Making Your Own Dog Food
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Of course, there was lots of advice about feeding dogs long before there was commercial dog food. Perhaps not surprisingly, most of it was similar to what we know about feeding dogs today. For example, some owners were advised to give their dogs liver and heart from deer, along with milk, cheese, and bread . Beloved pets usually ate better than yard dogs.
Today we have come full circle and many owners like the idea of making their dogs meals instead of feeding them a commercial diet. There are a number of benefits of making your dogs food.
Homemade Dog Food Cover
Make your furry friend a delicous and healthy meal.
Debbie Wolfe
In addition to giving our dogs filler-free, nutritious dry food, we often make a batch of our own homemade dog food to supplement. This is a simple recipe full of lean protein, vegetables and supplements that support the bones and joints of our dogs. Create this recipe as your pups main food or just as a topper for their existing kibble.
Once You Go Homemade You Won’t Go Back
Make sure youre fully committed to cooking for your dog before you start feeding her homemade fare. Once shes had a taste of the fresh stuff, theres a good chance that shell have zero interest in eating kibble, says Christine Filardi, holistic pet chef and author of Home Cooking for Your Dog: 75 Holistic Recipes for a Healthier Dog. Even if you havent had time to go shopping and cook a new batch of food.
Make an effort to plan ahead, or put a system into place so you always have a batch of food on hand. For instance, try prepping your dogs food for the week on Sunday, just like youd meal prep for yourself. And if you know that you have a crazy week coming up and wont have time to cook, make a double batch and stick it in the freezer.
And if all else fails? Keep your kitchen stocked with a few non-perishable ingredients for fast, easy meals when youre in a pinch, Filardi recommends. Think canned fish , canned pumpkin, and frozen berries or greens. This isnt rocket science, so dont put pressure on yourself, she says. If you have to whip up a box of instant rice and throw in a can of fish once in a while, its fine.
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Complete And Balanced Dog Food Diets
Its important homemade dog food is complete and balanced, meaning it meets all of the dogs nutritional needs. It is not important, however, that every meal be complete and balanced, unless you feed the same meal every day with little or no variation.
Home-prepared dog diets that include a wide variety of foods fed at different meals rely on balance over time, not at every meal. Similar to the way humans eat, as long as your dog gets everything he needs spread out over each week or two, his diet will be complete and balanced.
A human nutritionist would never expect someone to follow a single recipe with no variation, as veterinary nutritionists routinely do. Instead, a human would be given guidelines in terms of food groups and portion sizes. As long as your dog doesnt have a health problem that requires a very specific diet, homemade dog food should be the same way.
Keep in mind that puppies are more susceptible to problems caused by nutritional deficiencies or excesses than adult dogs are. Large-breed puppies are particularly at risk from too much calcium prior to puberty. See Puppy Food: Nutritional Guidelines to Maximize Health, for more on puppy nutrition.
You Should Use Safe High
Many foods, like chocolate, grapes, raisins, and macadamia nuts, just to name a few, are unsafe or toxic for your dog. When preparing meals, you should be aware of and avoid these ingredients.
Additionally, you should buy the same quality ingredients that you would buy for yourself. You should also be aware of the source. For example, ingredients purchased online may come from different manufacturers or locations, which may vary the quality of the product. Be consistent with where you get the ingredients for your dogs food as much as possible.
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Recommended Serving Size For Homemade Dog Food:
The amount of homemade dog food that your dog will require is dependent upon how much your dog weighs and how active he or she is. This amount varies from dog-to-dog. I suggest talking to your vet and getting their advice on a good starting point.
You can also monitor your dog to make sure they are maintaining their weight and staying happy and active.
This recipe makes about 6 cups of food, which is 3 days worth of food for Charlie who is about 45 pounds. You can easily adjust this amount based on the weight of your dog. Also, feel free to scale this recipe up and double or even triple it, if you wanted to cook less often.
Can You Add Fruit
Absolutely! Fruit has a lot of nutrients that are great for dogs. Just don’t go overboard with it. We often use what is in season or what we have in the freezer. We like to use some kind of berries – strawberries or blueberries are best. Do NOT use grapes as they are very bad for dogs. You can add fruit before or after cooking, just beware that if you cook with blueberries, your dog food will turn purple
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Benefits Of Cooking Your Dogs Food
When you cook for your dog, you can ensure that you dogs are not getting the kinds of unmentionable ingredients animal digest , toxic preservatives , diseased animals, even reportedly dead dogs and cats often found in commercial dog food.
You know the origin of the meat and other ingredients. You can add extra healthy vegetables and fruit and leave out non-nutritious fillers. You can also make their food in large batches and freeze it in portions, so that one afternoon spent cooking can last an entire month or more, depending on the size of the dog.
Easy Homemade Dog Food Crock Pot Recipe With Ground Chicken
Chicken, kidney beans, butternut squash, and green beans served over a bed of white rice? Not only is this recipe super simple to make, this is basically a regular stay-at-home dinner for humans. Why not?
Chicken livers also work great in this recipe, though we understand if you are now less keen to take a bite. Make extra servings so you can store plenty of leftovers in the freezer.
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Do It Correctly Discuss These Recipes With A Vet
Before changing a dogs diet, particularly if your pet has serious health conditions, always discuss this change with your vet. Show them this list of recipes, let them know what you plan to feed your dog and ask for their input on healthy variations.
There’s no healthy homemade dog food recipe that’s a perfect fit for every dog.
While these recipes can sometimes be a better choice than commercial diets, feeding this way can also be detrimental to your pet’s health if you’re not paying attention to the nutritional content of these meals and comparing them with nutritional requirements.
Well-balanced meals are key. For example, if your homemade dog food meal contains too many vitamins, it could cause vitamin toxicity. On the other hand, if it doesn’t provide the dog with enough nutrients, it will cause nutrient deficiency or malnutrition.
You must also know how much to feed your dog and what portions of these healthy homemade dog food recipes are appropriate, as well as what supplements you’ll need to include to make up for the lack of nutrients that your pet requires.
Ground White Meat Turkey
You may have noticed that turkey is a common ingredient in dog treats and dog food. Thoroughly cooked and drained ground white meat turkey, as long as it’s plain and has no additives or salt, is perfectly healthy for dogs. However, there are some parts of the turkey you should never feed to your pup. Obviously, never feed your dog turkey bones as they can splinter and cause serious problems for them. Also, the fat in turkey skin may cause pancreatitis, a condition in which the pancreas becomes inflamed and swollen, so you do not want to feed them the skin either.;The seasoning added to pre-cooked store bought turkey and deli meat usually contains onion and garlic which can irritate your dog’s bowels and cause serious digestive issues, such as vomiting and diarrhea.
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Fiber Filled Homemade Dog Food Recipe
If your pet has constipation problems, give this recipe a try. You can also separate it and freeze it for future use. Put 2 meals worth of homemade dog food into Ziploc bags and thaw them overnight. You can get around 2 weeks of food from this recipe, but be sure to check with your vet to find out how much homemade dog food you should be feeding your pet. When its time to feed your pet, the author recommends to use a double boiler to heat the food up.
Ingredients
For the full recipe and instructions check out Running to the kitchen
The Best Diy Dog Food With Turkey And Veggies
Ever since we published our;first Easy Homemade Dog Food Recipe we have been overwhelmed by the number of people who have told us that they have already made the leap and are preparing fresh meals for their pups at home! Ditching processed kibble once and for all is one of the best things you can do for your dog. We learned this ourselves this last year after our 11-year old dog had an incredibly positive change to his health once we moved to a healthy dog food! Recently, I developed a new 100% human grade homemade dog food recipe that utilizes some of the best fall produce for your dog like sweet potatoes, cranberries, rosemary, and sage! Our dogs love it so much I decided to share it here too so you and your pup can celebrate the best the season has to offer.
***Please note, I am not a veterinarian, just a very passionate dog owner! The information in this blog post documents our own personal experiences, research, and the recipes that we feed our dogs under our veterinarians careful supervision. Please, consult with your vet and use your own personal judgment when considering transitioning to a 100% human grade food diet for your pup.*** Updated with video 9/4/2021
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Is Homemade Dog Food Cheaper
Homemade dog food is more affordable than you might think. Its very relative to how large your dog is, but Ill break down the numbers for you The last dry kibble dog food Rascal was prescribed was over $90 a bag. A homemade batch costs us roughly
- 3 lbs ground turkey- $10.49
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes- $5.19
- 3 carrots- $1.04
- 2 lbs macaroni noodles- $3.34
Grand total: $21.87 per batch;
Your meat/protein will be the largest cost. I always pick up ground turkey when its on sale and freeze it until we need it for a batch.;
Beef Stew Doggie Style
Beef stew is a very good homemade dog food for your pet. It is rich in protein and fat thanks to the beef and the vegetables provide the vitamins and minerals that your dog needs. This recipe should make four cups and enough to feed your dog for 2 days.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of diced tomatoes
- A pound of beef stew meat
- ½ cup of flour
- ½ cup of diced green beans
- ½ cup of water
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Step by step guide:
- Start by cooking the sweet potato in the microwave. It should take around 5 to 8 minutes for the potato to become firm and tender. Once it is done, set it aside.
- Slice the beef stew meat into smaller pieces. Then cook them in a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat. You would want the meat to be well done. This should take around 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove the beef from the pan. Reserve the drippings.
- Heat the drippings over medium-low heat before adding flour and water. Whisk the ingredients until a thick gravy has been created.
- Dice the sweet potato. Add this to the gravy along with the meat, carrots, and green beans. Stir to coat.
- Cook for 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Let it cool before serving. You can store the remaining stew in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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A Meal For You And Your Dog
Love cooking for your dog but never have the time? Rocky Kanaka;from The CWs SAVE our SHELTER, Dog’s Day Out and founder of The Dog Bakery, has a solution. ;This easy to make salmon meal for yourself can also be made for your dog.
This recipe is designed for those who want to eat healthy and want their dogs to eat healthy as well but are always on the go. This is also one of the most eco friendly recipes we have seen. Instead of tossing things we would usually not eat such as broccoli stems, the recipe uses these as a key part to the dogs delicious meal.
This recipe also has a bonus tip on what to do with that salmon skin that is usually thrown in the trash. I get asked a lot if salmon skin is okay for dogs. While it is not safe if consumed raw, due to unwanted parasites, cooking in the oven for 20 minutes to make a crunchy, healthy, limited ingredient, organic, high omega dog snack that may help with heart health and give them a great skin and coat is a big win! says Rocky.
And there is more, when you cook for your dog you are more conscious of what you put in your body. For all of those reasons and more we give this recipe four paws up!
Healthy meals are important for you and your dog but the best thing about this recipe from Rocky Kanaka is it allows you to take time out of your day to spend time with your family two and four legged! Read on to find out how to do it or watch Rocky has he demonstrates!
Homemade Chicken Dinner For Dogs
As you have learned from the earlier recipes, dogs cant get enough of chicken. This explains why we are using this poultry again for this simple dinner for our canine friends. Moreover, this simple DIY food for dogs makes use of vegetables like cabbage and spinach. You will also use apples to make this recipe.
You can also swap out some of the veggies used in this recipe, like carrots for red cabbage. But you should cook carrots if you decide to use them because the orange veggies arent the easiest foods for dogs to digest.
Ingredients:
- 5 whole eggs
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
It is up to you what type of chicken to use. You can use whole chicken which includes the heart, liver, and neck. Of you can settle for boneless skinless chicken breast, or frozen chicken breast which is best when cooked.
Step by step guide:
- Chop up the chicken and put in a suitable sized pot. Bring it to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer then add the remaining ingredients. Let it simmer until the chicken is done.
- Remove the pot from the stove. Add the eggs and olive oil once it is cool then stir.
You can keep the leftover in an airtight container and then put this in the refrigerator. The meal should be safe enough for your dogs consumption up to five days.
As for the serving, you can give a large dog up to 2 ½ cups of this food which should last for 2 days.
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Important Reminders In Preparing Dog Food
There are many things that you need to consider in preparing a DIY dog food for your pet. But here are 10 reminders that you should keep in mind when you are to plan or make food for your canine friend:
Whatever recipe you might want to prepare for your dog, you should prepare the recipe correctly by avoiding experimentation. Follow the recipe to the T, so to speak. Dont experiment by adding recipes, as it can cause unintended effects on your dog.
Be careful when swapping ingredients. Because there are some ingredients that may have the same flavor or taste, but dont have the same nutrition. Whenever you use ingredients in lieu of another, be sure it can be accepted.
For instance, olive oil should not be substituted for corn oil which contains essential fatty acids that are beneficial to your dogs health. Doing so could lead to him being fed with an unbalanced diet.
Invest in a food scale. This can help you in accurately measuring cups.
Dont add seasoning. Unlike many of us who cant cook without adding a lot of seasoning to their dishes, dogs dont need seasoning. As such, you dont have to use salt or pepper for your dogs homemade food.
Certain foods are considered dangerous and even lethal when given to dogs. Aside from onions, dont give chocolate, raisins, avocado, grapes, walnuts, and raw yeast dough to your dogs.