How to Make Your Own Dog Food

If you are a dog owner, you may feel that your animals deserve to eat as healthy and well as the humans in your house. We love our pets after all. Making your own dog food is a great way to up their health. Those who are putting their dog on a diet may also benefit from making their own food for their pet, as there are fewer fillers and more fresh meat and vegetables. There are fairly simple ways to make your own healthier dog food and these tips won’t break the bank.

Give Your Pets Nutritious Foods

Dog food, in general, tends to lack great nutrients, so finding recipes that are packed with vitamins and essential minerals is an excellent start to feeding your dog better. Find recipes that are rich with:

• Iron
• Copper
• Calcium
• Zinc

These components, just like with human food, will help your dog live a healthier life. Items that you should include in your dog food are:

• Proteins: animal meat, seafood, dairy, eggs
• Vegetables: carrots, peas, green beans
• Fats: egg yolks, oatmeal
• Carbs: grains

Follow a Proven Recipe

When you are learning how to prepare food for your pet, follow proven recipes that are approved by veterinarians. You want to ensure that you have the correct balance of ingredients and that you aren’t giving your dog too much or not enough fats.

Don’t try to change the ingredients, especially when it comes to the types of oils. There is a big difference between corn, canola, olive, and coconut oil.

Make Your Foods in Batches and Freeze the Extra

Just like with people food, there is nothing wrong with making a lot ahead of time and freezing the rest in pre-measured out portions. This will save you time on making your own food and ensure that you can maintain the process long term.

Ingredients to Avoid

If you decide to go rogue on a recipe, there are certain foods that you must avoid. These foods can make your dog sick or even cause death. They are:

• Avocado
• Chocolate
• Onions, chives
• Seeds and nuts
• Grapes
• Garlic
• Apple cores
• Bacon
• Raw meat and bones
• Milk, cheese, and ice cream
• Citrus
• Yeast dough
• Coffee, caffeine
• Coconut, coconut oil
• Raw eggs (cooked are fine)
• Salty snack foods

Raw Meats pose the same risk to dogs as they do to humans. Salmonella and E. coli can be dangerous to your pet.

Salty foods can cause dehydration in your dog. Signs that your dog is ingesting too much salt include excessive drinking, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures, and death. Avoid giving your dog potato chips, pretzels, and salted popcorn. Chocolate and caffeine can have the same side effects.

Most dogs are lactose intolerant, so ingesting milk and ice cream can cause significant gastrointestinal distress. Onions and garlic can cause stomach issues in dogs, as well.

Grapes and raisins are dangerous for dogs to ingest. Your beloved pets can end up in kidney failure from eating these. While the toxic component in grapes is unknown, they should be avoided at all costs.

Common Dog Food Recipes

Here are three different popular recipes to make for your dog. Note that you can easily eat this too! Each recipe is totally people friendly.

Recipe #1 – Turkey and Veggies

• 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds ground turkey
• 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 zucchini, shredded
• 1/2 cup peas, canned or frozen

Recipe #2 – Beef and Veggies

• 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1 1/2 cups butternut squash, chopped into small cubes
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup peas, fresh or frozen

Recipe #3 – Stew

• 3 pounds (boneless and skinless) chicken thighs
• 1/4 cup chicken livers
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup frozen green beans
• 1 apple, core and seeds removed and discarded (cut into 4 pieces)
• 2-3 cups water
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil