Our dogs are our best friends, and they deserve homemade meals too!
Unfortunately, a lot of store-bought dog foods have a lot of preservatives and additives that you might not be so thrilled for your canine companion to be consuming. And high-dollar dog food, with real food ingredients, can be really pricey.
So a great alternative is to just make your own at home!
First, you’ll want to determine what the best nutrition is for your dog. Not every dog is going to have the same nutritional needs, but in general, dogs need protein, like from meat, fish, dairy and eggs, fat, like from meat or oil, carbohydrates, calcium and fatty acids. Grains are not always good for dogs, you might want to opt for sweet potato and vegetables as a carbohydrate source.
A good starting place is to talk to your vet. The two of you can discuss what ingredients would be best for your dog, and if he has special health or nutritional needs that should be met and how to do that.
Next, pick a recipe that fits your dog’s specific needs. There are a lot of homemade dog food recipes on the internet, so odds are you will find something that suits you.
A really great basic recipe consists of sweet potatoes, frozen peas and carrots, and chicken breast, at a 1:1:2 ratio. Cook all the ingredients in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours and then stir, let cool, and distribute into bags to freeze. You can pull out a bag every few days, thaw, and bam! Easy, healthy, delicious and nutritious homemade food for your dog.
While this probably isn’t ideal for daily meals, making sure your dog gets regular helpings of raw meat is also crucial. Once or twice a week, throw your dog some raw ground beef. Occasional organ meats are also incredibly beneficial, but should not exceed 15%. Also, bones are great for their health, but try to get them from a butcher, not the pre-packaged ones that are full of artificial flavoring and preservatives.
Our dogs are members of our family, and they deserve healthy, whole, real food ingredients too. Consider making your own dog food today!
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12 thoughts on “Homemade Dog Food”
I make my dogs food with a lot of meat from the butcher, ground meat, bone, organs plus homemade treats with carob for special occasions. natural peanut butter and organic oats almond meal and rye flour from the health food store. I usually have to make extra because my husband and son love the dog treats too.
What about cat food for indoor cats?
A 50% raw diet would be a good place to start,
to feed a dog all processed food ( such as dry or canned dog food)
is criminal, the processed foods are void of natural digestive enzymes.
same diet should apply to humans. Also avoid Municipal Tap water
the fluorides and chloroamines are toxic when ingested. give you dog bottled water if you live in the city. I know this is extreme, but it is the only way to promote a long healthy life.
Peace
Al
@Albert, be aware that much of the bottled water comes from municipal sources and can have fluoridation. Most of the pitcher/faucet filters leave a portion of the fluoridation/aluminum in the water. Brita actually concentrates it.
I finally invested in a quality gravity fed filter that removes pharmaceuticals and fluoride. My dog drinks what I do.
Peace and good health to you
Teddie, What is the name of the gravity fed filter? Thanks
I agree. I use a filter for family and dog. Image all the chlorine my 8 pound maltese would be ingesting if it weren’t filtered out.
That should be imagine not image.
Can you give more info on where to get this gravity fed filter? I would like to have one! Thank you!
Check out http://www.naturalnews.com. Search his articles for those on water filters and you will find what you need. He has personally tested them in his lab (he’s a chemist) and makes recommendations based on the results.
Albert,
I was told the only way to filter fluoride and pharmaceuticals was by using a reverse osmosis water filteration system. What company makes your filter?
Thanks
Where is the recipe?
@Mary, in the body of the article the recipe reads:
A really great basic recipe consists of sweet potatoes, frozen peas and carrots, and chicken breast, at a 1:1:2 ratio. Cook all the ingredients in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours and then stir, let cool, and distribute into bags to freeze.
an example would be 1 cup sweet potato, 1 cup frozen peas, 2 cups chicken breast.