DIY Homemade Dog Food
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Keep your dog healthy and fit with this easy peasy homemade recipe – it’s cheaper than store-bought and chockfull of fresh veggies!
I never thought I would be one of those dog owners who made homemade human food for their pups. Not in a million years.
But when Butters recently fell sick with an upset stomach, our vet advised us to feed him a bland diet – chicken and rice without any kind of seasoning. So that’s what we did – we poached a chicken, shredded it in a food processor, and mixed in some white rice and fed him this bland diet for 3 days.
That’s when I started to do some research on homemade dog food, and I have been so amazed as to how many different kinds of vegetables dogs can have. And with the help of Balance IT, you can create so many different recipes for your pup!
Now the best part about making homemade dog food – just like making anything at home – is that you know exactly what is going into the dog bowl, and not any of that questionable gelatinous gunk from the canned food.
But it’s important to note that dogs have different nutrient requirements than humans for their proportional body size, such as:
- High-quality protein (meat, seafood, dairy or eggs)
- Fat (meat or oil)
- Carbohydrates (grains or vegetables)
- Calcium (dairy)
- Essential fatty acids (egg yolks or oatmeal)
Now this recipe here has a balance of 50% protein, 25% veggies and 25% grains, but the ratios can easily be adjusted to suit your pup’s breed and/or needs.
Once you’ve made your batch, you can divide them up into single servings, note the date, and freeze it. When ready to serve, you can defrost it in the fridge overnight and nuke it for 15-30 seconds. That’s it! Now who knew that making dog food would be this easy?
DIY Homemade Dog Food
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups brown rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 pounds ground turkey
- 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 1 zucchini, shredded
- ½ cup peas, canned or frozen
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 3 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground turkey and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the turkey as it cooks.
- Stir in spinach, carrots, zucchini, peas and brown rice until the spinach has wilted and the mixture is heated through, about 3-5 minutes.
- Let cool completely.
Did you make this recipe?
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Thanks for your post. I too have been cooking for some time for my 16 year old mini-foxy & I attribute his health partially to this.
I need help however with his condition:
HYPER-PARA-THYROIDISM
CAN ANYONE PLEASE HELP WITH DIET?
It means too much calcium and I’ve found out recently that spinach helps reduce calcium!
Medication has proved unsuccessful so I’m wondering if I can treat it with diet as he is very healthy apart from this. Specialist doesn’t seem to know in regards to this. Currently I cook with lean mince, celery, beetroot, spinach, turmeric, pumpkin, sweet potato/pasta/brown rice, (either), beans/peas, carrots, broccoli, small amount of capsicum, zucchini, cauliflower, and sometimes I will add egg into it when cooking with pasta. Off course I don’t always use all these but I keep to general staples and always use spinach (for his condition), celery, carrots, beetroot and pumpkin and try to with broccoli or beans or peas.
My dog seems to be best with beef and salmon as chicken now gives him problems.
I must say, my dog only likes eating my food and if I’ve none in freezer I end up cooking that night! My batches are getting bigger.
If you need to thicken yours, I’ve noticed the best thing is arrowroot. I’ve been searching for this. Eggs will also work!
Anyway enjoy your dog longer and start cooking if you are not yet, I have found my most enjoyment cooking for my 4 legged baby with a waggily tail and the cutest nose. It gives me the most pleasure watching him enjoying his meal as much as he does!
Talk to your vet they will point you in the right direction. My dog is 15 years old in her younger days her and her brother had bag food. For the last four years she has been get home cooked meals. I would take away the peas new study no peas. Listen to your dog I would add dry blended egg shells, cook rice in bone broth and Brussels my dog loves them. once you find the o/o of the food your dog needs run with it. It was the best.
Very, very expensive allergy dog. This 60 dollar coonhound rescue has cost us thousands. Cytopoint, Apoquel , allergy testing, quarterly allergy shots (200 bucks), allegra, bleach baths, dandruff baths. I begged my husband 11 yrs for this dog and obviously love him to pieces. Endless rounds of antibiotics, visits to the vet etc. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, but committed to this dog. Every penny I spend I hear about. I feel terrible for the ol boy. I went so far as to put him on vegetarian dogfood, which helped a little. He seems better after a week, still scratching but not as much. It’s expensive and time consuming, it takes commitment, but worth it. I was shocked and horrified to learn what really goes into commercial petfood. No wonder our animals are sicker than ever. Cytopoint, scary, do your research, would never give a pet this again, loss of function in back legs and spaciness scared me. Apoquel never really did a thing. The vets just keep pushing the expensive drugs that never work. Coconut oil, salmon oil, name it. Sorry for the long post, just want newbs to know what they are taking on. Good luck yall
We have a chocolate lab – went through all of the same things as you. Finally found a holistic vet that put him on The Honest Kitchen dehydrated fruit and veggie food and mix it with canned mackeral. Found out he was allergic to all poultry and grass fed animals. She also has him taking a probiotic once a day along with some canine powders from Standard Process to help keep his gut in check. It took 6 months, but all of his skin and allergy issues went away. No more meds! Good luck to you!
Hi Jaime
Had the same with my little chap,itchy skin on Apoquel for 7 years, didnt work.i discovered hemp oil for his arthritis and its solved his itchy skin.
Happier dog now
Add fish oil to your dog’s diet. It’s very beneficial!
Same here.. finally told my vet I would not mind the expense so much if it was working, but it was not… she wanted me to put my diva on vet prescribed can food ( again sooo expensive) I told her I would make my own and see what happened, it couldn’t make things worse, and after YEARS my poor little girl was itch and rash free!! Preservatives!!! YUCK! Check them out. Also Dinovite really helps! Good luck!!
Hi Jaime. Ive had a the same allergy/ear infections/massive vet bills. Cytopoint-Apaquel/ Benadryl….non of these actually helped. Neither did the “best”/expensive dry commercial foods. Switched to home cooke with freeze dried raw treats and my dog is vibrantly healthy, active and much less anxious. no longer so itchy she clawed her self raw.
My “pup” is almost 14. She’s a lab mix and starting to have some spinal/back hip and leg problems requiring medication which in turn is causing some intestinal issues. We have had to feed her a bland diet for a bit, and now she won’t eat her dry food. My vet suggested canned but that is way out of our price range. I stumbled upon this recipe so thought I’d try it out. She loves it! Of course what’s not to love?! I added pumpkin, scrambled egg, and powdered egg shell, and add in some probiotic powder before serving. I made 4 batches and with my additions got about 40 cups worth!
Hello,
Thanks for sharing. Could you pls share your recipe? Thanks.
Hi! I would love to see your actual recipe with the egg/egg shell included. I’ve been making homemade food for my 13yr old chihuahua for about 1 year now and have seen a huge improvement in his energy and also now give him cbd for his arthritis. Lately though, he won’t eat his chicken, picks out everything around it lol, so I’m going to switch it up to ground turkey. I know he loves scrambled eggs and I’ve heard that egg shells help them absorb calcium into their system, so I’ll be adding that as well.
If you wouldn’t mind sharing your recipe I’d be pretty grateful!!!
Thanks! 😉
If it helps I use this one with egg shell, but I’m gonna work to combine parts of it with this one https://stellanspice.com/wprm_print/5733 as my pups absolutely love rice and I’d rather use ground chicken then beef.
Found this info online and thought I would share……………………………………………Knowing how much of a home-cooked meal to feed your dog can be difficult for those just starting on the pet food journey. The rule of thumb is about 2 to 3 percent of body weight for adult dogs and cats. That translates to about 16 ounces of food for a 50-pound dog, or 4 ounces of food for a 10-pound cat. These are just starting points; you will need to adjust up or down based on whether your pet is gaining or losing weight.
Hi Alicia, is this amount a total per day or per meal?
Thank you!
Melinda
https://www.thedogbakery.com/pages/dog-food-calculator this dog food calculator is amazing for figuring out exactly how many cups of a food you’ll need for your dog. Hope it helps!
Hi there, I currently cook for my baby however, I struggle with how many cups of protein, carbs, veggies to feed my Mateo.
Is there a formula online that you may know of?
I can’t wait to make this for my boy. I normally feed him Science Hill and will keep feeding him the dry food, but mix this in to give him a little yummy treat!
I think it is amazing and I think my dog would rather have this then bag dog food
Oh my, I love this! I had no idea you cooked for your dog, I’ve been cooking your human recipes for years now! I was searching “cooking biologically appropriate meals for your dog” and this post came up!
What is Balance IT?
Hi. Terrific recipe. Did I miss how to know how much to give our dogs? I went onto Balance It and found it a little confusing. If you have any information please let me know.
This sounds just like our situation!! I have a 8 month old Rottweiler pup, he fell ill with an upset tummy. The vet said bland diet for 10 days duration of his antibiotics. After he finishes this course I do not want to put him back on kibble, I also however know that just chicken and rice (while he loves it) is not checking all the boxes for nutrients. I want to copy your recipe to a T, and prepare this for Pumba, however, he is a giant breed. 80 lbs right now and adult weight around 130 lbs, therefore how do I find out how much of your recipe to feed him? Per day? Per meal? Etc. any help would be appreciated!!! ALSO, I would no longer provide kibble at all, solely this recipe therefore does this provide everything they need? I saw someone added eggs, where do you get the calcium in your recipe? Can I also switch out ground Turkey for chicken or salmon to switch meals up? Thanks a ton
These recipes look good. You can also buy vitamins that pair with recipes.
I also have a chicken allergic pup and use Just Food for Dogs DIY vitamins with recipes and azestfor.com vitamins with recipes.
How much sweet potato would I use to replace the rice
My dog loves this! He’s a 6-month old German Shepherd Lab mix. We gave him the Acana dog food, which is pricy, and he would “begrudgingly” eat it. This was the case with all foods. He wasn’t an excited eater. He would pick up anything and everything. He’d be hungry because he’d practically starve himself, not wanting to eat the other dog foods. I made this recipe, and he was excited to eat it!! I can’t wait to see the effects of feeding him fresh food. I give him one and a half cups in the morning and afternoon. He always tries to beg for more!!! This is a first. I added six hard-boiled eggs for extra protein, but I followed the recipe to a T.
However, don’t be like me and make this whole recipe together. Divide it in half. I made the mistake and was spilling all over my stove. All in all, great recipe!!!
Dog loved it. Easy. Love the calorie info. Easy to know what to feed my 80 LB dog. I want more! Do you have more recipes and calorie info?
Does anyone who has tried making this food know if it’s good for skin allergies, my dog is itchy and scratches all day long. The vet puts him on apoquel or cytopoint (sp) both are expensive and neither worked 100%. Would love to know if anyone had success with this food.
Thanks
I’m no expert and I’m not super educated in this area so take this advice with a grain of salt. A lot of dogs are allergic to poultry products. If you can afford it (I don’t know what size dog you have) substitute ground beef for the turkey. Don’t worry about the fat. Ground beef and dark and white meat turkey ground together, which is what ground turkey is, have about the same amount of fat. I also add some beef stock to my rice when I’m cooking it. You might wanna get some beef stock and do that as well. By the way this food tastes great for humans to so if you’re in a pinch ….. Also, I give my dog a dollop of probiotic organic plain yogurt with every meal. There is an argument that an unhealthy gut causes the itching. It does appear my dog scratches less when I give him that. Make sure it’s plan and not flavored. The other has too much sugar. Plus, get a bag of frozen blueberries, and give them as a threat throughout the day. They are antioxidant rich, very good for your dog, and most dogs love them. You can give them in their food, too if your dog likes them a lot. I hope your baby gets some relief.
If you find Brewer’s Yeast in any of the food or treats you give your dog, try cutting that out of the diet and see if the itching improves after a few days. It’s included in a majority of commercial dog food, but is a known allergen. Made a HUGE difference for my terrier.
I’m not an expert or veterinarian, but I’ve learned that most allergies dogs get are from the processed dog food. The meat in dog food is processed and dried and there are many additives used that dogs are allergic to. My dog was allergic to kibble and I tried many expensive well known brands. Once I started making homemade meals, his allergies went away and he is much happier and full of energy. Homemade meals are healthier than the processed food, which is full of other chemicals that cause problems for dogs. Homemade recipes are a solution to allergies. The whole food is a fresh and contains better quality ingredients with no unnecessary additives that cause problems for dogs.
Thank You Sue for the link. I will opt for other greens for my babies.
I have been making dog food for some time now and I know that there’s more nutrition in it as opposed to the canned food.
I drive for a living and need to be able to freeze portions.
My dog now will be having her teeth worked on which will result in extracting the rest of them. Looking for a recipe to blend down to soup. I believe that I can do that with any of these recipes. Thank you for your research and sharing.
Can you can this to make it more shevle stable. Thanks
How do I know how much to feed at each meal? I have a small senior puggle.
This is a great recipe! Just need to add some calcium. A couple ground up washed egg shells works perfect. To really boost nutrition, I also add a can or two of sardines.
Sure my dogs love it but I swapped out the spinach as it has a warning for regular feeding https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/fruits-vegetables-dogs-can-and-cant-eat/
Would you mind sharing what you used as a substitute for the spinach?
This was so easy to make and it makes so much. My Yorkie is super picky but he chowed this down so fast! I’m so excited as this is my first attempt at making an actual dogfood recipe.. Thank you!!
We recently started cooking for our dog. She was slightly overweight with skin conditions and very rarely would eat during the day until we started cooking for her. Now she eats a full meal twice a day. I will definitel make these recipes.! But what size recipes appropriate for?
This stuff is AMAZING. I just cooked up a batch and my pups were like WOWZA! I had just finished the last of their Farmer’s Dog food (which I had been trying out and one of my pups was not impressed by it), so I thought I would try this recipe. An absolute keeper for sure. So grateful! Thank you!
My dog has some health issues….I found this recipe and it has helped her get better, she’s like a new dog and she loves it. Thank you so much for sharing….I will never buy store bought dog food again.