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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I’ve been making this recipe for years. My dog loves it! My vet recommended adding bone broth powder to it so I found some by project paws. It’s 100% ground elk antler powder. I give my 55 lb dog 1/2 cup of homemade food and 1/2-3/4 cup of kibble. He’s very healthy and eats it up. 12.5 years old.
This might help those asking how much to feed their dog. I have been making this for our English Lab for a little over 2 years. I started making his food for 2 reasons, he did not like his kibble and he had very bad skin allergies. From day one, it has been a chore to get hime to eat his kibble. And his hair was fallen out and his skin was so irritated. Think Rhett the dog from Steel Magnolias 🙂 I would try to supplement with other foods that were not healthy and probably way too many calories because I was worried that he did not eat his kibble. That being said he weighed 110 lbs. He was too big and looked very unhealthy! So, I thought I would try this recipe. He loves it! He devours it and acts like he has not eaten in days. His skin is perfect and his coat is beautiful now. He has lost over 25 lbs and the vet is astonished how healthy he looks. So, here is how much I feed him, 1 1/2 cups in the morning and 1 1/2 cups at dinner. (My English lab is the laziest 3 year old I know! So, he is not active at all) The vet said that is the perfect amount for him. I have fed him the same amount from the first time I fed him this recipe even though he weighs less now because the vet said that is what he needs. Also, I wanted to mention, I give him a vitamin in the morning with his meal. I found it on Amazon. (Pet-Tabs Plus) Again, he gets a great report from the vet and loves his meals! This might help too, I have a friend that uses this recipe for her 50lb dog (he is very active) and she gives him 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at dinner. I hope this helps and is not way too much info! 🙂
Wow!!! That is extremely helpful!! Thank you so very much for sharing all the details. I plan to try this for our Danes. ❤️
How do I figure how much to give in a serving? Are there calories/nutritional info ants to help?
My 16 year old gal loves it! She has been very picky the past few weeks and we switched to bland rice only diet for 4 days until trying this vegetable packed meal she is now able to eat eat a bit of dry with this mixed in. I feel better knowing she is getting healthier homemade option then a can of byproduct gel! Thank you!!!
Made this. Labor intensive, especially because my sweet doggie was underfoot. Turns out it makes 11 cups, not 8. I wonder how much a 45 pound mixed baby should eat in the morning and evening. Thank you.
Is there anything else I should add to this recipe if my dog is a puppy? I know they require more calories so, I want to make sure she is getting the proper nutrition.
Also, can I add omega 3 oil to this once I finish cooking the recipe?
Do you have calorie and nutrition info.?
I have a 72 pound lab hound mix. He eats 3 times a day. How much of this dog food should I give him per serving?
My my girl who is a very picky eater simply loves it! Great recipe!!
How long does this keep in the freezer? Is it OK to make more than a weeks’ worth or is that not recommended? TIA
I have three small dogs. About three years ago my 14 year old poodle was showing her age, changed to this diet and she is like a puppy again. She runs on her daily walk. The other two have only had this diet under my roof and love it. I have passed this recipe on to anyone visiting my dogs.
How much of this dog food should I give my 10lb cockapoo? (She absolutely loves it by the way!)
Our Jack russels scratch all thr time when eating dogfood with chicken/poultry in it. We now want to start feeding them homemade food, since 95‰ of the Dogfood available in SA, has chicken in it. We don’t know whether it’s the poultry itself or all the hormones etc, that’s injected into our meats. Should I just replace the turkey in this recipe with beef/lamb?
Ask your vets if your dogs have special requirements or diets. My dog has GERD but eating boiled chicken and rice seems to work. However I’ve never made all the other ingredients in making his food at home. He eats watered mushed down dog food with boiled chicken. But I do want to try and make this for him.
This is a home run, my dog absolutely loves this.
I didn’t make it however, it seems suitable for human consumption. what is the average price per serving. for a Belgium Malioniis?
In case someone wants nutrition info:
398 calories per serving
Total fat 13.8 g
Sat fat 4.2 g
Cholesterol 120 mg
Sodium 169 mg
Total carbs 29.1 g
Fiber 2.8 g
Sugar 0.2 g
Protein 35.1 g
What is the serving size?
Unless the serving size is indicated, the nutritional value is of no use.
All 3 of my very picky dogs INHALED this!!
Thank you for sharing!
My dog is almost ten and she’s a lab-pit that weight roughly 55lb. She had pancreatitis About a month ago and I’ve started making her food. I have been making her chicken. Any other good meats that are low in cost that I can use as well? Senior dog food is expensive so I’m trying to make things as affordable as possible.
My dogs spit out carrots
I use sweet potatos
What is serving size for dogs, weight, etc. please please advise