Mr. Beasley enjoys the same meal twice a day: a hearty stew with rice, fruits and vegetables. Beez, for short, is a 50-pound shepherd, pit and Labrador retriever mix who belongs to Bob and Eloise Lurito of Kailua.

The Luritos are part of a growing number of dog owners who feed their pooches home-cooked food.

“You can see the difference once you change their diet, in their temperament and their No. 2s — there’s no smell,” said Eloise Lurito, a retired information technology specialist.

While not all veterinarians agree on what is best to feed your pet, some pet parents are paying more attention to the list of ingredients on pet-food packaging and seeking alternatives to mass-produced kibble. Many are also opting for natural, organic pet foods, according to marketresearch.com’s projected pet trends for 2017.

Lurito said she became a convert after seeing the vast improvement in her first dog’s health when she switched to fresh pet food on the advice of Kauai veterinarian Ihor Basko, considered by many a pioneer in holistic pet care.

Basko, who graduated as a doctor of veterinary medicine from Michigan State University, said he became interested in alternative medicine during the 1970s after moving to California, where he got into yoga, macrobiotics and acupuncture. Those experiences opened his mind to alternative care for animals, he said.

The author of “Fresh Food & Ancient Wisdom” has, for more than 35 years, advocated a natural diet as the foundation for disease prevention in dogs, along with proper exercise and herbal supplements. A holistic approach, he said, addresses the animal’s “mind, body, spirit and environment.”

Basko makes occasional house calls on Oahu, but is in such high demand he is often booked well in advance.

Pet owners should be cautious when considering a major change to their pet’s diet and consult a veterinarian beforehand. A 2013 study from the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine analyzed 200 home-cooked recipes for dogs and found most deficient in necessary nutrients.

Basko, however, says that preservatives, food coloring and excess fat in many commercial pet foods are to blame for health problems.

What to feed a dog will depend on breed, age and climate, he said, but the diet should offer variety, using fresh, organic ingredients. Papayas and poi may be fine in a tropical climate like Hawaii, but not so much in Alaska, where a higher fat and protein content is necessary to survive the winters.

In Hawaii, hunting dogs and other active breeds may require more meat protein than toy breeds such as Shih Tzus and Pomeranians.

Wendy Asato, a veterinarian at Makai Animal Clinic in Kailua, considers food therapy to be one of the five branches of traditional Chinese medicine, which she incorporates into her practice.

“It is the foundation,” she said. “If your diet is not right, you can’t expect a pill to make it right.”

Asato uses traditional diagnostic tools and treatment on her animal patients, but also offers acupuncture and herbal remedies. More clients coming to the clinic are looking for alternative therapies, and she often combines traditional and alternative methods, depending on the nature of the problem.

“I try to take the best of both worlds,” she said. “They should complement one another.”

She may recommend a fresh-food diet for a dog with allergies, for instance, but also understands that not all pet owners can afford the time and expense of making home-cooked meals for their dogs.

For Beez, Lurito makes a ground pork stew in advance and freezes it in batches. She serves the stew mixed with leftover rice and adds chopped fruits and vegetables. Beez likes everything from apples to blueberries, bananas, broccoli, papayas and spinach.

She introduced fresh food into his diet gradually, as his previous owners fed him commercial kibble from the supermarket. Lurito said being more conscientious about her dog’s diet has benefited his human companions.

“It’s been a positive influence for us,” she said. “We eat vegetables because it’s there.”