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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Heck, I’m eating this!!
where is the calcium in this diet?
Janice, I add supplements/vitamins (ex. Balance IT® Canine) as directed by our vet/nutritionist.
I’ve been making this for my 9 pound toy poodle. I use boneless chicken breast. I also give her a daily vitamin. She is almost 3 years old. No more chronic ear infection, no more smelly breath!! Well, except for the two days a week that she gets baked salmon for lunch. It’s so much better to feed them healthy home cooked food!!
Sorry if I missed it in all the reviews. We have an English Bulldog that weighs about 55 lbs. Looks like he would need about 3.5 cups a day. Does anybody know how many cups this recipe makes? Thank you in advance!
About 8 cups.
I have made this recipe several times now. My dogs love it and it. Now I feel Guilty if I run out!
If I choose to use chicken breast as a replacement for the turkey, how many chicken breasts should I use? Also, how much per day would you recommend for a Great Dane puppy/young adult? I am thinking this may be cheaper and healthier than kibble for him. Thank you. 🙂
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Regarding serving size, please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
Super picky overweight Chihuahua loved this. What she didn’t finish our 2 cats did. Thank you for posting this.
Thanks for sharing!
I have two chihuahuas , one of them is a very finicky eater . I made a double batch of this recipe and my two dogs absolutely loved loved it. I mixed it with there dry food. I put about a teaspoon on top of each serving of dog food and they ate it every time. My older dog, a Chihuahua mix is 8 years old and extremely finicky. But she loved every drop of that homemade dog food. I’m making a second batch now and I’m sure it will go over just as well as the first. It’s also great on the budget especially now that I have two dogs. Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
Glad it works for you!
My dog has been diabetic since June. She’s on a prescription diet and the cost of it is hurting me. I’ve been looking at a lot of recipes and I think this would be good for her. Her Doctor gave me different recipes but this one its only chicken and brown rice, 7/8 cup of chicken and 1/8 cup of brown rice, metamucil 4 tsp., corn oil 2 1/4 tsp., also 2 tsp. of Balance IT Canine. 383 calories is enough for a daily meal. Based on her weight she should have 369 calories, pretty close. So that means 4 oz. in the AM and 12 hours later another 4 oz. This recipe has 412 calories and she’s getting a better variety. Again 4 oz. in the AM and 12 hours later another 4 oz.
I will run this by her Doctor and hope he agrees with this.
Do you drain the meat before adding the rice and veggies?
Yes, you can drain the excess fat if you wish.
Although I added salt, ( all animals need salt) this was such a great idea.
My dog has been on grain-free food since she was a baby and now has cancer, so grain-free is NOT the way to go. This is a great, simple recipe. I will also be adding an egg occasionally and swapping out the veggies, but the combination was perfect and it was so good, I ate some. LOL
Thank you for the inspiration. I did cure a dog of cancer with a homemade diet.
Hi,
can you give us the recipe for the cure cancer diet?
I made about 8 or 9 ziplocks bags with this . But was wondering how long is it ok to leave in freezer for? Not sure when it will go bad.
As I am not an expert on food safety, I cannot really say with certainty. Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps, Jessica!
Hi! My dog loves this recipe. The only thing I am not sure about is how much to feed her. She is a great Dane cross Labrador she weighs about 37kg. Can anyone help me out? Appreciated
Michelle, I just joined this site and have figured on about 2-3% of your dog’s weight per day. I have a 200 lb English Mastiff. That is about 5-6 lbs/day. You’ve likely got an answer, but just in case…. Hope it helps.
Very good however is it enough vitamins and minerals for a dog ? And can I ask how muh to feed a small dog about 6kg a day I’ve started to make own homemade dog food because my little one is a very fussy eater and is very expensive for commercial dog food or to buy fresh on line . She was used to raw food and went off it do you have anymore recipe please? Thank you
How much food should I feed a 100lb dog? He’s 12 years old so doesn’t have high energy anymore. He’s a golden so will eat any amount of food if given to him. I want to make his meals.
Barbara, I just joined this site and have figured on about 2-3% of your dog’s weight per day. For your older fellah about 2% of body weight – about 3 lbs/day. I have a 200 lb English Mastiff. That is about 5-6 lbs/day. You’ve likely got an answer, but just in case…. Hope it helps.
I made a batch yesterday and thought my finiky dogs would never touch this…they gobbled it up!
Do you drain the fat/juice from the meat before stirring in the veggies?
Yes, you can drain the excess fat.
I I would like to make this for my Cavs, but don’t know how much to feed them . At present I feed them 1/3 cup of dry food 2x a day. Please let me know.
Peggy
I have made this. I wanted to get away from kibble, even though using for years a ‘healthier’ kind. (It is scary how unhealthy any kibble is for our babies.) This recipe was enjoyed by my dogs & I believe this is a healthier alternative by far to commercial kibble. Easy to make & one batch – or doulbe batch – frozen in daily consumption servings for your baby(ies) is definitely the way to go. That said, it is important to note that whether or not your precious gems have bladder/kidney issues or you just want to do what you can to prevent these issues, read up on how/why stones form. Two of my aging babies have had UTI problems, one having Calcium Oxalate DiHydrate stones removed from her bladder, the other recurring bladder infections which actually lead to stones. Since I have learned this I make my own ‘dog food’ as well (which is really people food that I give to my dogs). (Smiling aren’t you? It just sounds better {bc it is} better.) I printed out a chart from Greenopedia.com that lists alkaline vs. acidic foods. IMPORTANT: You will want to choose mostly from the alkaline chart. My non-professional though lengthy research results in an 80% alkaline 20% acidic balance for bladder health in susceptible dogs, 60/40 in non-susceptible dogs, or dogs w/o bladder issues as yet. IMPORTANT: RESEARCH what to NEVER give your dogs as this list, and many others, have most likely been created for people not dogs, i.e. avocados, grapes, nuts, dairy, etc. are toxic to our pets (aspca.org). Good luck & may God Bless all our furry friends w/ good health & loving cuddles!
Is there a need to add nutritional supplements?
Yes, but this should be consulted with your pet’s veterinarian as supplements can vary by breed and weight.
Can you tell me why you need to heat the food up
Warm foods are essentially more palatable, no? 🙂