When To Make Your Own Dog Food
Many owners worry if commercial dog foods are enough when providing their dog with some well-balanced dog food.
This worry is valid since some dog food is made from low-quality ingredients, although this isnt the case for all dog foods.
If you are one of these people, its best if you switch your dog to homemade dog food. There are many available homemade dog food recipes online that you can follow when making your own dog food.
How Much To Feed
Adult dogs should eat about 2-3% of their ideal body weight daily in raw food. So, if your dogs ideal weight is 50 lbs, 1 to 1.5 pounds of food a day is good. If your dogs really active, you may want to give him a little more. If he enjoys lounging more than a good game of fetch, you may want to feed a bit less. You can also adjust the amount youre feeding if your dog begins losing or gaining weight. Thats about as scientific as it gets.
Puppies should eat 2-3% of their ideal adult weight. A puppy might weigh 15 lbs right now, but his ideal adult weight could be 50 lbs. Youll want to be feeding for that future weight, not the current weight. With that amount of food, youll want to split it into 3 meals a day. Feed this way until 6 months old. Some puppies will wean themselves off of 3 meals earlier or later than 6 months. Adult feedings are usually 1-2 times a day.
Now youve got a good collection of raw dog food recipes with lots of variety.
But before you head off to the store with your shopping list, theres one last thing you may want to know
Raw Boneless Beef & Egg Dog Food Recipe: All Life Stages
Beef and egg combine for another simple recipe. Visit your butcher for beef heart and liver. Buy it by the organ or the pound. And dont be surprised by the size cows are pretty big animals.
PRO TIP
When sourcing organs for recipes, buy enough to make several batches. Measure and grind or chop whats needed for future recipes. Label with the name of the recipe, date, contents and weight. Then freeze. It will be easy to add the organs to your fresh ingredients when youre ready for the next batch.
This recipe is boneless so youll need to add a supplement. Bone meal will supply the extra minerals puppies need. Give adult dogs bone meal or seaweed calcium.
Caution: Seaweed calcium has higher bioavailability so do not give it to puppies.
Heres the full recipe: Raw Boneless Beef & Egg Raw Dog Food Recipe: All Life Stages
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Tools For Making Homemade Dog Food
In addition to cooking your dog’s food in a dutch oven, you also have the option of making it in a crockpot or Instant Pot. This makes cooking the food extra easy as you can put all the ingredients in and let your slow cooker work its magic. Another option is baking a dog-friendly meatloaf in the oven in a Pyrex dish or a disposable meatloaf pan. You can slice it up in single-meal portions and freeze it.
Use Up Extra Freezer Meat Or Leftovers
The last tip I have is to use up meat that has been in the freezer a while and is not something you want for dinner but still safe for your dog. I often buy too much quantity when recipe testing ingredients, and use up extra steak meat or pork I have on hand for homemade dog food. Nothing goes to waste around here, but I don’t feed her bones, fatty meats, etc.
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Ingredients For Rascals Homemade Dog Food:
- All-Natural chicken stock or water
- Macaroni noodles
Note: We add in a supplement nutrient blend from a company called Just Food For Dogs very similar to dog vitamins as well as Omega oil to make sure he is getting enough healthy fats. I highly recommend adding both of these into your dog food so you can rest assure that they are getting proper nutrients.
Mix And Portion Homemade Food For Dogs
The best way to store fresh food for your doggie is to use freezer bags. I have a small dog, so using this recipe I calculated the calories she needs per day. Measure a few day supply based on your dogs caloric needs. And portion it into a 5 day supply, so it is food safe after it defrosts.
Simply pull out a frozen bag of new food and let it defrost in the fridge every 5 days. I give her of the baggie daily. The bags compress flat in the freezer or you can place them in an airtight container. Store in an airtight container or larger zip-top bag in the freezer.
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Do Your Portion Research
You will need to do some research on how many calories your dog needs per day based on your dog’s activity level and your dog’s weight. There are so many factors to consider that will vary due to the breed, size, age, and activity of your pet. My dog needs about 400 calories a day and is a small dog weighing just 11 pounds.
Benefits Of Making Your Dogs Food
- You can personally select the ingredients in your dogs food this is helpful if your dog has allergies or if you want to make sure you use or avoid certain ingredients
- You can choose the quality of the food you want to use whether its food from a local farmer, market, grocery store, or from a bulk source you can use organic, free-range, or other kinds of food that you want
- If you buy ingredients in bulk you can often save money and making your dogs food doesnt have to cost any more than buying dog food sometimes it can cost less while being more nutritious
- You know how your dogs food is prepared and can be assured there wont be any dog food recalls
- You can prepare foods in larger batches so you can freeze smaller portions for later use, thus saving time and effort
- Making food for your dog is no more difficult than making food for yourself or your family but it is usually more nutritious than commercial dog food
- Even the pickiest dog usually loves to eat food that you have prepared for him in your own kitchen
- Other benefits include good skin, good breath, clean teeth, and less doggy odor. In addition, dogs usually have smaller, more compact stools. Dogs are more likely to be well-muscled and lean on a home-prepared diet, according to people who feed this kind of diet.
With all of these benefits you might be wondering why everyone doesnt make their dogs meals. Well, there are some downsides to consider.
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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.
Turkey And Rosemary Dog Food Recipe
This is another incredibly simple recipe. You probably already have these ingredients in your kitchen! All you need is a package of frozen vegetables, ground turkey, rosemary, and rice.
If you want to feed your dog human-grade food without the hassle of having to prepare the meals yourself, you need to try Spot & Tango.
Their pre-packaged meals full of human-grade ingredients get delivered right to your door, so all you need to do is pop them into your dogs dish!
Ready to get started? Right now, you can save 50% on Spot & Tango HUMAN-GRADE premium dog food by clicking here!
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Can You Make Dog Food In The Instant Pot
Yep! Here’s how to make homemade dog food in the Instant Pot:
What Nutrition Guidelines Should You Follow
Like humans, every dog is different, so this is not a one-pup-fits-all rule. Serving size, your dogs weight, health conditions, size, and activity level are all factors you should consider when determining whats suitable for your dog.
However, in general, dogs need six basic nutrients to maintain a healthy, balanced diet: water, protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. A mix of these nutrients provides energy for your dogs body to metabolize and grow.
To ensure your dog is getting all the vitamins and minerals he needs, you may want to add a fully balanced nutrition blend, like one of these blends from Just Food For Dogs. And in addition to meals, you may also want to add a multivitamin like Zesty Paws Multivitamin Chews to ensure your pup gets the recommended balance of vitamins and minerals.
Check with your vet before adding any type of supplement to your dogs diet because over-supplementation of vitamins and minerals can sometimes have serious health consequences in dogs.
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Complete Nutrition From A Veterinarian
That said, homemade dog foods can require a significant amount of time and effort to get right. Homemade dog food needs to contain nutrients dogs need to be healthy. But those nutrients should be right amounts so as not to get too much or too little of any nutrient. A veterinary nutritionist has specialized training to help pet parents like yourself make nutritionally balanced meals for your dog. The recipes in this article have all been reviewed by our veterinary consultant with this goal in mind.
Its a good idea to have the recipes in this article handy in case you run out of dog food. Treat your dog like any of your other family members by preparing nutritious food from trusted ingredients.
Tuna And Vegetable Homemade Dog Food
Nutrient Analysis: This recipe provides 1000 kcal and 149g protein. Note: Ingredient weights refer to raw weights.
Ingredients:
For more homemade dog food recipes suitable for dog weight management-visit WAGSTA Wellness.
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Finely Chopped Dog Food
If your dog is picky or will only eat finely chopped dog food , you can either run the vegetables through a food processor or finely chop them on a cutting board. Hand held boxed graters work but take a lot of time. I use the shredder blade on my processor and buzz everything through. Also, try frozen riced vegetables, they are a great option and work great!
How To Make Homemade Dog Food
Homemade Dog Food is so easy to make and is a cost-effective way to feed your furry friend a healthy, nutritious meal. This recipe simply combines whole grain rice with lean ground chicken and fresh vegetables for a wholesome alternative to traditional dog food.
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What Is The Best Homemade Food For Dogs
The best food, homemade dog variety, to feed your pet will be the kind that you enjoy making, your dog enjoys eating, and it meets all of their nutritional needs! Unless youve got a picky eater , theyre likely to enjoy anything you make.
So, its up to you to decide what and how to feed your dog. You can choose how many homemade meals to feed your dog per day. Most importantly, high quality and fresh ingredients are a must. Here are a few of the feeding options you have to use homemade dog food:
- Give your pet a homemade meal on special occasions like their birthday or holidays
- Make a home-cooked meal for your dog a few times a week
- Feed a homemade meal once a day and commercial food for your dogs other meal
- Replace every meal with home-cooked food
Just like preparing food for your human pals, its important to keep things clean and fresh. You dont want to risk feeding your dog poor quality ingredients or food thats gone bad. Make sure your cooking environment is kept tidy by using the following guidelines:
- Always use clean equipment, utensils, and tools
- Keep your dogs bowl clean in between feedings
- Store any leftovers in sealed containers in the fridge
- If you need to store food for longer than a few days, freeze it
Bottom line, if you wouldnt eat it, you shouldnt feed it to your dog!
There are some specifics you want to stick to when whipping up pet food in your kitchen. Lets discuss the necessary components of the perfect homemade dog food combos.
Downside To Making Your Dogs Meals
- Making your dogs meals does take time. You have to allow time so you can shop for ingredients about once a week. You also need to allow time so you can prepare the food. Some people like to set aside one afternoon or evening per week so they can prepare their dogs meals for the coming week.
- The cost of making your dogs meals is up to you. If you can buy meats in bulk and freeze them, you can often save money. But if you buy your meats at your local store, the way you buy your own meat, then preparing meals for your dog can be expensive. If you have special requirements such as organic meats and vegetables, free-range chicken, or pasture-raised beef, for example, your costs will be even greater.
- There is no guarantee that your meats and produce will be entirely free of bacteria. You can use good sanitation in your kitchen, but even so, sometimes meats and produce are recalled because they have been contaminated before you buy them.
These are some of the things to consider before you decide you want to make your dogs meals. It takes some pre-planning, time, and it can be costly unless you are able to buy in bulk or buy family-sized portions.
On the other hand, once you get the hang of making your dogs food, its not nearly as hard and complicated as it probably sounds. There are lots of dog owners who make their dogs meals and their dogs are living happy, healthy lives on their homemade diet.
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Ingredients To Avoid In Dog Food
Especially when making dog food at home, it’s important to note that certain foods are dangerous and even deadly to dogs. Do not use any of these ingredients when cooking for your dog:
- Spices or herbs
- Raw yeast dough
Never use any ingredients that are spoiled or contain mold. The rule of thumb is to never feed your dog anything that would be dangerous for you to eat.
Homemade Dog Food Recipes: Closing Thoughts
There you have them the 50 best homemade dog food recipes for all dogs and many situations. Whether it be for adult dogs or you want to make homemade puppy food, please consult your veterinarian or a canine nutritionist for approval.
Its also just as important to make sure you ask them for the exact food supplements you can add to these DIY dog food recipes.
Remember to look at our Homemade Dog Food Recipes section for some of every recipe, video, and more.
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Is Homemade Dog Food Good For Dogs
While I am not a vet, and I certainly cant speak for all animals , I can tell you that switching to homemade dog food made the world of difference for Rascal. We had a very unique case with him and his food allergies, but we have also seen other positive changes.
On traditional dog food, Rascal was lethargic, he shed in abundance and his appetite was mediocre. He was also low in his weight class, weighing in at just 64 pounds for a full-sized male Golden Retriever.
Since the dog food switch, he has been energetic, focused, and calmer. He has also put on about 15 pounds in just one year after switching to homemade food. On a traditional diet, were vacuuming at least once a day but now only 1-2x a week. We no longer have to coax Rascal into mealtime and have finally developed a great eating schedule.