This is a guide for how to make your own dog food. I switched my corgi from a purely kibble diet to a half kibble, half homemade food diet about a year ago. Winry got really picky with what kibble she would eat and didn’t care for the freeze dried toppers or the dehydrated food options we tried. I am not a fan of raw since I think there is too high a chance for food poisoning/contamination that I don’t think its worth the risk.
Winry is happier than ever now with her homemade food. It makes you appreciate all the work you put into making this when your dog enjoys it so much and you see their weight become better maintained, their coat shinier, and them being just a happier, healthier dog all around.
In this recipe I will give you the exact ingredients I prepped this time, but I will provide a list of other meat/veggie/fruits that I use as substitutes from time to time. The best part is that I often just use what I have on hand, or even cut up and freeze fruits/veggies I have extras of and don’t want going bad and use them later on. I also use less fruit in my recipes because we eat fruit everyday and usually Winry gets to share in the daily fruit. For budget friendly options, frozen fruits and veggies are great to use!
Make sure you only feed your dog ingredients that are dog safe. Most vegetables should be cooked/steamed to allow for easy digestion. Organ meat is fantastic for dogs, but make sure each type is not more that 10% of the total amount being fed. Liver especially be careful with as you can overdose and kill your dog if you feed them too much (although in small amounts its incredibly healthy!) I give Winry no more than 1oz of liver a day in the form of homemade training treats.
Ingredients
Makes ~40 servings/20 days worth of meals.
- 6-6.5 lbs of unthawed meat (100 ounces was used in this recipe.)
- Chicken hearts
- Chicken breast
- Pork loin
- 4.5 lbs of veggies
- 1/2 kabocha squash
- 4 large carrots
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 4 cucumbers
- 2 lbs fruit
- Frozen mixed berries
- 3 bananas
- 1 apple
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed (or enough of preferred grain to soak up meat juices.)
- 1/2 cup millet (or 1 cup oatmeal, I just have millet I want to use up.)
Instructions
- Cook the Meat/Potatoes: In the evening – chop up sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes and add to instant pot along with all the meats – if you have a large enough instant pot add carrots and squash as well. Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes, allow to natural release or quick release is also fine.
- Shred the Meat: Once meat is cooked, remove meat and shred (keep juices for later use). I like to put the meat into a large bowl to catch any extra juices and allow it to cool a bit. I then shred it one chunk at a time and put shredded meat back into the instant pot along with extra juices in the bowl at the end.
- Add Grains: Add millet and flax to instant pot, mix well and cover. Once pot is cool enough, place it in the fridge overnight (place a hot pad underneath it if still warm). The next day, the meat and grain mixture should be thick, an almost cake like texture.
- Roast squash and carrots until tender (if you have a large capacity instant pot you could cook them with the meat instead.)
- Prep Fruits/Veggies: Combine all fruits and veggies in a large bowl and mix well. Frozen items do not need to unthawed, but everything should be in small, bit size chunks.
- Mix Everything: Combine the meat and fruit/veggies mixtures. I typically need to do this in two batches, so I put half of the fruit/veggie mix into another bowl, then add half the meat mixture to the first, larger fruit/veggie bowl, and the other half the fruit/veggies I add the instant pot with the other half of the meat mixture. Stir all these until well combined.
- Portion and Freeze: Using muffin tins or anything you have that will make an appropriate sized meal for you dog (Winry gets around 5-5.5oz per meal), brush olive oil in the tins and fill with food mixture. Place in the freezer for about 1 hour before taking out, popping out the cakes with a knife or other utensil, and placing an a large freezer bag. Continue until you have frozen all the food. I keep about 6 cakes in the fridge in a glass container, and after feeding the last cake I take 6 new cakes out of the freezer into a new container.
Substitutes (I use different ingredients every time!)
Meats: beef is probably best for your dog but I’m on a budget so my dog gets mostly chicken, turkey, canned salmon, and pork. The great thing about this recipe is it can be tweaked to your preferences, budget, and dog’s needs. Try to avoid too fatty of cuts of meat – same as if you were feeding yourself. If you have a butcher shop that can provide you organ meat lucky you! Else I shop at my local asian market to find the chicken/duck gizzards and hearts.
- Ground pork
- Ground turkey
- Ground beef
- Canned salmon (I usually add a few Costco cans of salmon, juice and all to her food! Add with grains.)
- Beef flank/shoulder/round/etc
- Pork chops/shoulder/etc
- Beef/pork liver
- Beef/chicken heart
- Turkey breast
- Chicken breast
- Chicken thigh
- Duck gizzard
- Chicken gizzard
- Tripe
Vegetables: whatever is in season is probably best, but you can never go wrong with frozen! I love a good bag of costco broccoli for my dog!
- Broccoli
- Peas
- Asparagus
- Pumpkin (canned is great – add in with the oatmeal/flax step. Just make sure its just pumpkin and no spices)
- Cabbage
- Bok Choy
- Spinach
- Mushrooms
- Corn
- Celery
- Beets
- Sweet potatoes
- Squash
- Brussel sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Zucchini
- Green beans
- Bell peppers
Fruits: Make sure they are always washed, and never feed your dog grapes!
- Apples
- Bananas
- Pears
- Oranges
- Pineapple
- Kiwi
- Melons
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Watermelon
- Mango
Grains: Grains are completely optional, but I like the fiber and omegas from the flax. Corgi’s are hungry monsters and a little filler I think to help her feel more full is not a bad thing.
- Oatmeal
- Barley
- Millet
- Rice
- Couscous
- Quinoa
