[Ellie May]

It's fine if done correctly. Get a recipe from a canine nutritionist who knows how to properly balance them and you're good to go. It's not always easy though. It does take some time, storage space (most of us freeze it up ahead), dedication (you are the quality control department...), etc.

I do it and my girl did really well with it at first. Now, not so much, but that is probably related to health issues and is probably not the fault of the diet. She seems to do worse on dog food.

Dogs do not need meat. They can be healthy vegetarians. I'm not going to say this is optimal, but it is an option. They can easily be pescatarian. Some dog really well on eggs and even cottage cheese. You could also use tofu. I personally would go with poultry given the option. IMO, red meat and pork are shaky ground when homecooking unless (in the case of red meat) it is really lean...