A homemade bowl looks better than a bag of kibble, but it only works if the ratios are right. Most dogs do well on roughly 40% protein, 30% vegetables and 30% cooked carbohydrate by volume. A 20kg dog on normal daily walks eats around 400-500g of finished food a day, split into two servings.
What actually goes in the bowl
Lean chicken thigh, turkey mince or white fish, cooked through with no seasoning, salt or oil, is the easiest starting protein. Pair it with a cooked carb - white rice, oats or sweet potato - and a soft vegetable like pumpkin, carrot or green beans, steamed until it mashes under a fork. Skip onion, garlic, chives and anything from that family; they damage a dog's red blood cells even when cooked. Grapes and raisins are off the list entirely, no exceptions, no matter the quantity.
The calcium gap nobody mentions
Commercial kibble is fortified; a home-cooked bowl of meat and rice is not. Meat alone runs heavy in phosphorus and short on calcium, and an unbalanced ratio over several months causes real bone problems. Ground eggshell, about half a teaspoon per 500g of food, or a vet-recommended calcium supplement closes that gap. This is the detail that trips up most first-time homemade feeders, not the protein choice.
Batch cooking without the mess
Cook a week's protein and carbs in one session, portion into containers by weight, and freeze whatever won't be eaten within three days. Thaw overnight in the fridge, never on the counter. Introduce any new homemade diet over seven to ten days, mixing it with the old food in rising proportions, so the gut adjusts instead of reacting with loose stools on day one.
Where dates fit - or don't
Since this site sells dates by the carton, the honest answer for dog owners is: keep them out of the bowl. Dates aren't toxic to dogs the way grapes are, but they run 60-70% sugar by weight and the pit is a genuine choking and intestinal blockage risk, especially in small breeds. A dog stealing one off the counter isn't an emergency, but it isn't a snack worth offering on purpose either. The dates in this kitchen are for the humans; the wholesale stock is for gifting and eating, not the dog bowl.