Imagine if you had to eat the same food every meal, every day of your life. Beyond being painfully dull, wouldn’t you question whether you’re getting a nutritionally complete and balanced diet? Welcome to a dog’s life.

Long ago before commercially produced dog food, dogs ate a lot of the same foods as humans. There’s a reason our dogs beg for our food — they’re meant to eat a variety. We’ve cooked up some tips on how to make dog food, nutrition guidelines, and our favorite homemade dog food recipes. And best of all, these recipes have been reviewed by our veterinary consultant,

What Are The Benefits Of Homemade Dog Food?

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

Highly-processed foods also tend to lose nutritional value, whereas making dog food from scratch maintains more of the 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 included additives and preservatives.

Complete Nutrition From A Veterinarian

With that being said, homemade dog foods can require a significant amount of time and effort to get right. Homemade dog food needs to contain all the nutrients that your dog needs to be healthy, but those nutrients also need to be included in the right amounts so that your dog doesn’t 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.
It’s a good idea to have the recipes in this article handy in case you happen to run out of dog food. Treat your dog as you would any of your other family members by preparing nutritious food from trusted ingredients.

What Nutrition Guidelines Should You Follow?

Just like humans, every dog is different, so this is not meant to be a one-pup-fits-all rule. Serving size, your dog’s weight, health conditions, size, and activity level are all factors you should take into consideration when determining what’s right for your dog.

However, in general, there are six basic nutrients required for dogs to maintain a healthy, balanced diet: water, protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. A mix of these nutrients provides energy for your dog’s body to metabolize and grow.

To make sure 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 make sure your pup is getting the recommended balance of vitamins and minerals.

Necessary Nutrients

Here are the benefits of the necessary nutrients and why it’s important your pup has adequate amounts of each (listed in order of priority).

  • Protein (chicken, lamb, turkey, beef, fish, and cooked eggs) – Helps with growth and maintenance of cells, tissues, organs, antibodies, hormones, and enzymes.
  • Fat (from oil and meat) – Assists with the absorption of certain vitamins, protects and insulates internal organs, and promotes good skin and hair growth.
  • Carbohydrates (rice, corn and beans) – Keeps intestines healthy and supplies glucose to critical organs, including the brain.
  • Minerals, including calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, zinc, etc. – Gives dogs structurally sound bones and teeth, among other benefits.
  • Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K – Promotes eye and skin health, immunity, and more.

Water accounts for 60-70% of a dog’s body weight so it’s critical that your dog stays hydrated, in addition to eating a well-balanced diet. Dehydration can lead to a number of health issues so make sure that your dog has free access to plenty of clean, fresh drinking water throughout the day.

Low-Calorie Dog Food Recipes

The recipes that are listed below are low in calories but should be consumed in moderation (serving sides similar to what they currently eat). Work with your vet to ensure that the amount that you feed matches your dog’s daily caloric needs.

Homemade Dog Food Delivered

In the age of UberEats, DoorDash, and having just about anything you wish delivered, you also have the option to buy fresh, natural dog food for doorstep delivery. It can be a huge time-saver and may be worth the cost after you add up all the ingredients you’ll need to buy to cook a recipe.

The Farmer’s Dog ships frozen, allowing you to keep it on hand or serve it every day as a regular meal. This food is made with fresh, healthy and easy-to-pronounce human-grade ingredients. And you can spend your time on more important things, like belly rubs and walks.

Our Favorite Homemade Dog Food Recipes

We’ve written up some of our favorite dog food recipes to share with you. To jump to a recipe you’re 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. 

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 common 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.

CBD-Infused Dog Treats

You can purchase already-made CBD dog treats, but if you want to take a whack at making your own, here’s a recipe. Be sure to tell your vet that you’re adding CBD to your dog’s diet. Check with the manufacturer’s dosing guidelines of the CBD product you plan on giving your dog to make sure you’re giving the proper amount.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
  • 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1 apple, cored and grated
  • 1/2 cup carrots, peeled and grated
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/3 cup olive or coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup water
  • dash of sea salt
  • 120 mg CBD oil

Total: Makes 24 treats

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a dog cookie baking tray with coconut oil.
  2. Core and grate the apples, then peel and grate the carrots.
  3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, oats, and coconut sugar together. In another medium-sized bowl, beat the egg. Then, add coconut oil, water, and grated apples and carrots.
  4. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients bowl; mix completely. Finally, add CBD oil and mix once more.
  5. Using a Tbsp measuring spoon, portion out the dog biscuits and press into the dog treat baking pan.
  6. Bake for 32-37 minutes or until the biscuits are firm and golden-brown on the outside.
  7. Store in an air-tight container.

Beef Stew, Doggie Style

This recipe is loaded with iron from fresh protein and can be stored in your fridge for most of the week (or frozen and heated up later).

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of beef stew meat
  • 1 small sweet potato
  • 1/2 cup of carrots, diced
  • 1/2 cup of green beans, diced
  • 1/2 cup of flour
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Total: Makes approx. 4 cups (32 fluid ounces)

Nutritional Info (per 1 cup serving):

  • Calories: 301
  • Protein: 36.7 g
  • Fat: 8.4 g
  • Carbs: 17.4 g
  • Minerals & Vitamins: Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, Potassium

Directions

  1. Cook the sweet potato in a microwave for 5 to 8 minutes until firm but tender. Set aside.
  2. Slice the beef into small chunks, about the size of a nickel.
  3. Cook the beef stew pieces in a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until well-done.
  4. Remove the beef chunks from the pan, reserving the drippings.
  5. Dice the sweet potato.
  6. Heat the drippings over medium-low heat. Slowly add flour and water into the drippings while whisking to create a thick gravy.
  7. Add the meat, sweet potato, carrots and green beans into the gravy and stir to coat.
  8. Cook until the carrots are tender — about 10 minutes.
  9. Let it cool and serve.
  10. Store remaining stew in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Source: https://yourlovelypet.net/