Many of the commercially made dry dog food (kibble) products and cat food products contain multiple toxins, carcinogens, allergens and ingredients that provide your dog with poor source nutrition. Switching your dog or cat from commercially made, highly processed dog kibble to homemade dog food can be of great benefit to your dog’s and cats overall health. Below are a few very nutritious, simple to make dog food recipes I created for the health and well-being of my dogs. The ingredients used are selected to support your dogs and cats overall health, boost his/her immune system, prevent cancer, support oral health, heart health and more. When purchasing the ingredients used in the recipes below, you can decide whether you want to go organic or not...even if you do not go organic you can be sure that the food you make - based on the recipes below, will be packed with good nutrition. You can couple this recipe with a healthy, all-natural snack food for your dog or with a healthy dog-friendly smoothie.
The recipe provides options for:
- One - a fully cooked food recipe;
- Two - a blend of cooked and fresh food recipe
- Three - a raw food recipe.
It is up to you which option you choose to make.
The recipe is appropriate for:
- Puppies;
- Teenage Dogs;
- Adult Dogs, and;
- Senior Dogs, and;
- By adding additional taurine is also good for kittens and cats.
The only reason the commercial pet food industry has established a sales niche for puppy food, v.s adult dog food, vs senior dog food is because the adult dog food produced by the pet food industry is often deficient in good source nutrition.
While an adult dog may be able to sustain such deficiencies for longer periods of time - dogs that are more vulnerable - such as puppies, will show the effects of deficiencies more quickly, the same can be said for many senior dogs.
As well, the pet food industry has created a niche for weight control dog foods for adult and senior dogs. Another invention made necessary by the inadequacies of pet food industry products. A dog that is on a species appropriate diet is much less likely to become overweight than a dog that is fed a nutrient poor and grain-based diet. Grain gets converted by the body into sugar very quickly - this spikes insulin levels and has a collective effect of creating constant hunger in the dog. In addition a dog that is fed a diet that is primarily comprised of fillers and poor source carbohydrates must consume a much larger quantity of that food in order to obtain actual nutritive value. The combination of these two facts creates obesity in dogs, just as it does in humans. If a dog is fed a truly good diet - that same diet can retain its value unchanged throughout the life-span of the dog - from puppy, hood to adult to senior.
If you need your dog to loose weight - the best approach is to feed your dog a truly good diet, cut back on carbohydrates, increase protein and good source fat (i.e. coconut oil a good source omega-6 fatty acid, a high quality omega-3 fatty acid such as Norwegian cod liver oil, Wild Alaskan salmon oil or Norwegian krill oil), introduce appropriate cooked, frozen-thawed and fresh veggies and fruit prepared properly to maximize absorption of nutrients, and turmeric.
For puppies up to 6 months of age exclude the garlic from the recipe. Once puppy is 6 months of age add the garlic to the recipe. For kittens and cats leave the garlic out of the recipe. If you are going to include garlic in your dogs diet make sure you read this article for a through look at the many health benefits, daily dosage, cautions and drug interactions for garlic.
How Much Will You Need to Feed to Your Dog?…
Before we get to the recipes - people often ask how much of this recipe should I feed to my dog or cat? My recommendation regarding amount to feed is as follows, first preceded by the following comments...The amount to feed your dog(s) or cat(s):
- Varies per the individual dog or cat - as I explain further just below, and;
- Varies depending on how you choose to prepare the ingredients - I discuss this further below under options for preparation.
- Just as each human has a different life style, different metabolism, so too for each dog.
- While two dogs may be the same size;
- The same breed;
- Have the same level of physical and mental activity;
- One of the dogs may require slightly more food or less food than the other.
- I am going to provide you with a guideline, and from that make your own adjustments to suit the individual dog.
- Start by feeding your dog 1/4 cup less of the homemade dog food;
- See how that goes and make any required adjustments to suit.
Example - GROUND WHOLE CORN, MEAT AND BONE MEAL, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, ANIMAL FAT (PRESERVED WITH BHA/CITRIC ACID), SOYBEAN MEAL, GROUND WHOLE WHEAT, BREWERS RICE, DRIED PLAIN BEET PULP, NATURAL FLAVOR, SALT, VEGETABLE OIL ([SOURCE OF LINOLEIC ACID] PRESERVED WITH BHA/BHT), POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, VITAMINS (CHOLINE CHLORIDE, a-TOCOPHEROL ACETATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN E], NIACIN, BIOTIN, d-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT) MINERALS (ZINC SULFATE, ZINC PROTEINATE, COPPER SULFATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE, COPPER PROTEINATE, MANGANESE PROTEINATE), ADDED FD&C COLORS (RED 40, YELLOW 5, BLUE 2).
- Start by feeding your dog 1/8 cup less of the homemade dog food;
- See how that goes and make any required adjustments to suit.
Example Two - Chicken (natural source of glucosamine), brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), whole grain wheat, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), soy flakes, soybean meal, animal digest, glycerin, calcium phosphate, caramel colour, calcium carbonate, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulphate, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, ferrous sulphate, sulphur, manganese sulphate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulphate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite. T-4154-C
Example Three - Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Chicken, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Fructooligosaccharides, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Calcium Carbonate, Flax Meal, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Vitamin E Supplement, Dried Chicken Cartilage (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), DL-Methionine, Vitamins (Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Beta-Carotene, L-Carnitine, Marigold, Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract.
Scenario Three - you are currently feeding your dog a commercially prepared dry dog kibble which looks similar to the example provided just below...
- Start by feeding your dog the same amount of the homemade food as you are currently feeding to your dog in the dry dog food;
- See how that goes and make any required adjustments to suit.
Deboned chicken, chicken meal, green peas, turkey meal, chicken liver oil, ?eld beans, red lentils, whole potato, deboned turkey, whole egg, deboned walleye, sun-cured alfalfa, pea ?bre, chicken liver, herring oil, whole apples, whole pears, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, spinach greens, cranberries, blueberries, kelp, chicory root, juniper berries, angelica root, marigold ?owers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, lavender, rosemary.
Just Before we get to the recipe...
1.0 If your dog or cat has...
- Acid Reflux - GERD
- I recommend that you read this first;
- Bladder or Kidney Crystals or Stones (uroliths)
- I recommend that you read this first;
- Colitis or other Inflammatory Bowel Disease -
- Adjustments to recipe are provided below;
- GME
- I recommend that you read this first;
- Food Allergies -
- I recommend that you read this and this first.
- Fatty Lipomas -
- I recommend that you read this first.
- Weight Management Issues -
- Overweight - read this first.
- Underweight - read this first.
- Urinary Tract Infection -
- I recommend that you read this.
Make sure you read all of the links provided in the recipe below. The links are provided to ensure your better understanding of the ingredients as pertains to important information such as health benefits, selection of appropriate type/quality, cautions and interactions, etc.
3.0 What you Use to Cook Food in and Feed Food To Your Dog and Cat Matters...
If at all possible do not use: Teflon coated pans and pots and do not feed your dog his/her food in metal bowls - particularly aluminum bowls and plastic bowls. The same is true for water - no aluminum or plastic bowls. Aluminum and the many carcinogenic substances in plastic gradually make their way into your dogs and cats system via the food bowl. This increases your dogs and cats toxic load and can cause damage to overall physical and mental health - brain health, GI tract health, organ health leading/contributing to behavioral and major health problems.
Grain Free…
Red Meat or Poultry, Squash or Sweet Potato, Cottage Cheese, Spinach, Cruciferous Vegetables, Fruit, Herbs…
- Option One is based on cooking all of the ingredients as you would a stew;
- Option Two is a combination of cooked and raw food recipe;
- Option Three is a raw food recipe;
- Options 2 and 3 have no water added, option one has water added.
- When you add water to any food you dilute the nutritional density of the food;
- Therefore, if you make the recipe based on preparation option one you will need to feed your dog or cat a slightly greater volume of the food than if you used preparation Option Two or Three.
- If you grind the ingredients to a fine meal in a food processor you end up with a dense end product;
- If you coarsely chop ingredients (cut ingredients into larger pieces as you would do if making a stew) the resulting end product is less dense;
- So, if you make the recipe using the cooked stew method with course chopped ingredients you will need to feed your dog or cat a larger amount of the resulting food;
- If you have not added any water to the recipe and have finely minced the ingredients you will feed your dog or cat a smaller amount of the resulting food.
1.0 Options - Cooked, Cooked & Fresh or Raw Food
Option One - Fully Cooked Stew
- Step 1 - Combine all ingredients, place in a pot or slow cooker (crock pot);
- Step 2 - Add just enough water to cover the ingredients;
- Step 3 - Simmer on lowest possible heat until fully
