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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Thank you for this recipe Chungah! We had to put our 13 yr. old Chocolate lab to rest last week, and our 4 yr. old lab/sheppard has been severely depressed. He wouldn’t eat anything, so I started making this for him, and he gobbles it down! It’s the only thing he looks forward each day while he’s grieving his brother, so thank you for giving our pup some happiness in his days of grief!
This recipe looks great but, do any vitamins need to be added?
Lisa, we do add supplements/vitamins as directed by our vet/nutritionist but this really should be answered by your veterinarian.
What vitamins/supplements do you add? I’ll of course talk to my vet but curious as to what you supplement with, and what types of supplements I should look into. My king Charles spaniel has heart disease so we are starting a homemade diet.
We use Balance IT® Canine as recommended by our veterinarian.
Would you recommend having dry kibble available also for necessary vitamins instead of the vitamins? My dogs won’t chew tablets.
Robin,
I also have a Cavalier KCS, no mitral valve disease yet, but 50% of them have some level by 5 years. Did you find a good (balanced per AAFCO requirement recipe?) I have one I’m happy to share with you but it is not tailored to heart disease. Not a fan of Balance IT since their recipe site won’t allow adding liver or ground egg shells, therefore uses copious amounts of the supplement, going way over recommended levels of many nutrients just to get enough calcium,Choline, Zinc & copper. Most Vets have no training in canine nutrition and it’s hard to find a good canine nutritionist. Please email me directly patcaldwell3@msn.com
So, I often brew my own beer. There is a ton of grains when I am done with a small batch (+20 lb). I have seen some people make dog treats as a byproduct of brewing beer. I have two boxers that I cant keep them out of my grains at the end of a brew. They will not eat their dog food though! If I could find a way to incorporate the grains in to dog food, that would be super efficient!
Chad,
we also have a new Boxer from the shelter 1.5 yrs old. We also brew beer as you do. Your post was from 5/19/2015 and I was wondering if you came up with a way to incorporate the grains from brewing into dog food. Would love to hear back from you.
made it today…cant wait to try it tomorrow!
I have a 10 yr old GSD and I did extensive research on raw food diets and home cooked diets to ensure I was giving her a complete and balanced meal (balance over time) and my method is making her a bone broth (she doesn’t get the cooked bones) with fresh herbs and veg that take my fancy at time of shop and I do add some brown rice as she’s a large dog and I want to ensure she gets enough solid food which is cooked in a slow cooker.
When it cools, I skim off extra excess fat and discard the bones and add the mix to her portion containers along with mixed organs, raw meaty bones, raw mixed meat from the butchers and some portions will be fish based using canned whole sardines or canned salmon. Each time I cook up a big batch, it’s all different mixes of the required elements but measured out to the approx right portions.
Most vets will frown upon home made diets unless it’s also supplemented with a good dry food to make sure they get both the macro and micro nutrients you may miss.
i think this is a great idea and will try it. My chow rescue had horrid mange which is finally in control.
I make my own treats for her (vet had samples at his open house). I just thinly slice 2 sweet potatoes. Spread out on cookie sheet. Bake at 300 for 90 minutes. She loves them and the trick is once they are cool, keep in a closed container. This way, I know what is in it and don’t have to worry about a “recall”
Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Chungah, i researched a lot on dog recipes and found yours to be the best one. Thanks for posting these photographs.
I wish we could afford to make something as delicious as this for our two labs! Who knows maybe I’ll just make it for them for theyre birthdays!
inever thought I would make food either but my 3 Shih-Tsu’s love it too!
I have a 15 yr old Shih-Tsu that does not like his dry dog food any more he likes what we eat need to know how to make it for him. He had beef and brown rice he loved it like to make oatmeal with other food. Ginny
hi! love this! i have 3 dogs- 2 large breed (huskies) and 1 medium size (korean jindo). just curious about the portion sizes? i gave huskies 1 1/2 cup ans jindo 1 cup. wondering if this meets caloric needs. thank you!
Brandy, there are 412.3 calories per 1 cup. Please make the appropriate adjustments to fit your pets breed/size. We are feeding 1 cup of food for each of our corgi puppies, supplemented by treats.
Do you have any recipes for heavy dogs that need to loose weight?
This is excellent. I just recently got a puppy and can’t wait to make this for her. Thanks for the great recipe. Pinned!
I, too, never thought I would be one of those people who made home-cooked food for their dog. But, my dog (a rescue dog who has since died of old age) had some terrible skin problems when we got her and I was told diet might be helpful. I was skeptical, but tried anyway. The change was in her skin and coat was dramatic and amazing. Plus, she clearly loved the food, so I kept doing it. It was also much cheaper than the special commercial diet foods that were available.
I used a basic recipe with proportions similar to yours, but I changed the specific ingredients. In the summer, I used whatever was left at the end of the week from our CSA share. I also bought frozen veggies on special, like peas, green beans, carrot slices and squash chunks etc. because sometimes I didn’t feel like grating or chopping. I varied the carbohydrate, too, using potatoes and sweet potatoes sometimes or leftover barley or oatmeal or other grains that were leftover from our meals. On special occasions I used Tater Tots or French Fries ( from the health food store) and buffalo meat – more pricey but nice for a change for birthdays and holidays.
I cooked it in big cake pans – baking it at 350 for an hour or so. I measured it into portions. I sometimes made a month’s worth at a time.
Once I had it figured into my routine, it took very little time – less than driving to the pet store and loading up on canned food and kibble.
You should feed a 10 pound dog 2-3% of what their breeds adult weight would be. So a 10 # dog X 16oz. equals 160 oz. 2-3% would be 4-5 ounces a day. Dogs GI tract is not really designed to digest vegetables or grains, so make sure they are well cooked. I’ve been feeding my Great Dane a raw prey diet for the past 6 years. His diet consists of 80/10/10, meat/organs/bone. Dogs can eat bone as long as it isn’t cooked. He crunches raw chicken drummies and thighs to supplement his bone requirements.
Just a side note about raw diets: they poop less…..raw diet is nearly all digested, not grains to expel.
I was about to say that. Dogs and cats (especially cats) are carnivores. There is no need to cook anything and even less give vegetable, grains and dairy.
I also give raw for my dogs, it is easier and they love. And it’s lovely to see them eating.
ps: Sorry the poor English. I’m still learning.
Please keep learning English. You are doing very well already and the fact that you are learning my language at all is awesome. Good luck and thanks for communicating with me in English.
We adopted a senior dog 2 years ago. Had terrible skin problems and I was cooking for him. Thankful, he is better. He is not much of a drinker so the one thing that I’ve continued to make for him is homemade veggie broth. He gets a warmed bowl when we get home from work. (I make up a big batch in the crockpot over night, portion and then freeze. I have enough for 3 weeks. So easy and nutritious)….Keep up with the doggie recipes!!!
I am fostering a deployment dog who has been very picky with food. She won’t eat dry dog food at all (she’s 15). I have been trying ‘real’ food specialty dog food but it’s not easy to obtain and is very expensive. I’ve been giving her some left over steamed veggies and chicken from a store bought roasted chicken. She loves it. But I really like this recipe and think she will too. I’d like to stop the purchased dog food. Wondering though how much to feed a 10 lb. dog? Does anyone know? Seems like 1 cup a day would be too much.
Thanks so much!
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
Check the ingredients. Some store bought roasted chicken may be cooked with spices like garlic or onion.
going to makes this. could use quinoa instead of rice
I use Quinoa everyday…my dog loves it, and it alone is a perfect food source…I mix with the ground turkey, and hard boiled eggs, shell and all…I have a German Shepherd and he is beautiful and healthy! I’m going to start adding the veggies..and he also takes an L-Gultimaine everyday, along with Greek Yogurt and Oatmeal..
Do you use the Balance It web site? I cook my dogs food also, but use only organic meat.The web site looks interesting, but wondering if it’s a ploy to sell supplements. Thanks for all you do.
Yes, I use the Balance IT site – it’s a great resource as recommended by my veterinarian.
Thank you for this recipe! I am getting the ingredients today to make for my dogs.
I’ve been looking for a healthy dog recipe.
I love the versatility of your recipes.
According to my vet, dogs are not able to properly digest brown rice. I know this is true for my dog. I was advised to only feed her white rice.
Brown rice is a little higher in protein and a little lower in fat when compared to white rice, although white rice is an easily digestible carbohydrate which makes it a good source of energy when your dog has an upset tummy or if you are feeding an older dog. But as always, it is best to feed your pup as directed by your veterinarian.
Rice should be double cooked and cooked longer than what we would cook for ourselves as it’s true that it’s not as digestible for them. Brown rice is better than white rice though, as is with us.
Technically rice/pasta is only a filler in dog food, to yield more food cheaply and fill them up, it’s not actually part of their diet at all.
I made all of my own dog food for my dog. She was much healthier because of it. (Traditional dog food gave her belly a rash). One important ingredient my vet had me add: Canned pumpkin. Very important when you are making your own food. Pumpkins are very rich in fiber and even adding two teaspoons of canned pumpkin in you dog’s food helps the digestion process.
Thanks for the recipe. I never thought to add in spinach. Will begin doing that!
This is one recipe I use as a basic recipe. I double the recipe to freeze for the next week…I get the whole pork loin from Sams club.
5.5 pound lean whole pork tenderloin-cool to neutral, Yin tonic,
1 cup dry barley, cooked before adding to meat mix-cool, Yin tonic, Blood tonic, Drains Damp
5 eggs-neutral, Blood tonic
5 carrots-neutral, Blood tonic, Resolve Stagnation…
2 turnips-neutral, Drain Damp
1 cup Shiitake mushrooms-cool, Qi tonic, Drain Damp
12 stalks asparagus-neutral, Yin tonic, Drains Damp
1/2 cup cauliflower-neutral
1/2 cup broccoli-cool, Blood tonic
1 cup cranberries-neutral, for bladder health
1 apple-neutral to cool, Transforms Phlegm, Yin tonic
1 pear-neutral to cool, Transforms Phlegm
1/2 cup parsley-Blood tonic, Resolves Stagnation
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger-warm, Qi tonic, Transforms Phlegm, Resolves Stagnation
1/2 medium zucchini-neutral to warm, Qi tonic
All ingredients were run through the grinder and mixed well. Bake at 350 for close to an hour.
***Add a calcium supplement 500-1000 mg per day for home cooked meals to make it balanced. add fish oil & pumpkin.
I cook for my dogs too. But they don’t get all that great variety in each meal–although I try to vary it from meal to meal. In otherwords, we all (me and the four dogs) all want to eat at your house!
lol. I try to keep it balanced according to the weather. they get warmer veggies when its colder out but I always do the carrots, barley, and broccoli & I do spinach a lot. My dogs are yeasty so no potatoes or rice but the barley keeps the ears dry. All the guys at work are jealous because I feed the dogs so well. I added unsweetened organic coconut flakes this week & I actually had some myself! Its a good basic recipe for measurements of the veggies.
I love your recipe…adapted my dogs diet. Thank you for the additional information (Qi tonic, neutral, Yin…). Are there any educational resources that you are aware of or want to share, that I could utilize into my own human diet I.e., Qi tonic, ….I’d love to learn more. Thank you.
Teresa, I am going to try cooking this for my pet dog but I would just like to clarify what does the cool, Qi tonic,Yin tonic, neutral, blood tonic mean in your recipe?
Thanks!
Dear heavens…asparagus is very toxic to canines. Please don’t feed asparagus to pets. Same thing for mushrooms. Their stomach acids are different than ours and mushrooms often create belly bloating and gas.
Dogs can absolutely eat asparagus. Mine eats it at least once a week. http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/the_best_vegetables_for_dogs_and_cats
Teresa I just happened on to your recipe here and more than interested in the information you have provided. Can I ask you where you found this information or if you can refer me to a site for more info My dog has a dampness/phlegm issue and to find this info of yours is amazing and helpful. Do you think you have to use pork and then when things like cauliflower can cause gas it doesn’t sound like it is a “must be in recipe” item but the items that transform phlegm like the apples, pears and then the fresh grated ginger. This could be huge for use on my dog. Hoping you will see this note and respond. Thanks so much! Laurie
Teresa, can you come up with a people recipe like that? Seriously I would love it. Thanks, Jo M.
I love this so much! I know this is an old post, but can you estimate about how much you spend on this recipe per month? My boyfriend pays for our 2 dogs high quality kibble right now, but I just don’t believe its the best for our boys. It would really just be about managing the budget. Thank you! I love to find my people! haha. Most of my friends and family think I’m crazy with the enthusiasm and money I spend on my boys health. Thanks again.
Also, what are your thoughts about serving something like this raw, instead of cooking it? Are there benefits to cooking the food first? I do a lot of raw food when I can afford it, but their base food is kibble.
Thoughts?
we just got a dog and he is allergic to his food. we were told to go grain free poultry free S.O.S