DIY Homemade Dog Food
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
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 do you measure fresh spinach?
Loosely in a measuring cup.
I have a service dog, lab also has allergies as well. Is this a good recipe. She needs a no grain diet.
Where’s the dairy in this recipe? I add a blob of cottage cheese to their bowls right at feeding time so it doesn’t get weird in the cooking process. I also sometimes add an egg to the food when I’m warming it up. My dogs can’t tolerate carrots (they come out undigested in their poops) so I omit that from the recipe, and sometimes I replace the brown rice with regular rice, black rice or quinoa. As for veggies I change them to wherever is safe and in season. Same with the meat, they’ve had everything from venison, freshwater fish, duck, pheasant and wild turkey…..depending what we’ve hunted/caught. It’s also way more economical to feed harvested meat and veggies than store bought, not to mention healthier. Thanks for a great base recipe!
Hi! I am just starting to do homemade food for my 12 year old daschund using the balance it supplements. When do you add it? They have two different formulas now, canine and canine plus (which can be heated). I got the regular canine formula and have been adding it right before I feed him. But, I am starting to think it would’ve been nice to add it when I make a big batch using Canine plus then I can heat it in microwave when I am ready for the individual serving. Love being able to create the different recipes on their site! What ratio protein/fat/carbs to do use in your recipes?
I prefer to add the supplements prior to serving, but as always, please use your best judgment.
As recommended by my veterinarian, I use BalanceIt.com to determine protein/fat/carbs.
Hi! I have been researching making my dogs food myself. This is not only because I want to save money but because I worry about what is really be putting in dog food. I am getting a new puppy in 4 weeks. Do you think this recipe is suitable for a puppy?
Misty, this is something that should be consulted with your veterinarian.
What is the suggested serving size per weight? I have 2 dogs and am trying to see how much I would need to make for a week.
Thanks,
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
Hi
We’re moving our Lab onto homemade food to manage allergies and this recipe looks great. One question however, how much should I feed to my dog? He’s a large Lab (38kg)
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
One of my yorkshire terriers is a allergic to a lot of food, so I am always looking for more organic food, and then my sister enlightened me that you could make your own dog food, so here I am! This looks great for my yorkies and is high in protein, so thank you!
I was wondering how long this last in the freezer?
I’ve had them last for a few weeks but as always, please use your best judgment.
This is Great ! Is it ok for any dog? I mean i have Golden Retriever Puppy. (one year Old).
Also, Can i remove carrot form recipe? He don’t like 2 carrots. 🙂
Yes, you can omit certain ingredients that you see fit. That’s the beauty of home cooking! 🙂
I have three female chihuahuas. I usually purchase I/d prescription diet dry food, because they have gastrointestinal problems. Is there a special food that I can prepare for my girls. Because it is so expensive and I am limited in finances. Please if you have a recipe on hand, by all means could you email it to me. Bless you so much!
What is the serving size based on weight? And does it need to be doubled for a puppy?
Gericho, this is something that should be consulted with your veterinarian.
My dog loved this recipe! Thank you so much! Please post more.
I tried my dog on raw meat and it did not agree with her.
Had to stop it as after four days when she went to the toilet it had all turned a bright yellow.Vet said it was no good for her pancreas. So now looking for a homemade receipe as she seems to have been put off eating..Please do you have any ideas that will help.
I have never tried raw meat for our dogs. I have bought expensive dog foods many times and my dogs do not like it. After trying different brands, I just want what is best for them. I have 2 chihuahuas and a 60 lb mix that looks like a Rottweiler. We have a cat who lives outside now. The cat was very sick for months and taking medicine. After x rays, etc… it was learned that he had microscopic lung worms, from an infected bird or rodent. He was inside for many, many months taking other medicine and getting well, but when well desperately wanted to go out. He has been outside months now. I don’t want to give raw chicken and read not to cook the meat. I read about dry food, and don’t know why I never read about what could be in it and the utter horror, and now I do not know what to do. I just want what is best for our sweet babies. Our veterinarian said Purina One or Purina Pro when I asked her opinion for dog food. Also to get a food and stick with it. Also, when I fed the expensive dog food, there was no less poop. I tried grain free and others. Thank you for any help.
Thank you for the recipe. How do you add calcium to their diet since it’s not included in this recipe?
There are calcium supplements that are available at specialty stores. But as always, please consult your veterinarian.
I want to keep my dog healthy and fit with this easy peasy homemade recipe!
Can you tell me if any one has used this diet for dogs with pancreatitis? I have a standard poodle, her enzyme levels have been elevated, however not drastically. She suffers from nausea and I have to be extremely careful about her fat content. If the protein was changed to skinless, boneless chicken breast could you see this diet as a possible choice for her. Unfortunately most veterinarians are not at all well versed on diets for these suffering dogs other than their prescription diets that are not at all that good. It was been such a maddening experience trying to find an adequate diet that she can tolerate.
Deborah, when my 13 year old Pom-Tzu had a pancreatitis attack, I fed her boiled hamburger and rice for several days until her levels were down. She then went on a dry kibble diet that was around 8% fat. She didn’t care for it and was starving all the time. I went back to the boiled hamburger and rice. I have made her food for years, which was boiled chicken, small pasta and veggies, and slowly re introduced it. We were very fortunate that she only suffered from one attack. My dog is still doing well and will be 16 in March. You should talk with your vet about what they recommend until the attack is over and then for maintenance. This is simply what worked for us, and not typical as I’m told by my vet. Pancreatitis is scary in pups, good luck!
The perfect easy recipe, I will try it and I think that my dog will love it, she really adores homemade human food.
I make my own dog food, but am concerned I’m missing something, can someone look over my recipe and give me any feed back. I have no solid measurements this is all rounding…
dozen egg yolks
3T. black strap molassas
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 cup soaked chia seeds
2cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 pkgs unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 apples cooked
2 sweet potatoes cooked
1 crown broccoli cooked
2 large cans salmon with bones
4 lbs ground beef
1 cup whole fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup turmeric, cooked with the quinoa
Looks pretty good. But I think I would add the egg whites and ground up egg shells. The egg whites remove toxins, and the egg shells add calcium. If there is no yeast problem, the potatoes may be okay.