Homemade dog food

[Justfishing]

Does anyone make thier own dog food? I have looked at a few recipes and they seem dominated by carbs. It seems like a wolf or coyote in the wild would be mainly a carnivore.

Does anyone have a good recipe or a good source for dog nutrition that is trusted

I cant belive dogs would be eating carrots and sweet potatoes. I saw a recipe with oatmeal. Considering they spray oats with roundup prior to harvest i would not eat oats or feed them to my dog.

 

[TeamGreene]

We (my wife) do it. I looked into Farmers Dog but it's insanely expensive and the goal was to cut the cost of and improve the food we feed them. The them is two GSD and one Aussie cattle dog. My wife buys a tube of ground turkey or beef and some frozen pea/carrot mix along with a bag of brown rice and cooks it all up on the weekend. We give it to them over some dry but are now not buying any canned food. They love it and eat better than they were with the can crap. It lasts a couple weeks.

 

[jetboatperformance]

Rhonda makes (and has made of years Sebastians foor ,@ 10 Hes in awesome condition , has great teeth and gums and physically he's strong and energetic . She cooks his chow about every two weeks in the Instapot its basically a couple large heads of brocoli, carrots a dozen cooked boned chicken thighs , all the remaining "juices" and often Organ meat like beef heart, Liver etc It gets mixed into a thick mush and he gets a half cup in the AM and a Cup at night (mornings he gets a raw beef rib ) Its a bit of work but its a labor of love ...... One of the best parts too , less poop

 

[lakemadness]

We're interested in making our dog food, too. We have 4-year-old and 2-year-old Wheaton terriers. Both have been on Farmers Dog since pups. About $500 a month in food. I bet we could feed them for $100 if we made it ourselves. Just need a good recipe.

 

[DarkJuJu]

I cook for my wife's Frenchie, 70% lean protein (we use chicken breast in bulk from costco), 10% veg (i use carrots and spinach raw, ground up) 10% Greek yogurt (for calcium/probiotics) , 5% chicken liver/heart, 5% fat (coconut oil or beef tallow). We add omega 3 supplement from salmon oil and Herbsmith Nutrients for vitamins and minerals. I will add it is not cheap, I spend probably $275 a month not including the grinder I picked up to process the chicken, bigger dog i am sure you could just feed chucks but I have this guy pretty dialed in, 2 good poops a day, he has tons of energy, great teeth and coat.

 

[Justfishing]

Rhonda makes (and has made of years Sebastians foor ,@ 10 Hes in awesome condition , has great teeth and gums and physically he's strong and energetic . She cooks his chow about every two weeks in the Instapot its basically a couple large heads of brocoli, carrots a dozen cooked boned chicken thighs , all the remaining "juices" and often Organ meat like beef heart, Liver etc It gets mixed into a thick mush and he gets a half cup in the AM and a Cup at night (mornings he gets a raw beef rib ) Its a bit of work but its a labor of love ...... One of the best parts too , less poop

That big dog eats just a cup of food a day. What does he weigh. We have a 25lb cockapoo

 

[jetboatperformance]

That big dog eats just a cup of food a day. What does he weigh. We have a 25lb cockapoo

1/2 cup in the AM and a raw Beef rib bone (monitored till he starts to crack into it) then yes 1 full cup at around 6 pm and he weighs about 95 lbs . The food is nutritious and no fillers so "bulk" is reduced I should add He get vitamins ( 8 in one multi benefit soft chews 4 a day ) and a few freeze dried chicken snack cubes as treats

 

[ramos45]

We have two 60ish pound AR15's. 3 times a day it's a 3/8 cup protein, 1/4 cup mixed veggies and 3/8 cup wh rice. Been doing this since beginning of 2023. We by all ingredients from Costco, their 5-7lbs grd beef, frz veggies and 25lbs bag of rice. One has allergies so we started him on lamb which i have to grind. We make the protein in 2lb increments and a bunch of rice and veggies, all lasts about 3-4 days before something else has to be made or thawed and chopped. for the protein not cooked i wrap and freeze, when i see fridge container getting low thaw a batch of protein over night and cook the next day. Sounds like much but really isn't once you get the routine.

Used to do 2 meals a day but the younger boy with allergies runs pretty lean and to bulk him up we had to add a meal, too large any one meal and he would puke it up. The older girl has actually lost weight and has more of a younger demeaner when playing and plays more.

 

[bonesfab]

I switched over to the roll of food that looks like liverworst out of the grocery store and his bowl has never been so clean. I put about a half cup of kibble on top for the crunchy to help his teeth. And he has lost some weight and going back to puppy hood at times. A little spendy but not bad compared to the high dollar dry food.

 

[Xring01]

I have been feeding my dogs Gentle Giants since I got them roughly 8 years ago ish..

My black lab will chase tennis ball, sprinting the entire time for half hour like its nothing. She is 8 years old ish, before you feed here she jumps like a pogo stick the entire time before feed her.

The cocker mix… same freaking thing… roughly the same age.

Both have tons of energy, teeth are perfect (better than mine), great coats.

I basically get a large bag delivered from Chewy every 5 weeks.
Treats are bully sticks.
Any time I cook bacon, I pour the fat over the kibble.
They eat all pork spare rib bones, when I make them… Rib Eye bones… and all meat scraps.

For all the people thats about to have a heart attack about pork bones… STFU…
Born and raised on a ranch in Texas… all our dogs ate was deer carcasses and wild hog carcass’s for the most part. Never in my life have I seen a problem with dogs eating these bones. Think about how many dogs a large ranch in Texas has at all times, and how many deer/hogs it takes to feed them,,, and I have been using cooked bones for my dogs my entire life… Dont want to hear it. Even the cocker spaniel munches them down.

I will not argure that home made food is better… case closed on that one, but its alot more work.


To date, I see no need to change, but thats me. I highly recommend Gentle Giants.
Stay the fuck away from Purina dog foods… not joking… I have known way to many people have major problems with Purina.

 

[bonesfab]

I have been feeding my dogs Gentle Giants since I got them roughly 8 years ago ish..

My black lab will chase tennis ball, sprinting the entire time for half hour like its nothing. She is 8 years old ish, before you feed here she jumps like a pogo stick the entire time before feed her.

The cocker mix… same freaking thing… roughly the same age.

Both have tons of energy, teeth are perfect (better than mine), great coats.

I basically get a large bag delivered from Chewy every 5 weeks.
Treats are bully sticks.
Any time I cook bacon, I pour the fat over the kibble.
They eat all pork spare rib bones, when I make them… Rib Eye bones… and all meat scraps.

For all the people thats about to have a heart attack about pork bones… STFU…
Born and raised on a ranch in Texas… all our dogs ate was deer carcasses and wild hog carcass’s for the most part. Never in my life have I seen a problem with dogs eating these bones. Think about how many dogs a large ranch in Texas has at all times, and how many deer/hogs it takes to feed them,,, and I have been using cooked bones for my dogs my entire life… Dont want to hear it. Even the cocker spaniel munches them down.

I will not argure that home made food is better… case closed on that one, but its alot more work.


To date, I see no need to change, but thats me. I highly recommend Gentle Giants.
Stay the fuck away from Purina dog foods… not joking… I have known way to many people have major problems with Purina.

My old shepard mix used to chow down on rib bones like there was no tomorrow. never had an issue with her.

 

[OCMerrill]

We split it. Canidae Life choices in the AM one Cup. The evening we make his food mostly of cooked chicken, green beans, Carrots, A spoon full of pumpkin puree, and beef bone broth. Sometimes we add or swap in Squash, Steak, other greens. About 1 1/2 cups worth.
Stay away from seasoning of any kind.


We have been doing this for about 6 months now. We've been buying roasted chickens from Costco and pulling them apart and they last a week or so. We freeze them also.

He's a big Aussie @68 lbs. We'll see over time. He could stand to loose a few lbs but he's fast on the run and ALWAYS eager to play.

 

[Socalx09]

I switched Toby, my matlipoo to “my perfect pet” after Gibbs got sick since he wouldn’t eat dry food in his last weeks. We saw a huge improvement in Toby’s energy and happiness level. It’s freezer dried bars that you defrost. He loves it. He is pretty hyper now for a 12 year old dog since the switch.

This is a good website recommended from our vet for homemade dog food that you type your pets information in, and they will suggest different recipes with portions, and you can buy their supplement pack to add into the food so they get all their nutrients. The service is free, you only have to pay for the supplement pack if you want to add it into the food.

Welcome to Balance It

www.balance.it

 

[Shell Yeah]

I’ve spent many hours researching my recipe for our pup. After our last dog died I vowed to avoid processed dog food if we ever got another pup. I’m a registered nurse that believes food is the best medicine. I am not a dietician but a diligent researcher and clinician. My husband is a RDP member and sent me this so I created an account to share.

Recipes depend on your dogs size and age to determine the right daily caloric needs. Not easy to find info as there are very few dog nutritionists out there.

Be cautious with carbs. Rice can have skin allergy responses. Try quinoa, legumes and fresh veggies.

Diet should be NOT MORE than 40% protein. Too much protein consistently can be hard on their kidneys. Use a variety of proteins, i.e eggs (with shells for calcium), organ meat such as livers, hearts and gizzards, ground beef and turkey.

No low fat products unless your pup has a weight problem. Puppies especially need lots of fat. Olive oil is a good fat source and good for their coats.

I make a large batch every 3 ish weeks and freeze food in 1 gal containers that each last 5 days.

I use up veggies in our fridge each week that start to look sketch. Usually squash, cucumbers, zucchini, etc. Bananas, apples, berries and peanut butter are great snacks.

If you use spinach, kale, etc, be careful as they can get stuck in the throat. Either chop it fine or blend it up with other veggie mix.

I spend about $100 a month to make dog food. Hope this helps!

Sharing some calorie / portion info I researched and use for my recipe:
*1 lb 15% turkey 676 cal x 4= 2704

*1 lb 27% ground beef 1238 x 4= 4952

*1 whole egg 78 cal x 18= 1404 cal

1 lb chicken liver 526 cal

*1 lb beef liver 747 cal x 3= 2241

*1 lb hearts 694 cal

*1 lb gizzards 425 cal

*1 lb carrots 186 cal x 2= 372

*1 cup kale 33 cal x 15= 495

*1 bag quinoa 1070 cal x2= 2140

*12 oz spinach 120 cal x 4= 480

1 tbsp olive oil 119 cal

 

[HTTP404]

We (my wife) do it. I looked into Farmers Dog but it's insanely expensive and the goal was to cut the cost of and improve the food we feed them. The them is two GSD and one Aussie cattle dog. My wife buys a tube of ground turkey or beef and some frozen pea/carrot mix along with a bag of brown rice and cooks it all up on the weekend. We give it to them over some dry but are now not buying any canned food. They love it and eat better than they were with the can crap. It lasts a couple weeks.

Watch the salt in ground turkey.

 

[HTTP404]

We do chicken thigs in the pressure cooker and mix in broccoli and string beans.

 

[jetboatperformance]

We do chicken thigs in the pressure cooker and mix in broccoli and string beans.

Sounds familiar lol when she gets done with it sometimes I want to try a bite but it’s too fatty

 

[JDKRXW]

I cant belive dogs would be eating carrots and sweet potatoes.

My boy (70 lb doodle) loves cooked carrots and sweet potatoes. By themselves or mixed with any kind of meat.
I'm thinking these veggies are pretty good for him. He also finishes up any leftover broccoli.

 

[Justfishing]

Thanks for all the info. I think i am going to approach it like we should be approching our own diets. That is eating like our ancient ancestors did.

In the case of dogs thier ancestors were wolves. A carnivore. So a more carnivore diet

The food macros are carbs, protien and fat. Just like with my diet I will start with protien. Protien is the building blocks of muscle and bones. It looks like dogs need about 1 gram of protien per pound of body weight per day. Fats and carbs are the fuel. Fats are more nutrient dense and contain esstential vitamins you dont get from carbs. So the bulk the "fuel" should come from fats. Add in some carbs for filler but not a high percentage.



I am not really sure of the nutient density of carbs. Is another reason to use fats. Take beta carotene as an example. It is not actually a vitamin but may be synthesized in to vitamin A. But the process does not produce much vit A so isnt a benefit.

My dog is about 25 lbs so he will need about 25 grams of protien per day or about 4 oz per day. Add in some fat and a little carbs.

Whole eggs are an excellent source of vitamins so they need to be worked in. Lastly top it off with a supplement to cover all bases. Another thing to add in the future is organ meat.

I think adding a small amount of salt would be beneficial but it is probably unwise to otherwise season a dogs food. I may throw in a fish oil capsule once a day.

What has gotten me to this point is my dog gets so much tarter built up even with brushing his teeth that he still needs annual teeth cleaning.

From human anthropology when man was a hunter gatherer they did not have cavities and the jaw was not crowded. Braces and pulling wisdom teeth were not required. It was not until man went to a carb centric diet did we have oral problems. You can add diabetes, heart disease and many other ailments to the high carb and processed foods we eat.

Yesterday i cooked a small batch of bone in, skin on chicken thighs, a few sweet potatoes and peas. I did drain off fluids when i chopped and mashed the meat and veggies. I noticed a nice amount of collegen and a modest amount of fat which was added back to the mix. I think it created a mix that was not to dry nor to soupy.

Hopefully this helps his teeth and improves his general health and coat.

 

[mobldj]

we did it for awhile but feeding 3 100 pound labs,it started to be a pain in the ass,house always smelled like chicken.we went back to dry.not cheap dry but not ol roy either.

 

[Gelcoater]

I cant belive dogs would be eating carrots and sweet potatoes

You might be surprised?
Rocky loves carrots, all my dogs have.
He’s been known to pull a tomato, or a jalapeño, Anaheim chili.

Millie is a cabbage head.
She’s destroyed many heads of cabbage out in the garden, yanking carrots.

All dogs that have lived here will pull apples off the tree during their season.
They love blue berries too.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Get this book if you’re serious about feeding your dog real food. You don’t want to create your own recipes as the dog may be deficient in what they need. https://www.amazon.com/Forever-Dog-...ywords=forever+dog+book&qid=1708614294&sr=8-1

I’ve been feeding Farmer’s Dog for over a year and love it. It’s expensive, but convenient.

 

[Cdog]

I buy cheap chicken on sale & pressure cook it. We add that to Diamond lamb & rice.

All meat scraps end up in their dinners.

They love lettuce & carrots. They go nuts for it.


He’s lean & she’s a little chonky