Balanced Diet For Dogs Recipes

How To Make Homemade Dog Food

Some small kitchen appliances and tools are needed to properly make dog food including:

• Food Processor: Before I start cooking a batch of homemade dog food, I blend up all the vegetables in my food processor. This Cuisinart food processor is my go-to. Its a bit smaller than traditional food processors but works just as well as a larger model. Blending up the veggies nice and fine will speed up the cooking process.

• Dutch Oven: I make the entire batch in my large Le Creuset round Dutch oven. I love using a Dutch oven because I can ground the meat first, and then finish off the batch right in the same pot. The process is very similar to making chili except for dogs. Ya know Dog Chili.

• Measuring Cups: Rascal has his own set of measuring cups now because it makes measuring out food ingredients and the finished batch WAY easier.

• Meal Prep Containers: This is basically meal prepping for your dog, so you will need some great Tupperware. I love using these stainless steal Tupperware bins made just for pups.

You Should Use Safe High

Many foods, like chocolate, grapes, raisins, and macadamia nuts, just to name a few, are unsafe or toxic for your dog. When preparing meals, you should be aware of and avoid these ingredients.

Additionally, you should buy the same quality ingredients that you would buy for yourself. You should also be aware of the source. For example, ingredients purchased online may come from different manufacturers or locations, which may vary the quality of the product. Be consistent with where you get the ingredients for your dogs food as much as possible.

What Are The Best Ingredients For Homemade Dog Food

Your ideal crockpot dog food meals will depend on your dog’s diet and preferences. Some dogs prefer ground beef, while others like chicken. No matter what food you include, do your best to ensure that it is fresh.

Look at other dog food recipe ideas for inspiration on creative carbs and proteins.

You can find a range of unique and delicious ingredients that are good for your dog’s diet, including butternut squash, chicken breasts or chicken thighs, lean beef, and other items even a picky eater will love.

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How Much Of A Bland Diet Should You Feed Your Dog

Bland diets should be fed in small, frequent meals. Your dog should have at least two meals a day, but if you’re able to split it into three or even four meals, that’s even better.

Gorging on their daily nutrition requirement in one meal can be stressful on your dog’s GI tract. Splitting it up into multiple small, frequent meals can help ease that stress. If you opted to feed a prescription bland diet, your veterinarian can advise you how much to feed per day. If you’re home cooking, use the following table as a guideline:

Guidelines To Creating Balanced Homemade Dog Food Recipes

Following are guidelines for feeding a raw or cooked home-prepared diet to healthy dogs. No single type of food, such as chicken, should ever make up more than half the diet.

Except where specified, homemade food for dogs can be fed either raw or cooked. Leftovers from your table can be included as long as theyre foods you would eat yourself, not fatty scraps.

Meat and Other Animal Products: Should always make up at least half of the diet. A raw diet for dogs can be excessively high in fat, which can lead to obesity. Another potential hazard of diets containing too much fat: If an owner restricts the amount fed too much, the dog may suffer deficiencies of other required nutrients.

Unless your dog gets regular, intense exercise, use lean meats , remove skin from poultry, and cut off separable fat. Its better to feed dark meat poultry than breast, however, unless your dog requires a very low-fat diet.

Raw Meaty Bones : If you choose to feed them, RMBs should make up one third to one half of the total diet. Use the lower end of the range if you feed bony parts such as chicken necks and backs, but you can feed more if youre using primarily meatier parts such as chicken thighs. Never feed cooked bones. Read a full report on raw meaty bones here.

Boneless Meat: Include both poultry and red meat. Heart is a good choice, as it is lean and often less expensive than other muscle meats.

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Common Food Allergies For Dogs

After Rascal turned a year old or so, he started developing really strange eating habits. He wasnt finishing his food, had loud intense stomachaches and frequently threw up. We went through a number of blood tests. He had been diagnosed with things like pancreatitis, anxiety and one vet even thought he had parvo. We were stressed and at a loss at how to more forward. That is until we did an allergy test.

We uncovered that Rascal was allergic to a dozen different food items, one being beef, the main ingredient in his traditional dry dog food. We were introduced to an all-natural human-grade dog food company called Just Food for Dogs. The company sells premade food and teaches people how to make recipes at home. Once we started this all-natural diet the stomach aches subsided and he was the happiest we had ever seen him.

At first, the thought of homemade dog food was so daunting and just downright boujee. I can honestly say that making his food doesnt cost much more than the prescription diet he was on beforehand. After watching the documentary Pet Fooled we realized just how unregulated the dog food industry was and started to feel stronger about our homemade switch.

Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Chicken And Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food

My last pick for the best dry dog food for chihuahua is Blue Buffalos Life Protection Formula. This dog food might be affordable, but dont underestimate its ingredient quality and nutritional value!

It boasts some of the best mixes of ingredients and enhancements. And this dog food uses real meat as its base ingredient, ditching all the by-product meals and fillers. It doesnt possess any corn, wheat, or soy, which are all unhealthy for your chihuahua. Instead, this dry dog food uses top-quality protein, fruits, and veggies.

Besides that, this dry dog food is also full of vitamins and minerals. Most notably, it contains a high content of omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, promoting better skin and coat health for all this. Aside from that, it also has vitamins C and E to promote healthier muscle growth and immunity.

But I like this dog foods unique Life Source bits the most as each kibble is jam-packed with antioxidants. However, as healthy and nutritious as these bits are, some chihuahuas dont like them and often leave them in their bowls. If thats the case, you can crush it and mix it with the regular kibbles.

Pros

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Did You Make This Recipe

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How to make our original Homemade Dog Food recipe

Its a fact, feeding your pup a diet of 100% human grade dog food is easy, cost effective, and WAY better for them than a traditional doggie diet of processed kibble! My easy homemade dog food recipe combines lean ground beef, wholesome brown rice, fresh vegetables, hard boiled eggs, and tender herbs for a healthy, vibrant alternative to traditional dog food that has given our 11 year old dog a new lease on life!

Pumpkin and Yogurt Bowl for Dogs recipe

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for all of us, even our dogs! Get your dogs day off to a great start with a healthy dose of protein, vitamins, and minerals by feeding him/her a delicious Pumpkin and Yogurt Bowl for Dogs. These yogurt bowls are filled with good for your dog ingredients like fat free Greek yogurt, 100% pure pumpkin puree, plant based vitamin and mineral powder, and my Homemade Dog Food Seasoning which is a blend of 5 herbs that have extraordinary health benefits for your dog!

Homemade Dog Food Seasoning Blend recipe

Making Homemade Dog Food Is A Big Time Commitment

Finding the time to prepare a healthy meal for yourself and your family is often difficult, let alone preparing your dogs meals from scratch.

Prepping meals in advance for the week can helpfor example, preparing one large batch on a Sunday and dividing it into meal portions for each day would minimize the daily time commitment.

Also, recipes can be made to be freezer-friendly, so large batches can be prepared in advance and stored for future use.

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Can Puppies Eat Raw Meat

Puppies can eat raw meat. Many raw-fed breeders wean their puppies directly onto raw from their mothers milk. You can begin feeding raw the day you bring your puppy home, or you can also do a combination of both worlds until your puppies reach 12 months of age. After 12 months, you can transition to 100% raw dog food.

A Raw Diet Should Consist Of:

• Muscle meat, often with bone
• Bones, whole or crushed

• Strengthens the immune system and metabolism
• Improved liver, pancreatic and intestinal health

The raw food diet also includes the consumption of parts of animals that are generally avoided by humans which helps reduce waste. What is good for our pets is also good for our environment, so its a win-win situation.

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Best Homemade Dog Food Recipes: Vet Approved And Nutritionally Complete

This content was reviewed by veterinarian Dr. JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM.

To keep the lights on, we receive affiliate commissions via some of our links. Our review process.

Imagine if you had to eat the same food every day of your life. Beyond being painfully dull, wouldnt you question whether youre getting a nutritionally complete and balanced diet? Welcome to a dogs life. Long ago, before commercially produced dog food, dogs ate many of the same foods as humans. Theres a reason our dogs beg for our food theyre meant to eat a variety. Weve cooked up some tips on how to make dog food, nutrition guidelines, and our favorite homemade dog food recipes.

What Are The Benefits Of Homemade Dog Food

Homemade dog food can benefit your canine companion in several ways especially if you have a pet who suffers from allergies, skin problems, or gastrointestinal sensitivity.

Highly-processed foods also lose nutritional value, whereas making dog food from scratch maintains more vital nutrients during the cooking process. With fresh food, you know exactly what your dog is getting versus reading the label and being confused by all the additives and preservatives.

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You Will Need To Use Dog Supplements To Balance Meals

Homemade dog food supplements are often needed to ensure that the meals are balanced, particularly when it comes to vitamins and minerals.

Follow all veterinary advice to be sure that youre providing the appropriate amounts of nutrients and that the diet is balanced considering any underlying health issues. Your veterinarian can also give guidance on the types of dog supplements you will need and recommended brands.

Make Ground Beef And Veggies

Brown and crumble 3 lbs of ground beef in a large skillet. Place in a large bowl with the drippings.

Chop, shred, or process all the veggies. My dog is a small dog and prefers the veggies finely shredded in a food processor. You can use a knife or a box grater works too.

In a large pot , briefly saute carrots, broccoli, and sweet potato until just soft for a few minutes on medium. Place into the large bowl. In a large bowl, add the cooked ground beef, warm rice, warm sauteed veggies, and fresh spinach. Mix well with a large spatula.

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How Much Homemade Dog Food Seasoning Blend Should I Be Adding To My Dog’s Meals Each Day

Start small by adding a little sprinkle of these herbs to your dogs food each dayand work up from there. Adding dried herbs like these is a safe way to give your pups a little boost in nutrition, freshen their breath, and heck it probably will make their food a little more flavor-able too!

If youve made our Easy Homemade Dog Food Seasoning Blend for your pup I would be so grateful if you would rate the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments below! I just love hearing from you and your reviews and comments really help others that visit This Mess is Ours. Want to be a part of our online community outside of the blog? Its easy!! All you have to do is follow @THISMESSISOURS on , , , , or to see cooking demos, and peeks into our day to day life.

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Keep your dog healthy and fit with this easy peasy homemade recipe its 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 thats 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.

Thats 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 its important to note that dogs have different nutrient requirements than humans for their proportional body size, such as:

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 pups breed and/or needs.

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Raw Food To Never Feed Dogs

According to the American Kennel Club, you should never feed a raw potato to your dog. This is because they contain solanine, a toxic compound to some dogs. Raw tomatoes also have this chemical. Cooking them reduces the levels of solanine.

Avoid raw or undercooked salmon or salmonid species of fish. It can contain the Neorickettsia Helminthoeca parasite, which causes salmon poisoning disease. This disease can be fatal. Plus, the small brittle bones can choke your dog or lodge in his stomach or intestines.

Boneless fish is allowed but only once a week. Never give fish with sharp spines and barbs. No wild pork, bear meat, or meats from wild animals is allowed, not even after freezing. Wild meats may contain more parasites than farm-raised meats,

Always research every ingredient so you know they are safe for dogs.

Scrambled Eggy Spinach And Salmon Gourmet Dog Food

For a more gourmet selection and if your pet is a big fan of salmon and eggs, this recipe is going to be the highlight of its day. Eggs are actually good for your dog as they have good digestible protein and a range of vitamins while salmon has a great dose of healthy oils!

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 can of skinless salmon
• 1/2 cup of thawed spinach

For the full recipe and instructions check out Lifehack

If you have tried out any of these recipes, do comment which was your favorite or how you would improve some of these recipes further. Feel free to add more recipes in the comments if its one that you would like to share with the community!

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Our Favorite Homemade Dog Food Recipes

To jump to a recipe youre interested in, click on the link below. We also have some yummy organic dog treat recipes and treats made with Thanksgiving leftovers. You may wish to have a collection of pet food recipes on-hand at all times, making a cookbook an excellent choice. Dinner PAWsible is one of our favorites.

• Frozen Banana Treats

Note: The recipes below do not include serving size because portion sizes will vary depending on breed, weight, activity level, age, and the health of your dog. A recommendation is to feed your dog a comparable amount of ounces/cups to what you would usually feed in kibble BUT check with your vet to be certain.

Are We Making Raw Feeding Too Complicated

I’ve been feeding raw for more than six years and it’s only been in the last year that cut back on the supplements I add to my dogs’ meals and stopped trying to source so many proteins. I used to spend all day doing meal prep and now I spend an hour or two once a week making 10 days of food for five dogs.

I do think that we are making raw feeding more complicated and, in some ways, it feels like it’s necessary at least it was for me because I made the incorrect assumption that a balanced raw diet was easily accomplished by feeding 80/10/10 while alternating a variety of proteins in my dogs’ diet. The problem with my logic is that I could easily be missing key nutrients my dogs need and not realize it. Tracking their nutrients and using meal formulation programs helped me see this and changed my approach feeding my dogs.

This isn’t a change everyone needs to make it’s a change that is working for me.

I don’t spend a ton of time formulating meals for my dogs. Instead, I use my spreadsheet and the programs to gain a better understanding of what my dogs need.

Of course, not everyone is going to want to take the steps that I’m taking, which has created an opportunity for a new business where people create recipes for dogs, making raw feeding easier.

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