DIY Dog Food – How To Cook For Your Furry Friend

If you just read the title of this blog post, then you realize I am taking my love of my dogs to the next level: home cooked meals. Bellatrix has some digestive upset and passes gas…often. They are already on a grain-free, holistic diet but I’m still feeding them hard little brown chunks of ‘food’. So I figured why not try out feeding them something that is only 3-4 ingredients that are all organic and nutritious?

Long story shot: THEY LOVE IT! Bonus for me: It wasn’t difficult to make at all!

If you are after a healthier option for your dog, give this recipe a try!

What you will need: 

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 cups brown rice
• 4 cups water
• 1 bag of frozen carrots and peas (mix) *Note: corn is often in these veggie mixes but is difficult for even humans to digest so would not be recommended for this recipe.

Let’s cook!

• In a 5 qt (or larger) dutch oven or pot, add in water, rice, and ground turkey.
• Break up ground turkey so that it is evenly distributed within the mix.
• Bring the mix to a boil on high heat (basically once you see the water bubbling, let it do so for 1 minute before turning down the heat to a simmer).
• Let simmer for 25 minutes.
• While your turkey mix simmers, blend vegetable mix in a blender (dogs don’t chew like humans do, so we need to get the nutrients out for them by blending the veggies).
• Add veggies to turkey and rice and let simmer for 5-7 minutes before turning off the heat.
• Let cool before serving or storing in the fridge.

Serving: 

For my pugs (small breed), each eats about 1 cup per day (Bella 3/4 cup and Jedi 1 full cup) and they eat that split between 2 meals per day. For larger breeds, you’ll want to go with closer to 2 cups per day.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or veterinarian. I am just sharing what works for my family. Please make sure to check in with your vet to make sure you are making the right choices for the health of your pet before making drastic changes to their lifestyle.