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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Do you have a ground chicken recipe for crock pot??
Hello I have 2 dogs that are 18lbs how much should I give them? Thanks for your help
How many cups for a 55lb dog a day
MY DOG WILL NOT STOP ETCHING HAVE TRY THE PILLS AND SHOTS NOTHING WORKS GOING TO TRY HOME MADE FOOD AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS
your dog may have allergies to protein you are feeding. My dog is allergic to chicken and beef I feed him salmon
My German shepherd had itching and the vet said to put 2 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil in his food and mix it up. Over about a week his itching wasn’t as bad.
My dog got so itchy I would have to take her for allergy shots usually once a year when it got bad. Since switching to raw carnivore (raw meat only) 6 years ago she hasn’t needed any shots and no more itching. She mostly eats raw ground beef, occasionally ground chicken or turkey if it’s on sale. I do 80 percent lean is perfect. If it’s fattier ground beef I give her next meal leaner turkey. Or half and half. If all we have is lean I add salmon oil. She used to eat chicken gizzards sometimes too (low cost) but now shes older her teeth can’t handle that but i did just get some gizzards on sale and ran them through the food processor for her. She loves her meat and has so much more energy. Only here looking for what I can mix in for awhile while the budget is tight here. Hope u find something that helps your pup.
Hello- I am one one of those people that would never make my own dog food well guess what!! Here I am and my 2 pups love it thank you!!
My chihuahua is 12 years old has Pancreatitis she has to eat 3 times a day small amounts how much should I give her she’s used to kindle , can I add crumble egg ?
Plan on making this for my almost 2 year old
43.2 lbs Saluki Lab Mix.
She eats twice a day (Breakfast & Dinner); but I am not sure how much of your homemade dog food recipe I would need to feed her per meal?
Please advise?
Thank you
On a raw diet an adult dog is supposed to eat 2-3% of their body weight. This would be .86-1.3 pounds daily. Devide that between the two meals.
What amount would a 60 lb senior dog need per day of this recipe?
My dogs LOVED this! I was making them chicken and rice. But I did not like the way their breath was smelling. Think I was missing some important veges. They devoted it!! Thank you!
So instead of using olive oil I used coconut oil. Because it’s good for the skin and fur. And sometime I add a scrambled egg for an extra boost of protein for my 14 year old boys.
It’s very good, it’s the definition of perfection. It’s soooooo good that I tried it.
I made this for my little dog. It gave me more servings for the amount I pay for his wet food and he devoured it. I wasn’t sure if he’d eat the spinach or the carots but he abosolutely loved this. Thank you!
Thank you for this. Have followed you for years & love all your info. Is this recipe for 8 cups which I assume is 8 servings for a 20lb dog (or under)
My pup is a 95lb 11 year old lab so want to adjust accordingly. Thank you for the Balance.It what a great thing!
There’s just so much junk in our pets food…. depressing.
Haven’t made it yet but giving five stars for posting this and nice presentation. I’m going to prepare the recipe tonight.
Big question: How do portion it? Lbs or cups per pound of dog? Start with same scoop size as their kibble, then watch if dog seems still hungry? I normally add « toppers » to his food but at the current cost of kibble, I’m going to start making the whole meal!
I agree, I was thinking the same thing. The cost for a 40 pound bag of dog food is 62 dollars. I have 3 dogs, this is not sustainable. It is time to go back to the old ways, making your own bread, tortillas, and now dog food.
Do u recommend a portion size?
Need home made food for my dog . He has itchy paws and dry skin.
I’m wondering if he was eating the Purina pro plan?
My dog was eating that and also had itchy paws and dry skin. I have also been hearing about dogs getting sick/becoming deathly ill from eating it.
We’re transitioning to the homemade food diet because we can’t trust the quality of the packaged dog food anymore 🙁
Please take a look at this group.
Saving Pets One Pet @ A Time.
Purina pet foods are making our pets sick.
My dogs, 4 of them itch constantly. I’m going to try homemade dog food. Anyone know how much I should make. I have a 50lb, 3 10lb dogs. I’m so new at this. How much to feed each of them.
Thank you for your help
My boys seen the vet today. He suggested that my Aussie Doodle needs the fresh food you buy at the store. I thought why not try to make my own. I wonder how well it freezes?
He has chronic ear infections, diarrhea frequently and yeast infection on his paws. Hope the homemade foods helps him.
Thank you!
My picky eater cleaned her plate. She won’t eat out of a bowl.
But this was easy and very inexpensive!
Could you can this?
Thank you this helps me and my little nugget so so much!!!!!
The pups love it! Licked their bowls clean! Pup hugs! Thanks for a great recipe.
Dog loves it. Can you freeze it?
I make enough for 3 weeks at a time and freeze it in batches (to feed them for 3 days each bag). I thaw 1 bag at a time, and keep it in the fridge. Our dogs don’t seem to notice the difference.