Making your own dog food at home is a fun way of adding some variety in your dog’s diet or if you are very committed, you can replace store-bought diets with 100% homemade meals. There are many recipes online (including this one), so just make sure the recipe you use comes from a reliable source. The main things to keep in mind when you are making your dog food at home is to keep the ratio of macronutrients suitable for your dog’s needs as well as making sure your dog is getting all of his essential vitamins and minerals that the ingredients you have chosen may be lacking. A really great tool to use is BalanceIT which is a veterinarian-run website that generates recipes from the ingredients you have on hand. It also recommends supplements that you can add to your homemade food if it’s lacking any nutrients and has recipe suggestions for a variety of canine diseases.
We had a lot of fun making a homemade meal for River and his date, Ryder. It was quick and easy and they both loved it. One thing we learned along the way is that it’s very important to break down any ingredients before mixing them into their food. Since dogs don’t chew their food very much, a lot of ingredients would pass right through their digestive system without absorbing any nutrients. This means we grated all the veggies with a cheese grater which took the most amount of time. A food processor on pulse would work just as well and save you some time.
RECIPE
Ingredients:
2lbs – Ground Turkey
1 ½ C – Shredded Carrots
1 C – Shredded Sweet Potato
¾ C – Shredded Brussels Sprouts
2 Eggs
2 Ground Egg Shells
1 Tbsp Parsley
1 C – Cooked Brown Rice
Directions:
Cook the brown rice according to the instructions on the package (45min-1hour)
In a separate pot saute the ground turkey and olive oil for about 5 minutes or until the turkey is cooked through.
Stir in all the veggies, eggs, eggshells and parsley. Cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Mix in the cooked brown rice and remove from heat.
Wait until the mixture cools down before giving it to your dog.