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 made dog food off and on for several years and have researched a lot of recipes. Apparently, a dog’s shorter digestive tract can’t digest brown rice, so white is better. I also add oatmeal and barley, a squirt of tomato paste, blueberries or apples, eggs and cottage cheese. I also change things up using lean ground beef or chicken. Just to be on the safe side, I add some Dino-vite or Show Stopper and a few drops of Lick-O-Chops or Supr-O-Mega when I serve it. My dogs are really excited about breakfast and dinner. They’re toy Rat Terriers (8 and 10 lbs.) I give them a level ice cream scoop twice a day. Freeze it in quart freezer bags. Each one lasts about 4 days in fridge after being defrosted.
I have a 6 year old Maltese Poodle who is a very very finicky eater!! I can never get him to eat dog food unless I literally force feed him. I started making this food for him a week ago and he absolutely loves it! He actual,y begs to be fed now. And he gobbles it up immediately. I substituted boneless chicken breast, boiled instead of ground turkey. He loves chicken! I am going to try the turkey this next time.
Thanks for the recipe! How long will this keep in the fridge? Do you freeze it? I have one dog…Border Terrier Mix…small…So this looks like it makes a lot more than she can eat in a week.
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.
Could I use quinoa instead of brown rice? Also, could I put potato in it instead of brown rice?
Yes, quinoa can be used. Potatoes should be kept to a minimum and should be avoided serving raw. You can read more about it here.
I have a very finicky Husky. He LOVES this dog food.
My Husky mix does also. I switch the veggies now and then (squash, kidney beans, sweet potato, kale, strawberries) and always add 1 apple + 1 fish oil pill +1+Apoquel (MIRACLE DRUG)+ 1 Glucosamin (Walmart twin packs) = one happy and healthy fur baby, for much less $$$. No more hot spots, flaky & itchy skin, licking, or $2,000 vet bills (without any solution other than Apoquel) = one happy dog mom! FYI I’m a Chemist and can tell you the chemical structure DOES DOES NOT CHANGE , VITAMINS (or any nutrient) do not DECREASE, and the food is unchanged in any way except for temperature using a microwave. THE FOOD IS, KEY WORD HERE “WARMED”. 10-30 seconds is 100% ok. Fact. If your boiling or nuking it, you will loose 2-4% of the nutrient content and minuscule amounts of radiation, which your dog is exposed to on a daily basis anyway. Moderation people. Would you like to eat cold, soggy, defrosted turkey burger w rice for dinner every night? Didn’t think so.
I make my own dog food twice a week for my two dogs (68 lbs and 48 lbs). I use whatever meat I find on sale….lately chicken legs, drumsticks and thighs have been $1/lb or less, chicken liver has been a bargain, and even pork has been very reasonable. I sometimes use brown rice (remember to rinse it well first), but recently found that my dogs like oatmeal much better….and cooking time is shorter! I but frozen bags of vegetables…green beans, peas, or mixed vegetables. I roast the selected protein in a disposable pan. While it cools so I can chop it, I cook the vegetables, remove them and use the same water to make the rice or oatmeal. I use the juices in the roasting pan to add flavor and additional moisture. I mix everything together and store in plastic containers in the refrigerator. They love it! And, I know they are eating only human quality foods!
I have a 60lb Boxer and a 11lb chihuahua. They eat twice a day. What would you recommend for serving size?
Thank you for your feedback!
I was wondering how much you give your dog at a time. Like how much do you give per pound?
Kasey, we currently feed our corgis 1 cup each, supplemented by treats.
Hello – how much do 65 lb dogs get / how many times a day?
Ana, this is something that should be consulted with your veterinarian.
What is the daily quantity/measurement I should be feeding my 13 year old 18lb terrier mix?
Bev, this is something that should be consulted with your veterinarian.
you could also add coconut oil and fish oil which are great for dogs health
Can you tell me what kind of ground turkey is best to purchase? Some appear to be pretty high in fat. Your recommendation would be most helpful.
Thank you
I prefer to purchase organic ground turkey from Whole Foods.
Hi! This will be my first attempt at making homemade dog food. My toy schnauzer is 9lbs. How much food should she get for a meal? Also, how long will the food last in the fridge? Thanks. Louise
Louise, these are all great questions but it may be best to consult your veterinarian. We currently feed our corgis 1 cup each, supplemented by treats. 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 can’t wait to try this. This may be a dumb question, do you also give kibble?
Nope, not a dumb question at all. And no, I do not feed them kibble.
Oh gosh we already spend about $350/month on dog food… I bet this would be even more expensive… lol Thanks for the recipe though! 🙂
You are so welcome! But this really should not cost $350/month. That is the beauty of making dog food at home – it’s cheaper and healthier!
Hi! Made this recipe and my dog (shih tzu) LOVES it. I’m concerned about supplements though. Every site I go to either promotes a specific product, or is so vague it’s hard to figure out what they are saying. My vet doesn’t support homemade food, so asking them is counterproductive. Would you consider sharing the brand you use. I’m looking to add a multi vitamin and will be doing egg shells for calcium. I’m also adding a sweet potato to the recipe. Thanks for your help.
JulieRae, I use Balance IT® canine, recommended by my veterinarian.
I’m so excited to try this recipe! I have a female welsh corgi and she weighs a little over 20 lbs. she currently eats 1/2 cup of dry food twice per day. Would I give her the same portion size using this recipe?
Thank you!!
We give our corgis about 1 cup total, divided into 3 servings.
Thanks for a great recipe. I am getting a new puppy at the end of July and I decided to do some research on commercial dog food and the different brands. What I read shocked me. It is apparently common practise for top dog food manufacturers to use road kill, euthanized animals (obviously full of toxic chemicals and complete with their id tags and collars still attached) and whatever can be scraped from killing room floors, think beaks, feathers, feet. I have used the commercial foods in past but I can’t now. Added plus is that I LOVE to cook and so I have another mouth to lovingly feed!!
I would not feed a dog grains. They are carnivores, and don’t *need* any fruit or veg. Yes, they can eat a lot of them and can get some benefit from them, but only if they are processed right. Their bodies can’t break down the cell wall of plant matter. They definitely don’t need a food made up of so much plant matter. Fruit and veg shouldn’t exceed 10% of their diet. You also can’t compare proteins that humans can eat and digest to that of what dogs can, since meat is made up of different amino acids that plants are. Dogs thrive on me. The best diet you can feed your dog is a raw diet consisting of 80% meat, 10% edible bone, 5% liver and 5% other secreting organ – all raw. It’s so much simpler to make than something such as this recipe, and so much easier for your dog to digest. Cooking meat alters it, and depletes the nutrients, so it makes it much harder on a dog’s system. Also since the nutrients have been depleted it’s not going to be balanced.
How much in cups do I give my labradors per feed based on your recipe?.
Bev, this is something that should be consulted with your veterinarian.
dogs are carnivores mostly though….much more meat is needed…and they only get veggies and grains because we give them those….they don’t crave them….I’ve fed my big old Lab (14yrs) raw since he was a pup…no health issues at all. And that’s just meat and bone, very little veggie and zero grains.
Yes, dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, but dogfood has only come to be a thing in the last 100yrs or so….they either hunted for themselves or were fed bones and meat scraps…not veggies and grains!! They will eat the stomach contents of a kill, but for the stomach lining which is full of nutrients.