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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This is the Recipe that changed My mind on wether to Start feeding My boy Homemade Dog food or Not..Sammy is a Pekingese and they are Very stubborn dogs that have a way of making up the Rules in my house. He just stopped eating his Food.But We just Love this recipe. I switch up the Veggies from time to time. I also give him a multi vitamin for seniors.Thanks so Much..
Very nice recipe! My Cecil has pancreatitis, he cannot eat much fat or he could die. If he eats something fatty he will blow up like a blimp 🙁 I am a vegetarian and I would like him to be one too but with his condition I do not want to give him too many eggs. He is a 22lb Rat Terrier mix and I have been feeding him something similar to this recipe for lunch and dinner.
For breakfast Cecil has french toast (2 slices of bread, 1 egg, and some fat free milk). I make my french toast first to soak up all the olive oil in the pan before I cook his breakfast. I then cut it up and mix it with about 1/3 of a cooked banana.
For the rest of the day I give him about 1.5oz of boiled chicken breast which I chop up. I then add 1 egg, plus equal amounts of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, butter beans, sweet potatoes or yams, and string beans. I also add about 2 times as much peas as I do for each of the other veggies. Everything gets mashed or chopped (even the peas are mashed so they are digested easier). When everything is chopped up it probably makes about 1.5 pints of food which I then give half for lunch and the other half for dinner (or one big meal if we are out for the day).
This diet is very low fat and he has been off dog food and eating this for at least 6 months (and the prior 6 months he was eating half low fat kibble and half this recipe) and he seems to be doing well, and he has not had any pancreas events over the past year. You should know that when feeding a dog a fresh food diet they may eat 3 times as much food as dry kibble due to all the water in the food.
He also snacks on popcorn, apples, pears, bananas, etc. And I mostly eat the same as he does, only that I do not eat any meat with mine. Anyway hopefully this is helpful to anyone whose dog has pancreatitis.
John, I also have a dog that has pancreatitis, my boy Stanley is a senior Boston that weighs 32 pounds and he just had an attack so severe that I thought I was going to lose him. My question to you is where do you get recipes specific for dogs with pancreatitis ? Also how much food do you serve your dog per meal.
Any input you have would be appreciated.
Can I serve one meal of kibbles and one meal of your recipe?
Or will that cause digestive problems?
My intent is to increase fiber.
I do something very similar but I mix half homemade with half dog food. This makes me feel more comfortable that I am not missing any essential nutrients.
I do love this idea.
I don’t know how this is cheaper than dry dog food. I have 2 labs, and they would eat a Kirkland Costco dog food in 2.5 weeks for $46 plus tax. The cost of veggies and meat here would be much more (grains are cheap) when get our meat from the local butcher and it’s cheaper then grocery store prices
How do I adjust recipe for 10 month old puppy?
I posted this to another comment, but I want to post to all comments that relates to puppies because I’ve struggled getting definitive answers on the internet. I feed this recipe to my 5 month old French Bulldog. I am only giving her 1/3 a cup at a time as she is only 10lbs. I am looking into a good supplement just in case there are gaps in the nutrition she needs. This makes a large amount so I used sandwich baggies to freeze what I wasn’t going to use in 3-4 days. This has to be so much better than kibble no matter how good the brand and mine do not go poopy as much as on kibble because their bodies absorb more. They say to feed your dog (no matter the age) 2-3% of their body weight, converted in to ounces. Puppies are supposed to get a little more in calories because they are growing and need it. Everything in this recipe is ok for your baby, but all dogs are different and you may find there is something that doesn’t agree with them. You’ll figure out what works best as time goes by. Don’t be intimidated.
This was easy! I enjoyed cooking for him. I love him. I can’t get him to eat wet or dry food. He is so picky. I have wasted hundreds of dollars on high priced dog food!! This is a great alternative. Thank you.
I want to learn more
How would you adjust this recipe for a 10 week-old puppy?
I feed this recipe to my 5 month old French Bulldog. I am only giving her 1/3 a cup at a time as she is only 10lbs. I am looking into a good supplement just in case there are gaps in the nutrition she needs. This makes a large amount so I used sandwich baggies to freeze what I wasn’t going to use in 3-4 days. This has to be so much better than kibble no matter how good the brand.
My min pin is getting older and has started to develop allergies and pickiness about his kibble. He refused to eat more than a few crunches because he was holding out for people food. We started looking at the advertised “fresh” pet food service, but at $4.00 a day for my 22 lb dog, it was completely ridiculous. I found this recipe and tried it, giving my Dino 1/4 cup mixed with a half serving of his kibble in the morning, and the same for the evening with yogurt for dessert.
HE LOVES IT! Eats every kibble, has plenty of new energy, and we know he’s getting plenty of good stuff to help him lose weight and keep him around longer.
We did use what we had on hand to try it. Canned no salt added veg-all, brown rice, hardboiled egg, and ground turkey.
For a full week of meals it cost $5.00!
My husband is in the kitchen right now, making a month worth of food for our little big guy. We will portion it out into daily servings and freeze them.
$20 for a month of fresh healthy food, versus $140 a month for the advertised food… Seems like a no brainer!
Thanks for posting this so others like me can see just how quick, easy and affordable this is for our fur babies!
My dog loved it too!!! I wish there was more information on how much to feed him, I will be playing with the portions for a bit. This will be a regular meal for him now! Never seen him eat all his food!!!
Yesterday I made this as the recipe specified. My picky eater gobbled it up and begged for more. It was relatively easy. my Buddy and I are happy!
Should the 1.5 cups of brown rice be cooked or dry?
add dry to 3 cups water
I make something similar for my dog. However I add 2 tablespoons turmeric to the batch as its anti inflammatory and he’s almost 16. I also mash up hard boiled eggs with the shell on for the calcium.
Sounds great thanks. I want my dog to eat healthy and a wide variety in her diet.
Hi,
I just have a quick question.
Instead of ground turkey can I give chicken the same?
Kind Regards,
G Krishna
Our dog absolutely loves this recipe! Question about storing… do you make a few days worth to keep in the fridge for easy access? I understand freezing for big batches, but I’m currently making enough for 3 or 4 days and would rather not freeze to unfreeze for every meal.
My beloved dog is 12 yrs old and the last two days have been very tough on him. He is having a hard time getting up due to his arthritis and he couldn’t get up to eat. I was very worried he would get dehydrated and with not eating become weak. I never thought that I would be one of those people who would make their own dog food (even though my dogs are very spoiled) and with a husband, kids, grandkids, running errands, babysitting and working who has the time for yet another item on my list but let me tell you. He absolutely LOVED this meal. I will continue to make this for him and switch out the meat to keep it interesting. Hoping to build his strength back up and yes he is taking pain meds when needed from the vet for his pain. Ty so much for the recipe.
I have a small Mexican dog weight 12 lbs. Can I cut this receipt in half, just in case he doesn’t like it. He will not eat any of the store bought and I’m looking for some easy to make for him that doesn’t require a lot of expense or work to prepare.
Yes you can..
Tried this on my very fussy little schnauzer he absolutely loves it and it’s much better and cheaper and healthier than any of the many dog foods that I’ve tried I’m really pleased I found this recipe thank you
I made a huge batch of this for my Mastiff last night using what I had which was brown rice made in a rice cooker, extra virgin olive oil, broccoli, cauliflower, frozen peas, sweet potato fries ( bland… no salt or sugar), one lean hamburger patty from Sam’s Club.
I also added a boiled egg I sliced up and 3 slices of canned plain beets (not pickled).
I divided the hamburger into two parts and fed her half a Sam’s Club rotisserie chicken tray bottom (the black plastic part which is what I use to feed her now since those container bottoms spray clean with hot water and last a long time).
She had already eaten her breakfast which was just canned dog food from Walmart (cheapest brand which is ‘OL ROY Cuts -n- Gravy’). I have lately been separating the Purina kibble from the canned food as she prefers the canned food separately and nibbles at the kibble in the evening..
She is a nearly 4 year old Mastiff and has had chronic diarrhea for nearly two years despite multiple visits. Her appetite has been fine… but she doesn’t seem excited about her food unless it is Sam’s rotisserie chicken with the fat and skin removed.
She woofed this food I made down the same as when I share steak or Atlantic Salmon with here. I was so shocked and very happily surprised. I gave her another half tray which she also gobbled up. (I don’t advise this. I was just so happy to see her so excited.) She was so happy when I was making her food today that she came into the kitchen and laid down next to me in anticipation which she never has done except with the steak.
There was not enough meat for the portions even with the added boiled egg. But I am now in the process of buying a:
Cuisinart Custom DFP-14BCWNY 14 Cup Food Processor, White and Stainless Steel
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91 comments Cuisinart Walmart # 555563601
$229.95 shipping included.
I will post more as I stock up on everything as I have MS and will be 70 next year and never thought in a million years I would be making homemade dogfood until I saw a commercial on TV offering a strong discount for my first order. But it was $144.94 per day for a dog my size which is absolutely ridiculous. I am on SSI and don’t eat in one month what 2 days of this dog food would have cost me.
I can afford to make my own and can make big batches of each item and freeze them in smaller quart size zip-lock bags and thaw and mix them as I change up the recipes or find good deals as things go on sale.
I would not use the frozen peas as my dog had those all over the floor because I didn’t put them in the food processor I currently have as it is only for one or two people. Besides, contrary to popular belief, canned are just as nutritious as fresh or frozen ( for dogs.. not me. I like frozen or fresh).
Something else I would like to share: Most chefs now use their microwaves more than we would like to think. You can steam your veggies in the microwave in a covered dish for just a few minutes and two tablespoons of water and you actually have MORE nutrients than if you steam them on the stove. And… you save so much time and money!
I hope these things help you and I hope you all understand that you may need to try different combinations to find what your dog likes, their allergies, etc. But my Mastiff is a dog I inherited without much choice when my son past away last year and she is so spoiled and picky because my son bought her rotisserie chickens from Sam’s Club, fed her steak… the most expensive treats… you name it.
This dog and I have bonded (To my great surprise) and I am so excited about finding ways to make all this food for a 200 lb. dog on my SSI budget (My house is paid for which helps). I hope you find out what I have found out.
Don’t feel you have to spend a lot of money to buy fancy food processors, Dutch ovens, etc. Use what you have. I’m just not good being on my feet long and am looking for ways to make this up a week or two in advance and freeze it. I figure by separating each ingredient in the food processor, I can measure out what I need for a few days and mix up the menus. I can also make one or two ingredients one day and freeze them and when I feel better continue with some other ingredients
Very helpful post. Thanks
I have a 90# Belgian Malinois who has Are there any additional nutrientshated eating since a puppy. He is allergic to most meats so I either use lamb or pork instead with your recipe and he ABSOLUTELY loves it. My question is:
1. How much should I feed him per day?
2. Are there any additional nutrients I should include in his meal as this will be all I will give him to eat.?
Interesting
Looks like a great recipe, but I would add more chicken to the ratio. What is the lb of food for weight of dog. I know on a pure meat diet that the ratio is 1 lb for every 60 lb of adult dog. But adding veg and rice does that go up or stay the same?
I read a site that suggests 2-3gms pure animal protein per kg per day so a 30kg (75lb) dog would need 60-90gms meat per day. I add 1.5 kg (about3lb) white fish because of meat allergies. For 8 days of cooked food.