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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
How long will this be good in the fridge?
It should keep for at least 2-3 days in the fridge (they are also freezer-friendly in individual servings) but as always, please use your best judgment.
I like the recipe but how much do you feed per meal? I have a 70lb Lab & a daushund 19lbs
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
How do you know how much to feed your dog? 1 cup can’t be a daily serving for a 4 pound dog, a 35 pound dog, and a 110 pound dog.
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
I’ve never owned a dog and I’m debating buying a Pyrenees. I’ve heard that people have had success with giving dogs a vegetarian diet. Do you have any experience with that? What about feeding him cooked farm fresh eggs in place of meat?
Aaron- I’ve had several dogs in the last 50 years including 2 Great Pyrenees. They were truly magnificent dogs but if you’re inexperienced as a dog owner I would truly recommend that you not start there. You should know more about dogs and you should also know yourself as a pet owner before you take on such a large and consuming task. Consider building up to this.
Please do more research before “purchasing” a dog, especially one such as a Great Pry. Also be speak with your vet before considering a vegetarian diet for your pets. Dogs are NOT vegetarians, they’re omnivores. Meat, bones, marrow, etc are very important for them. It’s unwise to base your opinions without actual research with skilled and licensed people.
Dogs are carnivores and in their natural environment are meat eaters. Making them vegetarians may not be best for the dog. As a human you have a choice; dogs don’t. Why would you force them to be something that goes against their nature?
OMG!!!
This exact thing happened with my dog James. He was sick and I had to put him on a bland diet of chicken and rice. It was super easy so I started making my own dog food!
Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
I also mix in a powdered supplement called Azestfor. My dogs love it!
Do you use any supplements with your pups?
Yes, I add supplements/vitamins (ex. Balance IT® Canine) as directed by our vet/nutritionist.
Thanks so much for the reply! 🙂
I always recommend simple and fresh food for my dog. Dry dog food provides breakthrough nutrition formulated to help your dog achieve a healthy weight and improve quality of life. Thanks for sharing awesome blog!
As with a lot of reviewers my first attempt at this recipe came because of an illness for our 15 yo Westie, Gabby. Lethargy, weakness, lack of appetite due to an unknown cause prompted empiric therapy with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory Meds. Labs and vitals returned to normal but she still refused to eat. I started this diet 3 days ago and the difference is astounding. At 1 cup a day for a 15 lb older dog I believe that she will have an improved quality of life for the rest of her days with us. Thanks so much for posting!
Do you drain the fat ??
I use Butterball 93% lean ground turkey so there is minimal fat. I do not drain the small amount that is there- just made a batch tonight and was surprised at how little fat there is.
Many pet parents turn to homemade food because of an illness – in the case where canine diabetes is an issue, swapping out carrots & peas (high sugar) with organic string beans & blueberries or canned organic pumpkin is a good lower-sugar substitute …
Trader Joe’s frozen organic string beans & blueberries, and canned pumpkin are hard to beat values – Lundberg brand rice, whether white or another variety, cooked, also safe & healthy for pups – Just a thot & thank you for sharing !! Youre not alone in the k9 kitchen
Great recipe!!
I will gladly feed this as a treat when I someday have my own dogs. I believe in both raw and BARF diets, but in the wild canines do eat fruit, tubers, a small bit of everything else from inside their prey, and also animal protein found from fires and left out in the sun for days, and so I do consider this sort if thing a very nice treat and a great vehicle for things such as supplements, and its just a nice changeup. This reminds me of some of the great dog treats in the pet refrigerated food (think those have yogurt added thou), but its homemade and so it is so much better. I really like the break-up of this particular version, thank you for sharing it. 🙂
My dogs love it! Cooked it all in a slow cooker and going to try with salmon instead of ground turkey to see if the cats will like it too.
Awesome!
There are many herbs you can also add and ground egg shells are a must dogs need calcium in the right portions to phosph for every pound of meat add 1/2tsp ground egg shell I also add thyme and oregano parsley.very beneficial.
I was reading that calcium and calories in yo high if % or content is bad for your puppy or large breed dogs making them grow to fast and end up with hip dysplasia. I would like to try homemade food buy am concerned about that. If anyone he any information on making your food and keeping the portions balanced. Also how much is a portion for growing puppies Goldendoodle size she is almost 4 months on the 19th of April.
I took a great online class on making dog food by Dr Barbara Fox. I have a golden doodle If the dog is going to be less that 55 lbs (or close to that) they do need the calcium. If they will grow larger they don’t.
http://barbfoxdvm.com/
Omgggg! This is one of the most famous dogs recipes. Congratulations, and I have to say, thank you for sharing it with was. I was looking for homemade dog recipes food. This one is amazing, and a lot of people like, I was reading all those comments.
I haven’t made this yet but I’m just curious don’t you need to amend it with vitamins, fish oil or vitamin E ? I’m no expert but
I thought this was necessary. Also I understand spinach and kale are NOT good for dogs as they are high in oxalic acid. I’d like to start feeding my dogs somehting like this but I’m not sure about it.
Thank you !
I give my dogs pet-cal and pet-tabs for their daily vitamin intake!!
You need to be careful when giving your dog fish oil..from my experience with my 3 adult Labradors, whenever I give them fish oil gel pills (mixed in a small amount of peanut butter), 1 of my labs will end up eating their poop. Doesn’t happen any other time, only with the fish oil. Sometimes I have to give her Benadryl and it’s with peanut butter and she doesn’t eat poop then. I’ve just started feeding my dogs with this recipe without fish oil and it’s AMAZING how much better their coats look and no scratching..and it’s only been 3 days!!
Thanks for sharing, Sandy! We’re happy to hear your dogs are doing so well with this.
My Super LuLu loves home made food so as a schedule I prepare her food every other Friday. It’s fun and gives me peace of mind knowing what she eats. Thank you.
Great!
Can you freeze the dog food?
Yes, absolutely!
How long is it good to keep on fridge?
It should keep for at least 2-3 days in the fridge (they are also freezer-friendly in individual servings) but as always, please use your best judgment.
What would your idea be to make this a dried food recipe? I would need to leave dried food when boarding my pup at my local vet while on vacation. Most renters do not allow pets or I would take her with me. I mostly eat healthy and she refuses “dog food” so she eats a lot of thing that I eat
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I made this for my 12 1/2 lb Chihuahua Honey and she loves it. She not a small Chi and is not overweight. I put the whole mixture in my food processor until it was well mixed. Happy with the results. Not certain on the amount to feed her, so I am starting her on 3/4 cup divided twice daily.
Wow this looks great. Im going to try making it for my chihuahua. He’s 12 yrs old and has kidney disease. He recently stopped eating all processed dog food. Even the canned, wet one he used to love. This morning I boiled some chicken and plain white rice. He tore it up. He was so hungry. So i’m hopping as long as I keep feeding him good, h0mecooked food, he’ll keep eating.
Thanks
We hope he’ll like it!
Just a note – kidney disease diet typically need a low protein, low sodium diet.
Hi, I’m curious how you manage the nutrient profile of the recipe? I’m looking into making my own dog food but am getting bogged down in the idea of her not getting enough vitamin, minerals, etc. depending on what I put in it. Is this something that doesn’t need to be focused on too much? It’s easy to determine calories and then the breakdown of protein, fats, carbs, etc. But I’m having trouble with the nutrition makeup of the food. Don’t want to make her sick by being deficient in something. She currently eats a fresh food that contains beef, vegetables, oil, and a “nutrient mix” to make up for any low vitamins/minerals so I’m wondering how to do that on my own?
Alex, I add supplements/vitamins (ex. Balance IT® Canine) as directed by our vet/nutritionist. But as always, please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
I’m just starting off but my vet recommended adding vitamins powder, it’s called superfood supplements and you can sprinkle plot over the food, also definitely add fish oil so you get all of the omegas
Super easy to make! My pit bulls are my world! I will start making all of their food from now on. i keep seeing how bad store bought food is for them and now they’re finding poisons that are killing dogs. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE DELICIOUS RECIPE.
Thank you for sharing with us, Sindy!
There are many nutritional and delicious vegetables and other raw food you can find in market and also those delicious organic foods are preferred by pet dogs as well. If you have well known recipes for your pet, then you can easily prepare any food for your dog.