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.
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I’m interested in making some homemade food for our 1 year dog. He has sensitive skin and a sensitive tummy. The post mentions “dairy” is an important part of the diet, but I don’t see any dairy products listed in the ingredients (in the directions). Thanks.
Hello Folks,
We are getting a 7 week’s young Labrador Puppy (Pure Bred) in a weeks time. Just wondering if someone can help me with the recipe for the little champ. I will be transitioning him to the home made food over 1 weeks time slowly just to keep things smooth for his little belly. Thanks in advance folks..please see if some can get back to me….Cheers
I haven’t tried the food yet but I gave it 5 stars cuz I love the fact of making your own dog food and you knowing what’s going in it, I would love to try this but my dog is hypoallergenic and not sure what protein to use. Do you know if shredding it in a food processor does that make it more digestible? Any help is appreciated as Ive thought about doing this for a long time.
I have a 5 month old shitzu and feed him chicken, beef, or lamb as his proteins. I haven’t tried turkey or salmon get but his vet said that’s good too.
I just made your recipe. After doing some research, my baby needs to eat 400 cal per day. How many grams is your 1 cup of serving? Thank you.
I have been looking on the web for this type of dog food. To purchase it would cost me $70. every two weeks. Your recipe looks like it has the same ingredients. I will make some today and see how my Maddie likes her new food. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Thank you! My dog is a terrier chihuahua mix. Do you add vitamins and minerals to this meal? If so, do you recommend any supplements? Also, do you feed your dog once or twice a day? My dog is about 6 pounds. Any suggestions appreciated
My 7kg Plummer terrier absolutely loves this. She’s been on it now for about a week, I make batches and freeze them. Going to swap the meat at every batch from turkey, beef and chicken. My only concern is there seems to be no calcium in the diet ? I read about ground eggshells. Her stools seem a bit looser and orange in colour since changing but I’ve read that can be normal for the first 2-3 weeks. Any advice would be helpful please.
I am excited about trying these recipes however I also see a lot of reference here to using vet recommended potatoes, peas and other legumes. Please consider the following warning by the FDA regarding Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy (CDM) – I also received associated literature from my vet.
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/outbreaks-and-advisories/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy
Just made this for by beloved Boston Terrier, but I subbed the Turkey for chicken leg meat (as I had some to use up). Well, the whole batch went down really well, and even her poops look edible! LOL. Thank you for sharing this gem.
Chihuahuas love it! Question, can you substitute the peas for pumpkin? If so, how much?
Can you use hamburger meat instead of turkey or chicken??
I make this for my dogs BUT from what I have read dogs shouldn’t have rice everyday (that includes) brown rice. I also add no salt added green beans. I use ground turkey n chicken and give them either or each day. That way they dont get tired of the same thing.
I have had Bella since she was 9 weeks old. She is a German/Boxer mix. I feed her twice a day and her home made food is as follows: brown rice, frozen peas and carrots, boil eggs, kayle, , bonless chicken thighs, and diced sweet potatoe. She loves it and has a beautiful coat, healthy skin and great muscle tone. For treats I give her baby carrots, although she has already figured out how to reteve them from her treat toy LOL
My picky 3 lb Yorkshire loves it!!! Thank you!!!
I have a question. I have a 4 pound, 7 pound and 20 pound dog. I have no idea of the portion size for any of them. I intend to use this recipe but I am clueless. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
it all depends on the breed! look up the caloric intake your dogs need online and base it off of the serving size above! hope this helps
This sounds like a great recipe. Mo showed it to my veterinary. She said only white rice and chicken rather than turkey. My Golden’s have never been able to eat turkey without severe diarrhea.
What oatmeal do you give a dog? Instant mix? Old fashioned oats? Also, if a dog is allergic to grains, what would be good foods to replace grains?
based on my research some good substitutes for grains (assuming the grain allergy is a gluten allergy) are:
-potatoes/sweet potatoes
-legumes (beans)
-quinoa
-lentils
As for the oatmeal question, I would opt for old fashioned or any other style of oats, just be sure that you are buying and making oatmeal that doesn’t have any added sugar, cinnamon, or other flavors. I would be wary about Instant mix too because the ones I have encountered usually have flavors or other added fruits to it. I have read that cinnamon can be harmful to your pup, which is why I advise to be very careful.
Hi Linda,
With approval from my vet, I’ve used both cooked ground garbanzo beans (from dry, not canned) and the flour. For my larger dogs the whole garbanzo is fine. This is one of the very few legumes that dogs can easily digest. I’ve used the garbanzo flour (besan) to thicken up the stew like a really solid gravy but you have to really let it cook (at least an hour) because the raw flour is not digestible and tastes pretty awful. There are youtube videos on using besan flour to make besan tofu (it’s soyless). That is simple, freezable, and very good also. My dogs love it when I’m not too lazy to make it.
It was awesome recipe, but I didn’t understand if the measure of the brown rice is cooked or raw?
It’s 1 1/2 cups of raw rice, cook then add amount to recipe, should be doubled
My dog LOVES this!! I’m so happy as he is the pickiest dog eater I’ve ever had. He’s a rescue so I think he was used to garbage and canned dog food. He only eats kibble if it has a sauce on it. Won’t eat carrots, peanut butter, bananas, apples, etc. He ate this down in 1.5 min. He is only 8 lbs. I’m THRILLED he likes this. Thanks so much.
PS – I added chick peas instead of regular peas as he will eat those.
I’m on my 4th batch of making this. My dogs love it. I highly recommend it. All my family members want me to make it for their dogs. I’m tired of our little family members having inflamed paws, severe red ears, scratching and overall health issues. Most store bought dog food is processed crap. use only fresh organic ingrediants. it’s the best for their little intestines. As a bonus, I drizzle a little organic chicken broth over food before heating
My bichon frise has itchy skin and itchy paws – do you think recipe might help her too?
This is very easy to make and my dogs love it. girl dog has a sensitive stomach and she ate this without complaints!