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Let me tell you right up front that making your own dog food is not easy. It is a time consuming project that is not fun. However, we do it because we believe the reward to be greater than the hours required to shop, cook, and provide to all of our dogs.

When we decided to embark upon this task my mom only had one semester of Animal Care & Feeding and that was many moons ago so we knew we had a lot of research to do as all things change and improve. We will share some of our reference sources at the end of this post. Although we did a lot of cross research, all of the resources are too numerous to mention. So, we strongly encourage you to do your own research if you are interested in making your dog’s food. We are not veterinarians or nutritionists and cannot give you advice on your dog’s nutritional requirements.

The ingredients we use and why:

Dark meat chicken

High in protein (dark meat has the highest level of taurine than any other source). We also include the bones, pressure-cooked until they crumble easily to provide bone meal. Bone is the most natural source of calcium for carnivores. The bone marrow from land animals is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. Chicken provides all 10 essential amino acids that dogs need.

Beef liver

High in vitamin A and B, iron, and protein.

Eggs

High in vitamin A, calcium, and protein (dogs actually derive more protein from cooked eggs than any other protein source). I mention cooked, because raw eggs have an enzyme that inhibits biotin absorption. We also dry the eggshells in the oven and then grind them to a powder to provide another source of calcium.

Potatoes

High in B vitamins and potassium and a useful carbohydrate (starch).

Oats

High in calcium, iron, and protein, and another useful carbohydrate for energy and fiber.

Vegetables

A great source of vitamin A. Avoid feeding vegetables high in oxalic acid, a compound that interferes with calcium absorption. Such as spinach, swiss chard, and rhubarb. We like to use broccoli and carrots. Vegetables are also a good source for bulk to help your dog feel full.

Corn oil

An excellent source of linoleic acid. It’s a healthy omega 6 fatty acid, which can help the body burn fat and build the immune system. Fat also provides energy.

Coconut oil

High in fats called medium chain triglycerides, which are metabolized differently than most other fats. These special fats are responsible for a lot of the health benefits of coconut oil. When you eat these types of fats, they go straight to the liver, where they are used as a quick source of energy or turned into ketones. Ketones can have powerful benefits for the brain. Coconut oil is also very good for preventing a flaky coat and dry skin.

The quantities and ratios:

20lbs of dark meat chicken including the skin and bones

6.66lbs of beef liver (we use a 3 to 1 ratio of chicken to organ meat)

2 dozen-cooked eggs (retain shells for baking and grinding)

– Eggs are optional to make a low protein food.

10lbs of potatoes

2.5lbs of cooked rolled oats (you could double this if you need a lower protein food)

5lbs of steamed carrots

5lbs of steamed broccoli

2 cups corn oil

2 cups coconut oil

Directions to prepare:

Step 1:

Pressure-cook the chicken with skin and bones for 2 hours using only a couple inches of water.

Boil the beef liver for 20 minutes then drain.

Scramble the eggs until cooked thoroughly and bake the shells at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes. Cool the shells and grind to a powder. Do not leave any sharp pieces of shell!

Boil the oats until completely cooked.

Boil potatoes until tender.

Steam carrots and broccoli for 10 minutes.

Cool all ingredients.

Step 2:

Mash the potatoes, carrots, and broccoli together. You will need a really big mixing bowl, we use this one.

Add the oats, eggs, egg shell (we grind the egg shells in a coffee grinder after they were baked in the oven), corn oil, and coconut oil and combine.

Grind the chicken, bones and liver then add to the mixture with all broth from the pressure cooker and combine. We use a food grinder attachment for our Kitchen Aid.

We separate into serving size dishes and freeze everything except for 2 days worth of food. We do that to ensure the food stays fresh. As we use the food we take more out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator to defrost.

Step 3:

Before we feed each meal to our dogs we first add the supplements.

Supplements:

1 650 mg capsule of cod liver oil – Omega 3, vitamin A and D

1 1200 mg capsule of fish oil – Omega 3 fatty acid

1 tsp of Hemp seed oil – Hemp seed oil is better than fish or flax seed based oils because it naturally has the perfect Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio (3:1) of fatty acids.

½ to 1 tsp of Kelp – Ideal for balancing glandular functioning. A great source of iodine that is essential for stimulating the thyroid gland. Kelp can help maintain a shiny and healthy skin and coat. Kelp is considered a super food that includes minerals and micronutrients.

Centrum Silver (we use a pill grinder, because we have a few picky dogs that will pick the supplements out if they are not mixed in) – Vitamin & Mineral Supplement

Why we feed homemade and commercial dog kibble:

The controversy of raw, cooked, commercial dog foods, oh my! Your head can spin if you get caught up in the debate. When we started feeding homemade we still worried just like we did when we fed only a commercially prepared diet. We worried if the food was healthy, well balanced, and the best nutrition we could provide?

The fact is, even though we have done an unbelievable amount of research we are still unsure if the food we are preparing is the perfect balance of nutrition.

We are also uncertain that what manufacturers say is the best nutrition really is, or if it’s even safe to eat. But on the other hand, they have experts creating the recipes and doing continued studies to ensure the longevity of our pets. So maybe it’s safer and better than what we can prepare on our own.

Because of that we decided to make a gradual change to the homemade diet. With observation and blood tests to ensure our dogs continued health we will reassess as we go along and add more home cooked and possibly adjustments to the recipe.

For now, we feed one commercially made meal a day and one homemade meal each day. The decision to change gradually with factual evidence puts our minds at ease that we are doing the best nutritionally for our dogs.

I will be updating this post on test results and additional observations. So check back for more super valuable information!

Our observations since adding home cooked:

We had 4 dogs that had started eating stool so we thought something might be missing in their diet. Now that we are feeding home cooked we no longer see this behavior in any of our dogs. Their coats are also much shinier and softer. So far all good observations, even Google, our grumpy boy, seems to be having less grumpy moments.

References

Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats

Canine and Feline Nutrition – A Resource for Companion Animal Professionals – Third edition

Manual of Companion Animal Nutrition & Feeding – British Small Animal Veterinary Association

The Healing Foods – The Ultimate Authority on The Curative Power of Nutrition