Recipes to Create Your Own Dog Food At Home

By Shreya Tragad

Sometimes we want to make fresh homemade dog food ourselves for our little one, but it does require some planning! You may question what type of food is better for your dog, whether it’s dry or raw, and you want to make sure that your dog's food is complete and balanced, but also enjoyable for your dog. Here are some homemade dog food recipes that your dog will enjoy and will also be healthy for them:

 

Remember… 

1. Make sure to supplement your dog’s homemade food with calcium, unless you are feeding them raw meaty bones.
2. Stick to more lean meats and remove the skin, unless your dog is very active.
3. It is important to feed your dog a variety of foods from different food groups.
4. The less variety of foods you feed to your dog, the more important supplements will become.
5. Go through your homemade dog food diet plan with your veterinarian to make sure it is sufficient for your puppy’s health.

 

How to Create Balanced Homemade Dog Food Recipes

1. Boneless Meat

You can feed your dog both poultry and red meats, the heart is a good choice as it is less expensive in comparison to other muscle meats and is also very lean.

 

2. Dairy

Plain yogurt is suitable for most dogs along with cottage and ricotta cheese, but try to limit other forms of cheese as they can be high in fat which won’t be very healthy for them.

 

3. Eggs

Eggs are high in nutrition if they are added to any diet! If your dog weighs around 20 pounds, you can feed them a whole egg every day, but try to feed smaller dogs a smaller amount.

 

4. Fish

Fish provide lots of vitamin D, canned fish with bones that are packed in water are great choices such as sardines and pink salmon. Remember to remove the bones if you are cooking the fish yourself and do not feed your dog raw pacific salmon, trout, or any other species that are related. It would be recommended to feed them small amounts of fish every day, or even larger amounts once to twice a week. The total amount of fish you should feed your dog should be about once ounce of fish per pound of other meats.

 

5. Fruits and Vegetables

Deeply coloured fruits and vegetables are highly nutritious and will provide lots of fibre that will support your dog’s digestive health along with other beneficial nutrients that will contribute to their health and long life. Bananas, berries, melon, apples are great fruit choices to feed to your dog but try to avoid grapes and raisins as they can cause kidney failures for dogs.

 

6. Leafy Green and Other Non-Starchy Vegetables

These are very low in calories therefore you can add them to their diet in any desired quantity. Raw vegetables should be pureed in a blender or juicer for your dog to digest easily, although whole raw veggies are not harmful, but difficult to digest.

 

7. Meat and Other Animal Products

This should consist of half of the diet as raw meats can be too high in fat which can lead to obesity, which can lead to other health issues. Try to feed your dog leaner meats (less than 10% fat), unless your dog gets lots of daily exercise. It would be best to remove the skin and cut off separable fat.

 

8. Organs

Organs such as animal liver should make up only 5% of this category, or approximately one ounce of liver per pound of other animal products. Beef liver specifically is highly nutritious but try to include chicken liver or other animal livers as well occasionally. Feeding your dog, a smaller amount of liver daily is recommended rather than feeding larger amounts less often.

 

9. Raw Meaty Bones

This is an option that you can choose to add to a homemade dog food diet, but it should only consist of one-third to one-half of the total diet. If you choose to feed your dog bony parts such as the neck and back of a chicken, try to limit it to small portions, but if you feed them meatier parts such as chicken thighs, you can add a larger portion, but remember to never feed your dog cooked bones!

 

10. Starchy Vegetables

Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, squashes and legumes will be great to add to your homemade dog food recipes as it provides carbohydrate calories to maintain the weight on skinny and active dogs. If your dog is overweight, try to lower the quantity and remember to properly cook starchy foods for them to be easily digestible for your furry friend!

 

Dietary Supplements for Home-Fed Dogs

1. Calcium
2. Cod Liver Oil
3. Fish Oil
4. Plant Oils

 

Other Vitamins and Minerals

1. Green Blends
2. Iodine
3. Multivitamins & Mineral Supplements
4. Vitamin E

 

We hope we provided you with some great information on which homemade dog food recipes you can make for your dog which will contribute to their quality of health and life! It is important for your dog food to be complete and balanced and should meet all essential nutritional needs. It is important to remember not to over-feed your dog, many dog owners over-feed their pets thinking it will be better for them, but it is quite the opposite.

Home-prepared dog foods that include a variety that is fed during different meals must balance over time, not after every meal. As long as your dog gets everything that they require to be healthy spread out over the week, their diet will be complete and balanced. Remember to review it with your veterinarian in case they suggest any changes to be made.