Home-Made Dog Food Recipes

It really is surprising to see what some people feed their dogs: out-of-date products, family leftovers, foods that are toxic to them, and even bizarre home-made dog food recipes picked up from websites with no nutritional knowledge whatsoever.

Thinking there is no harm in it, or that it does them no harm at all, is fooling ourselves. Dogs need a healthy, balanced diet to develop normally and stay in good health. Their immune system depends heavily on their diet, so spending a few minutes finding out what they can and cannot eat is investing in their health.

Here at Soyunperro we are going to run through which foods a dog can eat and which they should never eat. We will also see how to prepare some very healthy home-made recipes for our dog.

Are There Forbidden Foods for Dogs?

Of course there are toxic and dangerous foods for our dogs, which we should avoid at all times. These foods can cause digestive problems, vomiting, diarrhoea or even poisoning in our dog, which in many cases can prove fatal.

Some of the foods we should avoid because of their toxicity or the danger they pose if our dogs eat them are:

• Cooked bones / cooked bone scraps: Bones should always be meaty and raw, to stop them lodging in the digestive tract.
• Raw eggshells: We should never give our dogs raw eggshell, as they could contract salmonellosis.
• Grapes and/or raisins: These are highly toxic to our dogs; only some fruits are safe for dogs, and always without the seeds.
• Mushrooms and fungi: Most of these contain substances highly toxic to our dogs and should be avoided entirely.
• Dairy and derivatives: Take great care with products containing lactose, such as milk. Lactose causes intolerance problems in most dogs.
• Sauces and fried, greasy food: Dogs do not tolerate sauces or fried, greasy food well; the excess fat and many of the products used are harmful to them.
• Chocolate: Chocolate contains a compound called theobromine. While humans metabolise theobromine easily, dogs do so far more slowly, which lets it build up in their body until it reaches toxic levels.

Although there are obviously many more ingredients harmful to dogs, these are the most common ones found in our kitchens (the ones we should keep them from eating).

Common Ingredients for a Home-Made Dog Recipe

Although we might think there are many ingredients our dogs should not eat, the truth is there are many, many more they can eat, some even highly recommended for them because of their nutrient quality.

Home-made food for dogs is called the BARF Diet, and there you can find far more detailed information on the right amounts and ingredients for home-made feeding.

Some of the most common, healthy ingredients for our dogs are:

• Meats: Beef, chicken, duck, lamb, pork, horse, poultry.
• Soft bones: Chicken carcasses, ribs.
• Fermented dairy: Plain unsweetened yoghurt, cured cheese.
• Probiotics: Brewer's yeast
• Tinned foods: Tuna, sardines.
• Fish: Small raw herrings/anchovies
• Fruit: Apple, pear, banana, melon, watermelon… all seedless.
• Vegetables: Especially leafy green ones such as chard, always cooked and blended

On top of this, a fat source such as olive oil is suggested, to help the diet move through the gut and improve the animal's physical condition (skin, coat and so on).

As you will have noticed, we have not included rice or potato, since in our view dogs do not need to eat much carbohydrate. Although there is a wide range of opinion on this, we are going to work them in in small amounts in the recipes we set out below.

If, like us, you think a dog does not need grains or carbohydrate, simply leave these ingredients out of the recipes that follow. It goes without saying that if our dog has a health problem or is allergic to any of these ingredients, we should check with a vet first.

Home-Made Recipes for Feeding a Dog

Fresh meat and/or fresh fish should be cooked before offering it to your pet, to avoid digestive complications from bacteria and other germs. It is advisable to freeze them for around three or four days beforehand, to prevent/eliminate possible parasites. If we do not want to freeze the meat or fish, we can always cook it a little (removing any bones or fish bones beforehand).

Freezing breaks down the cell walls of plant matter, and this makes vegetables more digestible, meaning your dog's body absorbs it better. It also makes it easier to prepare larger batches.

Although foods lose some nutrients during freezing, this loss is minimal and does not significantly affect the nutritional quality of the raw, frozen diet. Here are some simple recipes to prepare at home, though we can create new, more elaborate recipes following the guidance in the BARF Diet.

Ingredients for the Meat Recipe

• Minced beef 1/2 kilo
• Minced chicken 1/2 kilo
• Minced pork 1/2 kilo
• 1 tin of tuna in oil
• 1 apple
• 2 carrots
• Rice (optional) 200 grams dry
• Cured cheese 100 grams
• Lettuce, just a couple of leaves
• Egg (optional)

Method

We will cook all the meat mixed with a little olive oil, with no salt or any other seasoning. The meat should not be browned or overdone; we will simply turn it a few times so it is cooked through.

Meanwhile we will boil the carrots, lettuce leaves and rice in water. The rice should be cooked thoroughly to keep it from causing constipation in our dog. If we do not want to use grain in the recipe, we will simply leave the rice out.

We will cut the apple and cheese into very small pieces, add the contents of the tin of tuna, the boiled, finely chopped carrot and lettuce, the meat and the rice. We will make a purée or mash with all of it and leave it to sit at room temperature.

We now have a delicious dish ready for our dog, which as well as being wholesome and healthy is very cheap. Obviously we will only give them the amount of food they need. The rest we can put into small individual-portion bags and freeze. The egg, though, we will always add fresh and shell-free straight onto the dog's portion — we will not freeze it.

Ingredients for the Fish Recipe

• Tuna preserved in oil 4 tins
• Sardines (also in oil) 1 tin
• Fresh, cleaned anchovies (rinsed with water, we can leave the innards and bones) 1/4 kilo
• Assorted minced meat (chicken, beef, lamb…) 1 kilo
• 1 apple
• 2 carrots
• Cured cheese 100 grams
• Potato 1/4 kilo

Method

We will cook all the meat with a little olive oil and no salt or other seasoning. Just until it takes on colour — there is no need to cook it much. We will boil the potatoes and carrots so we can mash them afterwards. We will cut the apple into very small pieces and mix everything together with the contents of the tins of tuna (drained of oil), sardines, fresh anchovies and cheese.

It is advisable to freeze the fresh anchovies for three days to eliminate any possible parasites. If our dog is a small breed, we should mash these too; healthy medium and large dogs can eat them whole, though mashing them does improve their absorption in the gut, making better use of the nutrients. We can make individual portions in small bags and freeze the rest.

As you can see, making a home-made meal for your dog is really simple, and they will surely be very grateful for it. Surprise them with a meal made just for them and watch how they go wild with joy.