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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Great recipe use it my dog and my cat. My Rottweiler was 20 lb overweight no longer is. Thank you
How much did you feed him per day? I have an 80 pound lab I want to try this with.
Jerry – I am looking at this for my 1 year old rott. What suggestions can you give and how much do you feed per day?
This is a great recipe and my corgis love it. We hunt deer and have an abundance of venison so they get mostly it for their protein. I add in some tuna and eggs for additional protein and the egg shells for calcium. I put fresh blueberries and apples for some sweetness.
I have a similar recipe but I added blueberries for the antioxidants. She will leave all the blueberries at the bottom of the bowl. Now I squash each blueberry and she eats everything! She loves it!
My yorkipoo loves this and no more doggie breath. Just not sure how much to feed my little 9# baby.
I also need to know how much to feed my dog. He is about 7 and a half pounds. He also has developed a terrible skin allergy in his later years. Nothing is working, keeps losing hair. Hooding this might work. Just started today and he loves it. How much please??
Love this recipe going to use it for my 8wk staffie pup i have also bought some meat and bone meal 4kl how much do I add to his food before I freeze it thank you.
Lynda
How do you know what portion size to give a dog for the day.
I want to feed my labs on this kind of food as both have had tummy trouble recently and have been on chicken and rice which they love .
Both big boys but I would much rather feed them this kind of food.
Are there any guidelines as to how mu h for weight of dog?
Hi Angela! This would be best discussed with your vet and/or nutritionist.
A good general guideline I go by is to give twice the amount you would give of dry kibble because this food still has the water so is less dense. Adjust from there.
Thank you for posting this, Yeah my Chihuahua has just woofed it down. The first homemade dog food she has eaten. She refused the rest. I feel now my fur baby will be healthier and happier and with me for more years to come. Thank you
I mean she refused all previous version of homemade food. But loved yours Thank you X
How much of this do you feed you dog daily ?
I have a chihuahua too but hes overweight…18 pounds to be exact..
My vet won’t help me!
Just made this for my elderly dog. She’s going in for surgery Wednesday and I wanted to do everything possible to help in the recovery.
I added 1Tblsp of fresh chopped rosemary per # of meat. Also used some shredded broccoli and blueberries.
She gobbled it up!
Excited to try this for our pups! Do you know the length of time this last for?
Hi Crystal! It should keep for at least 2-3 days in the fridge (they are also freezer-friendly in individual servings) but methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps!
Hi. I just saw this recipe and just wondered how much it makes?? I’ve made homemade dog food before and this sounds delicious.
The recipe yields 8 cups, Jenny. 🙂
I am a certified canine nutritionist and this is a good recipe if supplemented with appropriate balance mix. I have fed my dogs, Charlie and Lisa (12 and 10) a homemade diet all their lives and they are happy and spunky dogs. Variety is key in a homemade diet. You need to make sure they are getting a variety of proteins (fish, poultry, meat), organs (about 5% of their protein intake), veggies, healthy and healthy grains, and supplements like calcium (I make my own from ground eggshells), spirulina, vitamin E, cod liver oil, and others. Charlie is a picky eater so I like to supplement with nutritional yeast when I am worried he is not getting all his vitamins and minerals. Just like humans, our pets need variety so choose lots of different types of foods!
I’ve never tried homemade dog food for pets. This is a first! Thank you for making it simple. Was wondering, is this receipt also for puppies?
Robin, this is something that should be consulted with your veterinarian.
Wonderful meal for my finicky chihuahua eaters!! Thanks so much, all 3 of them devoured it.
Add a tablespoon of powdered bone meal, a tsp of dried, powdered kelp, 1 tsp of brewers yeast and 5000 mg organic fish oil to make sure they get all the essential minerals they need! My 14 year old beagles love it! I also give them a little organ meat as a treat every 2-3 days, and extra nutrients. I mix up the brown rice with organic oatmeal. I make my own bone broth from chicken or beef bones to cook the grains. My pups don’t like peas, so i switch the veges around. they love pumpkin or butternut squash and green beans. actually I cook for them, and I share some of their food with them!!! I take some out without the fish oil or brewers yeast for me 🙂
Where do you recommend getting these supplements? Any particular brand?
Very helpful
Although I haven’t tried this recipe yet, I gave it 4 stars because of the brown rice. I just spoke with my veterinarian today about rice and was told that dogs can’t process brown rice like we can and should be given white rice. It may be better for us, but not our fur babies.
This webpage got me started on making homemade dog food for my 8-year old Pomeranian that we rescued from a shelter a year and a half ago. He has some heart damage from heartworms. For a year, I fed him a well-recommended dry dog food. He coughed up mucus, vomited, passed bloody, runny stools, and coughed all throughout the day and in the middle of the night. I switched him to homemade very quickly, not even mixing in much dry to aid in the switch. He go so much better immediately. Coughs in the morning and when he goes to bed. Very little during the day and never wakes us up in the middle of the night anymore. Never coughs up mucus, vomits, or passes blood. Stools are normal. His coat is so shiny now. He could hardly make it up the back stairs and now he tears around the backyard like a puppy. He weighs about 10 pounds and I’ve found I have to feed him a 1/2 cup in the morning and a 1/2 cup in the evening. I give him an omega 3 a couple times a week. Would like to add a vitamin, but haven’t yet. I looked up the list of recommended meats, vegetables, and grains on another website and rotate things, so he gets a variety. Not one problem from anything yet. He’s had brown rice, quinoa, hamburger, chicken, ground turkey, chicken gizzards and livers, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, peas, carrots, green beans, and some other misc. things. I do pulse everything in a food processor to break it up, but I don’t make it mushy. I do give him one “meaty bone” a day to give him a chance to chew on something. I don’t think he would have lived one more year the way he was going. I anticipate quite a few more years for him now. It’s not that hard if you make a large batch at once and freeze in one-week portions. Then I just scoop it out with a measuring cup. Individual servings frozen is too much work. Don’t forget to add enough olive oil or animal fat. He lost weight when I neglected this and was hungry all the time. It’s worth the effort!
I’d be careful with the spinach, especially if your dog has any kidney problems. Here’s AKC on spinach:
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/can-my-dog-eat-spinach/
Hi, with the threat of DCM in dogs and some breeds more so than others, that reports have linked to peas and lentils. Potdatoes they say are a nono. What dog food brand do you trust? What web site do you trust to gather information on home made dog food and how to store it properly to revent salmonella, etc type things. How long once unfrozen can you safely leave it out until your dog decides to eat it? What to do when your dog is picky and you want to change them over to home made dog food? Meat has to be top ingriedient because it has taurine which is good for a dog’s heart health. What of the supplements? How much do they cost? Bad when people can’t afford their dog’s food.
Any help would be wonderful!
Thank you!!!
Dogfoodadvisor.com
This is good as it stands, but is NOT a complete diet. Unless you are able to use a program to analyze the nutrient value, your dog may be missing out on some important stuff. I began making the food for my dogs, but I discussed it with my vet, who gave me some good advice. I also add, at each meal, a powdered supplement (1 tsp per dog … according to their weight) that provides vitamins, minerals and probiotics that are normally added to any commercially prepared dog food. I intend to keep making my pets food for as long as they are around. Better tummies, better elimination, and gorgeous coats. They also shed less!! But my dogs do not do well with brown rice … the hulls upset their stomachs, they do not do well with peas, unless I grind them up … and I make a great deal more than this in one batch. I do use the ground turkey, but there should also be some organ meats, like chicken livers. I use the squash, the spinach, sweet potato, finely grated carrot, chopped up no-salt canned string beans, and a host of other dog-safe veggies. I cook 3 cups of white rice. I add coconut oil. The meat and veg gets cooked in my Instant Pot. when I mix is all topgether and allow it to cool a bit, I portion it on large cookie sheets in serving portions of ⅓ C. Then freeze. When they are solid. I bag them up and have enough for my 2 dogs for about 2 weeks. It IS work … and it is a bit more expensive. But wre have no itching, no excessive shedding, no tummy upsets, and no gas!! Win.
Just my opinion from research, but white rice isnt the best. You should use brown rice or quinoa
Actually, white rice is easier to digest than brown rice, for dogs.
Recipe sounds good. Can I replace turkey with Salmon?
Hi Preeta! This would be best discussed with your vet and/or nutritionist.
I really don’t mind making fresh dog food. the only problem is he won’t eat it, I haven’t tried this one, so I will check this out and see what happens. I still give it a high rating because I want to find something my dog will eat and get him away from those store-bought foods that aren’t good for any of our animals!
Most dogfood in the market isnt all to bad blue wilderness is really great has no wheat or grain which can lead to an upset stomach. If you do an 80% dry food with 20% wet food. Most dogs will love you for it
The FDA has stated that grain free diets for dogs causes cardiomyopathy and has listed 16 grain free brands NOT to feed your dog. Dogs are domesticated and have to have some grain.
No, That is not what the FDA says; you are misinformed.
There is also absolutely zero nutritional requirement for grains or plants in the canine diet. You should especially read up on Dr. David Mech’s research.
Yes, they do. grain free diets are causing heart problems.
Great recipe my two pugs love homemade food. But I have noticed less bowel movements and it does seem that they have a harder time doing it. Does this mean they are not getting enough fat ?
Hi Sharon! This would be best discussed with your vet and/or nutritionist.
I Have heard before that the better the food the less bowel movements they will have.
Bowel movements are an effect of fiber, not fat. Add a heaping tablespoon of pureed pumpkin (make sure you don’t buy pumpkin pie mix) to each meal and you’ll really firm up your pup’s stool.
Totally agreed for adding pumpkin. I always include either pumpkin or squash as my vet recommended. Since then my dog has no problem on bowl movement.