rarely or as a treat (≤10% of daily calories). Otherwise, feed a complete and balanced commercially prepared diet.

Understanding Supplement Amounts: Identifying "Limiting Nutrients"

To minimize supplementation while maintaining nutritional adequacy, you can identify which nutrients determine supplement amounts.

Step 1: View your recipe's nutrient profile

Follow the instructions in: How do I view my recipe's nutrient profile? Why are some nutrients well over 100% of requirements?

Step 2: Identify the limiting nutrient for each supplement

Hover your cursor over any supplement listed in the nutrient profile:

The limiting nutrient is the nutrient that determines how much of that supplement must be added. In the example above, iodine is the limiting nutrient for iodized salt—meaning the salt amount is based on iodine needs, not sodium or chloride needs.

What "limiting" means: If less of this supplement were added, that specific nutrient would be deficient.

Step 3: Check the limiting nutrient's concentration

In the nutrient profile table, limiting nutrients appear in turquoise font (not black). Hover over the "% of Requirement" value to see how each ingredient contributes to that nutrient:

In this example:

1. Iodized salt provides ~36.5% of iodine

2. Balance It^® Canine provides ~62.8% of iodine

3. Total iodine: ~291.5% of minimum requirement

Why is iodine at 291% when only 100% is needed?

The recipe uses a small measurable amount of iodized salt (a fraction of a teaspoon). Since this doesn't exceed any maximum and salt is inexpensive, the software accepts this slight excess rather than requiring finer measurements.

For more expensive supplements like Balance It^® Canine, the software minimizes excess. In this example, the limiting nutrient (the Ca:P ratio) for Canine supplement is at ~105%—just slightly above the minimum for safety and cost-effectiveness.

Visualizing Deficiencies Without Supplementation

To see graphically what deficiencies exist without fortification:

1. Click the red, green, and yellow bar graph icon in the upper right of the nutrient profile table

2. Select "Show % of Min Requirement W/O Supplement" from the Bar Graph dropdown. This converts the "% of Requirement (without supplement)" column into proportional red bars showing any deficiencies that would exist if you relied solely on food ingredients without supplementation.

Reducing Supplementation Needs

To further reduce fortification requirements:

1. Change or select foods or ingredients richer in that nutrient, to see an ingredient’s nutrient profile: See FAQ: How can I view and/or compare the nutrient profile or nutrition facts of an ingredient in a recipe?

2. Add organ meats (especially liver): See FAQ: What if I can't find an ingredient I want to use in the Recipe Builder? How can I add organ meat or liver to my recipe?

3. Consider whole prey diets: Discussed in recipe reports (requires consultation with board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®)

Understand synthetic vitamins: See FAQ: Are your supplements synthetic? Why is that intentional and helpful?

Further Resources

For scientific validation:

1. Peer-reviewed JAVMA article on formulation software accuracy: https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/242/11/javma.242.11.1500.xml

   1. Finding: "Computer analysis was highly predictive of deficiencies or excesses of nutrients as measured via laboratory methods."

For nutrient requirements and the essentiality of nutrients, please see this reference text that has hundreds of supporting peer-reviewed scientific citations:

1. National Research Council (NRC): Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats https://doi.org/10.17226/10668

For personalized guidance, including to discuss the references found above or diet rotation or diversity further:

1. 1. Consult a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® that offers consultations (directory at vetspecialists.com)

In short, because they’ve been extensively researched, tested, and are held to the highest regulatory standards. 

Davis Veterinary Medical Consulting, Inc. licenses the technology and intellectual property for Balance It® from our founder, a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine,  who spent thousands of hours creating the original software and patented formulations. Working with software engineers and other board-certified veterinary nutritionists, Dr. Delaney has spent decades refining the software and testing numerous human foods to ensure that the resulting supplements had and have the highest likelihood of meeting your beloved friend's individual needs. 

To develop the right profile for just Balance It® Canine, almost 100,000 homemade recipes were formulated and evaluated by using this new software. With other software used at the time, it would have taken even the fastest board-certified veterinary nutritionist® a minimum of 24 YEARS to formulate and evaluate that many diets. This type of technological achievement led to the submission and receipt of multiple domestic and international patents. Over the years, with ongoing effort and offerings, the number of unique recipes that can be automatically and safely fortified to meet essential nutrient needs has grown from thousands to millions to billions and now trillions - yes trillions with a “T”. In practice, this technology allows us to proudly help veterinarians, board-certified veterinary nutritionists, and human companions to create up to 10,000 free, custom homemade recipes everyday.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, Balance It®, built its own state of the art, third-party audited  food (aka human) grade facility in Northern California in 2018 and attained human dietary supplement registration with the FDA and was the first pet product only facility to attain a human processed food registration with the State of California. These industry leading food quality and safety standards and achievements ensure that every lot of blended supplement is assayed for every essential guaranteed nutrient and is only released when within tight specifications. This ensures that any nutrient gaps found when feeding human foods to dogs and cats long-term are fully and safely filled. 

Quality is achieved by consistently and honestly following the strictest criteria and processes possible and then actively inspecting, testing, and auditing them internally and through third parties. We have a “trust, but verify” philosophy. Our multinational European-owned vitamin manufacturer blends our patented mineral, vitamin and amino acid supplements to FSSC 22000 requirements, which includes ISO 22000:2005 and ISO/TS 22002-1:2009, as certified by the third-party certifying body DQS (DQS merged with Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in 2008). Our own Woodland, CA facility is also third-party audited and certified by Eurofins Scientific for food (aka human) grade manufacturing and packaging per 21 CFR § 117 and for human dietary supplement manufacturing & packaging per 21 CFR § 111 and is GRMA-certified to the highest NSF/ANSI 455-2-2021 human dietary supplement standard. Our facility is also inspected and registered for processed (human) food manufacturing, packaging, and warehousing by the State of California Department of Public Health Food and Drug Branch. It is also registered for human food production with the FDA and inspected by them. We were the first, and believe, we are still the only pet food manufacturer with a dedicated facility that holds these certifications and registrations.

To meet human dietary supplement manufacturing current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) regulations, every lot of our finished products are extensively tested in laboratories and facilities in the United States (i.e., California, New Jersey, Missouri, and Ohio as well as in Iowa at times) prior to release. This includes assaying every essential nutrient that we guarantee on the label and only releasing products if concentrations are within specification. This exceeds not only feed (aka animal) grade cGMP regulations but also the more stringent food (aka human) grade cGMP regulations.    

We believe high quality ingredients are not inherently geographic specific; however, since 2007, Balance It® has actively avoided Chinese origin ingredients given consumer quality and safety concerns. We strive to and prefer to use United States (US) and North American-based raw materials and then European and Japanese sources if not available in the US or North America. We continue to pay a premium to do this with almost all essential nutrients we use. Unfortunately, there are currently some essential nutrients we cannot consistently source from a qualified food (aka human) grade supplier outside of China. They are vitamins B3 (aka niacin) and B6 (aka pyridoxine), the mineral ferrous sulfate (iron; at times this mineral may still not come from China), and the amino acids L-tryptophan, L-methionine, L-cysteine, and taurine. We have been unable to identify a supply given US- and European-owned manufacturers moving their operations to China. For reference, our most popular supplement still remains over 98% Chinese origin ingredient free. Please note that we do not consider our immediate supplier's geographic location when indicating the country of origin as some companies appear to do either out of a lack of awareness and/or transparency. To ensure purity, as noted above, these Chinese origin food (aka human) grade essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids are assayed and checked on every lot prior to release.

Yes, we do third-party testing on our products. Testing through a certified third-party laboratory is done on every lot until a supplier is qualified. Becoming qualified is a rigorous process where certificates of analysis must be verified repeatedly and must be rechecked randomly annually. For our mineral, vitamin, and amino acid powders, every lot is actually tested in a laboratory by the supplier before release. Even if they come from a qualified supplier, we still also send out a new random lot of every product every year to have a second separate laboratory analysis confirmation. A qualified supplier's raw material must also still be identified on every received lot. We use cutting edge spectroscopy through another third-party laboratory to positively identify all such received raw materials against a library of known and tested materials that we have developed. This identification testing has proven very sensitive and can detect a single ingredient’s change in its chemical anion/moiety. Finally it is worth noting that we also have conducted real-time stability testing on the vitamins in a representative matrix to confirm that adequate overages are used to meet guaranteed levels at the end of shelf-life (vitamins naturally degrade over time especially when in the presence of minerals). All of this effort ensures that our supplements are providing the guaranteed essential nutrients that are being relied on to fortify dog and cat recipes by our veterinary colleagues and their clients. For additional information, please also see the What are the origins of your ingredients and how do you ensure their quality? FAQ.

Yes. Heavy metals are tested on every lot of our patented & blended products to ensure the lot is within specification to meet food (aka human) and the even higher human dietary supplement quality & safety standards given our third-party food certifications and state & federal registrations.

You may also be interested in What are the origins of your ingredients and how do you ensure their quality? 

Yes, all of our vitamins are intentionally synthetic mainly for purity, potency, and stability improvements as well as to address antigen concerns given the number of human companions of dogs/cats that need to avoid things like animal origin ingredients. 

Most notable is that by adding chemical moieties to natural or otherwise chemically identical forms of vitamins, that makes them then “synthetic”, it also allows them to remain viable for months instead of weeks in many cases. 

Given our food (aka human) grade and human dietary supplement third-party certifications, needed quality can be achieved and maintained better when raw materials are better able to repeatedly meet potency and shelf-stability specifications/requirements. Variability in meeting nutrient concentration specifications, that is verified with testing by Balance It®, would be much more challenging to manage and increase the likelihood that finished products would regularly be out of specification and need to be rejected for quality reasons. 

Manufacturers that offer longer shelf-life using “natural” vitamins should be very carefully scrutinized and asked about their testing and certifications/registrations, as it unfortunately might strongly suggest that they do not actually meet or verify nutrient concentrations that they may suggest or claim at the end of their stated shelf-life or even at the beginning. In those cases where one wishes to avoid any stable but synthetic nutrients, we suggest working with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® to develop and test a fresh whole food diet. Such a diet will typically be rich in tissues found in fresh whole prey. It will not be instead be met with small volumes of “natural” whole foods in powdered or tablet/capsule form as they just cannot typically be concentrated enough, leading to imbalance and deficiencies if solely relied on for fortification.  

Some may suggest that synthetic vitamins are toxic, harmful, or less bioavailable, even when pure and stable. These claims rarely cite peer-reviewed evidence. When sources are provided, they typically reference opinion pieces, studies on toxicity from excessive intake (true for any vitamin source), or marketing material promoting a single product as the only solution.

Balance It acknowledges that multiple evidence-based nutrition solutions exist. We are committed to ethical, scientifically-supported recommendations rather than claiming to be the exclusive or sole solution for all cases.

Listed below are our different supplements and their different uses. Please click on the product hyperlink for more detailed information like the ingredient list and nutrient guaranteed analysis.

• Balance It^® Canine - used to fortify recipes for healthy dogs and some sick dogs. Recipes that use Balance It^® Canine will typically include some carbohydrates (starches, vegetables and/or fruits) along with protein and oils/fats. It cannot be heated.
• Balance It^® Canine Plus - used to fortify recipes for healthy and some sick dogs. Recipes that use Balance It^® Canine Plus will typically include some carbohydrates (starches, vegetables and/or fruits) along with protein and oils/fats. It may be heated one-time up to 165 F or 74 C.
• Balance It^® Carnivore Blend - used to fortify higher protein recipes for healthy dogs and cats and select sick dogs and cats. Recipes may contain little to no carbohydrate. It cannot be heated.
• Balance It^® Canine K - used to fortify lower phosphorus recipes for sick dogs. It has a nominal amount of phosphorus. It cannot be heated.
• Balance It^® Canine K Plus - used to fortify lower phosphorus recipes for sick dogs. It has no added phosphorus. It may be heated one-time up to 165 F or 74 C. It is NOT interchangeable with Balance It^® Canine K.
• Balance It^® Canine -Cu - used to fortify lower copper recipes for sick dogs. It cannot be heated.
• Balance It^® Feline - used to fortify recipes for healthy cats and some sick cats. Recipes that use Balance It^® Feline will typically include some carbohydrates (starches, vegetables and/or fruits) along with protein and oils/fats. It cannot be heated.
• Balance It^® Feline K - used to fortify lower phosphorus recipes for sick cats. It cannot be heated. Feline K is only available in pouches and not bags given typical trial and use preferences/rates.

Each of these patented supplements avoid any added palatants or flavors to avoid the addition of potential antigens, contain no animal origin ingredients, are food (aka human) grade, and come from our own Northern California facility that is third-party certified to the human dietary supplement standard. This exacting and demanding standard means every guaranteed essential nutrient is tested on each lot to ensure they all meet specifications before release and shipment. Coupled with our free online formulation software, the FREE Recipe Builder, you can confidently make food that you and your dog or cat prefer and that provides all the right nutrients they need long-term.

Our software creates a custom recipe for your animal companion based on their species, weight, age, neuter status, and any approved health conditions. These factors determine the precise nutrient and calorie requirements for the recipe, which in turn, dictates which supplement(s) is/are needed.

If you are approved for (a) medical condition(s) and/or dietary restriction(s), your recipes may require or use a different supplement than what you may have also been approved for. This can happen if the supplement selected by you (and/or your veterinarian) and approved was not actually needed to meet the nutrient requirements of the recipes based on all of the factors noted above and the food selections made.

For example, if a recipe is created with the dietary restriction “Reduced Copper” for dogs, the resulting copper concentration will fall between 1.5 and 2.5 mg/Mcal. Recipes may use Balance It® Canine (which contains some but not a lot of copper) rather than Balance It® Canine-Cu (which has no added copper) to meet the minimum copper requirement. Using a supplement without added copper might at times result in a recipe with less than 1.5 mg/Mcal of copper which would then not pass. At other times, Balance It® Canine-Cu might be used when the base foods/ingredients already provide or add enough copper. At times, users with approval for this dietary restriction may be surprised to learn that Balance It® Canine-Cu is not always used in every diet where “copper” may be a primary concern diet.

You can verify how any nutrient requirement is being met by clicking on "See Nutrient Profile" (as shown in the example below) when viewing your recipe report.

You can also view how much a particular ingredient is contributing to a specific nutrient by hovering over the % of Requirement (with supplement) value for that nutrient as shown in the example below. 

Alternatively, you may be approved for one or more supplements only, without an approved medical condition or any dietary restriction. In this case, you will not have access to therapeutic recipes per FDA guidelines. To get recipes using your approved supplement(s), your veterinarian will need to give a specific recipe to you directly, or needs to include or add (a) medical condition(s) and/or dietary restriction(s) to your approval so that you can build recipes at balance.it/recipes .

It is important to use the exact supplement(s) indicated in your recipes(s). If you have any questions regarding your veterinary approval or them granting you access to specific supplements or recipes, please speak with your veterinarian.

Yes, from a quality perspective but not from a nutrient concentration safety one. 

While all of our patented products are sourced & manufactured and third-party certified to food (aka human) grade and the even higher human dietary supplement standards, they are specifically formulated and labeled for use in dogs and cats. The nutrient concentrations are tailored to meet the unique needs of these animal companion species, and thus are not suitable for human use to meet human dietary or nutrient requirements.

You will notice that the larger-sized 500 and 600 gram bags have a legally required child resistant closure (CRC; aka “be childproof”) given their high total nutrient content. This special packaging requirement protects against accidental ingestion of all of the contents at once by a child.

We provide the capability to fortify many of our home-cooked dog/cat recipes with a combination of supplements designed for humans and sold by others. We are often asked why? We do this as we want people with the best goals to be educated and safely and appropriately feed their dogs and cats and counter the often well intentioned and ill-informed information unfortunately found elsewhere. We feel very strongly that a paywall or any unnecessary barrier (we still must be FDA CPG Sec. 690.150 compliant for recipes to manage medical conditions) to access our evidence- and mathematics-based information & custom recipes would be an overall disservice to dogs and cats and the veterinary community. We are very fortunate and grateful that so many veterinary professionals and their clients rely on and purchase the human dietary supplements that we manufacture in our own dedicated FDA registered and third-party audited food (aka human) grade facility that we can afford to continue to donate this incomparable resource. Now to how you can use this option…  

After selecting the ingredients you wish to feed, under Step 2: Ingredients (optional) of the Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes, please scroll down and check the Use human supplements ONLY box below Get Recipe. When selecting this option, recipes using a combination of supplements designed for humans will be created. The resulting option may not be as convenient (sometimes up to 10-11 supplements may be needed) and may be more expensive than Balance It® supplements. See also: Where can I find the supplements designed for humans recommended in my recipe?

Centrum (Kids) Chewable with 400 IU vitamin D per tablet has been discontinued by Bayer and is becoming unavailable in stores and online. Therefore, we have found the next best and most readily available solution -- Kirkland Signature Daily Multi Vitamins & Minerals (400 IU Vit D/tablet) which can also be purchased online from other online retailers even without a Costco membership in the United States. As of around 11:15 AM PT on 26JUN23, the Kirkland option appears when building recipes instead of Centrum. There may be occasions where Centrum still appears but those are being phased out in the coming weeks. Note the Bayer Centrum and Costco Kirkland products are similar but not exactly the same, so new recipes need to be built using the Recipe Builder online to get the right dose with the Costco Kirkland supplement. 

Please see the following link:

https://balance.it/foods/m98135

for the full nutrient profile of Costco’s Kirkland option if you wish to compare and identify other comparable products especially in other parts of the world (especially vitamin D concentration given the potential for toxicity, especially with the frequently very high concentration found in supplements designed for humans).

We apologize for any confusion. This is intended and can happen if the Recipe Builder determines that the nutrient requirements for the recipe could not be (fully) met by a Balance It^® supplement. The human supplements listed in your recipe can typically be found at your local drug store or online as every effort is made to offer generic options, if possible, along with the information on their nutrient concentration(s). 

For extra accuracy when measuring human supplements, you may wish to consider purchasing a scale. Very accurate gram scales can be purchased online for a relatively low cost that will measure in increments of 1/10th (or 0.1 g) of a gram. Suggested search terms are "jewelry scale", “jewelers scale”, or "pocket scale". Select a scale that has enough total capacity to weigh the amount of product you need to measure for your preferred recipe. 

If you prefer to use Balance It^® supplement(s), you may consider attempting a different combination of ingredients for your recipe. 

You may also be interested in our FAQ “How can I use the supplement designed for humans option? Why do you make this option freely available, no else seems to provide a similar completely free service or option?”

Most supplements designed for humans suggested as alternatives to the human dietary supplement grade Balance It^® supplements in our free recipes* are available at local drugstores, pharmacies, or online retailers. 

*These options are provided without charge as a courtesy by our California benefit corporation, please see why we provide these for free here: How can I use the supplement designed for humans option? Why do you make this option freely available, no else seems to provide a similar completely free service or option? 

Identifying the right supplement

To verify you're selecting the correct product, review the supplement's "Supplement Facts" panel and compare it to the called for supplement in the recipe. If you need help:

1. See our FAQ: How can I view and/or compare the nutrient profile or nutrition facts of an ingredient in a recipe?

2. Use our Nutrient Concentration Converter at https://balance.it/convert_units to convert between common units

If you are unable to make the comparison yourself using our free self-service online information and tools or want to use something else or in addition, please contact your veterinarian for further assistance. We do not offer consultations or provide technical support or information for other companies’ products. If your veterinarian is unable to assist you, we suggest considering a consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® that offers service as found at vetspecialists.com. 

A note about multivitamins

Human multivitamin formulations have changed significantly in recent years, particularly with vitamin D concentrations increasing substantially over the past decade. This makes it more challenging to find multivitamins with the lower vitamin D levels appropriate for animal companions, especially dogs. When we provide specific product recommendations, we're trying to simplify your search—though these products may not be available in all regions.

If you're having difficulty sourcing supplements, you can try:

1. Check local and online sources: Search drugstores, pharmacies, and online retailers (such as Amazon). Note: Balance It^® does not endorse specific retailers, participate in affiliate programs, or sell other companies' products.

2. Contact your local pharmacist: Ask if they can special-order the needed supplement(s) for you.

3. Consult a veterinary professional: If you still cannot source the required supplement(s), contact a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® for personalized guidance.

Important: Do not feed incomplete recipes

Until all required ingredients—including any called for supplements—are available, do not prepare or feed the recipe. Feeding without essential supplements can cause nutrient deficiencies.

Consider alternatives:

1. Recipes fortified with Balance It^® supplements (which may be easier to source)

2. Commercially prepared complete and balanced pet foods

See also: How do I change the Balance It supplement in my recipe? and Should I add supplements beyond what's called for in my recipe? Are Balance It supplements a phosphate binder, fatty acid supplement, joint supplement, prebiotic, and/or probiotic? and I can’t find psyllium seed husk powder in stores. What should I do?

Human supplements are just that - designed for humans. They do not have the right balance of vitamins and minerals that dogs and cats need. In addition, there are no human supplements that we are aware of that contain all of the nutrients that Balance It® supplements provide. With that said, there are rare times where a combination of supplements designed for humans might be helpful. For these cases, we have provided the option to use supplements designed for humans in your homemade recipe free of charge. We do this because our mission is to help people create safe and wholesome diets for their animal companion whether they purchase anything from us or not. However, rest assured that when you rely on Balance It® supplements that they are food (aka human) grade, and come from our own dedicated food facility in Northern California that is third-party certified, State of California and FDA registered for human dietary supplement manufacturing. 

The cost per day listed on a recipe preview is the cost of the supplement only and is based on the largest size of the product that we carry (typically a 500 g or 600 g bag). 

As we have customers all over the US and the world, we are unable to accurately determine ingredient costs when they vary so greatly based on location/region and/or our customer's access to certain products.

You may also be interested in our FAQ “How long will a bag or pouch last?”

Most dog and cat multivitamin-multimineral supplements simply aren't designed to do what the Balance It® supplements are and are feed (aka animal) grade. 

Other dog and cat supplements are typically developed to be added to an already complete and balanced commercial dog or cat food. They are not designed to make up for all the nutrient needs of a dog or cat that is fed a homemade diet using human foods.

Human foods, especially animal proteins, are depleted of many essential nutrients that would typically be consumed by an obligate carnivore like the cat or a wild canine like the wolf that dogs are evolved from. Animal meat is typically exsanguinated (drained of blood) which is rich in minerals especially sodium, chloride, potassium, and magnesium. It is also deboned further removing minerals like calcium and phosphorus, And finally organ meats, especially liver, are not fed or in small amounts resulting in vitamin and trace mineral loss.   

Adding a concentrated supplement, like a Balance It® supplement that is designed to replenish these lost essential nutrients, to a commercial pet food could potentially lead to over-supplementation of nutrients and adverse health consequences. This is why we do not recommend adding the Balance It® supplement to any commercial pet food. Knowing the potential for over-supplementation, most manufacturers of dog and cat multivitamin-multimineral supplements add lower or even trivial amounts of each nutrient they use in their product. Thus, the typical human companion that gives dog and cat multivitamin-multimineral supplements to their animal companion won't give enough of a vitamin or mineral to do any harm since they most likely are on a commercial pet food that already has all the vitamins and minerals that they need. Further Balance It®  does not provide a generic recommendation on how much to give based solely on body weight. This is because the amount to add depends on a dog’s or cat's individual needs and the ingredients being fed and their proportions. 

By manufacturing food (aka human) grade supplements that also meet the even higher human dietary supplement standards, Balance It® supplements meet additional quality and safety standards. The most significant and most expensive requirement is that every finished blend is assayed in a laboratory to ensure every guaranteed essential nutrient meets specification prior to release. This ensures a very consistent and reliable source of these key essential nutrients and greatly reduces the risk of deficiencies or excesses. 

Most likely, your dog’s or cat’s body has been carefully, conserving essential nutrients as much as possible over the years, but it is possible that, unfortunately, there may be problems that have developed that may not be readily recognized. Thinning of the bones or osteopenia can occur and can be difficult to notice unless you consult with your veterinarian to take x-rays or radiographs or, worse, your dog or cat breaks a bone. 

Other nutrient deficiencies are much harder to test for and typically won't show up on even routine blood work. The typical way potential deficiencies (and excesses) are evaluated is by analyzing the diet using formulation software with a robust food database. Unfortunately, many diets that "seem" alright can actually be grossly deficient in numerous essential minerals and vitamins.

With some further consideration, it can make sense if one thinks about the natural prey that dogs and cats or their ancestors consume in the wild versus how we often or prefer to feed them. Most commonly we feed exsanguinated, eviscerated, and deboned muscle meats along with rich sources of starch. This approach results in minerals from bones, electrolytes (other important minerals) from blood, and vitamins and trace minerals from the liver being at much lower concentrations than when whole prey is consumed. Unfortunately, a whole prey method of feeding has its own disadvantages as well which can include difficulty of preparation/sourcing, nutrient variability or uncertainty, foodborne pathogens, increased consumption of natural toxins filtered and “sequestered” by the prey species, and a nutrient profile more supportive of reproduction of a few litters than longevity. If you are considering a whole prey or whole food approach to feeding, we strongly recommend consulting with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® for specific guidance about the challenges, benefits, and risks. 

No; Balance It provides the most concentrated and complete multimineral, multivitamin, and amino acid supplements available today. Its uniqueness and effectiveness have been recognized through decades of use and multiple patents, underscoring the innovation and quality behind it. Because of its supplements comprehensive nature, combining them with other commercially prepared foods that are already fortified could, in some cases, result in higher-than-needed nutrient concentrations that could even lead to excess.

If you are using a product from another manufacturer or company that requires additional fortification to be complete and balanced, we encourage you to seek their professional guidance for best results. Should that guidance be unclear, delayed, or unsupported by credentialed professionals or veterinarians—and especially if you feel uncertain about the nutritional adequacy—then we recommend considering a manufacturer or company that provides transparent, expert-backed direction. Trusted companies often pair this with third-party certifications, which bring added reassurance of quality. While these products may come at a higher cost, that often reflects the higher standard of quality, expertise, and safety they deliver.

We believe that investing in trusted, well-designed nutrition up front is far better than relying on imprecise “just-in-case” supplementation. In fact, it can often save time, money, and prevent health issues in the long run. For those interested in fortifying human foods, we’re proud of our entire support system: free recipes, expert knowledge, and supplements manufactured under third-party certified, human dietary supplement-grade standards—all from a Certified B Corp.

In short: better quality means better outcomes, and that’s the value we are committed to delivering.

Home-cooked dog and cat foods made with common human foods require fortification with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. However, it is typically safe to forgo supplementation for a short period of time unless you are concerned that feeding the diet without any supplement(s) might later lead to refusal in a very finicky dog or cat when introduced. You may wish to speak with your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist® their advice if you have concerns about not supplementing for a few days. You may also be interested in these FAQs: I’ve been feeding a homemade diet to my dog or cat for years without giving them any added minerals or vitamins, and they don't seem to have any problems. Why should I start giving them Balance It® supplements?, My dog won’t eat their food without or with the supplement slowly added and mixed in. What should I do?, and My cat won’t eat their food without or with the supplement slowly added and mixed in. What should I do?

Balance It® supplements do not come with general use instructions, because the amount used is dependent on the recipe fed. Instructions on how to use the Balance It® supplement can come from a free recipe created on our website, from your veterinarian, or from a recipe created by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist®. Please refer to your recipe on how much of the supplement to feed your animal companion. 

Supplementation is recommended based on the exact recipe you create on our website or that is provided to you by your veterinarian. Once you create or get a recipe, it will indicate which supplement(s) to use and how much need(s) to be added.

If you would like to use (a) different supplement(s), you can try adjusting the recipe using our "Adjust Ingredient Amounts" tool.

Important Note: Changing the supplement does not change the nutrient requirements for the recipe. These requirements are determined by the selections made under Step 1 of the Recipe Builder, including your animal companion’s age, weight, spay/neuter status, and any approved medical conditions. Click “See Nutrient Profile” on your recipe report to review the specific nutrient requirements being used.

The following supplement codes may be useful to note:

1. Balance It^® Canine: b100

2. Balance It^® Canine Plus: m93640

3. Balance It^® Carnivore Blend^®: b210

4. Balance It^® Canine K*: b102

5. Balance It^® Canine K Plus*: b106

6. Balance It^® Canine -Cu*: m2055

7. Balance It^® Feline: b103

8. Balance It^® Feline K*: b104

The codes above can be used if you want to try to exclude a specific supplement from being used in your recipe when selecting ingredients. To learn more about our ingredient exclusion feature, please see the “How do I exclude or leave out (an) ingredient(s) I wish to avoid feeding?” FAQ. *These supplements require veterinary approval to purchase.

Steps to Try to Manually Edit/Adjust a Recipe to Change the Balance It^® Supplement Used:

1. Click on Adjust This Recipe when viewing a recipe result/report, then click the Adjust ingredient amounts tab.
2. Then under the Ingredients list, find the listed Balance It^® supplement you wish to try not to use or remove and click the gray "X" next to its name.
3.  
4. Use the search bar to then find and then select the desired supplement using keywords or the supplement’s unique code from the list shared above. Once selected, the supplement will be added to the ingredient list.
5. 
6. Click on Update My Recipe.
7. On the resulting next screen, if the change was possible you will see an Adjusted By You or We Tried Your Adjustment box. Please click on View Recipe to see the details and confirm whether your adjustments were successful.

If the supplement change was unsuccessful, the original supplement will remain listed in the recipe result, or you’ll see a red error message preventing the update. Only edits/changes that are successful should be prepared/fed. This can be an inherently more iterative and time-intensive process. If you become frustrated or do not have the desired success using our free, self-service online tool at balance.it /recipes , you may wish to consider pursuing a consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® elsewhere (directories can be found on our site at vetnutritionist.com or ACVIM’s at vetspecialists.com).

Depending on the illness that your friend has, there may be a more appropriate Balance It® supplement or product for them. Currently there are four Balance It® supplements (Balance It® Canine K, Balance It® Canine K Plus, Balance It® Canine -Cu, and Balance It® Feline K) designed for patients with certain medical conditions. We have free recipes available that use these four (and also other over-the-counter supplements) patented supplements for specific health conditions, although they require direct veterinary approval (aka vet approval) from your veterinarian to purchase per the FDA (CPG Sec. 690.150).

You may also be interested in the What are the differences in your supplements? FAQ.

We understand that the child-resistant-closure (CRC) on our larger bags can be inherently difficult to open and then also hard to close. We apologize if this has been the case for you. 

How to Open the 500/600 Gram Bag CRC:

1. Tear off the heat seal at the very top of the bag using the tear notches on the sides.

2. Below the seal is the zip closure with tabs. When opening, hold one of the tabs toward the inner colored line–which will be yellow/green or red. Please note, holding the tabs away from the line will prevent the bag from opening and may cause tearing.

Additional Tips:

If opening the CRC zip closure remains challenging, consider these alternatives:

• Transfer the contents into another certified child-resistant, airtight container/package to maintain safety and freshness. This will help ensure the supplement remains secure and properly stored. Balance It® does not sell these, but they may be found from online retailers or you can ask your local pharmacist for assistance.

• Consider purchasing our 20 gram pouch products (if applicable/available), which do not have a CRC closure as they do not contain as much total iron.

• Create free recipes using supplements designed for humans. These supplements sold by others may come in packaging that is easier for you to open. More information is available in this FAQ: How can I use the supplement designed for humans option? Why do you make this option freely available, no else seems to provide a similar completely free service or option? 

• Speak with your veterinarian about alternative feeding options for your animal companion.

Can I store my Balance It^® supplement in another container?

Yes, you can transfer the contents into another certified child-resistant, airtight container/package to maintain safety and freshness. This will help ensure the supplement remains secure and properly stored. Balance It® does not sell these, but they may be found from online retailers or you can ask your local pharmacist for assistance.

Per federal law, we cannot recommend transferring the contents into a non-certified child-resistant reusable and resealable container that you might prefer and like most cooks do for other bagged powdered cooking ingredients like flour or sugar. Legally, we must tell you that any container must have a child-resistant closure given its high iron content of 250 mg or more of elemental iron per 16 CFR 1700.14(a)(13). This special packaging requirement protects against accidental ingestion of all of the contents at once by a child.

Why does my larger 500/600 gram bag have a different colored line on the CRC than the printed instructions indicate?

The manufacturer of our bags can use different color (e.g., green, green/yellow, red) indicators interchangeably to indicate the tab side of the zip closure. We apologize for any confusion this variability in color creates.  Rest assured, the instructions of how to open the CRC and function are the same regardless of the color of the line you see inside of the bag.

The shipping document included with all orders indicates this color variability as well.

What if I broke/tore my bag while trying to open it?

We understand that the CRC can be inherently difficult to open and accidents can happen. However, we are unable to send a replacement bag if it is damaged due to user handling.

If your bag tears or breaks, we recommend transferring the contents into another certified child-resistant, airtight container/package to maintain safety and freshness. This will help ensure the supplement remains secure and properly stored. Balance It® does not sell these, but they may be found from online retailers or you can ask your local pharmacist for assistance.

Per federal law, we cannot recommend transferring the contents into a non-certified child-resistant reusable and resealable container that you might prefer and like most cooks do for other bagged powdered cooking ingredients like flour or sugar. Legally, we must tell you that any container must have a child-resistant closure given its high iron content of 250 mg or more of elemental iron per 16 CFR 1700.14(a)(13). This special packaging requirement protects against accidental ingestion of all of the contents at once by a child.

What should I do if I feel I received a bag with a defective CRC? 

If the CRC appears defective (not due to user handling), please contact us at info@balanceit.com with your order number and a photo of the bag’s CRC. Our quality team will then review the information and determine the appropriate next steps.

Why do you have to have a CRC closure for these products?

Per 16 CFR 1700.14(a)(13) the Balance It^® multivitamin/multimineral supplements falls within the regulation requiring a CRC as it contains 250 mg or more of elemental iron. Iron is an essential nutrient that needs to be fortified and at a high concentration relative to other essential nutrients to meet dog and cat requirements when fed typical or common human foods. Other products that one may see that do not use a CRC may not be as concentrated or contain as much total supplement. This is most common, not due to non-regulatory compliance by others, but rather due to a different purpose for their product. There are many animal vitamins sold by others that are much less concentrated as they are not designed or intended to fortify a homemade diet of human food, but rather to serve as a treat or to be a “just-in-case” option when already feeding a fortified commercially prepared diet.

Vitamin-containing foods and supplements are perishable including ours. Vitamins naturally degrade with time and the rate at which they degrade is increased when in the presence of trace minerals. We account for this inherent degradation with our formulations to ensure that there are extra vitamins present when first made. These “overages" enable the vitamin minimum guarantees to be met at the end of the product’s shelf-life. This includes the expected opening and closing of the bag. It does not start when a bag (or pouch) is opened and is not extended by not opening the bag (or pouch).

Because the all-in-one supplements are mixed in batches, a lot number is assigned to each mixed batch for tracking purposes. All manufacturers concerned with the quality and safety of their products will use a lot number for tracking and traceability purposes. As a FDA registered and third-party audited human dietary supplement manufacturer, we are required to maintain “traceability” and must conduct regular tests of our ability to know where all packaging materials, raw materials and finished products are located or went. This ensures our ability to rapidly and accurately notify customers if there were ever a quality or safety concern. 

You might also be interested in these FAQs:

Why isn't the expiration date longer?

Can I use expired products?

Balance It® supplements have a maximum shelf life of 11 months from manufacture, and we ensure at least 3 months of remaining shelf life on all shipments. While this may be shorter than some shelf-stable products, there are important scientific and quality control reasons for these timeframes.

Why Supplement Shelf Life Is Limited

Vitamin degradation is natural and inevitable Vitamins are inherently perishable compounds that degrade over time. This degradation accelerates when vitamins are combined with trace minerals—which is necessary in complete nutritional supplements like ours.

Overage formulation for quality assurance To ensure adequate potency throughout the product's shelf life, we formulate with vitamin overages (extra amounts at manufacture). However, these overages must be carefully controlled to avoid excessive concentrations when the product is first made, which could pose safety concerns.

Laboratory testing requires time Unlike many supplement manufacturers, blended human dietary supplement grade Balance It® supplements are laboratory assayed for all guaranteed essential nutrients before release. This quality control process can take up to one month for testing, approval, and packaging—which is why our maximum possible shelf life is 11 months rather than 12.

Understanding the Date Format

Expiration dates on Balance It® packaging follow US standard format: Month/Day/Year

Example: 08/15/2025 or 08.15.2025 or 08.15.25 = August 15, 2025

Choosing the Right Size for Your Needs

If you're concerned about using a 500 g or 600 g bag before its expiration date:

1. Consider purchasing 20-gram pouches instead

2. Order smaller quantities more frequently

3. Calculate your dog’s or cat's daily usage in grams to determine the best size/amount to purchase assuming a worst-case scenario of three months of shelf-life

Our commitment: Every product shipped meets our third-party certified quality standards and provides sufficient shelf life for typical use.

You might also be interested in these FAQs: Why is there a best by and lot number on the supplements? and Can I use expired products?

No, the FDA requires studies to be conducted to extend shelf-life beyond the stated expiration date. We have not conducted those studies nor do we plan to, because based on our overages, we do not expect every single nutrient to still be consistently and predictably above the guaranteed minimums after the current expiration date(s) we use.

You may also be interest in these FAQs:

Why is there a best by and lot number on the supplements?

Why isn't the expiration date longer?

Our supplements are of the highest quality, please see more at the What are the origins of your ingredients and how do you ensure their quality? FAQ and are very well accepted/tolerated in almost all dogs and cats, even those that are very discriminating/sensitive. We also do not add any flavorings or capsulize any of our products to avoid adding unnecessary and possibly not tolerated ingredients and making mixing with desired foods harder. With that said, vitamins naturally degrade over time and they can give off an aroma that gets stronger as any product, including Balance It® supplements, gets closer to the expiration date. We add vitamin overages to ensure potency until the expiration date. Some amino acids, especially the sulfur based ones like methionine and cyst(e)ine, can also have a natural odor that we do not mask; fortunately, some of these are actually enticing to some dogs and most cats. If desired,one can store the supplement in the freezer if the container is very tightly sealed to prevent any moisture entering. While this won't extend the shelf life, it may reduce the odor. Fortunately, as stated, the Balance It® supplements are very well accepted/tolerated overall especially if very slowly introduced with preferred foods in cases where there is a known challenge and/or if already on a homemade diet that is deficient and not fortified with needed amino acids and/or vitamins. In the very rare cases that they are not accepted or tolerated, we are happy to accept returns for refund per our refund policy found at balance.it/terms.

No, you should not worry. The temperature reached should not result in any quality issues. Typical shipping temperatures are accounted for even in the hotter months with vitamin overages, so there is nothing to worry about as far as the temperature it was at when received. Products we sell to you also do not go through a distributor, so they typically have one less journey to make. Rest assured, your product will arrive safely to your shipping address via one of the available "common" carriers. 

The amount of supplement needed is unique to each animal companion and each recipe. To estimate how long a bag will last, divide the number of grams of the supplement that is needed each day into 600 grams (the net weight of the Balance It® canine supplements in bags) or 500 grams (for feline supplements in bags). For a pouch, divide the number of grams of the supplement that is needed each day into 20 grams. The resulting figure is the number of days one bag, or pouch will last using that particular recipe. 

For example, if the recipe said use 10 grams of Balance It® Canine daily, and you are using a bag, then there would be enough supplement for 60 days (600 grams per bag/10 grams daily = 60 days per bag) or for a pouch there would be enough for 2 days (20 grams per pouch/10 grams daily = 2 days per pouch).

Your Balance It® recipe will indicate how long a bag, or pouch will last you under the Ordering & Reordering Balance It® supplements section based on your animal companion’s weight/energy needs, condition(s), and the exact ingredients being fed.

It has been determined that the average size dog is 35 pounds (or 15.9 kg) will use our 600 g size bagged supplements in about one month (this is only an average with variation dependent on specific recipe). This means that for almost all of our customers they never have to worry about unused supplements expiring. 

Fortunately, if your dog is smaller and uses so little supplement every day that you may end up with some contents in a 600 g bag expiring before your animal companion can finish it, we have a solution. Our powdered essential nutrient supplements are also available in smaller 20 g pouches which can help avoid waste. These pouches are also great for trial, traveling, easy-to-open and may be more convenient than buying a whole 600 g bag. 

There are two main reasons for using a powder:

One: In developing the first Balance It^® supplements over two decades ago, we realized that our products would need to meet the needs of dogs that range from 2 to 100 pounds and cats that might range from 5 up to 30 pounds. So we needed a better solution than tablets or capsules, which have very limited flexibility in dosing. In powder form, our products can be scooped in smaller portions to meet each dog’s or cat’s specific needs. This is also helpful if you have different size animal companions that you are cooking for. 

Two: Tablets/capsules don’t mix super well with food. In fact, many board-certified veterinary nutritionists will suggest crushing any tablets into a powder before adding them to a dog’s or cat’s food. So we have saved you a step.

Understanding Powder Consistency

Our supplement powder may occasionally appear too fluffy or develop clumps. This variability results from the natural properties of the ingredients and the manufacturing process designed to ensure nutrient quality.

Why the powder is fluffy: We use powdered cellulose or inulin as anti-caking agents to facilitate thorough blending and even distribution of essential nutrients, including trace minerals.

Why clumping can occur: Many nutrients—particularly certain amino acids, vitamins, and choline—are hygroscopic, meaning they naturally absorb moisture from the air. Once the product leaves humidity-controlled areas for blending or packaging, these nutrients can draw in moisture, causing the powder to become less fluffy or form clumps despite the anti-caking agents.

Balance It^® has refined our formulation over years of production to minimize both excessive fluffiness and problematic clumping, either of which would make accurate scooping more difficult. To prevent excessive moisture absorption and caking, follow the package instructions: keep the package tightly sealed and store it in a dry location.

Only the following three products come with two measuring scoops:

500 gram bags of Balance It^® Feline (red label)

600 gram bags of Balance It^® Canine K (blue label)

600 gram bags of Balance It^® Canine K Plus (green label)

If you have recently placed an order with us, this information can also be found in the shipping insert included within your order (also found here).

Most of our products do not come with scoops included as the recipes will indicate the dose/amount in standard measuring teaspoons (1 teaspoon (tsp) = 4.93 mL) and/or grams instead. Please kindly refer to your Balance It^® recipe(s) to determine how much supplement is needed. If you received a recipe from somewhere else that calls for scoops and not measuring teaspoons and/or grams for any product except the three noted at the top, please contact them directly for the correct dosing in their formulation/recipe.

If you do not own a reusable measuring teaspoon, they are readily available from retailers both online and locally that sell any type of kitchen supplies. Balance It^® does not sell scoops separately or measuring teaspoons. 

You may also be interested in the FAQ: “I bought the pouch product but my recipe(s) call(s) for (a) scoop(s). Do these pouches come with any scoops?”

Of course. Here are the more commonly known nutrients our ingredients provide:

*not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog/Cat Food Nutrient Profiles; vitamin K is required for cats on high fish-containing diets

You can view the ingredients list for each supplement by visiting the Products page (located here: https://shop.balance.it/collections/all ) and checking the Ingredients & Nutrient Analysis section of the desired supplement.

You may also be interested in “What are the differences in your supplements?”

Although not really a frequently asked question, we have added it here as we know of one individual that is extremely concerned about its use as they have reviewed what happens if a massive and toxic amount of sodium from any source, including sodium bicarbonate, is given/taken. 

We have safely used sodium bicarbonate (an ingredient considered “GRAS” (generally recognized as safe) by both AAFCO and the FDA for dogs, cats, and humans) over the last two decades in our supplements to provide the essential nutrient sodium. There are other food grade mineral salts that can also provide sodium, but they typically come with an anion that we may need to also tightly control or prevent adding too much of. Bicarbonate is a safe addition that at much higher concentrations is frequently and safely used as a therapeutic medication in dogs. 

Sodium bicarbonate is not toxic in appropriate doses including in the small amounts in our supplements. However, many essential nutrients and compounds (e.g., water, sodium, potassium, vitamin D, etc.) can become toxic if administered or given at too high a dose. The old saying is that the "dose makes the poison". To protect against excess addition (as well as too little), all of our supplements are tested for any guaranteed essential nutrient including sodium from sodium bicarbonate to make sure that they meet specifications on every lot prior to release. This extensive and regular testing allows us to meet the higher regulatory standards for human dietary supplements versus only being food (aka human) grade which itself is higher than the feed (aka animal) grade standard. To see the overall sodium concentration of any homemade recipe created using the Recipe Builder, please click (See) Nutrient Profile on results and hover over the percent requirement to see the percent contributed by each ingredient in the recipe. 

This is normal! Occasionally  blue specks will be seen in our supplements (all except Canine -Cu & Firming Fiber). This is from copper sulfate, a source of copper, which is an essential nutrient for your dog or cat. 

Sometimes if a supplement is in contact with food for several hours in the refrigerator copper sulfate can also lead to little bluish spots or due to their natural yellow color, B-vitamins can result in greenish/grayish spots especially when the supplement is moistened. This greenish/grayish color change is more commonly reported in food that uses barley or sweet potato.

Why does my recipe include L-methionine supplementation?

Some recipes require additional methionine to meet minimum requirements for methionine and/or methionine + cystine (also called methionine-cystine). These sulfur amino acids (SAAs) are essential nutrients that can be limiting when:

1. Overall dietary protein is lower
2. Protein sources are primarily or exclusively plant-based

Where to Purchase L-Methionine

L-methionine is available as a human supplement, typically in 500 mg tablets:

1. Online retailers
2. Local drugstores or pharmacies
3. Some veterinary clinics

Understanding Tablet Dosing

Critical: The "500 mg" on the label refers to the amount of methionine in the tablet, not the tablet's total weight.

How to measure correctly:

If your recipe calls for a specific amount of methionine:

1. Recipe calls for 250 mg methionine = Use ½ of a 500 mg tablet (regardless of the tablet's total weight)
2. Recipe calls for 500 mg methionine = Use 1 full 500 mg tablet (regardless of the tablet's total weight)

Why total tablet weight doesn't matter:

The label and recipe amount in tablets already accounts for concentration. A "500 mg L-methionine tablet" provides 500 mg of methionine whether the tablet weighs 0.5 grams, 1 gram, or more. You don't need to calculate based on the tablet's physical weight—simply follow the methionine amount listed on the label or divide the fraction of tablet(s) into the 500 mg. For example 1/4 of a 500 mg methionine tablet is 500/4 or 125 mg of methionine. Or for multiple tablets multiply that number by 500 mg, such as 2 1/2 500 mg tablets equals 500*2.5 or 1250 mg of methionine. 

If using a different concentration:

If you find tablets with a different methionine concentration (e.g., 250 mg or 1000 mg per tablet), adjust accordingly:

1. Recipe needs 500 mg methionine with 250 mg tablets = Use 2 tablets
2. Recipe needs 500 mg methionine with 1000 mg tablets = Use ½ tablet

Related Information:

See also: “Do I need to add taurine to my dog’s diet?” and "Where can I find supplements designed for humans recommended in my recipe?"

No, taurine is not an essential nutrient in dogs as it is made by dogs from the sulfur amino acids (SAAs), methionine and cyst(e)ine. The dog’s body can make ample taurine when enough SAAs are provided in their diet. Dogs also use SAAs to make other important compounds like s-adenosyl methionine also known commonly as SAMe. 

The Balance It® software always checks the SAA formulated concentrations(s) before passing a recipe. If the concentration(s) is/are too low, the recipe will not pass, or in the case of vegetarian dog recipes that use a legume like lentils, it will add methionine to the recipe separately (some of our dog supplements use methionine and cyst(e)ine especially those for lower protein diets). Our founder, Dr. Sean Delaney, is actually the lead researcher that established the normal taurine blood and plasma concentrations in the dog in 2003 (see S. Delaney et al. Plasma and whole blood taurine in normal dogs of varying size fed commercially prepared food J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2003 Jun;87(5-6):236-44 ), so this is an area we have always been focused on and aware of since our launch in 2005. For more questions about your dog’s taurine status, we suggest speaking with your veterinarian, board-certified veterinary nutritionist® and/or board-certified veterinary cardiologist®.

Balance It® supplements include only those nutrients that are known to be essential in dogs and cats. We don't add vitamin C in our supplements as dogs and cats do not require it in their diet as they can make it themselves using glucose readily found in their bodies. We wouldn't recommend providing extra vitamin C as it can increase urinary oxalate excretion and only use/add it as recommended by your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®. Our vitamin supplements do however include a balanced amount of other water soluble B vitamins that animal companion’s require.

There are a few reasons why our supplements do not contain any omega-3 or -6 fatty acids. 

1. While certain vitamins and minerals are reliably deficient in common ingredients used to make recipes for animal companions, fatty acid concentration and ratios are extremely variable - some ingredients are deficient, while some have very high amounts. So, recipes using salmon and chicken will have extremely different fatty acid profiles - the salmon high in omega-3s and need omega-6s added whereas the chicken would be high in omega-6s and need the omega-3s added if you're looking for a balanced ratio between the two. But they will likely need more similar vitamin and mineral fortification. Because each recipe will vary so much in fatty acid profile, it would be impossible to add them to a supplement and still have it work for most recipes. By adding them separately, they can be added in the amount appropriate to compliment the other preferred ingredients.

2. The same ratio of omega-6:omega-3 may not always be appropriate for different life stages and different health conditions. Even if these fatty acids were added to the supplement, then you'd still have to add them separately to precisely adjust the ratio for different uses. And in some cases you would need to somehow “extract” a fatty acid which would be impossible if mixed into a supplement in a fixed ratio.

3. Fats and vitamins and minerals do not always play well together in the same container - omega-6s and omega-3s are prone to rancidity (due to oxidation), and they can interact with other nutrients if mixed together in a bag or pouch. This could deplete antioxidants, and could alter bioavailability of other nutrients. Liquid forms would be messy and you wouldn't be able to keep the product stable and with all the nutrients in solution so each teaspoon would be the same as the next. Powdered forms of fats are harder to come by, so they would likely have to be whole food sources, such as algae or canola meal for example. These ingredients would bring in potential allergens and other nutrients than just omega-3s and -6s, which could make the product less than ideal for animal companions with allergies or other health issues.

Instead, we have heavily invested in the Autobalancer® that powers the Recipe Builder, so that it can precisely calculate the amount of oils/fats to separately add/avoid to meet any essential or important fatty acid requirement(s).

We reformulated our products without “animal origin ingredients" to eliminate any concern that animal antigens might be added to the product. These changes started on February 22, 2013. 

Accordingly on formulations you'll see that we no longer are using vitamin D3 that is made from lanolin or sheep's wool grease, and switched to vitamin D2, the form found in plants/fungi. This form of vitamin D is utilized at 70% of the rate of vitamin D3 in the cat, so we adjusted the feline formulations and software accordingly. Vitamin D2 is utilized comparably and well by dogs. 

We also switched to using calcium carbonate and/or tricalcium phosphate to avoid the use of dicalcium phosphate that may be highly processed but still derived from animal bone. These changes also allowed us to further optimize the formulations, address concerns regarding some livestock production practices including associated environmental impact, and to make international exportation from the USA easier.

Yes. Vitamin D2 is also known as ergocalciferol and vitamin D3 is also known as cholecalciferol. Vitamin D2 is the form that is found in non-animal derived foods, like mushrooms. Vitamin D3 is the form that is found in animal meats or is made from animal products, like lanolin or sheep’s wool grease.

In 2013, Balance It® shifted from using vitamin D3 to vitamin D2 to further avoid the concern of animal antigens and animal origin ingredients in its all-in-one supplements. This was especially helpful to folks with concerns about the purity of the products they used in their sensitive animal companions. It also helped our international users. Many countries do not allow (or severely restrict) products with animal origin ingredients to be imported into their country, even from industrial countries generally held in high regard, like the United States.

In cats, vitamin D2 is not utilized as efficiently as vitamin D3. Morris of UC Davis in 2002 showed that cats used vitamin D2 with an efficiency of 70% as compared to vitamin D3 (J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2002; 86(7-8):229-38.). Therefore, the Balance It® system adjusts for this different utilization to help ensure a cat’s special needs are met. To better understand this adjustment, if one needs, say, to give the equivalent of 17.5 IU per day per cat of cholecalciferol or vitamin D3 then one needs to instead provide 25 IU per day per cat of ergocalciferol or vitamin D2 (using the equation of 17.5*(1/0.7)=25 as 70% of 25 IU is 17.5 IU).

As referenced in 2006 by the National Research Council, it has been known since 1939 that dogs utilize vitamin D2 and D3 equally well (J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1939; 95:187-194.). In that first definitive study at the University of Wisconsin, growing dogs grew normally, with radiographic (x-ray) monitoring of bone development (if developmental abnormalities appeared) and blood calcium and phosphorus levels, over a five month experimental period. Later in 1943, Morgan and Shimotori of UC Berkeley showed that the same single massive IU dose of either vitamin D2 or vitamin D3 maintained blood calcium levels and vitamin D levels equivalently in growing dogs over the 180 day study (J Biol Chem. 1943; 147:189-200.). It is worth noting that in this study, it appeared that the vitamin D2 may have had a better lasting effect in the last couple of weeks compared to the vitamin D3 sources. Subsequently in 1947, Morgan with colleagues Hendricks and Freytag at UC Berkeley showed normal growth in control dogs over approximately 300 days when the same amount of vitamin D2 or vitamin D3 was fed as part of this vitamin D toxicity study (Am J Physiol. 1947; 149:319-332.). Finally the specific effects of vitamin D toxicity on the adult dog’s kidneys were studied in 1979 by Spangler, Gribble, and Lee at UC Davis. In this study, they used an overdose of vitamin D2 exclusively. This helped to further confirm that the utilization of vitamin D2 is not unique to growing dogs (Am J Vet Res. 1979; 40:73-83.). DVM Consulting, Inc. also completed a supportive study in two client-owned dogs that was presented at the 15th Annual AAVN Clinical Nutrition and Research Symposium on June 3, 2015 in Indianapolis. The following is the scientific abstract of that study:

"Serum Ionized Calcium, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and Parathyroid Hormone In Two Dogs Fed A Homemade Diet Fortified With Vitamin D2.

Since 1939, it has been known that dogs utilize vitamins D2 (D2; ergocalciferol) & D3 (D3; cholecalciferol) equally well (Arnold et al., 1939). For decades, D2 was used in dog food studies as the source of vitamin D (vit D; NRC 2006). Effects of a massive dose of D2 or D3 has also been shown to last < ~5.25 mo in dogs (Morgan et al., 1943). There has been re-emergent use of D2 in dog nutritional products to avoid animal origin ingredients. It was hypothesized that dogs on a diet fortified with D2 would maintain normal ionized calcium (iCa) & 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-D) levels. 2 healthy client-owned adult Papillons, fed a Ca & Mg replete home-cooked chicken & rice diet for 3 mo with 138.6 IU of vit D per Mcal or 101.9% of the D3 2006 NRC recommended allowance (RA) for adult maintenance, had their vit D status determined. Further analysis via formulation software (Balance IT® Autobalancer®, Davis, CA) of the diet revealed that 8.849 IU of the 138.6 IU of vit D per Mcal was from D3 found in the cooked chicken breast meat with remainder from supplemented D2 (Balance IT® Canine, Davis, CA). 5 mo prior to current diet, the 2 dogs were fed another home-cooked egg diet fortified with D2 & exclusively fed melons as treats for the last 8 mo. Previously, they never were fed a diet exceeding NRC SUL for vit D or given vit D by any other route. A 1.5 mL fasting serum sample was collected & centrifuged within 1 hr & shipped overnight on ice to Michigan State University (MSU) for analysis. The resulting iCa & 25-D were within the reference range (RR) with the following values: iCa 1.31 & 1.35 (RR 1.25-1.45 mmol/L) & 25-D 163 & 110 (RR 60-215 nmol/L). Parathyroid hormone (PTH) was below the RR for the 1st dog at 0.4 pmol/L (RR 0.5-5.8 pmol/L), while the 2nd dog had a within RR value of 1.00. This lower PTH was not considered significant given the normal iCa and 25-D by the reviewing MSU endocrinologist. These findings support that D2 can be utilized as the supplemental source of vit D in dog food to maintain normal iCa homeostasis & 25-D levels in adult dogs.

We/I thank South Davis Vet. Center for collecting & submitting the 2 blood samples & the client for approving presentation/publication.

Abstract Copyright 2015 American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (AAVN)" 

More recently Dodd et al. in 2022 at the 22nd Annual AAVN Symposium showed that "Feeding a plant-based diet including D2 in place of D3 for 3 months did not impair bone mineralization or vitamin D metabolism in adult dogs."

In 2019, we improved Carnivore Blend® to use inulin as a “carrier” to enable good mixing and prevent caking instead of psyllium seed husk powder.  We proactively made this improvement to provide a rich source of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) which can be used by beneficial gut bacteria or microbiota to help support GI health. This sometimes is referred to as a prebiotic effect. As inulin is much whiter in color than psyllium seed husk, Carnivore Blend® became lighter in color and whiter compared to the previous off white or tan. This change has been very well-tolerated by dogs and cats including those previously fed Carnivore Blend® with psyllium seed husk powder.

Balance It^® Firming Fiber is simply powdered cellulose, a source of insoluble fiber.

Balance It^® Firming Fiber will often be added to recipes when the dog/cat is approved for a higher fiber requirement/condition, and the recipe's base foods alone do not provide enough dietary fiber. If there is no requirement or need for higher or more dietary fiber, the software will not add this product to the homemade recipe. 

If your veterinarian has advised you to create higher fiber recipes for your animal companion, please submit a veterinary approval request with the instructions found in this FAQ: How can I submit a veterinary approval request for my animal companion with a medical condition? And why do I even need to do this? You can enter “high insoluble fiber” or “high total dietary fiber” in the provided search tool.

If you wish to add powdered cellulose (the sole ingredient in Balance It^® Firming Fiber) to your companion’s food without submitting a request for higher fiber recipes, please speak with your veterinarian to determine the appropriate amount or dose to add. There are no general use instructions for this product including on the label. 

Balance It® Feline K has been updated to reflect the newest research (as recently published here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8692190/ ) regarding optimal dietary phosphorus restriction concentration and calcium to phosphorus ratio in cats with renal/kidney disease. Consequently, the supplement now has no added phosphorus (previously it was very low) and less calcium. Any dosing for, or recipes using, the old formulation are no longer valid, and new recipes should be generated for free using the Recipe Builder at balance.it or pursued with one’s veterinarian and/or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®. If the preferred foods/ingredients can no longer be balanced with the new version of Feline K using the Recipe Builder, a free recipe using a combination of supplements designed for humans, that can be purchased elsewhere, will be provided instead if that alternative option is instead possible. Note that the many essential nutrients that need to be tightly controlled including potassium, and in stark contrast to an obligate carnivore’s typical diet, makes many options using a single supplement much more difficult/challenging to find. Whole egg (ID m6), white rice (ID n20445) OR tapioca (ID m13) OR corn meal (ID n20422), and Feline K OR just whole egg (ID m6) and Feline K are good example pairings when blood potassium is lower (aka hypokalemia). We apologize for any inconvenience this supplement reformulation may create. 

Don’t worry, this is totally normal and doesn't affect the nutrients at all. To be more specific, some of the purified food (aka human) grade minerals that we use in supplements can react with the acids and bases that are also present from nutrients like amino acids, minerals, and vitamins. Dissolving these essential nutrients in water allows them to dissolve and interact/react with each other, and the result is a classic acid-base reaction releasing a very small amount of carbon dioxide gas, which can cause fizz or bubbles exactly like in sparkling water. We generally recommend mixing the supplement directly with food instead of water, so you shouldn’t experience this too often.

As far as a slight color change when moistened, it is likely an effect of the copper sulfate and B-vitamins which are naturally blue and yellow, respectively, when in an aqueous or water solution. This can result in a slight blue, green, gray, and/or mottled appearance. This is more typically (but still rarely) reported when customers premix supplement with food and then refrigerate it overnight. This is a natural color change and not harmful or a cause for concern.

The Balance It® supplements are very well accepted and tolerated. However in some very rare cases, a homemade diet with added supplement can be refused. Very slow introduction (over 5-10 days or more) or feeding a new combination of preferred foods & mixing the supplement in well usually can solve or prevent this issue. 

In those rare cases where this doesn’t work, in dogs it can be helpful to mix the supplement even slower and with a little honey or sugar syrup* (simple, maple, pancake, etc. but with no artificial sweeteners since they might contain xylitol which is toxic to at least dogs). Alternatively, a savory treat like peanut butter (again with no xylitol) or creamier cheese* might help. 

*You should always check with your veterinarian if your dog is not healthy to make sure that the use of honey or sugar syrup is not contraindicated as it might be with diabetes mellitus or that added salt or fat from foods like peanut butter or cheese is acceptable. Treats should always be limited to 10% of daily calories or less.

For cats, mixing the supplement with the protein source specifically can be helpful as can the use of the Carnivore Blend® supplement where an all meat/poultry/fish diet can be fed if otherwise tolerated.

If still unsuccessful, forcing the administration of the supplement is never advised. For example, the supplement cannot be used in a syringe due to the potential for aspiration. A supplement+water mix could go directly into your dog’s/cat’s lungs carrying with them any bacteria from the mouth during the likely  struggle and this is not only stressful for everyone but very harmful to your dog/cat as it can cause pneumonia. Alternatively, trying to produce and administer tablets or capsules is not practical as macromineral (e.g., calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium) needs are significant making daily “pilling” a non-starter. 

If the Balance It® supplement is refused after trying slower introduction and/or mixing with a palatant/treat/enticer as described above, we instead suggest trying a recipe that uses a combination of supplements designed for humans (a free option when using the Recipe Builder) or speaking with your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist® about other fortification and/or feeding options. They may suggest trying the supplements designed for humans one by one (starting with the “electrolyte” minerals like sodium, potassium, & chloride then B-vitamins followed by taurine, calcium & phosphorus, then magnesium and trace or microminerals like iron, zinc, & copper and finally fat soluble vitamins & other amino acids) as there may be certain essential nutrients that a dog or cat may be more sensitive to or intolerant of (the order they choose may reflect the likelihood of nutrient depletion and adverse reaction).

AAFCO requires manufacturers to either do a feeding trial to determine energy content or to do a proximate analysis and then a standardized, and defined by AAFCO, calculation using modified Atwater energy conversion factors (i.e., 3.5 kcal/g protein, 8.5 kcal/g fat, & 3.5 kcal/g carbohydrate) to then determine and report energy/calorie content on labels. Supplements, like Balance It®, are not excluded from this requirement and a feeding trial of exclusively feeding supplements without any food for two weeks is not possible as it would lead to starvation. Thus, Balance It® has to do proximate analyses and use the defined AAFCO equation with the set energy conversion factors to meet regulatory requirements for calorie content statements on all labels. 

Unfortunately, proximate analyses are not very accurate/precise, and so misleading positive values for the supplements result, largely from the imprecise carbohydrate by difference calculation and crude protein extrapolation based on measuring not protein or amino acids but rather nitrogen (Kjeldahl method). Dietary fiber, like that from powdered cellulose and inulin, by definition has no calorie content for dogs and cats like dietary sugars or starches do, but these two dietary carbohydrates are not actually measured in the AAFCO required proximate analysis. Although there could be some trivial calories coming from glucogenic amino acids in some Balance It® supplements (from arginine, methionine and cysteine, threonine, tryptophan, but not lysine), these supplements are used in recipes where these added amino acids are almost always limiting in the overall diet, and as such, are not used for energy production via gluconeogenesis, but rather are far more likely used for protein anabolism (making proteins). Therefore, the Balance It® supplements are not expected to and are extremely unlikely to provide any significant amount of calories, and thus, we do not include any calories from them in the formulation software/database/recipes.

No, we use LDPE & PET for our bags, and PET for our pouches which don't use BPA.  LDPE is often used to make grocery bags. PET is used commonly to make water bottles. These are all designed and intended for food grade packaging, and the interiors are appropriate for food contact.

We do not add gluten nor do we use ingredients that include gluten. However, gluten is not specifically tested for, so we cannot assure you that it is without any traces of gluten. Fortunately, gluten-sensitive enteropathy or intolerance (sometimes referred to as Celiac disease or sprue) is very rare in both dogs and cats.

“K" products are lower in phosphorus and sodium and higher in many B-vitamins and amino acids. “-Cu” is used for a no copper added version of our Balance It® Canine® supplement that fortifies lower copper homemade dog food recipes. They’re specially designed for specific health conditions and can only be purchased with a veterinarian’s approval per the United States FDA that inspects and regulates our business. 

You may purchase these prescription supplements using a special six (6) character "Vet Code" that is provided to you from your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®. The “Vet Code” can be entered during checkout or an approval can be requested via our online process that requires your veterinarian’s email or practice fax number to meet this FDA requirement.

Finding the dose

Balance It® Canine Plus is the same as Balance It® Canine, except that it can be heated one time up to 165 degrees F or 74 degrees C. They are the same formula, only Balance It® Canine Plus has extra vitamin overages to account for heat degradation. This results in a different bulk density (g/tsp or g/mL) and why you will see different volume (but the same gram) doses indicated for each in recipes.

On recipes, the equivalent dose for Balance It® Canine Plus can be found in a paragraph in a tan box below the ingredients which will include Balance It® Canine. The last sentence in this paragraph will state something to the effect that "The equivalent dose is X teaspoons (the gram amount is the same as the gram amount for Balance It® Canine) when Balance It® Canine Plus is used instead of Balance It® Canine." 

How do I use Balance It® Canine Plus for batch cooking?

As noted above Balance It® Canine Plus is a heatable supplement designed for batch cooking convenience. It contains extra vitamins to withstand one-time heating to 165°F (74°C). There are two methods depending on your meal preparation approach:

Method 1: Add After Cooking, Heat Once When Serving (Recommended)

1. Prepare and cook your large batch of food according to the recipe

2. Allow the cooked food to cool slightly

3. Add the full amount of Balance It® Canine Plus to the entire batch

4. Mix thoroughly to ensure even distribution throughout

5. Portion into individual meals

6. Refrigerate or freeze the portions

When serving: Reheat the individual portion (this is the first and only heating of the supplement). The extra vitamins account for this single heating.

Method 2: Add During Final Cooking (Only if No Reheating)

Use this method only if you will serve all portions at room temperature or cold (no reheating after the initial cook):

1. Add Balance It® Canine Plus to batch

2. Mix thoroughly

3. Cook your batch of food to 165°F (74°C)

4. Remove from heat immediately

5. Cool quickly and refrigerate or freeze portions

Important: Portions prepared this way cannot be reheated, as this would constitute a second heating that degrades vitamins beyond what is accounted for with the extra vitamins.

Critical Reminders:

1. Mix thoroughly: Concentrated supplement can cause GI upset if not evenly distributed

2. One-time heating only: Do not reheat food multiple times after adding the supplement

3. Temperature limit: Do not exceed 165°F (74°C)

Storage Guidelines:

1. Refrigerate: Up to 3 days

2. Freeze: Up to 3 weeks

Balance It® Canine Plus or Balance It® Canine K Plus do not need to be heated unless the recipe used is a high-marine based diet that is high in vitamin D even without any supplement added.

Some (i.e., Canine K, Canine K Plus, & Feline) of our 500 gram or 600 gram bags (not 20 gram pouches) come with two measuring scoops. If one of those scoops has been lost you can purchase another bag as unfortunately we do not have separate scoops available. 

Or, you can find inexpensive measuring spoons online with major retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, or Target by searching for “adjustable measuring spoons milliliter”. They come in a variety of options, just make sure that the spoon measures in mL. The larger colored scoop listed in your recipe is 5 mL and the smaller white scoop is 0.5 mL (10 smaller white scoops equal 1 colored scoop).

Or you can purchase a “jewelers scale” from these same online retailers to weigh the supplement dose out in 1/10th (or 0.1 g) of a gram increments very accurately.

The pouch products, while convenient for smaller dogs and cats, occasional use, and for trial purposes, do not come with scoops given the pouch's smaller 20 gram size. 

Here is how you can measure the supplement in grams and without a scoop (further down is how to measure using volume instead).

You will want to refer to the gram amount of the supplement listed on your recipe and use a gram or jewelers scale to determine the amount to use as this is the easiest and most precise way to measure. Very accurate gram scales can be purchased online for a low cost that will measure in increments of 1/10th (or 0.1 g) of a gram. Suggested search terms are "jewelry scale", “jewelers scale”, or "pocket scale". Select a scale that has enough total capacity to weigh the amount of product you need to measure for your preferred recipe. This may be written out like “100 g by 0.1 g” or “100 g x 0.1 g” or “100 g/0.1g” where 100 g is the total capacity and the 0.1 g is the lowest increment it can measure to reliably).  Please let us know if you need assistance finding the gram amount on your recipe -- we are happy to help!

Want to learn more, please see below:

 If you like to do math and would prefer to use volume (and not mass or grams) to measure and you do not have any scoops, the following should be useful information. Two different sized scoops come in the 600 g and 500 g bags of the following products only: Canine K, Canine K Plus, and Feline. The larger/colored scoop listed in recipes for these products holds 5 milliliter (mL) or 5 cc and the smaller white/clear scoop holds 0.5 mL (that means that 10 white/clear scoops hold the same amount as 1 larger/colored scoop). You can find low cost measuring spoons online with major retailers such as Amazon, Walmart or Target by searching for “adjustable measuring spoons milliliter”. Any option will work as long as it measures in mL. Balance It® does not sell these measuring spoons or scoops separately. If you wish to get scoops from Balance It®, please buy a 600 g or 500 g bag of Canine K, Canine K Plus, or Feline.

All recipes created using the free Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes provide the amount of supplement to use in grams and teaspoons, or for Canine K, Canine K Plus, and Feline only scoops. The following is an example of how to convert these scoops found in 600 g and 500 g bags to mL. If your recipe calls for 3 blue scoops and 6 white scoops that is the same as 18 mL or 18 cc total (calculations: 5 mL per large/colored scoop * 3 large/colored scoops = 15 mL PLUS 0.5 mL per white/clear scoop * 6 white/clear scoops = 3 mL; 15 mL + 3 mL = 18 mL; 18 mL = 18 cc as 1 mL = 1 cc).

If you are not using a gram scale and are also awaiting for an ordered elsewhere mL measuring spoon, you can use teaspoons to measure using this even more math intense conversion reference:

-1 teaspoon (tsp) equals 4.93 mL or 4.93 cc

-1 and 1/16 tsp is equal to 4.99 mL or 4.99 cc which is close enough for measuring (within 0.2%) to 5 mL or 5 cc or 1 larger/colored scoop

-1/16 of a tsp is half of 1/8 tsp (if 1/8 teaspoon is the smallest measure that you have immediately available to you)

For the previous example, 18 mL would then be 3.65 tsp (18 mL / 4 .93 mL per tsp = 3.65 tsp) or about 3 and 11/16 teaspoons based on the sixteenth fractions to decimals reference table* below.

Sixteenth Fractions to Decimals Reference Table*

1/16 = 0.0625

2/16 = 0.125

3/16 = 0.1875

4/16 = 0.25

5/16 = 0.3125

6/16 = 0.375

7/16 = 0.4375

8/16 = 0.5

9/16 = 0.5625

10/16 = 0.625

11/16 = 0.6875

12/16 = 0.75

13/16 = 0.8125

14/16 = 0.875

15/16 = 0.9375

*You always want to select a conversion that provides the closest but amount equal to or greater than the total amount in the recipe to prevent under fortification. 

For additional help with any dosing concerns or conversions, you may find your veterinarian or their technical/nursing staff to be a helpful resource.

Generally the answer is no. Most commercial pet foods are less expensive, more convenient, and some have undergone controlled testing. However, if you prefer to make homemade food for your animal companion, we believe (as do tens of thousands of veterinarians) that we provide the best and safest solution short of an individualized consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® who will create a homemade recipe following medical record review and evaluation of a diet history for a fee (see the Vet Nutritionist link in the page footer for a directory). 

Yes, you can! It is possible to feed your dog/cat with both kibble and home-cooked food by evaluating the total calories that are or need to be fed. Your Balance It® recipe will indicate how many calories your animal companion needs per day. This information can be found in the Yield/Servings section in your full recipe report. Your kibble will also indicate how many calories are in the amount your dog/cat is being or should be fed. You will just want to use a combination of the two foods to meet the total daily requirement, reducing each by the appropriate amount.

For example only - If your dog needs 1000 total calories per day, and there are 750 calories in the kibble amount that you want to concurrently feed, then you would make sure they are only getting 250 calories from the home-cooked food. A recipe that is prepared for a full day's caloric need (if only home-cooked food being fed) would now last 4 days (1000 kcal/day/250 kcal = 4 days). Very important -- do not give the full dose of the supplement when combining with kibble, please make sure to reduce the daily supplement amount proportionate to the amount of home-cooked food being fed daily (in the example above one would give one quarter of the supplement amount daily that is called for in the 1000 kcal recipe as only one quarter of the 250 kcal are being fed daily).

You may also be interest in this FAQ: "Balance It's history of success, quality, and breadth are impressive. Can I add Balance It to other company's products, including commercially prepared foods or one's for supplemental or intermittent feeding only, and not just human foods to broadly cover possible issues these other commercial products may have?"

Unfortunately, we do not have recipes that will pass for an adult dog that weighs more than 100 pounds (45.36 kg) per NSF 229-17 Section 5.3.1.2 guidelines for functional foods for humans. Balance It® food (aka human) grade supplements are also not formulated to be used in cats greater than 30 pounds (13.6 kg), neutered kittens greater than 22.8 pounds (10.34 kg), intact kittens greater than 10.8 pounds (4.9 kg), and puppies greater than 86.86 pounds (39.4 kg). Please see your veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® for alternative recommendations if you need to feed more calories per day than these limits create (e.g., 3303 kcal/d for dogs & 1041 kcal/d for cats).

We suggest speaking with your veterinarian if you are unsure of which best applies to your puppy. For reference, AAFCO defines a large breed puppy as any dog whose ideal body condition adult weight is expected to exceed 70 pounds (lb) or 31.75 kilograms (kg).

You may also be interested in “Do you provide any nutritional guidance via your customer service?”

Weight Loss Needed

If your veterinarian has indicated that your adult dog or adult cat would benefit from losing a small amount of weight (<10% of their body weight), that typically does not mean an extreme reduction in calories is needed for your companion to lose the extra weight they are carrying. With your veterinarian’s guidance, you may be able to use the free Recipe Builder for healthy adults (at balance.it/recipes ) to create recipes that are nutritionally balanced for a healthy adult that can be used for slight & slow reductions in body weight. Typically this is done by reducing the current & entered body weight to be their goal/ideal weight* when using free Recipe Builder. A healthy rate of loss of 0.5% or less of body weight per week can often be achieved by reducing your dog’s or cat’s entered body weight by 10% from current when creating a recipe. If you know how many calories are needed for weight stability, you can preferably and instead adjust the entered body weight until 90% of the current calories are displayed and use that amount to create a recipe.

If more than 10% of body weight needs to be lost per your veterinarian then overweight, obese, or weight loss should be entered under Any special needs or diet we should be aware of? (optional) and a veterinary approval requested to see special lower energy density & nutrient enhanced recipes** designed for weight loss at rates of 0.51-2% of body weight per week.

With a reduction of calories, increasing meal frequency can be a useful tactic to minimize hunger as the time between meals is reduced. You can and should also speak with your veterinarian about decreasing the overall energy density (amount of calories per unit of volume) of the diet, by decreasing the percent of calories from fat thus increasing the amount of protein and/or carbohydrates (if appropriate). You can also consider feeding more vegetables and water, increasing dietary fiber and creating a meal with a stew-like consistency. Lower fat, higher fiber and moisture diets will fill your animal companion’s gut more and make them feel fuller/satiated. 

Every two weeks you should generally weigh your dog or cat to assess any weight loss progress. If they are losing at the desired percent of body weight per week then no further adjustments are needed until they reach their goal/ideal weight, or preferably, ideal body condition. If they are not losing at the desired percent of body weight per week then adjustments in the amount of calories in -/+10-20% increments of total calories will need to be made and then weight reassessed after 1-2 weeks.  If they are at the ideal weight or body condition suggested by your veterinarian then no further caloric restriction is needed, and you can typically feed as normal making sure that undesired weight is not regained. 

Special note on puppies and kittens that need to lose weight: careful consultation with your veterinarian and/or board-certified veterinary nutritionist® is always indicated in growing animal companions that are overweight/obese. They will need close monitoring and frequent adjustments in the amount of calories fed to ensure growth needs are continually met and to avoid excesses especially in a large breed puppy. Even small amounts of needed weight loss in puppies and kittens should be nutritionally managed with a special recipe/diet that includes nutrient enhancement**. 

Weight Gain Needed

If your veterinarian has indicated that your dog/puppy or adult/kitten cat would benefit from gaining weight then you should first determine with your veterinarian if any underlying condition(s) need(s) to be addressed in addition to just feeding more total calories daily. While addressing any underlying condition(s), one can estimate the amount of additional calories to initially feed for weight gain by estimating ideal body weight*. For very underweight (>12.5% below ideal) dogs and cats the amount of calories to feed to match their ideal body weight estimated needs may exceed their ability to consume even with more frequent meals everyday. To address this type of potential volume intolerance, the energy density of the recipe/diet may be raised by increasing fat and decreasing fiber and moisture. Unfortunately these approaches, especially increasing the percent of calories from fat, are not always tolerated and can be contraindicated and even counterproductive with some health conditions. Typically dogs/puppies and cats/kittens can only maximally gain weight at a rate of up to 2% of body weight per week. Adjustments in the amount of calories fed daily are typically made until a weight gain rate of 1-2% of body weight per week is achieved. For some health conditions, concurrent medical therapy with anti-nausea and/or antacid medications is needed along with appetite stimulants. You should work with your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist® to determine the optimal amount of total daily calories to feed, meal feeding frequency, diet including energy density, and medical therapies to achieve desired weight gain.

*Ideal body weight can be initially estimated from the dog’s or cat’s 9-point body condition score (see https://www.purinainstitute.com/sites/default/files/2021-04/body-condition-system-dog.pdf &   https://www.purinainstitute.com/sites/default/files/2021-04/body-condition-system-cat.pdf ) using a calculator like this:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f0YHHHGUm25vm9s0HyWRn0duoe40vu6b_zp99t2aGBI/edit?usp=sharing Final ideal body weight is not as relevant as ideal body condition but can be helpful with initial calculations to try and achieve needed weight loss or gain at a rate of -/+ 0.5-2% of body weight per week. 

**These special nutrient enhanced recipes have more nutrients per calorie to avoid deficiencies developing when less calories than are needed for growth or weight maintenance are fed for prolonged periods. To request access to weight loss recipes, please submit a veterinary request. For more information on how to submit a veterinary approval request, please see the How can I submit a veterinary approval request for my animal companion with a medical condition? And why do I even need to do this? FAQ.

Recipes generated on our site are generally defaulted to provide the amount of calories needed for the average neutered dog or cat or intact puppy or kitten for one day. This daily recipe can be divided into multiple meals to feed throughout the day. Any supplements that are called for should be evenly distributed across all meals. You can double-check any recipe by looking in the Yield/Servings section in the full recipe report. There you will find the weight of the dog/cat used to create the recipe, the number of calories that body weight requires or is estimated to require per day, and how many calories are in the recipe batch.

To make larger batches for multiple days, you can multiply the amounts of each ingredient including any supplements by the number of days one would like to feed. 

As multiplying fractions can be harder to do, it often is easiest to multiply the gram amounts provided on recipes and use a kitchen gram scale (usually quite affordable) for measurement.

Alternatively, you may use our software to take care of all the math for you - easy! There are two ways to change the feeding frequency or batch size using our software:

One: Click on Adjust Recipe under the cost in the recipe results 

OR

Two: Click on View Recipe on the recipe results and scroll down to ADJUST THIS RECIPE button within the recipe report.

Ensure the Adjust weight & caloric distribution is selected at the top and under the Recipe amount. The default recipe is enough kilocalories for an average daily meal. Choose an option from the Recipe amount dropdown to make a larger batch for multiple days or to make a smaller recipe if you prefer to cook for and feed your dog or cat several times a day.  Then click on Update My Recipe on the bottom right. 

You will then see a green recipe with the header Adjusted By You if the adjustment is possible, please click on View Recipe to see your further customized recipe with a different feeding frequency or batch size. You can divide any daily meal or multiple day batch into equal portions for each day, and divide further into the number of meals per day you prefer to feed.

For example, if you choose 5 days as your recipe batch size, you would divide the prepared food into 5 equal daily "baggie" portions that each would be enough food for one day. You could choose to then further split that baggie or portion or day's worth of food into the number of meals you feed per day.

To see how to make the same recipe in one batch for multiple dogs or cats, please see the “I have two dogs, and one weighs twice as much as the other. Can I just feed twice as much of the same recipe to the bigger one?” FAQ.

Our software doesn’t just divide or multiply the gram amounts of ingredients when making a recipe for less or more Calories. Although this math is easy and commonly & correctly done by users to create a larger batch (for example, a week’s worth of a daily recipe that one wishes to make weekly can have all ingredient gram amounts multiplied by 7 to get the new, correct amounts for a weekly batch, or see the option below), it can result in hard to measure amounts when not using grams and a gram scale and instead using volume (like teaspoons or cups) and fractions for measurement. Therefore, the software will attempt to recalculate everything from the beginning to get desired and easy to measure fractions of a volume unit. Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to the recipe not passing as a single nutrient among 35+ becomes deficient or excessive sometimes by as little as a tenth of percent. This precision can be frustrating at times, but is necessary to ensure a safe and nutritionally appropriate recipe for long-term feeding. 

Option: If you’d like to have the software measure in grams for non-supplement ingredients which may increase your success rate for a different size batch or recipe for a different body weight, then click the Adjust Recipe or Adjust This Recipe link/button on recipe results/reports and then under the Adjust ingredient amounts tab select 1 g for gram measurements then under the Adjust weight & caloric distribution tab select the desired Recipe amount or enter the desired Body weight (some veterinary approvals may prevent weight changes, see one’s veterinarian if they do) and click Update My Recipe.

No, because the nutrient requirements do not scale linearly, we recommend that you create a recipe for both your larger and smaller dogs separately to prevent from feeding too little or too much. When creating recipes, you may always use the same ingredients for both dogs to make cooking easier! 

If batch and/or one pot cooking for healthy dogs/cats, one can use the Recipe Builder to determine each dog’s or cat’s calorie needs by entering their body weight on Step 1 and then one can total the amount of calories. Then one can make a larger recipe for that total (this cannot be done for dogs/cats with health conditions that likely differ) and divide the resulting batch proportionally by weight or mass into however many meals this makes. For example, let’s say one has two healthy dogs. One 41 lb (18.6 kg) dog needs about 1000 kcal daily or 3000 kcal for 3 days, and the other 16 lb (7.3 kg) dog needs about 500 kcal daily or 1500 kcal for 3 days. Thus, if preparing 3 days of the exact same food/recipe at once for both, you would need to make a recipe with about 4500 kcal (e.g., by adjusting a recipe that is enough for an imaginary “70 lb (31.8 kg) dog” for 3 days one gets a recipe with about 4500 kcal; manually adjusting the body weight up and down will let one immediately see the resulting total calories for the batch to match the total needs for both dogs; note 70 lb is NOT simply the sum of the two dogs’ body weights (i.e., 41 lb + 16 lb = 57 lb) as is expected as energy needs do NOT scale linearly). Then when one makes the 3 day 4500 kcal batch that is enough for both dogs, 2/3 , including any supplements proportionally, will need to be fed to the larger 41 lb dog and 1/3, including any supplements proportionally, fed to the smaller 16 lb dog over 3 days in however daily meals you wish to feed each day to each dog. If one is unable to do these adjustments/calculations themselves, we strongly suggest just making separate recipes for each dog/cat or getting assistance from your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®.

We do have recipes for intact dogs and intact cats as long as they are not in late gestation or lactating. Due to the high energy density needs for late gestation and lactation we are unable to offer homemade fresh food recipes for those life stages. 

You may wish to reach out to your veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® for advice on a late gestation or lactating animal companion’s nutritional needs. They may suggest a lower moisture and/or higher fat food/diet to provide higher energy density.

These two common endocrinopathies (hormone diseases), hypothyroidism in dogs and hyperthyroidism in cats, have different reasons for not being available.

For canine hypothyroidism, there are no known specific nutritional management strategies, although some people will feed a food that has a “low energy density” to help with satiety or sense of fullness or a “weight loss” diet.

For feline hyperthyroidism, dietary iodine restriction is one option for the management of the condition when other options like medication, ablation, surgery, and/or radioactive iodine treatment are not possible. Unfortunately, while this condition can be selected in the Recipe Builder (to help explain/show that it cannot be done), there are currently no foods that are reliably low enough in iodine to be used to formulate an adequately iodine-restricted overall diet, even if no iodine-containing supplement(s) was/were used. This is because iodine can vary in foods naturally, and therefore, very expensive iodine testing would be needed to know if a food was low enough to then be used making, this impractical in the home kitchen. It is suggested to speak with one’s veterinarian about any commercially prepared therapeutic iodine-restricted cat food options when nutritional management is desired/needed.

All homemade pet foods must include ingredients that provide protein, essential amino acids, and essential fatty acids (additional vitamins and minerals are provided by the supplement(s)). Although carbohydrates are not required for the maintenance of an adult dog or cat, they are commonly added to provide energy, fiber, and additional nutrients like B vitamins. Carbs can also allow for lower amounts of protein or fat to be fed which may be preferred or necessary for certain health conditions. You will notice that all of our recipes include at least one protein source. The foods in any suggested options have been specifically selected because the concentrations of required nutrients for dogs and cats are known & can reliably be estimated and are likely to meet specific nutrient requirements when combined. If there are specific foods you need to avoid you can filter those out on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder to leave these out by entering them via the “ANY INGREDIENTS YOU’D LIKE TO LEAVE OUT?” option. Certain human foods should never be fed to dogs and/or cats like chocolate, grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, onions, garlic, kabocha squash, and the artificial sweetener, xylitol.

We make as many human foods available to select on the free Recipe Builder as possible, while completely avoiding foods known to be toxic to animal companions even at potentially very low concentrations. Giving the user this level of access can be very informative and helpful, but this freedom can also allow a user to create recipes with very large amounts of some foods that may not be practical, enjoyed, readily available, and/or cost-effective. In addition, some human foods that one might not typically or even ideally consider giving an animal companion are, as a consequence, made available/selectable. This open and uncensored approach allows one to best assess the impact on total calories fed and overall diet nutrient profile. 

If any food's addition will lead to an overall essential nutritional deficiency or excess, the resulting recipe will not be possible or pass as a protection. It is always important to remember the old saying, "the dose makes the poison." For example, vitamin D is essential for bone health and optimal immune system function, but at too high a dietary concentration, it becomes a potentially fatal poison. Thus, additional protections, like with fish that can be naturally very high in vitamin D, are in place. Similarly some portions of plants or foods can be toxic, while other parts of the same plant that are well tolerated can still be selected. For example, the tomato fruit is commonly used in commercially prepared and homemade pet foods as a good source of fiber and antioxidants like lycopene, while tomato leaves and stalks are avoided given the presence of natural toxins found in the green parts of all/most nightshade plants including potatoes. Also for some conditions, very high inclusion amounts of certain foods may be avoided to prevent the addition of compounds that might not be healthful. 

Nutrition is an evolving science and animal companions can have very specific needs; therefore, if you have a concern about feeding a food to your specific animal companion, we always recommend speaking with your veterinarian and/or board-certified veterinary nutritionist® first.

It may be difficult to create recipes using our free Recipe Builder when salmon (or some marine fish) is the only protein source, as salmon (and some marine fish) can be naturally very high in vitamin D. Excessive amounts of vitamin D can be harmful to dogs (they are especially sensitive) and also cats.

After selecting your ingredients on Step 2: Ingredients, you may get a message stating "Sorry, our ingredients didn't balance" if the recipe does not meet AAFCO nutrient requirements. You can learn more by clicking the “Why Recipe(s) Didn’t Pass” button. This will provide information on any deficient and/or excessive nutrients (including vitamin D; see link below to see nutrient IDs). 

You may find it helpful to pair salmon (or some marine fish) with (an) additional non-marine protein source(s) when selecting ingredients as this can potentially dilute/reduce the vitamin D from salmon (or marine fish). If you need suggestions on what specific ingredients to feed your dog/cat, please speak with your veterinarian. 

You may also be interested in our FAQ “What are the nutrient IDs and corresponding nutrient names in the database?”

The slider appears when you successfully create a recipe using the Recipe Builder that has >10% of daily calories coming from the “Legumes and Legume Products” group defined by the USDA FoodData Central database or has an ingredient with the keyword “peas” in it. This is to alert the user that there are reports that commercially prepared pet foods with higher amounts of legumes or pulses (i.e., beans, peas, lentils, etc.) can be associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs which can lead to fatal heart failure (see https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy ). There are still many unknowns at this time, including what the true cause is, the amount and specific ingredients that increase risk (see https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022316623355007 ), and whether it is also a risk to feed complete and balanced homemade recipes with large amounts (>10% of daily calories) of these ingredients. Therefore, we have erred on the side of caution and have added this alert.

To date there have been no reports of people feeding specific Balance It® recipes leading to DCM. The reason for this issue is unclear as the cause is still unknown. Possible protective factors: the higher amino acid bioavailability of food (aka human) grade meat/poultry/fish that has been cooked only once versus feed grade animal meals that typically have been heat processed multiple times to allow them to be shelf-stable, and in the case of lentils, for many years before this issue was raised, preemptively lowering the sulfur amino acid concentration reported by the USDA so that additional L-methionine fortification is used in Balance It® recipes with a higher lentil inclusion. 

If any of your old saved recipes have higher amounts of these ingredients, you may wish to speak with your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist® about this concern as they may recommend switching recipes and/or additional monitoring. We continue to monitor current reports and research, but there is still not yet enough conclusive evidence to remove these ingredients, recipes, and/or cautionary slider message from the system. 

You may also be interested in the Do I need to add taurine to my dog’s diet? FAQ.

Hydrolyzed proteins (aka hydrolysates) are not readily available for purchase and use in the home kitchen. If you need a hydrolyzed protein diet, please speak with your veterinarian. They may advise you to feed commercially prepared hydrolyzed protein diets from one of several other manufacturers or to consider using a novel, to your dog or cat, protein in your homemade diet or recipe. 

You may also wish to see the following two FAQs: I can’t find recipes for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), chronic enteropathy, or food allergy. What should I do? and My dog or cat has a medical condition I don't see listed. Do you have recipes for it? Which condition should I select?

Your dog's or cat’s new recipe has been formulated as precisely as possible. The nutrient content of the ingredients can differ significantly by cooking method, cut (specific to meat), inclusion of skin (such as with poultry or potatoes), and a variety of other variables. Because of these variations, we have been as specific as possible in our recipes’ instructions, helping to ensure that your companion’s diet has all the desired nutrients and intended characteristics. 

There is an expected difference in the amount of linoleic acid (aka 18:2) in grass-fed and corn-fed beef (and likely in other ruminant meats like lamb or mutton). Since we do not currently have a full nutrient profile for grass-fed beef as an ingredient option, we would caution using this as a substitution. Changes such as this can make your recipe incomplete and unbalanced, potentially leading to deficiencies/changes in essential or important fatty acids or ratios.

If you want to use an ingredient that we currently do not have needed data for, you may wish to consult with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® that offers consultations to create a recipe for you, as they may have access to nutrient profiles that we do not have with our free software or can guide you to analyze foods with a food analysis laboratory to get needed data to formulate with confidence. A list of these specially & extensively trained veterinarians can be found at vetnutritionist.com or vetspecialists.com.

The recipe will include the cooking method for each ingredient that requires it - some ingredients like fruit do not need cooking and will state "raw" in their name. Some raw ingredients are used in one pot cooking recipes, but must be cooked according to instructions on recipes. Raw meat/poultry/fish are never to be fed due to the potential concern of foodborne illness (see https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.243.11.1549 ). 

It is important to cook each ingredient as directed in the cooking instructions for home cooked recipes, as the cooking method can significantly change the concentrations of nutrients in the cooked food. We largely rely on the USDA FoodData Central database ( https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ )for reported cooking methods to then very accurately* know the ingredient’s nutrient profile to  then calculate the overall recipe’s nutrient profile. As an example of the importance of specificity, boiling a food results in some loss of nutrients into the surrounding water; therefore, if the recipe instructs one to bake the ingredient and then it is boiled instead, the total dietary concentration of nutrients may be significantly decreased than expected. 

You can change the cooking method if you wish! Using the search tool under Step 2: Ingredients, you may search for an ingredient and the cooking method you wish to use. For example, you could type in “boiled carrots” or “roasted chicken” to view available options. You can also choose to see one pot cooking recipes or not via a check box for this feature on this same second step.

*Balance It® relies on the Autobalancer® to power the Recipe Builder. The Autobalancer® is the only formulation software to have been shown to accurately predict the nutrient profile of homemade pet foods in a peer-reviewed study, see https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.242.11.1500 . 

You may also be interested in Why is it important to get a recipe for my specific dog or cat companion rather than using a more generic recipe from another website or book? FAQ.

Our Recipe Builder (powered by the Autobalancer^®) automatically determines nutrient gaps based on your animal companion’s lifestage, any known conditions, and the specific foods selected, then calculates the correct supplement(s) and amount(s). 

Our recipe directions are as specific as possible to help ensure your companion’s homemade diet has all the desired nutrients and intended characteristics. However, we intentionally do not provide exact cooking appliance temperatures or precise cooking times for several important reasons:

Variability in home kitchens: Oven temperatures, stovetop burners, grills, slow cookers, and other appliances can vary widely between homes. Even two ovens set to the same temperature can cook the same food at different rates. Including a specific temperature and/or time could lead to undercooked or overcooked ingredients depending on your appliance.

Ingredient differences: Cooking times can also vary based on the specific size, surface area, density, moisture content, and starting temperature of ingredients. For example, a larger piece of meat or a denser root vegetable will take longer to reach a safe internal temperature than a smaller, thinner piece. Our recipe directions are designed to be versatile, allowing for differences in ingredient types, sizes, and preparation methods rather than limiting those options greatly so that one specific appliance at a specific temperature for specific time can be given.

Food safety: All animal-derived ingredients such as meat, poultry, fish, and eggs must reach a food-safe internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) before feeding. This standard ensures safety and thorough cooking regardless of appliance settings, timing, or ingredient variations.

Trial and learning: We encourage home cooks to learn how their own appliances perform with different ingredients. Our recipe directions provide the cooking method (e.g., bake, broil, braise, stew, etc.) and preparation steps, allowing you to adjust temperature and time as needed. We suggest investing in a kitchen/meat thermometer to help improve this process and all your cooking. Documenting the settings and time needed to achieve a food-safe temperature for future batches can help you better plan and consistently achieve the best results.

In short: Rather than prescribing exact appliances, settings, and times, we provide the guidance to safely and effectively prepare each ingredient and/or recipe. This approach provides the most flexibility and accounts for many possible variations in your home kitchen.

You may also be interested in “Why is it important to get a recipe for my specific dog or cat companion rather than using a more generic recipe from another website or book?”

Yes! Here are some common definitions/description/“translations” that may be helpful:

1. “Flesh fed only” (commonly used for potatoes/tubers) - Ingredients with "flesh" or "flesh fed only" in their name means that the skin/peel should not be fed.

2. "Separable lean and fat" or "separable lean only" - These phrases are used by the USDA to indicate butchering of meat (usually beef or lamb) that removes any attached fat from the cut of meat. Sometimes there is further clarification in inches (indicates with ") for the thickness of fat that remains after this trimming of fat.  

3. “Enriched vs nonenriched (non-enriched) or unenriched” (commonly used for rice & other grains) - “Enriched" means nutrients that were lost during processing (like iron and some B-vitamins) are added/fortified back in by the grain seller/miller, while "unenriched" means those nutrients have not been added back. 

4. “Non-enhanced vs enhanced” - Enhanced means the protein has been injected or brined with water, salt, and sometimes flavorings for increased palatability. Non-enhanced means this has not been done/added, and the protein is in a more natural (less-processed) state.

5. “Mature seeds” - This is the USDA term for the full size and dry beans (aka pulse) or legumes. The term is included when this dried full sized bean is rehydrated and cooked. This is as opposed to an “immature”, baby, early, or at times “green” bean or legume. An increasingly common immature bean example is the soy bean within the soy pod called edamame (the Japanese term for the immature bean in the pod is called mukimame).
6. “Broilers or fryers” -  Young chicken usually about 7 to 8 weeks old raised for meat that weigh around 3 pounds (lb) (1.4 kg). “Roaster” can be used for larger birds (3-5 lb; 1.8 kg) and “stewing hen” is used elsewhere for mature and “tougher” chicken that typically is slow cooked. A “capon” chicken is a castrated male about 6-8 lb (~3.2 kg) while a “cock”/”rooster” is an intact male of similar size to a capon. 
7. "Pearled barley" - this means the grain has been polished with the tough outer hull and some or all of the bran removed, it is typically lighter colored
8. Reference to Balanceit.com - Rarely an ingredient may reference Balance It or Balanceit.com in its ingredient name. Balance It only sells supplements so if the ingredient is a food like a meat, grain or tuber, the inclusion of Balance It typically at the end of in the ingredient name is to only highlight or flag that this entry has been modified to include more nutrient data by Balance It.

We do not have any data to support the nutritional effects of freeze drying prepared recipes. An additional non-nutritive concern would be ensuring a method to accurately measure water activity after freeze drying, so there is no potential for microbial growth especially fungal. Longer term fat oxidation or rancidity could be a concern too which would mean the need for adding some antioxidative preservative like mixed tocopherols. Thus, given the potential for nutrient concentration changes, microbial growth, and fat oxidation/rancidity, this is not an option offered by Balance It^®.   

To explore creating a nutritionally complete & balanced, safe, and shelf-stable formulation, we would suggest working with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® with experience in formulating these types of recipes. Please see vetspecialists.com for a listing of potential options for such a consultation. 

You may also be interested in “Why is the cooking method so important? Can I change it?”

Balance It^® does not provide recipes designed for specific food textures or shapes. However, if you're looking to create formed foods like meatballs, we can offer some general guidance.

General binding approach:

Foods that hold their shape typically contain ground or minced animal protein, a grain component, and egg as a binder. These are the same ingredients used in meatballs and sausages for human consumption—they mix well and bind together when properly proportioned (avoiding excess grain or overly lean protein).

Important considerations:

Fat content: Recipes using this approach tend to be higher in dietary fat, which some dogs or cats may not tolerate well.

GI motility concerns: Higher-fat foods slow gastric emptying and may be contraindicated for conditions affecting GI transit or motility.

Medical conditions: Special feeding techniques (such as elevated feeding for megaesophagus) require veterinary guidance.

Before proceeding, consult your veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® to ensure the ingredients, texture, and feeding approach are appropriate for your dog’s or cat’s specific health needs.

We NEVER recommend feeding raw meat as it can potentially result in serious life-threatening infections for both dogs & cats  and people (please see the comprehensive review about the risks AND benefits of raw meat–based diets at http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/full/10.2460/javma.243.11.1549 ).

It is now known that asymptomatic dogs/cats can shed foodborne pathogens like Salmonella spp. into their environment when fed raw meat even with the best personal and kitchen hygiene and sanitation practices (e.g., cats and dogs shed the pathogens in their feces than cats walk through their litter box and then jump onto counters with unwashed paws & dogs lick their perineum or private area that is contaminated and then lick human companion hands and/or faces as well as their own paws and then jump on shared common surfaces like furniture). This environmental contamination can then lead to people getting sick especially the immunocompromised or immunosuppressed and the young or elderly. This potential public health risk and the inherent associated liability is one that we must avoid regardless of any potential or perceived benefits given our licenses, registrations, and insurance coverage.

The following statement from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (now merged with the ACVIM) may be of further interest:

“Raw diets, both home-prepared and commercial, have become more popular. Advocates of raw diets claim benefits ranging from improved longevity to superior oral or general health and even disease resolution (especially gastrointestinal disease). Often the benefits of providing natural enzymes and other substances that may be altered or destroyed by cooking are also cited. However, proof for these purported benefits is currently restricted to testimonials, and no published peer-reviewed studies exist to support claims made by raw diet advocates. No studies have examined differences in animals fed raw animal products to those fed any other type of diet (kibble, canned, or home cooked) with the exception of looking at the effects on digestibility. Typically raw meats (but not other uncooked foods like grains or starches) are slightly more digestible than cooked meat."

It is important to cook each ingredient as directed in the cooking instructions for home cooked recipes, as the cooking method can significantly change the concentration of nutrients in the cooked food. For example, boiling a food results in some loss of nutrients into the surrounding water; therefore, if the recipe instructs you to bake the ingredient and you choose to boil it, the total dietary concentrations of some nutrients may be significantly decreased. Always use safe handling procedures when cooking with raw meats by washing hands, preventing cross-contamination, sanitizing cooking utensils & vessels, cooking food thoroughly, and storing food properly.

The additional guidance from the AVMA at https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/avma-policies/raw-or-undercooked-animal-source-protein-cat-and-dog-diets may also be of interest.

Oils are included in recipes to meet essential fatty acid requirements. In some cases, fish oil may also be added to provide important omega-3 fatty acids. Please see other useful FAQs on oil supplementation/addition/use linked to at the bottom of this FAQ. To ensure your animal companion’s nutritional needs are met, it’s important to use the exact oil(s) listed in your recipe.

If your recipe(s) call for “Oil, canola” or “Oil, almond,” for example, any standard or generic version available at your local grocery store should be acceptable. Some oils may have long descriptions, like “Oil, corn, industrial and retail, all purpose salad or cooking.” This example is also referring to regular corn oil that can be found at your local grocery store. Descriptors such as “industrial and retail” or “all purpose salad or cooking” can be ignored—they simply describe typical sources & uses and are defined by the USDA FoodData Central database. What matters is the main ingredient. Unless a specific brand is listed, choose a product that lists only that oil (like “corn oil”) as the ingredient. This guidance may vary depending on the descriptors used for the oil in your recipe. We are aware that there are some rare “roasted” walnut oil options available, and as noted in the FAQ linked below, this option should not be used. If looking for a specific brand of walnut oil, as of September 2025 we suggest the Spectrum Refined Walnut Oil product as it matches the USDA’s entry for walnut oil and can be widely found in the US at least.

If your recipe(s) call(s) for a specific branded product, such as “Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Pet Liquid,” or Nutramax Welactin products these can typically be found at many veterinary practices, most local pet stores, or through popular online retailers such as Chewy or Amazon.

If you are unsure, or if multiple options are available, you can view the nutrient profile for an ingredient by clicking on the gray “i” in a circle icon next to each ingredient’ name (as shown below in two examples)

Or when searching for ingredients:

Or when viewing a recipe or a recipe’s nutrient profile:

This will provide details on the concentrations of essential nutrients as well as show which nutrients are not known. This information can help one to compare different options that might be available to make sure the ingredient matches what the software is using for formulating the recipe. To help with conversion to an amount per 100 gram for a particular product the free Nutrient Concentration Converter tool here:

https://balance.it/convert_units

can be helpful.

If you are unable to locate the specific oil(s) listed in your recipe(s) either locally or online, you may consider selecting a different option when using our free Recipe Builder. Under Step 2: Ingredients (optional), you will find thousands of searchable food ingredient options, including many oils, at balance.it/recipes . Please note that the Recipe Builder will try to use any oil options you select but if they will not work to meet nutritional needs, it will try others and/or tell you that it is not possible.

You may find these other FAQs of further interest: 

Can I use a different vegetable oil? 

Can I use roasted walnut oil? 

Why is there a(n) oil(s) in my recipe even if I didn’t select one/any or a different one?

Why do you recommend a specific marine or fish oil?

I do not want to use fish oil in my recipe. How can I avoid or remove this ingredient? 

The free, self-service Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes selects oils (and fats) strategically to meet essential fatty acid requirements. Here's why specific oils may be added and appear in your recipe:

Essential Fatty Acid Requirements

1. Linoleic acid (omega-6): Dogs and cats require linoleic acid (18:2 or LA) in their diet. Corn oil and walnut oil are the richest sources of this essential fatty acid and are commonly selected because they meet requirements without unnecessarily increasing total dietary fat. Other oils may be used, but corn or walnut oil is often optimal. See FAQ links below on how to change/exclude the oil used. 
2. Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA): Some life stages (such as growth) and conditions require minimum long-chain omega-3 concentrations or specific omega-6 to omega-3 ratios. Fish oil—rich in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids—is typically added to meet these requirements.
3. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs): Certain medical conditions benefit from MCTs, which may result in the addition of an MCT-rich oil like coconut oil.

Why Recipes May Contain Large Amounts of Oil or Fat

Higher oil or fat content occurs when:

1. You've selected a higher-fat recipe option

2. The recipe requires increased energy density

3. Additional fish (or algal) oil is needed to achieve a lower omega-6 to long-chain omega-3 ratio

4. The recipe is both lower in protein and lower in carbohydrate (fat becomes the primary (or greater proportion) calorie source)

If You're Concerned About Fat Content

If your recipe has a higher percent of fat calories as found in the caution section of recipes or you need a lower-fat option:

1. Select lower-fat conditions in Step 1 of the Recipe Builder (requires veterinary approval)

2. Consult your veterinarian to prioritize nutritional goals if conflicts arise

3. Request a referral to a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® (find one at vetspecialists.com)

You may also be interested in the FAQs:

Can I use a different vegetable oil?

How do I exclude or leave out (an) ingredient(s) I wish to avoid feeding?

Why is the recommended dose on my fish oil label different from the amount in my Balance It® recipe?

I do not want to use fish oil in my recipe. How can I avoid or remove this ingredient?

What is the right/best/ideal distribution of calories or caloric distribution or percent metabolizable energy (% ME)?

Generally no, but you can always try. Many people ask if they can use something like olive oil or coconut oil, but unfortunately, part of what makes those oils healthful for humans is related to their low concentration of the essential n-6 fatty acid, linoleic acid. Corn oil is the richest source of linoleic acid that is readily available, at least 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. 

In cases where corn oil will not work, walnut oil can often be used as an alternative and very close substitution. Similarly almond oil can often be used instead of canola oil. Other substitutions can be tried but they may not work. Substitutions should not be made unless specifically indicated on a recipe or instructed to do so by a veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® as doing so may not only change the amount of essential fatty acids, but any important n-6 to n-3 fatty acid ratio(s). This comparison table may also be helpful:

We do not recommend using roasted walnut oil in case the fatty acid profile is affected by this heat processing. We have data on the fatty acid profile of Spectrum Refined Walnut Oil, this is unroasted, matches the USDA entry for walnut oil, and may be found at many retailers like Walmart, Target, and many grocery stores.

Some life stages and health conditions require a source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, EPA & DHA (aka eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid). In addition, excessively high ratios of linoleic acid + arachidonic acid to alpha-linolenic acid + eicosapentaenoic acid + docosahexaenoic acid must be avoided for all dogs. Thus, fish oil may need to be added to recipes to provide these important omega-3 fatty acids. 

In order to ensure the quality and consistency of important compounds found in omega-3 fatty acid rich marine oils (e.g., algal and marine fish oils), we do not recommend using a different product than called for in a recipe. Marine/fish oils can vary greatly in the concentration of EPA & DHA, as well as fat soluble vitamins A & D, and potential bioaccumulated toxins like mercury, PCBs, and dioxins. High concentrations of vitamins A & D can lead to toxicity, especially vitamin A in cats and vitamin D in dogs. Also recipes can rely on vitamin A & D from the fish oil to meet requirements. Often to achieve desired low ratios of n-6 to long-chain n-3 fatty acids, one must give fish oil at amounts higher than regulations allow manufacturers to suggest on their packaging. Thus, precise knowledge and data about a specific omega-3 rich oil is crucial. The default manufacturers/products we suggest are the most commonly available in North America and are able to provide the necessary supportive data (sometimes getting vitamin concentration data requires calling the manufacturer technical support line) for their use in homemade pet foods.

If you are unable to find the specific product found in a recipe at your veterinarian’s practice, online, or at a local retailer or would like to use a food (aka human) grade option, you may compare the nutrient profile of the suggested product to the label on your preferred product to see if they are comparable. To view the suggested product’s nutrient profile, please click on the “i” info icon next to its name when searching for/selecting ingredients on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder. It is very important that the EPA + DHA concentrations match and that vitamins A & D amounts are reported/known (again for vitamins A & D concentrations you may need to call the manufacturer directly to get that information) and are similar.

If you would like to use other rich sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, please select different options on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder. There you will find some fish oil options from the USDA database (note fish ingredients will not be available to use in some recipes if the vitamin D concentration is unknown given the potential for toxicity).

If you are still unable to find what you are looking for or need additional advice on what is best for your animal companion, please contact your veterinarian or seek an individualized consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® (see the directory at balance.it/dacvim or vetspecialists.com).

Balance It® software calculates the amount of fish oil based on the type and amount of other fats/fatty acids in the diet as well as the purpose of the recipe, for example, if it is a therapeutic recipe for a dog/cat with health issues. For this reason, the fish oil dose may differ from more generic recommendations on veterinary product labels that don't/cannot take the main diet and possible unique needs into account. If you are using a food (aka human) grade fish oil to make your entire recipe food (aka human) grade (Balance It® supplements are food (aka human) grade and also meet the higher human dietary supplement standard) then the label dosing is for humans and not dogs/cats, so the dose will inherently be different given the recipe considerations above and species differences. You may also be interested in the Why is there a(n) oil(s) in my recipe even if I didn’t select one/any or a different one? FAQ.

If you need to avoid fish oil for allergy concerns or due to your and/or your companion's preferences, Nordic Naturals Algae Omega is a vegetarian dietary supplement for omega-3 fatty acids. You can follow the guidance below to include this ingredient in your recipe to replace the fish oil.

The software will usually add Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Pet Liquid, Welactin for Dogs, or sardine oil to meet AAFCO fatty acid requirements. Sometimes, you can simply remove the fish oil in your recipe to see if the recipe passes without a replacement. 

You can follow these steps below to try to remove the fish oil in your recipe:

1. Click on Adjust Recipe then Adjust ingredient amounts to edit the ingredients in your recipe. 

2. Under Ingredients you can click the X to remove the fish oil ingredient.

3. Click on Update My Recipe. 

4. You will be taken to a recipe result. Click View Recipe to see if your change passed. Only edits/changes that are successful should be prepared/fed.

If the above steps do not work, you can also try to replace the fish oil with Nordic Naturals Algae Omega Capsule (incl. safflower oil & capsule itself uses cornstarch) (ingredient ID: m94328), which is a vegetarian source of omega-3. On the adjust page, or Step 2 of the Recipe Builder if you are choosing ingredients, you will find this Nordic Naturals Algae Omega option. Since the software will attempt to use the fish oils mentioned above, we suggest excluding these three words: "pet" (to exclude Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Pet Liquid but keep the Nordic Algae option available), "welactin", and "sardine". 

Our exclusion tool will tell the software to avoid any ingredients that include the key words entered. Follow the steps provided above to get to the Adjust ingredient amounts page of a recipe. Then, click ANY INGREDIENTS YOU'D LIKE TO LEAVE OUT? 

Exclude these keywords: pet, welactin, and sardine.

Continue to add the Nordic Naturals Algae option:

We do not suggest removing or excluding any vegetable oil, like corn oil, walnut oil, or canola oil, that may be present or added as it likely is separately providing a source for the essential n-6 fatty acid, linoleic acid. Then, click Update My Recipe.

Please view the resulting recipe to see if your change was successful. 

The recipe will typically not include the number of capsules to feed but rather the gram amount of oil. The gram amount in the recipe is the liquid portion within the gel cap--the gel capsule is not included in the weight. Refer to the gel capsule label for the gram of oil it contains. If not available, cut some representative capsules and squeeze the oil out and weigh the oil in each one using a jeweler scale to get an average amount of oil per capsule. That average can then be divided into the oil “dose” on your recipe to get the number of capsules to use. Example calculations: the recipe calls for 3.75 grams (g) of oil per recipe and the gel capsule purchased has 750 milligrams (mg) of oil on average when squeezed out and weighed on your scale. 750 mg = 0.75 g/capsule (750mg/capsule/1000 mg/g = 0.75 g/capsule); 3.75 g/0.75 g/capsule = 5 capsules per recipe. 

Yes, you can. There is no dog or cat version of the product; it is okay to use the human (food grade) version with the dose listed in the Balance It® recipe.

Yes. Generally, restrictions on frequency and amount are placed only on human consumption. In veterinary medicine, there is currently no peer-reviewed literature to support a limit on fish ingestion including tuna consumption or recognized reports of mercury toxicity. Therefore, white and light/lite canned tuna continue to be options to select in our Recipe Builder. 

Want to learn more, please see below:

The bioaccumulation of mercury, a heavy metal, is a concern in many species of fish. The higher in the food chain a fish is and/or the longer lived, the greater the concentration of mercury generally is in their body/tissues. Mercury toxicity in people results in neurological symptoms. The very young, and by extension, pregnant women are the groups generally considered at highest risk. However, in young children, there are generally considered safe amounts of white and light or lite canned tuna that can be consumed. For specific guidance on tuna consumption concerns in humans, one should speak with one’s physician. Generally, restrictions on frequency and amount are placed on human consumption. In veterinary medicine, there is currently no peer-reviewed literature to support a limit on fish ingestion including tuna consumption or recognized reports of mercury toxicity (see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30410919/ ). Consequently, white and light/lite canned tuna remain options to select. If one has concerns about mercury then one should discuss avoiding the feeding of species, including tuna, that are potentially higher in mercury with one’s veterinarian. It is important to note that a diet that is not fortified with selenium should be avoided given the known, but not complete, protective effects against methylmercury (neurotoxic form of mercury) toxicity selenium, an essential nutrient provides.

Yes, whole turkey breast and ground turkey BREAST can be used interchangeably. However, It becomes very important to measure by weight, not by volume, because chopped turkey breast is going to fit differently into, say, a cup (a volume measurement) than ground (aka minced) breast.

Please also make sure to use the same cooking method - if the recipe says to stew the breast, it should be boiling the ground breast. If it says to bake or with dry heat, it should be baked like a patty, or pan-fried and drained of any drippings that come off.

Measure out the called-for amount of dry tapioca pearls (please note that the pearls are different from minute or instant tapioca). Measure out seven parts of water for each part of tapioca, and bring the water to a boil. Slowly pour in the tapioca pearls and stir lightly until the tapioca pearls float to the top of the boiling water. Cover and boil on high heat for an additional thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, remove from heat and allow to stand for an additional thirty minutes. Drain the tapioca pearls and rinse the cooked tapioca pearls with lukewarm water. 

No as this may wash away nutrients. Just add the called for water on on your one-pot recipe or on the rice package instructions (ignoring if the package instructions suggest to first rinse the rice) and cooked the rice. 

The USDA requires that yams also be accompanied by the name sweet potatoes, but they are different. Our recipes call for sweet potatoes that are the sweet, orange-fleshed variety. True yams are more starchy and less sweet than sweet potatoes and have a different nutrient profile. Here is an article that might be of interest: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/difference-between-sweet-potato-and-yam

This packaged mix is commercially available in the frozen food section in many US grocery stores and includes peas, carrots, lima beans, corn, and green beans. If not available to you, we suggest specifically selecting individual vegetables or “veggies” that are available to you on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder.

You may substitute psyllium seed husk powder for the brand name product, Metamucil®, if an unflavored/unsweetened option can be found. If not, you may consider one of these other options: Konsyl Organic Psyllium Fiber (https://www.konsyl.com/products/organicpsyllium ) or NOW Certified Organic Psyllium Husk Powder (https://www.nowfoods.com/products/supplements/psyllium-husk-powder-organic ). The volume may change depending on the product used so weighing the amount is more accurate (kitchen gram scales can be purchased at many retailers where kitchen supplies are sold and from online retailers). 

Meat broth entries are typically made by using water, chicken parts/bones (or other indicated species like beef), and salt (see below on how to determine amount) and boiling them together. Any fat layer is  not used/fed. Meaning only the liquid portion that has the salt dissolved in it and has the chicken/beef/meat flavor infused in it is then used.

“Bone broth” is typically made solely with bones and water (without salt or not as much) and is not consistently defined from a nutrient composition perspective to then have a definitive entry, and thus cannot be used within formulated recipes from our site. Commercially prepared bone broth options are likely consistent enough, but the common addition of onions and/or garlic as ingredients in the broth make them challenging to recommend given the potential safety concern. In addition, available commercial bone broth data are very limited for important and/or key nutrient data. Fortunately, one can add bone broth that doesn't have any potentially toxic constituents (like garlic and onion), if desired, as one would for any safe treat. One will just need to make a recipe for up to 10% less calories (you can adjust recipes as instructed on recipe reports to adjust the total calories) to then have those up to 10% of calories be provided by incomplete and unbalanced treats that are desired/preferred.

If your Balance It recipe calls for a specific meat broth, you can click the gray “i” in a circle icon next to the ingredient name to view the concentrations of essential nutrients as well as show which nutrients are not known. This information can help one to compare different options that might be available to make sure the ingredient matches what the software is using for formulating the recipe. 

If a recipe calls for a specific chicken broth then looking at the nutrient profile or nutrition facts (click on the “i” icon next to food names when selecting/searching) may reveal that it has, say, 401 mg of sodium per 100 grams (grams = g) once prepared or 966.41 mg (milligrams = mg) of sodium per prepared eight fluid ounce cup. This is the equivalent of adding 2.46 g of table salt (NaCl) or just under ½ tsp (where 1 tsp of table salt equals 6 g per USDA standard reference data) to eight fluid ounces (237 mL) of water. There is likely some contribution of sodium from the chicken too, but if unsalted chicken is used then it is likely non-significant. You can calculate the amount of table salt that is needed to be added to match the sodium content by dividing the reported sodium amount per unit of volume/mass by 0.39339. The resulting quotient is the mass of table salt that will need to be added to the noted volume or mass of water to provide that much sodium as table salt is 39.339% sodium. From the example above, 966.41 mg sodium/0.39339 = 2456 mg or 2.46 g of table salt. The total sodium from the broth can be found by clicking on “See Nutrient Profile”on recipe results and then hovering over “% of Requirement (with supplement)” sodium value and looking at the resulting row for the amount of sodium in the recipe from the broth. The sodium from broth value may be in grams (g) or milligrams (mg) (where 1 g equals 1000 mg; to convert from g to mg multiply by 1000; to convert from mg to g divide by 1000). If you are unable to find this value and/or do these calculations yourself, we suggest using the called for broth, and if that is not possible, not using a recipe with broth if that is possible or pursuing a consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® to get specific assistance.

As noted above, the key concern with some specific canned broths or recipes can be the use of onions and/or garlic which can cause anemia in cats (the specific toxic doses are not clearly known) and possibly in dogs. A broth that avoids those ingredients can generally be used. Note that if water is called for then meat broth cannot be substituted as the additional sodium intake from the broth could be a concern in cases like renal or kidney disease, cardiac or heart disease, or hypertension (aka high blood pressure).

If you wish to use bone broth within your animal companion’s homemade diet and not just as a separately added treat as discussed above, we recommend pursuing a consultation with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® who can help you identify alternatives or assist with any needed food laboratory analyses to reliably formulate with the desired ingredient(s). A list of these specialty referral veterinarians can be found at vetnutritionist.com or vetspecialists.com . 

You may also be interested in our FAQ “What if I cannot find an ingredient I wish to feed using the Recipe Builder?”

Some recipes require added water to create a stew- or soup-like consistency, significantly increasing your pet's overall water intake. This results in more frequent urination and dilute urine—a therapeutic strategy your veterinarian may approve for certain medical conditions.

Understanding Two Types of Water Used in Recipes

Added water for moisture: Water specifically added to help increase hydration and support urine dilution (the focus of this FAQ)

Cooking water for one-pot recipes: Water needed to cook dry starches, grains, or legumes and prevent burning (discussed below)

Gradually Introducing Added Water

While most dogs and some cats readily accept added water in their diet, a gradual 10-day introduction helps with acceptance and prevents "accidents" as everyone adjusts to increased urination.

10-Day transition schedule:

Add 1/10th of the total added water each day:

1. 1. Day 1: 1/10th (10%) of total added water

   2. Day 2: 2/10th (20%) of total added water

   3. Day 3: 3/10th (30%) of total added water

   4. Continue increasing daily through Day 10: Full amount (100%)

Note: If you're unsure whether your recipe uses added water for hydration vs. cooking water for starch, see the 2:1 water-to-starch ratio tip below and your recipe’s condition(s) that should reference if the recipe is higher moisture or higher in water content. If you are adding more water than that ratio and there is a reference to higher moisture or water content under the recipe conditions then you are likely adding water for hydration and should be gradually adding it in as outlined above. If not and a one-pot recipe, the water is for cooking the starch and should at least all be added (see water consideration tips below). 

Benefits of gradual introduction:

1. Improved acceptance by your dog or cat

2. Time for both you and your dog or cat to adjust to more frequent outdoor trips or litter box visits

3. Prevents rare cases of loose stools from rapid water intake increases

One-Pot Recipe Water Considerations or Tips

One-pot recipes require sufficient water to fully cook starches from starches, grains, legumes, and at times tubers. These recipes include specific guidance:

Key points:

1. 1. Water amount is calculated based on the combined moisture content of all ingredients

   2. If starches, grains, legumes, or tubers aren't fully cooked, you may add more water (unless the recipe is designed for higher energy density)

   3. Never drain cooking water before feeding—essential nutrients would be lost

   4. Starches typically require a 2:1 water-to-starch ratio

   5. Check package instructions for legumes/beans, as pre-soaking may be required

   6. See the Support tab/FAQs for tapioca cooking instructions

Adding Water to Non-One-Pot Recipes

You may add water to any recipe for increased hydration, provided it doesn't reduce energy density when your pet needs to gain or maintain weight.

You may also be interested in this FAQ: How can I minimize digestive upset when changing my dog's or cat's diet?

The new, more advanced version of our free online software that launched on April 3, 2023 will at times add iodized salt (sodium chloride) separately in recipes to help meet sodium, chloride, and/or iodine needs. The amount added will fall below the sodium concentration that has been established to be safe for healthy dogs and cats at 2.5 g/Mcal or less (for a good review, see Dr. Yann Queau’s 2019 ACVIM Forum Proceedings). The 2006 NRC’s lowest safe upper limit (SUL) for sodium is for kittens after weaning at 2.5 g/Mcal (notably several life stages have no sodium SUL in the NRC). The AAFCO nutrient profiles currently do not have any sodium maximum, so 2.5 g/Mcal as a SUL or maximum has been added by Balance It® to the AAFCO nutrient profiles that are used by the system. This does mean that commercially prepared foods can still and may meet the AAFCO nutrient profile with higher sodium concentrations. 

This additional ability and approach has several benefits including improving palatability in dogs (a common reason for feeding homemade food is to improve palatability). It also can help reduce the amount of other supplement(s) needed which saves consumers money as salt is very inexpensive and more accessible in kitchens compared to multivitamins/multiminerals that would otherwise need to be added at a higher concentration to meet sodium, chloride, and/or iodine requirements. 

This type of fortification calculation was challenging to do before as it requires some complex logic/algorithms. An earlier, easier, and more common approach is to add supplements in a set sequence and in an amount to meet a limiting nutrient in full. However, this can prevent the addition of other supplements that can provide other needed nutrients, as to do so could or does lead to an excess of (a) previously limiting nutrient(s). Finally, there may be a urinary tract health benefit as slightly higher dietary sodium can drive thirst safely and then dilute urine concentration. 

If a higher, but still safe for healthy dogs/cats, sodium concentration is a concern for a patient then there are many options to lower or reduce dietary sodium by entering "sodium" in the "conditions" field in the first step of the Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes and select one of the displayed options. These lower sodium recipes will then typically not have any separately added salt. 

Some of these recipes will be higher in sodium to drive thirst and dilute urine and by extension make it harder for crystals and hopefully stones/uroliths to form. If you or your veterinarian wish or need to avoid higher dietary sodium concentrations, a high moisture condition can be selected on Step 1 of the Recipe Builder to try and dilute urine. 

Yes, since the bromide ion is handled like the chloride ion in the body, higher chloride diets can increase the elimination of bromide. This in turn reduces the circulating blood concentrations of bromide, and can increase the dose of potassium bromide that may be needed. Other concurrent nutritional management strategies like higher MCT dietary concentration can also affect overall patient medical management, so potassium bromide dosing should be carefully evaluated by one's veterinarian when any dietary change is made and based on patient monitoring/response.

Lower-phosphorus diets are indicated for the nutritional management of certain medical conditions. However, phosphorus remains an essential nutrient even during disease management, it simply needs to be reduced to a specific controlled concentration, not eliminated entirely.

How the free Recipe Builder at balance.it /recipes manages phosphorus:

The Recipe Builder may select ingredients including (a) supplement(s) that contain(s) phosphorus, but carefully controls the total dietary phosphorus concentration to stay within the maximum limit set by your veterinarian's approval. The goal is controlled restriction, not complete elimination from the diet.

Why different supplements may be recommended:

Balance It^® offers supplements with varying phosphorus content to match your dog's or cat’s specific needs:

1. Canine K Plus: Contains no added phosphorus—ideal when maximum restriction is needed

2. Canine K & Feline K: Contain a smaller amount of added phosphorus—appropriate when some additional phosphorus is still beneficial

3. Calcium-phosphorus supplements designed for humans: May be recommended when the recipe requires these minerals but amount and dietary phosphorus will still be controlled

The Recipe Builder, powered by the Autobalancer^®, selects the most appropriate supplement(s) based on your dog's or cat’s total nutritional requirements and veterinary-approved phosphorus limits.

There are a couple of reasons. First, a dog's or cat's sense of smell is far superior to ours. So adding a lot of additional flavorings would just take away from the happy sensory experience of eating freshly prepared food. Second, many seasonings are untested in dogs and cats for safety. For example, onions and garlic are toxic to dogs and cats at amounts that are well-tolerated by people. A worry would be that adding rarely-used seasonings might also pose a health risk. In short, pure, simple, and fresh is best for your animal companion. 

While our free Recipe Builder includes a few seasonings and spices that can be searched and selected, they may initially appear in larger amounts than expected as they will be used as an energy source, not as a 'spice'. Manual adjustment may be needed to use the typical and desired small amounts.

If you want to add something extra, we encourage you to try to add one of the “enticers” available on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder process. There you’ll see some common and safe condiments that might add salt (aka “seasoning”), sweetness, umami, sourness/acid, fat, and/or sweetness. Dogs may like all or none of these flavors, but salt and fat are generally universally enjoyed if not always tolerated. Cats only find umami (savoriness), sourness/acid, and fat as delicious and adding salt or sugar will not increase a cat food recipe’s palatability. 

Cooked and/or sterilized eggshell can be used as an alternative source of calcium carbonate in dog/cat diets. However, as it is not in the Balance It® system, you will need to reference any calcium carbonate supplement designed for humans (be sure to select the human supplements option on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder) called for in your recipe to use eggshells and to know the correct amount to use. Unfortunately, many recipes need both calcium and also phosphorus which is not provided by eggshell (only provides calcium), so one may not be able to use eggshells when both of these macrominerals are called for together in a supplement designed for humans. 

If eggshells can and are to be used one must follow these steps: cook the egg(s), remove the shell, remove the inner membrane from the shell, and then pulverize the shell to enable good mixing. For best accuracy, a scale that can accurately measure milligram amounts should be purchased and used, which is not the typical kitchen scale but rather a jewelers scale or laboratory scale, as kitchen gram scales usually aren't very accurate down to the 100-200 milligrams range which may be needed/significant. To some this may seem like too much effort, but is necessary to accurately/consistently and safely add calcium. 

We do not use animal bone or dicalcium phosphate which can be derived from highly processed animal bone for fear that it might introduce antigenicity. Avoiding these sources of calcium and phosphorus also enable our products to remain animal origin free when that is a philosophical/ethical, environmental, religious, and/or importation issue/concern.

We avoid trace mineral proteinates for the same antigenicity concerns.

Our recipes are carefully built by our free, self-service Recipe Builder, powered by the Autobalancer^®, to ensure your dog or cat receives essential nutrients in the right balance. These custom recipes are constructed in a way to best address variety in dietary needs & preferences, ingredients, home kitchens, cooking methods, and response. Many questions can be first and best answered by reviewing specific recipe directions. It is important to note:

1. Cooking/preparation instructions can differ based on recipe type. You can learn more from this FAQ: What is the difference between “standard” and “one-pot” recipes? How can I tell if my recipe is standard or one-pot recipe, and how should I prepare it?

2. Cooking and preparation instructions can differ based on the specific ingredients selected. Even seemingly subtle changes can make a big difference at times.

3. Ingredient amounts and measurement may vary depending on your companion’s weight, age, neuter or spay status, the batch size of the recipe (see more below), and any selected or approved medical condition(s).

4. Batch recipes for a different number of days can be similar but still vary in ingredients and proportions. This is often a result of the software jumping to use the nearest fraction of a measuring unit for ingredients. If a certain batch recipe is preferred, the gram amounts for all ingredients can be multiplied or divided by hand to get alternative batch sizes with the same exact proportions if preferred. 

These specific FAQs may also be of interest:

This measurement is confusing to me. How do I measure that amount? How do I change the measuring units in my recipe?

Do I measure the ingredients in the recipe before or after cooking?

When do I add the oil(s) called for in my recipe? How do I incorporate the oil(s)? Do I use the oil(s) for cooking? Why have oil(s) been added to my recipe?

When do I add the supplement(s) to the food? When do I add a heatable supplement to the food?

How much or for how many meals or days is this recipe for? How long will this recipe last? What is the serving size?

I adjusted my recipe to a larger batch size or different feeding frequency and it failed. Why did this happen?

How should I store the prepared food?

Most of our recipes provide the ingredient amounts in both common measuring units of volume (for example teaspoons (tsp), cups, mL, etc.) and of mass or grams (abbreviated “g”). Example image below: 

Your measuring units options include:

1. Use the gram (g) amount (left column) and weigh each ingredient. This is the easiest and most accurate method. 

   1. For smaller measurements, such as supplements or oils, you can purchase gram scales online that measure in 0.1 g increments. Suggested search terms include: “jewelry scale,” “jewelers scale,” or “pocket scale.”

2. Use the volume measurement (right column).

3. Click Adjust This Recipe to select and try to use your preferred units (or amounts). You can find instructions in this FAQ: How do I manually adjust the ingredients and/or ingredient amount(s) in my recipe?

You may also be interested in these FAQs:

Which of your products include scoops? What if my product does not include scoops? Where can I get standard measuring teaspoons?

Which Balance It® product should I use and how much do I need?

First, it is important to determine what type of recipe you have. To help determine that, see this FAQ, What is the difference between “standard” and “one-pot” recipes? How can I tell if my recipe is standard or one-pot recipe, and how should I prepare it?

Standard recipes: This question is answered in your recipe directions under “Step 2: Measure or weigh and then chop large pieces.”

One-pot recipes: This question is answered in your recipe directions under “Step 2: Trim any excess fat based on the specific meat description, if any. Measure or weigh ingredients and then chop large pieces into small bite-sized pieces as needed.”

See your recipe for further details starting in those sections.

The following information can be found in the Directions section of your recipe.

“Oils are used in recipes to add needed calories and fat, and are carefully calculated to also provide essential fatty acid(s) and meet any desired fatty acid ratio(s). They are not being added as a pan or pot coating (and should be added on top of other ingredients before mixing if using an unseasoned cast iron pan). If you are concerned about adding oil due to a concern of fat intolerance in your dog or cat, please be sure to speak with your veterinarian, and if needed, indicate this by entering “fat” in the “Any special needs or diet we should be aware of? field of Step 1 to see condition options when building a recipe.”

If you’re wondering why a certain oil is included in your recipe, these FAQs may help (and you can also search our AI-powered FAQ page for more related answers):

Why is there a(n) oil(s) in my recipe even if I didn’t select one/any or a different one?

My recipe(s) call(s) for oil(s) to be added. What type(s) should I buy and where can I find them?

Can I use a different vegetable oil?

Why do you recommend a specific marine or fish oil?

First, it is important to determine what type of recipe you have. To help determine that, see this FAQ, What is the difference between “standard” and “one-pot” recipes? How can I tell if my recipe is standard or one-pot recipe, and how should I prepare it?

Standard recipes: The following information can be found under “Step 3: Combine all ingredients and mix well.” in your recipe directions. 

“If batch cooking, mix in any heatable supplement(s) now before refrigerating/freezing. You may also be interested in convenient one pot cooking options which are available for a subset of ingredients, click the “Show one pot cooking ingredients ONLY” checkbox when selecting ingredients to see those options and recipes that include different directions than these. If using any non-heatable supplement(s) mix them in after any cooking or reheating (heat degrades vitamins) and mix in well before feeding. Any added supplement(s) should be equally distributed or spread throughout the food and any meals. The total daily amount of any supplements are not to be fed at only one meal or sporadically given if preparing large batches and should always be well mixed with food. The addition of called for supplement(s) is not optional as this/they provide(s) needed essential nutrients and prevent(s) nutrient deficiencies from developing, see Fortifying section below.”

One-pot recipes: The following information can be found under “Step 3: Combine all ingredients, including any called for added water into one pot, EXCEPT any vitamin containing supplements or fat trimmings or raw fruits and mix well.” in your recipe directions.

“If using Balance It® Canine Plus or Balance It® Canine K Plus, add and mix in the called for supplement AFTER taking the pot off of heat and just before refrigerating or freezing. These two supplements have extra vitamins added to allow for the application of heat one time, for example when thawing a meal sized portion of already prepared food. 

If using any other vitamin containing supplement besides Balance It® Canine Plus or Balance It® Canine K Plus, add and mix the called for supplement right before feeding a meal portion and after any thawing/reheating. Any added supplement(s) should be equally distributed or spread throughout the food and any meals. The total daily amount of any supplements are not to be fed at only one meal or sporadically given if preparing large batches and should always be well mixed with food. 

The addition of called for supplement(s) is not optional as this/they provide(s) needed essential nutrients and prevent(s) nutrient deficiencies from developing, see Fortifying section below.”

The batch or serving size of your recipe can be found under the Yield/Servings section in your recipe report.

Our recipes won't include a general “serving size” by volume as that can vary depending on how ingredients are cut/chopped and then mixed in one's kitchen, but you can split or divide the prepared food into equal portions by eye or into equal gram portions (by dividing the total grams of the recipe or batch by the number of desired portions). As indicated on the recipe report: 

“Daily meals can be divided evenly into the number of meals you plan to feed per day, based on the total batch size selected. If you selected 'a meal fed two times a day' or 'a meal fed three times a day,' the recipe reflects one meal out of two or one meal out of three, respectively, for a single day.”

For further illustrative purposes, if you have a batch recipe for, say, a week and want to feed it twice a day then you could divide and freeze and refrigerate a total of 14 meal portions (2 meal portions times 7 days equals 14 meal portions).

Storage Guidelines:

1. Refrigerator: Up to 3 days

2. Freezer: Up to 3 weeks

Longer storage can result in spoilage (refrigerator) or vitamin degradation and decreased palatability (freezer).

Important Guidance on Heating Based on Supplement Type:

The heating rules depend on which Balance It supplement you're using:

Non-heatable supplements (most Balance It^® products):

1. Add the supplement immediately before feeding, after any reheating or thawing

2. Never heat food that already contains these supplements, as heating degrades vitamins

3. For batch cooking: prepare and store food without the supplement, then add it fresh to each portion before serving

One-time heatable supplements (Balance It^® Canine Plus & Canine K Plus):

1. Can be added after the initial cooking/heating, then refrigerated or frozen

2. Can be reheated once when thawing or warming

3. Do not reheat multiple times, as this increases vitamin degradation

Mixing is Critical: Always mix the supplement thoroughly into the food. Never sprinkle on top or leave it concentrated, as direct contact with the GI tract lining can cause upset.

Thawing Method: Thaw frozen food in the refrigerator over 24-48 hours. If using a one-time heatable supplement, you may also use gentle heat to thaw or warm the food one time (be sure to have not heated the supplement ever before).

Batch Cooking Tip: Store individual meal portions for convenience when preparing large batches.

If you've been feeding homemade food but are now adding Balance It^® supplement for the first time, we especially recommend a gradual transition to ensure acceptance.

Why a slow transition matters:

Essential nutrients, particularly amino acids and vitamins, have natural odors that dogs and cats readily detect. These nutrients aren't inherently palatable, and dogs and cats will often willingly eat nutritionally deficient or imbalanced diets. Any animal companion with a history of GI upset or food refusal may be especially sensitive to sudden changes in smell or taste.

Transition approach:

-Introduce the supplement gradually over several days

-Mix thoroughly into food to distribute evenly

-Monitor your animal's acceptance at each step

-Increase the supplement amount slowly until reaching the full dose

Important note for severely deficient dogs/cats:

If your dog/cat has been eating a significantly deficient diet for an extended period, consult your veterinarian about whether injectable nutrients are needed to address urgent deficiencies while you complete the transition.

The goal: A slow, successful introduction that your dog or cat accepts is far better than rushing the process, having your dog or cat refuse the food, and returning to a deficient diet. Taking extra time during the transition ensures your animal companion will accept the complete, balanced nutrition they need long-term.

Diet transitions can cause gastrointestinal (GI) upset if not managed carefully. Following these guidelines helps ensure a smoother transition whether you're switching between different commercial foods, homemade recipes, or from one feeding approach to the other.

General Transition Strategies

1. Transition gradually over multiple days

Introduce the new diet slowly, typically over 7-10 days:

1. Days 1-3: 25% new diet, 75% current diet

2. Days 4-6: 50% new diet, 50% current diet

3. Days 7-9: 75% new diet, 25% current diet

4. Day 10: 100% new diet

Dogs and cats with sensitive stomachs or medical conditions may need even slower transitions (14+ days). Speak with your veterinarian if they advise a slower or faster change due to a medical condition. 

2. Keep moisture content similar

Sudden changes in food moisture can trigger digestive upset. If switching between:

1. Dry to wet food: Gradually increase moisture

2. Wet to dry food: Gradually decrease moisture

3. Homemade to commercial (or vice versa): Match moisture levels when possible and if not possible (e.g., switching from dry kibble to wet homemade) then transition gradually as noted above

You may also be interested in this FAQ: My recipe calls for a lot of added water. How should I introduce it? OR How can I add water to my recipe?

3. Maintain comparable fat content

The percentage of calories from fat should remain relatively consistent between diets. Rapid increases in dietary fat are a common cause of diarrhea and digestive discomfort.

4. Keep fiber quantity and type similar

Both the amount and type of fiber matter. Sudden increases in soluble or fermentable fiber can cause gas, bloating, and loose stools even if total fiber content seems similar.

Why These Factors Matter

The digestive system adapts to consistent nutrient levels and food characteristics. Rapid changes in moisture, fat, or fiber—especially soluble/fermentable fiber—disrupt this balance and commonly cause:

1. Diarrhea or loose stools

2. Vomiting

3. Gas and bloating

4. Decreased appetite

5. General digestive discomfort

Maintaining consistency in these factors should support faster, safer transitions or rotation between diets.

Consult Your Veterinarian

For personalized guidance—especially if your dog or cat has a medical condition, history of digestive sensitivity, or experiences problems during transitions—speak with your veterinarian before making dietary changes.

Yes, you can! The general rule of the thumb is, you can feed up to 10% of total calories needed in a given day as a treat without risk of over/under feeding or supplementing. If you are unsure how many calories in treats to feed, you may use our treat and enticer option on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder. You can easily turn any ingredient into a treat using the little human giving a dog treat icon! 

Here's the best way to send/share your recipe report: Click View Recipe on the recipe results, then click the Download icon (arrow pointing down into a tray within a gray circle) right next to the heart/favorite icon. You may then email the PDF file that is downloaded to your computer as an attachment. It is also very helpful to always provide the unique recipe ID found in the Yields/Servings section. As our site can dynamically make trillions of different possible recipes and helps veterinary clients, veterinarians, and board-certified veterinary nutritionists to create millions of recipes a year this is the only way for us to be sure we are viewing/referencing the exact recipe that you have questions about. Unfortunately, it is not adequate to only send/share the ingredients and the ingredient amounts alone. If you have recipes that were made by your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist® and given to you directly by them, please contact them for any questions you may have about their recipe even if they used our software to create them (possibly helpful analogy to understand our limitation: Microsoft, Apple or Google customer service cannot answer questions about the content of a letter written by someone else using their word processor software like Word, Pages, or Docs). 

Our company was founded by a recognized expert board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and inducted Life Member of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition. Our formulation software has been extensively used for over twenty years by many of the world’s leading veterinary nutrition experts and by over 40,000 veterinarians globally. It has become the gold standard software solution for homemade diet formulation. Our bagged/pouched, patented supplements are manufactured in our own internationally recognized third-party certified food (aka human grade) and human dietary supplement facility in Northern California. To learn more, please see these two FAQs:

Who created the homemade dog and cat food recipes or the free recipe tool?

Can I please see your third-party food (aka human) grade and human dietary supplement manufacturing audit certificates and also your State of California pet food production license & (human) process food registration?

With that shared, we always recommend speaking with your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist^® regarding any concerns about what is the best way to feed your dog and/or cat including if you choose to make & feed homemade pet food. 

To get details on a homemade recipe created using our free, self-service Recipe Builder, powered by the Autobalancer^®, you can view the specific nutrient requirements (which includes addressing any selected and approved by your veterinarian condition(s) listed in the “Condition(s)” section of your recipe) used for your recipe by clicking “See Nutrient Profile” at the top of the recipe page. Hovering over the percent of the minimal requirement value for nutrients will show the formulated contribution from each ingredient or food. 

The “Monitoring” section in your recipe is a good place to learn more about the process of tracking your companion’s weight, coat, stool, and overall health or response to ensure their homemade diet meets their nutritional needs. It also includes guidance to have regular visits with your veterinarian for health checks.

The “Cautions” section of your recipe highlights important safety considerations when selecting and adjusting ingredients, explains why some foods or amounts can be potentially harmful, and emphasizes the importance of following recipes exactly.

In general, no additional supplementation is needed or recommended.

Balance It^® recipes are formulated to be nutritionally complete and balanced (unless a mineral for example needs to be restricted for an approved medical condition’s nutritional management by one’s veterinarian). Adding minerals, vitamins, or amino acids not specified in your recipe is unnecessary and can lead to excessive nutrient levels that may cause health issues.

When additional supplementation may be appropriate

Follow your veterinarian's or board-certified veterinary nutritionist's^® specific recommendations if they prescribe additional supplementation for your dog's or cat’s individual medical needs. Our recipes may also call for needed sources of fatty acids, see the FAQ When do I add the oil(s) called for in my recipe? How do I incorporate the oil(s)? Do I use the oil(s) for cooking? Why have oil(s) been added to my recipe? for more information on oils or fats that may need to be added.

Commonly prescribed supplements

The nutrients most frequently added beyond recipe requirements include:

1. B vitamins (niacin, B-12)

2. Vitamins C and K

3. Minerals (magnesium, zinc)

4. Amino acids (methionine, taurine)

These are not added because the recipe is deficient—rather, they may have therapeutic or pharmacological effects for specific health conditions beyond their basic nutritional role. Some nutrients that are not essential (like vitamin C for dogs and cats, vitamin K for dogs, or taurine for dogs) may still be prescribed for medical purposes.

What Balance It® supplements are not

Our supplements are not formulated to function as:

1. Phosphate binders

2. Heavy metal chelators (e.g., used at times in copper chelation therapy) or intentional antagonists

3. Calcium ion chelates for oral health (e.g., like sodium hexametaphosphate)

4. Prebiotics (though Carnivore Blend® contains inulin, which may have some “prebiotic” effects)

5. Probiotics

6. Liver support “nutraceuticals” (e.g., SAMe, silybin, etc.)

7. Chondroprotectives (e.g., glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, etc.) or joint nutraceutical

8. Sources of EPA and DHA or long-chain n-3 fatty acids (although our recipes may call for separate sources of these, see above)

9. Sources of essential fatty acids like linoleic acid or arachidonic acid (although our recipes may call for sources of these, see above)

Medications and nutraceuticals

If your dog or cat requires medications, phosphate binders, prebiotics, probiotics, or other nutraceuticals, consult your veterinarian for appropriate products and dosing. Balance It^® recipes should be treated like any other nutritionally appropriate pet food when adding these products.

Balance It^® provides dosing recommendations only for ingredients and supplements specified in our recipes at balance.it/recipes.

There is no "ideal" distribution of calories and many can be fed, tolerated, and enjoyed. For rough reference, many over-the-counter (aka OTC) healthy adult dry dog foods average protein at  20-30% of calories, fat at 20-30% of calories and carbohydrates at 40-60% of calories. For cats, protein is at 30-40% of calories, fat is at 25-35% of calories, and carbohydrate is at 30-50% of calories. These percentages differ to the “as fed” ones on packages/labels, to convert please see balance.it/convert . There are many exceptions to these rough references and they shift typically higher for puppies and wet food. Some “premium”, raw, and/or fresh foods can be considerably higher in fat. Extremes can also be seen with certain health conditions with much lower and higher concentrations in protein, fat, and/or carbohydrate. The Recipe Builder will allow the widest possible range of caloric distributions to be used while still meeting any known or selected requirements. This means, for example, that for healthy dogs and cats one may see recipes with no to very little carbohydrate. While cats are obligate carnivores and dogs are omnivores, both species can be fed an all meat diet. This explains why there is no carbohydrate requirement established by either the NRC or AAFCO for the cat but also for the dog. There may be a need for dietary carbohydrate during peak lactation in the bitch, but this is still debated, and the Recipe Builder does not provide any recipes for this very challenging life stage. Caution(s) on higher fat recipes should be carefully read/reviewed as they may not be tolerated in otherwise healthy dogs and cats. This is especially true if you feed your dog as a “carnivore” or meat eater. If you have questions about what is optimal for your dog or cat, please speak with your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®. 

Passing recipes that use  all or some of the ingredients you selected can range from All Protein (nearly all meat and oil), Higher Protein/Fat and Lower Carb, Mid-range Protein and Carb, and Higher Carb. Some of these may not be possible with certain ingredient selections and requirements and will not appear when they are not. We share each recipe option to inform users that they are available in case they may be of interest or better match their expectations. For example, some users may expect much larger portions of meat/poultry/fish than is nutritionally necessary or than is found in even many “premium” commercially prepared pet foods. They may also believe that our system is not capable of making recipes with no or low carbohydrates as we allow these foods to be selected or based on perceptions from two decades ago when the Autobalancer® was mainly used to treat/manage conditions by academics and veterinary specialists where protein and/or fat had to be restricted/controlled.  Each of these passing recipes meet your healthy animal companion’s daily requirements per AAFCO. For sick animal companion’s these headers are often relative to one another and may represent a much narrower range given more rigid requirements. Choosing a passing recipe is ultimately a matter of personal preference, economics (higher protein recipes will be more expensive due to the cost of the protein), and ingredient availability. If you are uncertain which one to choose, please speak with your veterinarian for a recommendation. 

You may also be interested in the Do you provide any nutritional guidance via your customer service? and Do you do any nutritional consultations via your veterinary nurses or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®? FAQs. 

You may also be interested in the Not all my ingredients are in my recipe that I selected. What happened? FAQ.

Choosing several ingredients on Step 2: Ingredients of the Recipe Builder ( balance.it/recipes ) can result in different recipes being offered/created with each potentially using different and not all combinations of those chosen ingredients. The system will attempt to use ALL selected ingredients within a single recipe (selecting too many ingredients may result in limited or no recipes). To meet AAFCO requirements, you may notice that some ingredients may be added to your recipe(s) that you may not have indicated and/or requested. Some common examples include the addition of vegetable or fish oil(s) (to meet essential fatty acid requirements) and/or iodized salt (to meet sodium, chloride and/or iodine requirements).

If results are possible, an All Protein (nearly all meat and oil) option using the protein rich food(s) you selected and fat(s)/oil(s) will be typically attempted and shown to you if feasible. 

If you selected additional ingredients then you will want to look at the passing recipes below the headers that read, Higher Protein/Fat and Lower Carb, Mid-range Protein and Carb and Higher Carbs if those are possible and available. 

Please click on View Recipe on the recipe you choose to use to see the full recipe report and exact amounts. To see the details on the nutrient concentration and calories distribution (or percent of calories from protein, fat, and carbohydrate), click See Nutrient Profile for passing recipes. 

Also if you select “Build Recipe Now” you may see reference to ingredients in the results box headers that are not present in the recipe. This happens when a pre-selected combination of ingredients are tried but not all of the ingredients will work. The software also at times tries to use less of the pre-selected ingredients and then presents that option if successful. To see the exact ingredients used, click View Recipe. To change or add ingredients, see the FAQ: How do I manually adjust the ingredients and/or ingredient amount(s) in my recipe?

You may also be interested in the following FAQs:

 “I am seeing multiple passing recipe options including some that have no or low amounts of carbohydrates even when I picked some. Which recipe option should I pick/feed?” 

“Why is there a(n) oil(s) in my recipe even if I didn’t select one/any or a different one?”

”Why is salt included/needed in some healthy animal companion recipes?”

“I do not want to use fish oil in my recipe. How can I avoid this ingredient?”

"What if I can't find an ingredient I want to use in the Recipe Builder? How can I add organ meat or liver to my recipe?"

The recipes may call for more volume of food due to the higher moisture in the home-cooked food compared to dry kibble and/or due to the bulk from some carbohydrate/vegetable/fruit selections.

Higher volumes of food can be created and still meet known minimum and maximum nutrient requirements. If a lower volume of an ingredient is desired or believed to be better, one can try to reduce them manually by adjusting the recipe. 

Common causes for higher volumes of some ingredients include selecting a condition that restricts fat and/or lowers energy density, creating higher protein &/or fat and lower carbohydrate recipes that only use veggies or fruits as a source of carbohydrates. If generating a recipe for the nutritional management of a condition, higher volumes of food can be the result of addressing restrictions or reductions in other nutrients. If unsuccessful in creating a recipe with preferred volume(s), we suggest using “blue” carbs and no veggies or fruits if possible on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder, and/or speaking with one's veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® to get further assistance with formulating a recipe that is preferred. They may suggest and approve a high energy density condition as part of that assistance/guidance.

Cats can be very selective about what they will eat. Often limited exposure to a variety of foods including textures can lead to lifelong learned preferences. This is likely an evolutionary trait as obligate carnivores are trained by their mother as to what is appropriate prey species for their environment. In addition, many of the things that humans and dogs find palatable are not sensed or enjoyed by cats, notably salt/sodium or sugar/sweetness. Please see below for some general suggestions that you can potentially try if the unfortified recipe is not readily eaten.

 If the unfortified diet/recipe is enjoyed and readily eaten, but not when the supplement is added, then below are some general suggestions that you can potentially try/consider.

General suggestions:

1. Be sure any underlying health condition(s) that could affect appetite or cause nausea or GI upset is being addressed by your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®. This may include medications in addition to diet and changes in those medications and their dose may be indicated.

2. Try selecting a protein or fat rich treat or enticer on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder.

3. Try and/or create a one pot cooking recipe as this might enhance palatability as preferred flavors, especially from any protein or fat rich foods, better meld

4. Change or increase the protein if possible/tolerated

5. Increase the fat if possible/tolerated

6. If only an issue when supplement(s) are added*, very slowly add the supplement(s) over 10-14 days if possible starting with a very small pinch/amount and mixing very well with any available protein/fat rich food including any treat or enticer and then the rest of the meal.

7. If there is an issue with the Balance It® supplement, try and create a free recipe using a combination of supplements designed for humans using that option on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder. 

8. Switch back to a commercially prepared food if possible/tolerated AND/OR work with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® (see directories at vetspecialists.com or balance.it/dacvim ) who can possibly recommend/formulate a diet with better palatability following medical record and diet history review and possibly by prioritizing* fortifying key essential nutrients with (an)other supplement(s) and then using an interactive/dynamic trial and error process to meet other/all needs if a homemade diet is chosen/tried 

*You may also be interested in seeing the FAQ My dog/cat will not eat their food with the Balance It® supplement added or mixed in. What should or can I do/try?? especially as it has some guidance on the order to try feeding supplements designed for humans.

Dogs generally enjoy their recipes and well-tolerate the supplement(s) needed to fortify them for long-term feeding. If your dog is refusing to eat the unfortified or fortified recipe, please see below for some general suggestions that you can potentially try/consider.

General suggestions:

1. Be sure any underlying health condition(s) that could affect appetite or cause nausea or GI upset is being addressed by your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®. This may include medications in addition to diet and changes in those medications and their dose may be indicated.

2. Try selecting a treat or enticer on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder.

3. Try and/or create a one pot cooking recipe as this might enhance palatability as preferred flavors better meld

4. Change or increase the protein if possible/tolerated especially if fed long-term without supplementation as the change in odor may be refused simply because it is a change from what is familiar.

5. Increase the fat if possible/tolerated.

6. If only an issue when supplement(s) are added*, very slowly add the supplement(s) over 10-14 days if possible starting with a very small pinch/amount and mixing very well with any available protein/fat rich food including any treat or enticer and then the rest of the meal.

7. If there is an issue with the Balance It® supplement, try and create a free recipe using a combination of supplements designed for humans using that option on Step 2 of the Recipe Builder. 

8. Switch back to a commercially prepared food if possible/tolerated AND/OR work with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® (see directories at vetspecialists.com or balance.it/dacvim ) who can possibly recommend/formulate a diet with better palatability following medical record and diet history review and possibly by prioritizing* fortifying key essential nutrients with (an)other supplement(s) and then using an interactive/dynamic trial and error process to meet other/all needs if a homemade diet is chosen/tried.

*You may also be interested in seeing the FAQ My dog/cat will not eat their food with the Balance It® supplement added or mixed in. What should or can I do/try?? especially as it has some guidance on the order to try feeding supplements designed for humans.

Although not really a frequently asked question (or FAQ), we’ve included it to help those rare cases where this comes up. Any change in diet can result in potential stool changes. 

Typically, the addition of our Balance It^® multimineral/multivitamin supplements should not change a dog’s or cat’s stool (aka feces) color. 

Stool color is influenced by changes in food ingredients and/or their proportions. For example, consuming less "red meat" and/or organ meat, changes in dietary fat and/or some dietary fibers (including a large amount of our Balance It^® Firming Fiber per your veterinarian’s directions/approval), and/or higher proportions of starch/carbohydrates can lighten stool color without representing any health concern. 

The main reason stool/feces is generally brown is due to the breakdown of bile and old red blood cells into stercobilin, a brown pigment. Therefore, dietary changes that reduce old red blood cell intake and bile release and/or increase bile acid reabsorption, will result in lighter stool color.  

If you notice a change in your dog’s or cat’s stool color, we always recommend consulting with your veterinarian. This is especially true if the stool color change is sudden and not during a diet change and the color is red or black which both can indicate possible GI bleeding or if the change happens with other symptoms or health concerns. Your veterinarian can best guide you and perform a fecal analysis and other diagnostics to determine if the change is significant.

Accessing Your Recipe's Nutrient Profile

There are several ways to view detailed nutrient information about a recipe:

Option 1: From the recipe results page Click the "See Nutrient Profile" link when viewing multiple passing recipes

Option 2: From the recipe details page Click either "See Nutrient Profile" button:

• Just above the ingredients list - OR- At the bottom of the recipe report page

Option 3: Using the recipe ID If you have a saved or favorited recipe:

1. Log into your Balance It account

2. Find the recipe ID number in the Yield/Servings section of your recipe report

3. Navigate to: https://balance.it/profile/[RECIPE-ID] (replace [RECIPE-ID] with your actual recipe number without any brackets) in the same browser that you are already logged into your Balance It^® account with

Option 4: From your saved recipes

1. Click your avatar icon in the top right

2. Select "Saved recipes" > "Recent & migrated legacy reports"

3. Click the desired recipe, then use any of the options above

OR

Understanding the Nutrient Profile

The nutrient profile displays a detailed table showing nutrients, their requirements, and concentrations in your recipe (added black box with red outline is intentionally blocking amounts from the screenshot example below).

What does "% of Requirement" mean?

This shows how much of each nutrient the recipe provides compared to the minimum requirement. A value of 100% means the recipe meets the minimum; values above 100% indicate the recipe exceeds the minimum.

Why are some nutrients well over 100%?

Many nutrients naturally occur in ingredients at concentrations far exceeding minimum requirements. This is normal, expected, and safe. For example:

1. Water-soluble vitamins from animal proteins

2. Vitamin A or beta-carotene from fruits and vegetables

The body has natural mechanisms to handle these excesses safely—up to a point.

Is this safe?

Yes. Nutrient concentrations become concerning only when they exceed the maximum requirement or safe upper limit (SUL). Our Recipe Builder will not approve recipes that exceed these maximums.

Safe range: Any nutrient between 100% (minimum requirement) and the maximum requirement is considered safe for long-term feeding.

If you have concerns about a specific nutrient level, consult your veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®.

Viewing ingredient contributions

To see how much each ingredient contributes to a specific nutrient, hover your cursor over the "% of Requirement" value. A tooltip will display the breakdown by ingredient.

What does "UND" mean?

"UND" (undefined) indicates the concentration cannot be determined from available data and is treated as zero in calculations.

You may also be interested in the FAQ, How can I view the nutrient profile (or “facts”) of an ingredient?

Over time, nutritional requirements may be updated based on new scientific evidence. You may want to verify that an older saved recipe still meets current requirements before continuing to use it. 

You may also want to personally check if your recipe’s formulated nutrient profile matches an approved or selected condition from the start and before feeding the recipe. 

Why requirements may change

When you select conditions in Step 1 of the Recipe Builder, multiple nutrient requirements are often merged to create the overall profile used to formulate your recipe. These constituent (or base) requirements are displayed on your recipe report. Updates to any of these constituents mean your recipe may no longer meet current standards.

How to Verify Your Recipe

Step 1: View current requirements for your approved condition(s)

1. Log into your Balance It^® account

2. Navigate to the Recipe Builder (click "Recipes" in the header or go to balance.it/recipes)

3. Select the same pet and the exact condition(s)/requirement(s) approved by your veterinarian

4. Click the black "i" icon next to the condition(s)

5. Click "See More Details" in the slider that appears

6. Scroll through the page to view every nutrient's requirement range

Step 2: View your saved recipe's formulated nutrient profile

Follow the instructions in our FAQ: How do I view my recipe's nutrient profile? Why are some nutrients well over 100% of requirements?

Step 3: Compare the values

Compare each nutrient in your saved recipe's profile against the current requirement ranges you viewed in Step 1. While tedious, this verification confirms whether your older recipe still meets current standards or if your new recipe does when you want to check or verify it yourself.

If Your Recipe No Longer Meets Requirements

Build a new recipe using the free Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes to ensure it meets current nutritional standards approved by your veterinarian. If your just made recipe doesn’t double check that all of your dog/cat information and conditions match exactly.

Best Practice: Regular Recipe Reviews

We strongly recommend checking or rebuilding recipes every few months. New scientific information may become available that affects formulations. Recipe reports include this reminder:

If you do not trust the formulation or recipe for any reason, we recommend working with a board certified veterinary nutritionist^® that offers consultations (see directory at vetspecialists.com) to address your concerns, so that hopefully you can feel confident in what you are feeding. If you are unable to trust a solution you make or work with a board certified veterinary nutritionist^® then we suggest considering feeding an appropriate commercially prepared pet food.

Our free online system is updated with current nutrient profile information from the USDA FoodData Central database as well as other databases and our own analyses of foods and supplements.  It is also designed to meet current AAFCO Official Publication dog/cat nutrient profile requirements which can change over time as do modifications to these requirements that our board-certified veterinary nutritionists have created over the last two decades for health conditions based on current published literature. Coupled with these many dynamic data changes and the ever evolving sophistication of the Autobalancer® formulation software/code that powers the Recipe Builder, results can change over time.  We advise regularly rebuilding recipes every few months to make sure that the most current information and capabilities are used as well as to make sure that any changes in your dog/cat are addressed.

This is also why you’ll see this “tooltip” when hovering over the names of any saved legacy recipe reports:

“VERY IMPORTANT: You will be viewing a "legacy" recipe report which is provided for reference only. This legacy recipe may no longer be appropriate due to changes in requirements and/or food nutrient data since it was first successfully generated. We recommend trying to build recipes every few months to keep them up-to-date with any changes in requirements and/or food nutrient data. This means that when you click on "See Nutrient Profile" on legacy recipe reports, deficiencies and/or excesses may now be reported/found."

Your veterinarian is always best able to give you specific guidance based on any diagnostics they have conducted and how that might affect any treatments or diet. They are welcome to contact us directly if they have questions for us. If they or you are working with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist^®, then they should be contacted about their formulation(s) or recommendation(s). The FDA and state laws prevent us from providing any medical guidance or recommendations for specific dogs or cats.

We are subject to policies/rules/regulations/laws specifically FDA Compliance Policy Guide (CPG) Section (Sec.) 690.150 that cover all nutritional products that are intended to "mitigate" or "treat" disease in dogs and cats. This FDA guidance means making specific information and/or products only available to the public under the direction/supervision of a veterinarian.    

We can understand how this might initially seem like we are just being difficult to work with or stubborn, especially as only a handful of pet food companies like us are subject to this guidance, but we cannot violate both state laws and federal guidelines even if it would make conducting business easier.

Independent of our need to be legally/regulatory compliant, we strongly support this guidance philosophically as it is designed to protect dogs and cats, and after over 20 years in veterinary nutrition specialty practice, our founder has seen its value in avoiding the good intentioned misuse of products and/or inappropriate feeding that could sadly lead to harm or an adverse effect. We have worked and continue to work hard to make the process of gaining any needed veterinary approval as simple and efficient as possible with an automated system supported by a dedicated customer service team that can immediately fax and/or email your veterinarian for their approval and track each step of the process with a detailed log. 

For reference the following products require veterinary approval or a "vet code" (a special six digit code unique to your veterinarian) provided to you by your veterinarian to purchase: Balance It^® Canine K, Balance It^® Canine K Plus, Balance It^® Canine -Cu, and Balance It^® Feline K. 

To check the status of a veterinary approval request that has already been submitted, please first ensure that you are logged into your Balance It^® account. 

Once logged in, click on the Avatar icon in the upper right next to the shopping cart icon and Log out link and then you will see your Account Information page.

Click on Vet Approvals then Approvals to see a list of all approved and/or pending requests. 

You can then click on your animal companion’s name to see the status and more details.*

*Please note that making changes to an existing approval may override your current approval. 

If you have any questions regarding the condition(s) and/or supplement(s) you have been approved for, or need to follow-up on a pending request, please contact your veterinary practice directly as they manage veterinary approvals directly through a special dedicated web page just for your dog or cat

We apologize for the confusion this change in veterinarian name may have created. When a veterinary practice shares an email address among their whole practice and all veterinarians at that practice, the first veterinarian entered and associated with the practice’s shared email address becomes the "owner" of the account and is displayed by default in our veterinary approval system. 

If a user enters a practice email address that is already linked to an existing veterinary account in our veterinary approval request system, the submission can automatically update the displayed name to match the primary veterinarian saved for that account.

Veterinary practices are typically able to route the approval request for your dog/cat which is specifically named to the correct, primary, and/or available veterinarian for review and hopefully their approval.

Balance It® helps thousands of caring people to create safe, custom, and wholesome dog/cat food at home everyday. These users rely on the free online Recipe Builder, powered by the Autobalancer® to calculate nutrient gaps from feeding specific amounts of foods to then determine the right supplement(s) to avoid deficiencies and excesses.

In addition to trillions of possible healthy dog and cat recipes, we also offer free “therapeutic” recipes for many medical conditions. These special recipes require your veterinarian's diagnosis(ses) and approval per FDA CPG Sec. 690.150. We have developed a convenient automated process that uses email or a fax to be FDA compliant. Once you have approval from your veterinarian, you can create your own “therapeutic” recipes to address your animal companion’s needs/preferences. 

If you are unable to access the website, or if you are unsure of which condition(s) and/or supplement(s) to select, please speak directly with your veterinarian. If you are looking for someone to make specific recommendations for your dog/cat, you may wish to consider a paid consultation with one of the board-certified veterinary nutritionist® options at vetspecialists.com or balance.it/dacvim. They can work with you and/or your veterinarian to review the medical record and diet history to make specific recommendations.      

Here’s How To Submit A Vet Approval Request To Create Your Own Custom “Therapeutic” Recipes:

To sign up for a FREE account go to www.balance.it. In the upper right-hand corner click on Login to begin your FREE Sign Up. Once you have successfully created your free account, you will see Logout  in the upper right-hand corner.

Please click on Request Approval in the page footer (at the very bottom of the website page) or go to balance.it/approvals/new to begin.

Click on Add/edit dog/cat. You will be prompted to enter brief information about yourself and your animal companion.

If recipes are needed, please enter your animal companion’s health condition(s) into the search-bar under “Any special needs or diet we should be aware of?” You will need to make a selection from the available drop-down menu of options. If you do not see your dog or cat’s health condition/diagnosis listed, or if you are unsure of what to select, please speak with your veterinarian for guidance. 

If recipes have already been provided to you directly by your veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist® and only access/approval to supplement is needed, you may leave the search-bar blank and select the needed supplements below.

Once your selection(s) have been made, click Save to continue. 

Click on Select/Add a vet and type in your veterinarian’s first and last name. 

You may notice your veterinarian’s name auto-populate if they are already in our system. If you select from one of the auto-populated options, please ensure that the information is correct before proceeding. We have thousands of veterinarian account holders and different veterinarians can have the same name.

If you do not see your veterinarian’s information populate, please enter their practice/clinic name, and their email address and/or fax number manually. 

Once all of the information has been selected/entered, please click Submit. 

Success! Our system will send an automated request to your veterinarian. Please note, if you entered the information for your veterinarian manually, we may need to first verify their details before the request can be sent. This process may take one to two business days. If you have a more urgent need, please contact your veterinarian directly for feeding recommendations.

Once your veterinarian replies/returns the approval form back to us, you will be contacted by email from us with instructions on how to proceed to create custom recipes for your animal companion.

If you’ve received approval from your veterinarian, but are unable to access recipes for your dog’s or cat’s condition(s), it may be due to one of the following reasons:

1. You are not logged in to your Balance It^® account

2. Your request is still pending review by your veterinarian

3. You selected the wrong dog or cat profile in Step 1: Your Dog/Cat of the Recipe Builder

4. Your approval was for supplement-only access, not for building free recipes online

5. Your approval may no longer be valid or available due to (a) new/updated medical condition requirement(s)

Please see the information below on how to view your veterinary request/approval to then determine how to proceed. 

First, ensure you are logged into your Balance It^® account. Once logged in, click on the Person Avatar icon in the upper right and then you will see your Account Information page (example image below).

Approved requests will be listed under the left “Approved” tab. Pending requests will be listed under the right “Pending Review” tab. 

If your request is listed under “Pending Review”, then you do not yet have approval to access the recipes and/or supplements requested. Please contact your veterinarian for any questions regarding the status of their approval to meet FDA guidelines and your pending request.

If your request is under “Approved”, please click on your animal companion’s name to view more details. This is where you can confirm the exact profile/name, condition(s), and/or supplement(s) that have been approved by your veterinarian. 

If you do not have any “Approved” or “Pending Review” requests, then you still need to request veterinary approval successfully from your veterinarian, please see the FAQ, “How can I submit a veterinary approval request for my animal companion with a medical condition? And why do I even need to do this?”How can I tell whether I have access to recipes for my animal companion’s condition(s)?

Please note that all requests will display a default condition (such as AAFCO Dog/Cat Maintenance) with default requirements for healthy dogs or cats. If you are approved for (a) medical condition(s) or special dietary restriction, it/they will be listed under “Health Conditions” (example image below). 

Approved medical conditions or dietary restrictions typically automatically grant access to any supplements needed for your approved recipes. While you may see supplements listed under “Approved Supplements,” selecting them is not required unless your veterinarian has specifically instructed you to do so.

If you are approved for access to any needed medical condition(s) and/or supplement(s), please click the “Recipes” tab at the top of the website and enter your dog’s or cat’s exact profile name that is associated with the approval under Step 1: Your Dog/Cat. Your dog’s or cat’s approved health condition(s) should now be automatically displayed under “Any special needs or diet we should be aware of? (optional)”. Full instructions for the Recipe Builder can be found in this FAQ:  I received my veterinarian’s approval. What are the next steps?

If you notice that you have been approved for (a) supplement(s) only and do not see any medical conditions listed with your approval, we recommend contacting your veterinary practice directly. They can manage veterinary approvals directly through their free veterinary account on our website using a dedicated page that was created just for your veterinary approval request and their use.

If you are unable to find your approval or you are unable to build recipes under your approval, the approval or recipe options may no longer be valid or available due new/updated requirements. Please visit our FAQ “My veterinary approval is no longer working and/or valid. What should I do?” for guidance on how to proceed if it is due to the approval. If you are unable to successfully build a recipe then please see your veterinarian and/or the directory of board-certified veterinary nutritionists at vetspecialists.com for guidance on alternatives.

Unfortunately, we did not receive an approval from your veterinarian within 7 days. We suggest you learn more from your veterinarian as to why no action has been taken. If your veterinarian wishes to still approve the original but now expired request, they or their authorized staff may contact us directly and request that we manually reset the request back to pending for them to approve. 

We are always happy to assist your veterinarian if they reach out to us to learn more about how we can best serve you and your animal companion. They can email us at info@balanceit.com.

We apologize for any inconvenience or delay this creates as we comply with FDA CPG Sec. 690.150 and support timely communications/approvals. If you have additional questions or need further assistance, you can also email us at info@balanceit.com.

You may also be interested in this FAQ: "My veterinary approval is no longer working and/or valid. What should I do?"

Veterinary approvals may stop working for a variety of reasons. This can include changes that have been made by you, your veterinarian, and/or by us.

If by us, the most common reason is that there is new/updated requirement guidance that should be used to formulate a new recipe(s), and we were unable to determine if these changes remain/are appropriate for your dog/cat. The FDA doesn't allow us to guess/extrapolate or choose for you or veterinarian, so a new veterinary approval will be required in these cases. 

If your veterinarian no longer practices at their previous veterinary practice or has changed their fax number and/or email address, please submit a new vet approval request with this new contact information by typing the new fax number and/or email address and any other practice information without letting these fields autofill. We regret any inconvenience this creates if you already entered a vet approval request using old contact information. Here are the exact steps to do this:

Please click on Request Approval in the page footer or go to balance.it/approvals/new to begin.

1. Click on Add/edit dog/cat. You will be prompted to enter brief information about your animal companion and yourself. Then click Save. 

2. Click on Select/Add a vet. You will be prompted to enter brief contact information about your veterinarian. Please complete this step to proceed. Then click Submit. 

3. Once this information is submitted, our system will send an automated request to your veterinarian.  If you enter a fax number and/or email address for your veterinarian, please be sure to put in the correct fax (not a phone) number or email address for your veterinarian or it will delay or prevent your approval. 

4. Once your veterinarian replies/returns the approval form back to us, you will be contacted by email from us with instructions on how to proceed to create custom recipes for your animal companion.

Great! Now that Balance It^® has received approval from your veterinarian to comply with FDA CPG Sec. 690.150 to allow you to make custom recipes for approved health condition(s), please log into your Balance It® account at balance.it to customize and view your recipes. 

STEP ONE: Log in & confirm your dog or cat information is correct

1. Log into your Balance It® account at balance.it by clicking on Login at the top right; you can tell when you are successfully logged in when the upper right says “Log out” and not Login anymore.

2. Under Step 1: Your Dog/Cat, “Enter who is this recipe for below:”, please type in your approved dog’s or cat’s name under the appropriate age option then click on their name that will appear. 

3. Confirm that your animal companion’s weight, age, gender and reproductive status is correct. 

4. Under “Any special needs or diet we should be aware of? (optional)” confirm that your animal companion’s health condition(s) is/are already displayed. You do not need to click on them again. If you do not see your approved condition(s) in a gray box, please be sure to be logged into your account (changing any approved or changed by your veterinarian condition will result in the need for veterinary approval again).

5. Once you have confirmed the information above, click Build Recipe Now if you need some help with selecting ingredients or click Let Me Pick Ingredients to go to the ingredients page to select and try your own.

STEP TWO: Create (a) custom recipe(s) for your dog/cat based on your veterinary approval:

1. If you click on Build Recipe Now on Step E above, the software will attempt to automatically create recipes for you using ingredients that are most likely to work and if they are available. If you click on Let me Pick Me Pick Ingredients on Step 5 above, under Step 2: Ingredients (optional) you may search for and choose any ingredients you wish to try to use for your dog’s or cat’s recipe. 

1. 1. You will need to select at least one protein. We recommend allowing the Recipe Builder to choose the fat(s) (aka oils) for you to meet any fatty acid requirements. The other categories are typically optional unless you are approved for (a) condition(s) that requires some calories to come from carbs to dilute/reduce the amount/percent of calories from dietary proteins and/or fats.

      1. Tips for Selecting Ingredients: When using the Let Me Pick Ingredients option, it’s important to understand how the Recipe Builder interprets your selections:

         1. Selecting multiple ingredients: Some users assume that choosing several ingredients will generate multiple recipes, each using different but not all combinations of those ingredients. However, the system will attempt to use ALL selected ingredients within a single recipe. If you wish to prepare recipes with less ingredients, select less ingredients.
         2. Selecting only a single protein rich food: Some users expect the system to automatically add complementary ingredients when only a protein rich food is selected. However, if you select just one protein source, the Recipe Builder will only try to create an "all protein" recipe. While these recipes can be nutritionally balanced when combined with the correct supplement(s) including fat(s)/oil(s) sometimes, they may not reflect the variety or type of recipe the user intended/desired.
         3. Be sure to select all the ingredients you want to feed your dog or cat every day, as the Recipe Builder will try to balance them together in a single recipe. You can try different selections/combinations to create a variety of recipes. 

   2. Click on Get Recipe.

2. You will be able to view the recipes that pass on the resulting screen. Recipes require thousands of calculations to be created & are checked in real-time and not all selections/options will meet all nutrient requirements. Please click on View Recipe on one of the successful recipes to see the full recipe report that includes a lot of details like preparation instructions. You may also be given a recipe using alternative ingredients if none of the tried options worked. Sometimes nothing will be possible and some suggestions will be offered as well as options to get additional help from Balance It® or elsewhere. Our mission is to help you get (a) recipe(s) that provide(s) safe and wholesome nutrition for your dog or cat whether from us or other experts like a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® and to help you avoid feeding (a) recipe(s)/diet that is otherwise unknowingly inappropriate, deficient, and/or excessive.

3. After clicking View Recipe, you have a few things you can do on the resulting page: 

1. 1. You may print your recipe by clicking on the printer icon. Be sure to print the whole report that includes the unique recipe ID in the Yield/Servings section as that will be needed by Balance It® to help you if any questions come up and also include the Cautions section at the very end of the recipe. This does NOT save the recipe in your account.

   2. You may save your recipe by clicking on the heart icon. 

   3. You may download your recipe as a PDF by clicking on the arrow pointing down icon. This does NOT save the recipe in your account.

4. Under Yield/Servings, you may click on Adjust this Recipe to edit the recipe. Here you can: 

1. 1. Change the body weight of your dog or cat (if not done initially) 

   2. Adjust the feeding frequency and/or batch cooking preferences under Recipe amount

   3. While there are additional options like changing the distribution of calories on this page, we recommend that you only do so under the guidance of a veterinarian or board-certified veterinary nutritionist®.

5. Then click on Update My Recipe.

6. You will see a light green recipe stating Adjusted By You appear at the bottom of the previous results if successful. Please click on View Recipe to see the full recipe report of this Adjusted By You option. Sometimes nothing will be possible and some suggestions will be offered as well as options to get additional help from Balance It® or elsewhere. Our mission is to help you get (a) recipe(s) that provide(s) safe and wholesome nutrition for your dog or cat whether from us or other experts like a board-certified veterinary nutritionist® and to help you avoid feeding (a) recipe(s)/diet that is otherwise unknowingly inappropriate, deficient, and/or excessive.

7. Again click the heart icon at the top to save your recipe in your account. You can also print or download the recipe but that will NOT save the recipe in your account.

8. To purchase the supplement to fortify your recipe, please click on Buy Supplement or Buy Now if made by Balance It® OR if a combination of supplements designed for humans, please see the recipe report for guidance on where to purchase these elsewhere (e.g., online retailers, drugstores/pharmacies, healthy food stores, etc.).

For 19 years, Balance It^® has consistently strived to keep prices as low as possible while never compromising product quality and safety. As a result, we have continued to grow, but have also incurred sustained and significant cost increases for raw materials, employee wages and benefits, insurance, software development & maintenance, cGMP certifications, third-party product testing, and shipping as well as inflation. 

Our March 1, 2024 price increase is only our second price increase since April 2019, almost five years ago. During that time we have worked very hard to improve, including our efficiency, to maximize the value we offer and minimize any cost increases. 

Notably in April 2023, we launched a new, improved version of our free online software that provides trillions of options and is used millions of times annually to create custom free homemade recipes for healthy and sick dogs and cats. Based on less customizable and more limited for fee options elsewhere, this software is saving our users at least $2,000,000 annually. Separately, we continue to invest heavily in the Autobalancer^® that we donate to over 70 global academicians, clinicians, & researchers at veterinary schools and nonprofits which represents an in-kind gift of over 2% of our annual revenues. This level of giving aligns with the third-party certifying body B Lab Designed to Give Impact Business Model. Given these efforts and many of our ongoing non-profit objectives, we successfully converted to a California Benefit Corporation on December 27, 2023. 

We have also continued our commitment to improved quality and just successfully completed our first GRMA-certification, an NSF/ANSI standard, for human dietary supplement manufacturing, we believe a first for an essential nutrient dog and cat supplement company. 

In order to support and offer these services and the highest quality products possible, we made the always difficult decision to increase our prices based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator that shows an inflation rate of 7.27% from March 2022 to January 2024. 

We have kept all size the same (no “shrinkflation”) and applied this 7.27% increase to all three product sizes/options (i.e., one pouch*, 10-pouch, and 500 or 600 g bags) products while keeping the Recipe Builder powered by the Autobalancer^® free to use by all.

Although we will never compromise on the quality and safety of our products, we will always aim to provide the best value in nutritional supplements and service for our customers and their animal companions. The Balance It® team greatly appreciates the continued business and support, and sincerely thank our loyal customers and many self-appointed brand advocates in the veterinary profession.

No, currently Balance It® only sells and ships directly to veterinarians and their clients. Although still a small but widely known and relied on company, this “vertical integration” allows for the best customer experience and value as the entire “ecosystem” of research, software development, formulation, procurement, testing, packaging, customer service, and order fulfillment is actively and currently managed by Balance It’s dedicated and highly focused team. 

Yes. We use secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate authority to enable secure e-commerce and communications for our website. For additional security, we don't store credit card information after processing orders. For automatic re-orders, all needed information is captured by our secure credit card gateway, Authorize.net, which is owned by VISA. Our servers (or instances) are hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the industry leading provider, with all code and data encrypted. Lastly, we never sell your personal contact information to outside parties subject to our current privacy policy. To see the current version of our privacy policy, please click on the link at the bottom of our front/landing page or visit balance.it/terms.

As of August 23, 2023, we are no longer able to take an order from you over the phone. With ongoing changes to credit card security and processing requirements for phone orders, we have made the difficult decision to stop this service. This change is not due to any incident or issue we have had. Many industries are moving away from offering phone orders due to the increased exposure to potential theft or misuse of sensitive credit card data. Placing an order through our secure online platform is the safest method to get the products you need. To learn more about how we protect your privacy and sensitive information, please visit https://balance.it/terms.

If you are unable to place an online order, you may wish to consider one of these options:

1. Ask a Balance It^® Customer Care Team member for assistance by sending an email to info@balanceit.com. We will NEVER ask you to share any credit card information or to share your device’s screen or screenshots of checkout with any personal information with us when providing this help. 

2. Ask a trusted friend or family member for assistance in placing the order for you through our website. 

3. Ask your veterinary practice if they can place your order for you to be picked up at their address. Some practices choose to order our products and then sell them to their clients directly for added convenience.

We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding as we strive to best protect your credit card information.

We keep our prices as low as possible for all our customers, every day—so we don't offer promotional discounts, coupons, affiliate programs, or loyalty rewards. Instead, we focus on fair, consistent pricing for everyone. We do offer wholesale pricing for veterinary practices.

We know cost matters when choosing what to feed your companion. If budget is a primary concern, your veterinarian can help you explore commercially prepared dry food options. Our founder has co-authored multiple studies with faculty at leading veterinary schools (e.g., J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2022;260(S3):S53-S60) that show while home-cooked, human-grade diets typically cost less than canned or wet food, they do cost more than comparable feed grade kibble.

That said, we believe the value we provide goes beyond price alone. You're getting veterinary nutritionist backed recipes tailored to your dog’s or cat’s needs, trusted human dietary supplement-grade ingredients, and two decades of proven expertise—all designed to give your companion the nutrition they deserve. For certain medical conditions, our all-in-one supplements are the only option available for at-home nutritional management.

We're here to support you in making the best choice for your dog's or cat’s health and your household.

We are legally required to collect sales tax on behalf of most cities, counties, states and not instead have you be responsible for making direct payments to your state for any of your online purchases as was previously allowed throughout the US. To learn more about this requirement, please see the US Supreme Court case "South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.". We hope that the additional sales tax revenue helps support your municipality's and state's budgets and efforts on behalf of their citizens.

Be sure to set up a free Balance It account when purchasing. If you choose to not set up a free Balance It account before purchasing, we are not able to provide any more order details than what appears at during or at the end of checkout online or on your subsequent credit card statement. 

Log into your Balance It account and click the Avatar (looks like a head and shoulders outline) icon at the top of the page or go to directly to https://balance.it/myaccount then click "Orders":

Then click the order number (areas grayed out in example below) you wish to copy or print details for:

This will then give you the order's details like product ordered, amounts, taxes if any, shipping cost if any, and billing & shipping addresses (areas grayed out in example below) that can be copied or printed by using Command+P (on Macs) or Ctrl+P (on Windows or Chrome OS) on your computer to open a printer dialog box like this:

Balance It does not forward these order details via any means. Copying and/or printing these details if needed are solely a self-service function. 

Our Balance It® software is free to use. This FAQ on payment method relates to ordering supplements we sell. 

If your order has not yet been placed, you can update your payment method during the checkout process before completing your purchase. We accept Shop Pay, Amazon Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay (Safari browsers), and Google Pay (Chrome browser) in addition to standard credit and debit cards like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.

If you use Shop Pay, Amazon Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, you'll need to update your payment information directly through your account with that service:

1. Shop Pay: Update your payment method in your Shop Pay account settings

2. Amazon Pay: Update your payment method in your Amazon account under Payment Options

3. PayPal: Update your payment method in your PayPal account wallet

4. Venmo: Update your payment method via your Venmo app or website

5. Apple Pay: Update your payment method in your device's Wallet & Apple Pay settings (Settings app on iOS/iPadOS or System Settings on macOS)

6. Google Pay: Update your payment method in your Google Pay account settings

If the guidance above doesn't work, see the website for the payment service you are using for the most up-to-date guidance. 

If your order has already been placed, we are unable to change the payment method. For more information about managing orders that have already been placed, please see our Orders & Shipping FAQ.

If you need to change the payment method on a subscription, please see our How can I manage my new automatic reorder subscription?.

VAT stands for Value-Added Tax and is required on most UK purchases that the UK government requires we collect for them. If you have more questions on this tax, please see https://www.gov.uk/browse/tax/vat . 

A declined transaction can occur for a couple of common reasons:

1. Incorrect Card Security Code: The three- or four-digit security code (CVV/CVC) on your card was entered incorrectly. This is the three-digit code on the back of most credit cards or the four-digit code on the front of an American Express card.

2. Incorrect Billing Address: The billing address, including Zip or Postal Code, you entered does not match the address on file with your credit card or debit card issuing bank. Please ensure the address you provide in the billing field is an exact match.

Tip when using an expedited payment method (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay):

These services may retain an old billing address from another merchant. To avoid declined transactions and ensure accurate order processing, update the stored billing information in your payment method — especially if you plan to use it again in the future.

What if I see “pending” charges in my bank account?

Some banks place a temporary hold on funds is placed by your credit card company when a transaction is declined. If no order was successfully placed, these are not actual charges, and the funds will automatically be released back to your account within a few business days.

For more specific information on these temporary holds, we recommend contacting your credit card-issuing bank directly.

Yes! If you sign up for an account after checking out as a guest, any orders placed with the same email address will automatically be linked to your new account.

To ensure your orders are associated with your account, please create your Balance It® account at www.balance.it/signup before placing orders, using the same email address you plan to use for purchases.

We offer shipping to the United States (including APO or FPO (Military) P.O. boxes).  

We offer international shipping to many countries although some restrictions may apply due to world events like war, natural disasters, economic sanctions, or pandemics. If the country you wish to ship to is not listed as an option at check out, then we cannot currently ship there. If you have additional questions about a specific country, please contact us at info@balanceit.com.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to also contact us at info@balanceit.com.

Please note, international orders may be subject to import duties and taxes (including VAT) unknown by and outside of the control of Balance It^®. To learn more about our shipping policy and these potential fees, we encourage you to visit: balance.it/terms 

You may also be interested in the “How are the Balance It® supplements shipped?” FAQ.

While we ship to many countries internationally, there are some countries and regions we cannot ship directly due to various trade restrictions. In addition, some customers prefer to use shipping carriers of their choosing. Thus, we understand that some customers may choose to use third-party package forwarding services by placing a domestic US order and having it forwarded to their final destination. If you decide to do this, here are important considerations:

What You Should Know:

1. Customs & Import Duties: You will be responsible for all customs fees, import duties, taxes, and any other charges imposed by your country. These can be substantial and vary widely by country and product type.
2. Warranty & Returns: Our standard warranty and return policy only applies to the address where the order was originally shipped. Once you forward the product to another location, we cannot guarantee warranty service or accept returns.
3. Shipping Damage: Balance It® is not responsible for any damage that occurs during the forwarding process and subsequent international transit. Claims must be made with your forwarding service.
4. Product Compliance: Ensure that the product is legal to import in your country and meets local safety/regulatory standards. Some products may be restricted or prohibited. Balance It® is not responsible for products rejected by customs and will not provide refunds in such cases.
5. Customs Paperwork: We cannot assist with customs documentation for orders shipped via forwarding services. This includes commercial invoices, ingredient lists/declarations, and/or any other items required for entry into your country.
6. Forwarding Service Reliability: Choose a reputable package forwarding company. Balance It® is not affiliated with any forwarding services, doesn’t make any referrals to a service, and cannot be held responsible for their performance.
   
   

Before You Order & Try to Ship Via A Carrier We Don’t Use And/Or To A Country We Don’t Ship To:

We recommend researching your country's import regulations and calculating potential additional costs before placing your order. The total cost of your purchase may be significantly higher than the original price once all fees and regulatory compliance issues are included.

From 2012 to 2020, Balance It® offered a flat international shipping rate of US$8 per bag, with the exception of about eight countries we have not been able to ship to, primarily due to geopolitical reasons. During that time, we worked diligently to maintain this flat rate despite rising costs.

However, beginning in 2019, the cost of handling and shipping international orders increased significantly—and at times, unpredictably. For example, in 2020, a shipment of just two bottles that used to cost slightly over US$ 20 to ship ended up costing around US$ 50. Unfortunately, that was not an isolated case.

In addition, local postal systems in some countries have become less reliable, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, lost or undelivered shipments—which we typically replace and reship at our own cost—have become more common. Taken together, this made it increasingly unsustainable to continue offering a flat international shipping rate, as we were often fulfilling these orders at a loss.

Given the above challenges, we transitioned to offering real-time shipping rates from multiple available carriers at checkout. This change allows international customers to choose the best available shipping option based on current rates and delivery times.

To read more about how our shipping rates are calculated, see the FAQ "How are shipping rates calculated? Or why can shipping rates change suddenly?".

We also understand and very much appreciate that international shipping—along with duties, taxes, or other import fees—can be significant in some countries. Unfortunately, we do not control these charges, as they are determined by your local government.

We strongly recommend checking with your country’s customs office before placing an order to understand what additional costs, if any, may apply.

As an alternative option that you may wish to speak with your veterinarian about, we currently provide the capability to fortify many of our home-cooked dog/cat recipes with a combination of supplements designed for humans and sold by others. After selecting the ingredients you wish to feed, under Step 2: Ingredients (optional) of the Recipe Builder at balance.it/recipes, please scroll down and check the Use human supplements ONLY box below Get Recipe. When selecting this option, recipes using a combination of supplements designed for humans (that are sold by others), and may be available to you locally/regionally, will be provided. Generic supplement options are used wherever possible to increase utility globally.

We wish to continue to thank our many international customers for their support over the years and appreciate their ongoing understanding regarding the cost of purchasing and shipping internationally.

All orders are shipped via the shipping carrier and shipping method that you choose at check out. These options are typically as follows, but may change based upon carrier issues beyond our control.

US Domestic: These orders are shipped via United States Postal Service (USPS) or UPS.

P.O. boxes: We can only ship to P.O. boxes within the United States via the United States Postal Service (USPS). We cannot ship to P.O. boxes located outside of the United States.

Military mail: We can only ship to APO or FPO (Military) P.O. boxes via the United States Postal Service (USPS).

International shipment options: We offer international shipping to many countries although some restrictions may apply due to world events like war, natural disasters, economic sanctions, or pandemics. These are shipped via United States Postal Service (USPS) or DHL. If the country you wish to ship to is not listed as an option at check out, then we cannot currently ship there. If you have additional questions about a specific country, please contact us at info@balanceit.com.

You may also be interested in the “What is your shipping policy?” FAQ and the shipping document that comes with orders.

Order processing time: All orders are picked, packed, and processed for carrier pickup within 48 business hours (excluding weekends and holidays) after placing your order (the order date & time is automatically captured by our ecommerce software, Shopify, and is always considered the reference time).

Carrier pickups: Orders that have been picked, packed, and processed will then be picked up at our fulfillment center by the carrier(s) within one (1) business day (excluding weekends and holidays).

Order/Shipping notifications: You will receive an order confirmation email once your order has been successfully placed. You will receive a second email notification when your order has been picked, packed, and processed and is ready for carrier pickup. All times and dates given for delivery of the products are given in good faith but are estimates only. Unless specifically noted, estimated delivery times reflect the earliest available delivery, and deliveries will be made within 30 days after the day we accept your order. If delivery is delayed for any reason we will let you know as soon as possible and will advise you of a revised estimated date for delivery. For EU and UK consumers: This does not affect your statutory rights.

Shipping rates: Shipping charges for your order will be calculated, displayed, and collected at checkout. We will honor this charge when paid, even if the actual shipping rate Balance It® is later charged is greater when your order is shipped. To read more about how our shipping rates are calculated, see the FAQ "How are shipping rates calculated? Or why can shipping rates change suddenly?".

Carrier transit times: Balance It® does not guarantee the carrier transit times that are estimated and displayed at checkout. These carrier estimated transit times are generated through an application programming interface (API) provided by each individual carrier. Actual carrier transit times, and therefore order delivery times, may vary. Please consult the carriers' websites directly for the most up-to-date information about these services and any delays or disruptions they may be experiencing.

Import duties and taxes (including VAT): Your order may be subject to import duties and taxes (including VAT). Some, but not all of these may be calculated, displayed, and collected at checkout and reported on your international invoice. However, there are times when additional charges may be assessed/incurred once a shipment reaches your destination country. Balance It® is not responsible for these additional duties and/or taxes if they are applied and are your responsibility to pay as the customer.

Incorrect address/Address correction: You are responsible for any errors in shipping addresses entered by you. This includes errors of omission like apartment, unit, and suite numbers, phone number, or incorrect Zip or postal codes. If you are unsure of your address, please check with your postal carrier, UPS, FedEx, and/or DHL to determine what your delivery address is. If we cannot ship your order due to an incorrect/incomplete address (including phone number), the 48 business hour processing time commitment listed above is voided. You will be contacted by our customer service team via phone and/or email to correct the issue. We will then process your order within 48 business hours of receiving the corrected address. If we do not receive a corrected shipping address within 2 business days of reaching out to you, your order will be canceled and refunded to the credit card used for the order.

Address correction charges: If an order is shipped, and it is later determined by the carrier that the address was incorrect due to an error on your part, all address correction fees or return to sender fees assessed to Balance It® from the carrier(s) will be forwarded and charged to your account/deducted from any future refund(s).

Refusing delivery/Return to sender: If you refuse delivery of your order, and/or instruct the carrier to “return to sender", all return to sender fees assessed to Balance It® from the carrier(s) will be forwarded and charged to your account/deducted from any future refund(s). The average fee is $17, but may be higher (especially for any international orders or if more than 1 bag or many pouches).

P.O. boxes: We can only ship to P.O. Boxes within the United States via the United States Postal Service (USPS). We cannot ship to P.O. Boxes located outside of the United States.

Military mail: We can only ship to APO or FPO (Military) P.O. boxes via the United States Postal Service (USPS).

International shipment options: We offer international shipping to many countries although some restrictions may apply due to world events like war, natural disasters, economic sanctions, or pandemics. If the country you wish to ship to is not listed as an option at check out, then we cannot currently ship there. If you have additional questions about a specific country, please contact us at info@balanceit.com.

Carrier claims: If you feel your order was not delivered per the policy of the chosen carrier (e.g., late, damaged, misdelivered), we will initiate a claim on your behalf with the carrier via their designated claims process. Please email info@balanceit.com with the details supporting your claim. For damage claims, we require clear, close-up pictures of any damage and pictures showing all sides of the shipping box and bag/pouch INCLUDING visible & legible lot number(s) on each item in the shipment. If the damage was not caused by the carrier, our quality team will conduct an internal investigation. Please note that refunds or reshipments for damage claims can only be issued after all required evidence has been received, and the claim has been reviewed and resolved by either Balance It® or the carrier. Balance It® will work with urgency, especially if the damage was not caused by the carrier. The carrier's claims process, including the timeline and outcome, is controlled by the carrier and unfortunately not Balance It®.

Balance It® processing time claims: If you feel that your order was not processed within 48 business hours per our policy, please email customer service at info@balanceit.com with the details supporting your claim (e.g., email notifications).

Product expiration dates: All orders will be fulfilled with products that will have no less than 3 months and no more than 11 months of shelf life (time before expiration) at the time of shipping.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@balanceit.com.

While this FAQ should be current, to see the most current version of our shipping policy, please visit: balance.it/terms

We offer international shipping to many countries via DHL and/or the United States Postal Service (USPS). 

If you’ve recently placed an international order, or are planning to, the following information may be helpful:

Delivery:

1. DHL orders: Typically delivered directly by DHL.

2. USPS orders: Once your package reaches your country and/or clears customs, it is typically handed off to your local postal service*.

*If you find that your USPS tracking information has not been updated, please check with your country’s postal service using your tracking number. Example links to other country’s postal services: Canada Post | Royal Mail (UK) | Australia Post

Customs: 

International orders typically go through the customs clearance process once they reach the destination country. We provide the following additional documentation with international orders and avoid “animal origin ingredients” to help facilitate orders with passing/clearing customs: 

1. A signed affidavit regarding ingredients is included with all international shipments

2. A Manufacturer’s Declaration/Statement is included with shipments to Australia

If you notice that your order has been in the customs process for a while, we advise contacting your local Customs Office and providing your tracking number to find out what is causing the delay. Unfortunately, until it has cleared your Customs Office there is nothing that can be done by us or the specific carrier used. Sometimes it can take awhile to clear the customs process and unfortunately we do not have a way to rush or expedite your governmental agency’s speed.

Import duties and taxes (including VAT):

Your order may be subject to import duties and taxes (including VAT). Some, but not all of these may be calculated, displayed, and collected at checkout and reported on your international invoice. However, there are times when additional charges may be assessed/incurred once a shipment reaches your destination country. Balance It^® is not responsible for these additional duties and/or taxes if they are applied and are your responsibility to pay as the purchaser and recipient of the international shipment.

Transit Times:

Balance It^® does not guarantee delivery dates as that is controlled by the carrier. The estimated transit times shown at checkout are generated via the carrier’s own software API and may vary based on the carrier's current service conditions. Delivery estimate(s) shown at checkout DO NOT include our two-business-day order processing time, plus the one-business-day carrier allotted pick-up time. 

If you find that your DHL tracking has not been updated, please check with your local DHL facility using your tracking number. 

While we always strive for and anticipate a timely and accurate delivery by the carriers we use, we unfortunately do not have control over transit or delivery once it is in possession of the carrier and international packages may take longer than anticipated to be delivered. 

For more information on shipping, please see our Shipping and Delivery Policy at https://balance.it/terms or see other relevant FAQs below:

1. What countries do you ship to?

2. How are the Balance It® supplements shipped?

3. How are shipping rates calculated? Or why can shipping rates change suddenly?

Domestic US (including to Alaska and Hawaii) Shipments

While free shipping is a great option for most of our US-based customers, some customers may want to have their orders shipped via an expedited method at their expense.

To support expedited shipping, we have integrated our e-commerce software with a paid service called ShipStation that provides discounted and real-time shipping rates for expedited UPS and USPS options that we pass onto our customers at checkout. Please note that we do not offer FedEx as a carrier option as we have previously discovered that FedEx’s discounted pricing is unfortunately not reliable and/or consistent. 

With the current, dynamic geopolitical climate actively affecting tariffs and international trade, we have experienced rare instances where this software integration temporarily fails to successfully retrieve the discounted and real-time shipping rates due to the carriers’ systems/servers becoming overloaded and non-responsive. When this overload happens, the backup rate shown is the standard carrier retail rate with no passed on discount from us.

Unfortunately, there is no way for us or an orderer to tell if the lower discounted or higher standard retail rate is being shown or used. While this is not ideal, this is the only way to still have expedited options available at the lowest discounted rates almost all of the time for those customers who need them as the other alternatives would be to only enable free shipping with no expedited shipping options or to always offer expedited shipping at the higher standard retail rate. We have thus chosen to continue to offer discounted rates whenever possible; however, we do not offer refunds if the standard carrier retail rate was temporarily shown and selected at checkout by a customer. 

We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this creates and appreciate your understanding as we try to pass on discounted rates whenever we can.

International Shipments

We do not offer free shipping on international shipments..

We have integrated our e-commerce software with a paid service called ShipStation that provides discounted shipping rates for the international carrier services from USPS and DHL at checkout. We do not offer UPS as an international carrier option due to the high number of customer complaints about the UPS customs clearance process that we have experienced in the past. We also do not offer FedEx as an international carrier option as we have previously discovered that FedEx’s discounted pricing is unfortunately not reliable and/or consistent. 

With the current, dynamic geopolitical climate actively affecting tariffs and international trade, we have experienced rare instances where this software integration temporarily fails to successfully retrieve the discounted and real-time international shipping rates due to the carriers’ systems/servers becoming overloaded and non-responsive. When this first started happening, customers were being incorrectly told by the system that there were no shipping options available for their address.  

To avoid this, we added a direct integration to the international carrier options that shows and uses a backup rate. These backup rates are at the higher standard retail rate.

While this is not ideal, this is the only way to still have international shipping options available at all times for all customers. When this happens, we do not offer refunds for the standard carrier retail rate that was temporarily shown and selected at checkout by an international customer.

We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this creates and appreciate your understanding.

Our in-house fulfillment staff work with urgency. Once you place an order, it will be picked, packed, and processed for carrier pickup within no more than 48 business hours (excluding weekends and US holidays). After processing, the carrier typically picks up the order from our facility within one business day.

Notifications:

You will receive an order confirmation email when your order is successfully placed.*

*If you do not receive the automated order confirmation email within a few minutes of placing your order (and have already checked your junk/spam folders), please email us at info@balanceit.com with your name and email address so we can further assist you. 

You will receive a second email with a tracking link when your order has been picked, packed, and is ready for carrier pickup.*

*If you do not receive the automated shipping confirmation email with your tracking number after 48 business hours (and you have already checked your junk/spam folders), please email us at info@balanceit.com with your name and order number so we can further assist you. 

If you placed an order with an accelerated payment method (e.g., Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay or Venmo), you may receive payment receipts, order confirmations or tracking update emails from these platforms as well. We recommend visiting the carrier's direct website for the most up-to-date and accurate information available for your order. 

Please note: As mentioned above, while the carriers we use typically pick up orders from our facility within one business day of being fulfilled, it is common for the carrier’s online tracking information to not update immediately after pickup. Carriers often handle a large volume of packages at once and may not scan them until they arrive at a later regional sorting facility. Unfortunately, we do not have any control over this practice or way to update the tracking until the scan occurs. If it has been more than one business day since receiving your tracking number, and it indicates that your order is at our facility (or label created), please allow a few additional business days for your tracking number to update within the carrier system. 

You may also be interested in the following FAQ: What is your shipping policy?

While orders placed with expedited shipping are typically faster than orders placed with free shipping (note: free shipping is only available for domestic U.S. shipments), paying for expedited shipping does not change our order processing time. Expedited shipping only affects the transit portion of delivery after your order has shipped from our facility.

As noted in our shipping policy and at checkout, all orders are picked, packed, and processed for carrier pickup within 48 business hours (excluding weekends and holidays, to see current holidays visit https://balance.it/contact ) from the time the order is placed. After processing, the carrier typically picks up the order from our facility within one business day. For more details, please see this FAQ: How long will it take for my order to leave your facility?

Please also note that the estimated transit times displayed at checkout are not guaranteed by Balance It^®. While we provide the estimated delivery windows to help you plan, actual delivery times may vary due to carrier delays, weather, or other factors beyond our and/or the carrier's control.

Some carriers do offer guaranteed delivery within a specific time frame from the ship date for certain (but not all) shipping methods they offer (e.g., USPS Priority Mail Express or UPS Next Day Air). If the carrier does not meet this guaranteed transit time, Balance It^® can file a claim on your behalf. Expedited shipping refunds will only be issued if the carrier approves the claim, as outlined in our shipping policy.

At checkout, we display the following notice to help set expectations:

"Delivery estimate(s) below DO NOT include our two-business-day order processing time, plus the one-business- day carrier allotted pick-up time. This is the carrier’s estimated transit time, once the order is received and scanned by them. Actual delivery times may vary and are not guaranteed by Balance It®."

We understand how important your order is and are very sorry to hear that it hasn't arrived as expected.

You can find the most up-to-date tracking information/status by clicking the tracking link included in your shipping confirmation email (sent when your order was fulfilled from info@balanceit.com (check/search your spam, trash, or filtered email if you don’t initially find it)).

If Your Tracking Indicates "Delivered"

If your tracking information shows that your package has been delivered, but you haven’t received it:

1. Please check your mailbox, porch, and surrounding areas

2. Ask other household members or neighbors

3. Occasionally, packages may be delivered to a nearby address or be scanned as “delivered” prematurely by a few days by the carrier so are still on their way

If Your Order Is Still "In Transit"

Please note the following timelines:

1. Free shipping may take 3–12 business days from the shipping date (not your order date) to arrive

2. If you selected an expedited shipping option, please note that Balance It^® does not guarantee delivery dates as that is controlled by the carrier. The estimated transit times shown at checkout are generated via the carrier’s own API and may vary based on the carrier's current service conditions. We recommend checking the carrier’s official website for the latest updates regarding any service delays or disruptions. Some carriers offer guaranteed transit within a specific time frame starting from the ship date for certain shipping methods (e.g., USPS Priority Mail Express or UPS Next Day Air). If your order still hasn’t arrived after the expected time frame for a guaranteed service, please see the information below on how to contact us for assistance with placing a claim with the carrier. Shipping refunds will only be issued if the carrier approves the claim, as outlined in our shipping policy and per the carrier’s terms.

Still Missing?

If your order still hasn’t arrived after the expected time frames noted above and cannot be located, please email us at info@balanceit.com, so we can guide you through the next steps to request/get a refund or replacement.

We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your patience and understanding.

You may also be interested in our FAQ “How long will it take for my order to leave your facility?”

We understand how important your order is, and how it can be concerning if it has not arrived within the initially estimated time frame at checkout.

It’s important to note that, regardless of the shipping service or option selected, the delivery estimate(s) shown at checkout DO NOT include our two-business-day order processing time, plus the one-business- day carrier allotted pick-up time. What is displayed at checkout is the carrier’s estimated transit time, once the order is received and scanned by them. Actual delivery times may vary and are not guaranteed by Balance It®.

If you placed an order within the U.S. and selected free shipping at checkout, orders may take between 3 to 12 business days from shipping date to arrive.

If you placed an order within the U.S. and selected an expedited shipping method at checkout, you may find the following carrier service estimates/plans helpful.*

The United States Postal Service (USPS) Service Plan Details:

USPS Priority Mail

Transit within 2-3 business days. In most cases, the expected delivery date provided at checkout will reflect a delivery time of 1, 2, or 3 business days and is based on origin, destination, and drop-off time. The expected delivery date does not come with a money-back guarantee from the USPS (or Balance It^®). Please visit https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail.htm#1 for more details on the USPS’s policies.

USPS Priority Mail Express

1-3 day delivery service with money-back guarantee from the USPS. Scheduled delivery date depends on origin, destination, and drop-off time. Exceptions do apply, for details please visit the USPS’s website at: https://www.usps.com/ship/priority-mail-express.htm

United Parcel Service (UPS) Service Plan Details:

UPS Domestic Ground 

“UPS Ground offers cost-effective, reliable ground shipping within 1-5 business days.” The expected delivery date does not come with a money-back guarantee from UPS (or Balance It^®). 

UPS 3 Day Select

Transit is 3 business days within the contiguous 48 United States. The expected delivery date does not come with a money-back guarantee from UPS (or Balance It^®). 

UPS 2nd Day Air

Transit is 2 days to the continental U.S. (not Alaska or Hawaii) and Puerto Rico. The expected delivery date does not come with a money-back guarantee from UPS (or Balance It^®). 

UPS Next Day Air

UPS Next Day Air offers guaranteed, time-definite next day transit once picked up from Balance It^® (see above for up to three-day processing and pick up time). 

Please visit this UPS site page regarding their guaranteed services: https://www.ups.com/us/en/support/shipping-support/legal-terms-conditions/ups-service-guarantee

*Please note that the estimated transit time(s) displayed at checkout are not guaranteed by Balance It®. While we provide the estimated delivery windows to help you plan, actual delivery times may vary due to carrier delays, weather, or other factors beyond our control. We recommend checking your tracking information and the carrier’s official website for the latest updates on delays or disruptions.

As noted above, some carriers offer guaranteed transit within a specific time frame from the ship date for certain shipping methods (e.g., USPS Priority Mail Express or UPS Next Day Air, please see details above as well as USPS and UPS links to these policies). If your order still hasn’t arrived after the expected time frame, cannot be located, or if you feel that you did not receive your package within the expected time frame for a guaranteed service, please contact us at info@balanceit.com and include your order number and the email address used to order so we can further assist you. Shipping refunds will only be issued if the carrier approves the claim, as outlined in our shipping policy and per the carrier’s terms.

You may also be interested in our FAQ “Does expedited shipping guarantee faster delivery?”

Once an order has been placed, we are unfortunately unable to change the product or quantity ordered, payment method, billing address, or email address. If any of this information is incorrect, please contact us as soon as possible at info@balanceit.com to request a cancellation. A new order will then need to be placed by you with the correct product(s), quantity, and/or contact/payment information if you’d still like to order following a cancellation.

In some cases, we may be able to update the shipping address if the order hasn’t already entered fulfillment or been shipped. To request a shipping address change/update, please email us at info@balanceit.com as soon as possible and provide the following information:

1. The email address used to place the order

2. The order number

3. The full, updated shipping address including any suite, unit, or apartment number

We’ll forward your request to our in-house fulfillment team, who will then determine whether the change can still be made based on the order's current processing stage.

You may also be interested in the following FAQ: What is your shipping policy?

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have remained and remain open as we provide a vital veterinary service. Our dedicated team is fully trained and equipped to address potential pathogens including COVID-19 as part of our third-party audited cGMPs and per our State of California human processed food and FDA registrations. Our custom built ~10,000 sf facility and its “clean rooms" were specially designed to address and mitigate concerns of pathogens. Our formal and detailed Food Defense Plan, prerequisite programs, environmental cleaning and monitoring, and our employee personnel practices policies are all designed and implemented to ensure food remains safe. Although industry leading in many areas of sanitation, quality, and testing, we continue to improve and increase our efforts in light of the pandemic. Access to our facility remains restricted, and we are following current guidance from local, state, and federal public health officials. We are also actively working with our suppliers, including the world’s largest manufacturer of vitamins, to ensure we maintain adequate inventory. We also have contingencies in place to shift carriers (e.g., USPS, UPS, DHL, FedEx, etc.) as needed and available. As this is still a dynamic situation at least through federal projections to May 2023, we will provide updates as needed, but we remain committed and focused on helping provide essential nutrition to animal companions at this very difficult time.

Bags and pouches of Balance It® can sometimes have their sides deformed during transit (sections of the sides can be displaced inwardly or outwardly). This can be related to changes in ambient pressure during transit (pressurization with air shipments or routes through mountains and higher elevations with ground shipments). The product itself also off-gases throughout its shelf-life and it can cause the bag or pouch volume/pressure to fluctuate as you see with typically a resulting bulge. This is not a safety issue or sign of bacterial/microbial growth Shelf-life and typical shipping temperatures are also accounted for with vitamin overages, so you do not need to worry about the temperature the product was at the time it was received. 

Rest assured that the product remains fresh and safe for your animal companion. If it continues to bulge when you are ready to open it, If a bag or pouch, please slowly (tear) open. This is similar to carefully/slowly opening a bottle of soda that might have been a little shaken up and under pressure.

We use environmentally friendly and non-toxic packing peanuts made from organic starch. Their features are highlighted by our US-based supplier as follows:

1. Packing peanuts decompose in water leaving no toxic waste.
2. Static-free organic starch.

As widely reported, plastic recycling is unfortunately minimal at 5-6% in most municipalities and efforts to simply reduce plastic use have been suggested instead (see https://bit.ly/3SHpVf0). Thus, we decided to proactively develop a packaging solution that uses less plastic and invest in a new packaging line to support this change. By transitioning to bags instead of bottles, we have been able to reduce the plastic used by over 82%! Additionally, the new bags have a wider opening allowing the powder to be more easily accessed at the bottom. Their interiors (just like our pouches) are designed and intended for direct food contact. 

As these bags must have an integrated child resistant closure (CRC) per federal law and combine two different types of plastic, they cannot be recycled, but we strongly believe this is the most environmentally friendly option until fully recyclable packaging becomes viable.

You may also be interested in this FAQ: Do your bags or pouches contain BPA or phthalate?

Yes. Balance It purchases carbon credits or offsets from BEF (Bonneville Environmental Foundation), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, from time to time. Details on the projects supported through these purchases from BEF including the specific protocol used to estimate emission reductions or removal benefits and whether there is independent third-party verification of BEF's data and claims can be found here:

https://www.b-e-f.org/bef-carbon-credit-portfolio/

We are very confident that our supplements will perform well based on their two decades of successful use in the most challenging cases around the globe and in tens of thousands of dogs and cats. However, we gladly accept returns per the following return policy (please make sure your return falls within our return policy guidelines before returning it to us as if it falls outside the return policy no refund will or can be issued):

RETURNS
All returns must be postmarked within forty-five (45) days of the purchase date. All returned items must be in new and unused condition OR have at least ¾ of the product remaining, be within its original packaging (bag or pouch), along with the original lot/date code (either sticker or inkjet printed) still applied and legible.

RETURN PROCESS
To return an item, place the item securely in its original packaging (bag or pouch), along with the original lot/date code sticker still applied, and order number and full name within the return, then mail your return to the following return address:

Balance It^®
Attn: Returns
350 Pioneer Avenue
Woodland, CA 95776
United States

Please note, you will be responsible for all return shipping charges. We strongly recommend that you use a trackable method to mail your return.

REFUNDS
After receiving your return and inspecting the condition of your item, we will process your return. Please allow at least ten (10) business days from the receipt of your item to process your return. Refunds may take 1-2 billing cycles to appear on your bank or credit card statement, depending on your bank or credit card company. We will notify you by email when your return has been processed.

EXCEPTIONS
The following items cannot be returned or refunded:

• Any products that have less than 3/4 of the product remaining.

• Products that are postmarked more than 45 days after their purchase date.

• Products that expire in 45 days or less from the postmarked date.

• Products not in their original containers, or that are missing their lot/date code sticker.

• Unreturned pouches from a multiple count pouch order.

• Any and all expedited shipping fees.

For defective or damaged products, please contact us at the contact details below to arrange a refund or exchange.

Refusing delivery/Return to sender: If you refuse delivery of your order, and/or instruct the carrier to “return to sender", all return to sender fees assessed to Balance It® from the carrier(s) will be forwarded and charged to your account/deducted from any future refund(s). The average fee is $17, but may be higher (especially for any international orders or if more than 1 bag or many pouches).

Please Note: Any sale items are FINAL SALE and cannot be returned. Recipes cannot be refunded as they are free from our site at balance.it/recipes.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@balanceit.com. You may also be interested in this shipping policy FAQ.

While this FAQ should be current, to see the most current version of our shipping policy, please visit: balance.it/terms

If your credit card information changes for any reason following an order on our site (note we utilize the highest level of security for credit card processing (Level 1 PCI DSS compliant; see https://www.shopify.com/security (and also authorize.net for subscriptions from before April 2023)), please see below:

Refunds can only be issued to the original payment method used at the time of your order per credit card processor(s) and your credit-card issuing bank agreements that are outside of our control. If your card has been updated, changed, and/or canceled, we recommend contacting your card-issuing bank directly. They will be able to assist you with locating or redirecting the refunded funds for any return once it has been processed on our end.

Thank you for your understanding.

On August 11, 2023, we updated our automatic reorder subscription platform to give our customers more tools to manage their subscriptions. New features exist for you to create, adjust, and/or cancel your supplement subscription through your account at www.Balance.It.

Please first login or create a free Balance It^® account by clicking Login in the upper right at www.Balance.It. Then to create a new auto order or automatic reorder subscription, go to the Products page via the link in the site’s header and then click on the image of the product you would like to purchase. Once you have selected the quantity and size option you wish to purchase and get regularly, simply click the Subscribe option and choose a delivery frequency. 

Then proceed through the checkout process. Once your order is successfully placed, you will receive an automatic email notification with a link to manage your subscription within a few minutes. You can also manage your subscription by logging into your Balance It^® account and clicking the portrait avatar icon in the upper right to find a link to your Orders page.

Please note that your order total may vary with each new order as shipping, taxes, and duties are recalculated each time. The recurring total displayed at checkout will reflect the cost of the product(s) only.

On August 11, 2023, we updated our automatic reorder subscription platform to give our customers more tools to manage their auto orders or supplement subscriptions. You will see new features to create, adjust, and/or cancel your auto-order subscription yourself through your account at www.Balance.It. 

If you have not already created a free Balance It^® account, please do so by going to www.balance.it/signup . Once you have successfully created your free account and logged in, you will see Logout in the upper right-hand corner.

When logged in, click the portrait avatar icon in the upper right to go to your Account Information, then click Orders on the left.

On the Orders page, you will see the Manage Subscriptions/Automatic Orders option to click (details will not be blacked out like they are for privacy in the screenshot below):

Clicking this link will take you to your Subscription Management page where you will have the ability to view your previous & upcoming orders, manage your subscription (like its timing/frequency), and update your address & payment details. 

You might also be interested in the "How do I cancel my auto order or supplement subscription?" FAQ.

We’re sorry you’re experiencing an issue with managing your online subscription. 

For helpful instructions, once logged in, please see our How can I manage my new automatic reorder subscription? and How do I cancel my auto order or supplement subscription? FAQs. If you are having trouble reaching the online Subscription Management page, please see the following troubleshooting tips:

1. You may have not yet created a Balance It® account. It is possible to create a subscription without establishing a Balance It® account as it can be handled directly and exclusively by our ecommerce platform Shopify and the Recharge subscriptions service when you have only used or created an account with them. If you have not already created a free Balance It® account, please do so by going to www.balance.it/signup . Once you have successfully created your free account and logged in, you will see Logout in the upper right-hand corner (seeing this confirms you are logged in successfully).
2. Expired email links: Some automated emails about your subscription include a “Manage Subscription” link that expires after 24 hours. If you are clicking on an old expired link, it will not work. The best way to manage your subscription is to log in to your Balance It® account directly. 
3. Unique technical issues due to caching in your browser locally: If you are experiencing a unique and extremely rare technical issue when accessing your subscription management page, clearing your browser’s “cookies” for our site may help. Please click the link below or copy and paste it into your browser’s address bar to reset cookies for our site (and only our site): https://balance.it/r/logout-reset After visiting this logout-reset link, log in again with your Balance It® log in credentials and follow the steps in the FAQs referenced above to manage your subscription.

To cancel your subscription, follow these steps:

1. Create or log into your account: If you don't already have a Balance It® account, create one at www.balance.it/signup. Important: Please ensure your login is created with the same email used to place your online orders. Once logged in, you'll see Logout in the upper right-hand corner.
   
   

2. Access your Account Information: Click the portrait avatar icon in the upper right corner, then select Orders from the left menu.
   
   

3. Go to Subscription Management: On the Orders page, click the Manage Subscriptions/Automatic Orders link.

4. Manage your subscription: You'll be taken to your Subscription Management page where you can view previous and upcoming orders, manage subscription timing/frequency, and update your address and payment details. Click Manage subscriptions.
   
   
   

5. Cancel your subscription: Select your active subscription and click Cancel subscription at the bottom of the page.
   

Your subscription will be canceled and you will no longer receive automatic orders.

No, unfortunately automatic reorder subscriptions can only be shipped with our free delivery option. This is true even if you set up the reorder subscription at the same time as making an initial expedited order. If you need an order more quickly/expedited and/or via a carrier of your choosing, you are welcome to place a specific order outside of your subscription (and change/skip the next delivery date of your current subscription). To see how to change or skip, please see the How can I manage my new automatic reorder subscription? FAQ. To instead cancel a supplement subscription, please see the How do I cancel my auto order or supplement subscription? FAQ.

We'd love to hear about your experience! Reviews can only be submitted by customers who have purchased from us. This ensures all reviews are authentic and from people who have actually used our products, helping maintain trust and credibility for everyone.

After your purchase, you'll receive a review invitation from Judge.me via email—21 days after US orders and 28 days after international orders. This gives you time to receive and try the product before sharing your feedback. Simply click the link in the invitation to submit your review. These reviews automatically receive a "Verified" badge since they're sent only to customers with proof of purchase.

Didn't receive the email for review? Check your spam or promotions folder—sometimes review requests end up there. If you still can't find it, please contact us and we'll help you get access to leave your review.

Star Rating Guide

1. 5 stars – Excellent: Highly satisfied, would recommend

2. 4 stars – Good: Satisfied with minor reservations

3. 3 stars – Average: Mixed experience, some concerns

4. 2 stars – Below expectations: Significant issues

5. 1 star – Poor: Did not meet needs

Impact of Your Rating

Star ratings function similarly to letter grades: 5 stars = A (100%), 4 stars = B (80%), 3 stars = D (60%), 2 stars = F (40%), 1 star = F Minus (20%).

Ratings of 3 stars or below significantly impact how other customers perceive a rated product.

Have an issue you'd like addressed? We kindly request that you email us at info@balanceit.com rather than leaving it in a review. Reviews are designed to share your product experience with other customers, but they're not the best way for us to solve problems or answer specific questions about your order. When you contact us directly, we can respond quickly, troubleshoot your concern, and make things right. We're committed to ensuring you and your companion have the best possible experience with our products.

Your feedback helps other customers make informed decisions about their companion's nutrition, and it helps us continue improving. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts!

Looking for existing reviews, please click the Products tab or link or go to https://shop.balance.it/collections/all and click on the product of interest to see the star rating average and written reviews by scrolling down on the specific product page that appears.