Ok, so I know I'll probably get taunted by someone for being such a pushover with respect to the demands of the Canine-American community, but I hereby confess: I make my own dog food. I've been doing it for some time now.
Initially, I was hesitant to tell anyone about my little undertaking, as I have never been one of those dog owners who sends Muffy to the groomer for a lavender conditioning treatment and a manicure. Rather, I have a very short haired breed- a pit- and I wash her quarterly (if that) and she just flat doesn't smell. For nails, I find that taking her for runs on pavement (we live in the city) keeps her nails pretty well filed down.
All that said, I just couldn't continue to feed my dog (my wife and I call her Artpig- long story) kibble. She had a continuous appearance of being a little bloated, and she needed to lose a few pounds. I had heard about people feeding dogs raw fruits and veggies to replace part of their kibble ration, so I googled up some stuff. Of course, the internet sucked me in and I went from trying to figure out some kibble amendments to getting in the truck and driving to Kroger to pick up the ingredients for my inaugural batch of DIY dog food.
Since then (several, if not many moons) my recipe has evolved according to my bumbling assessment of the strengths and shortcomings of prior batches. As of my latest batch, here's how it goes:
(Makes enough for approx. 6-7 days of 2x daily feeding @ ~1 3/4 cup per feeding)
1lb 85/15 ground chicken or turkey (whichever is cheaper)
1 container chicken livers (already tossed this batch's containers, so I don't know the exact size, but it's a Tyson plastic container that sells for approx. $1.25)
1lb brown rice
1/3lb green beans
4 large whole carrots/ 5-6 avg whole carrots
2 large sweet potatoes
1 russet or other white potato
5tsp turmeric
3-4 Granny Smith apples (or any cheap apple, really)
6 eggs
Throw the meats, rice and turmeric into a big ass crockpot. Add plenty of water, covering everything by 1/2 inch or so. Place lid on crockpot and cook on high approx. 2-3 hrs for meats to be just cooked. During cooking, check periodically for burning around the sides of the crockpot- if found, add more water, scrape sides and stir thoroughly.
Coarsely chop veggies and toss into your food processor. Process with large blade until finely minced. Set veggies aside.
About .5hrs before your meats are cooked through (which you'll know when, upon stirring, the liver breaks down into a paste), add eggs. I throw them in shell and all, breaking up the shell into tiny bits with my wooden spoon. After eggs are cooked, add veggies.
Cook on high for another 2-3 hrs and let cool. The food is done when it has the consistency of really coarse mashed potatoes. The biggest thing to look for in doneness is the status of the rice. If you don't cook it through, when your dog plows into his first helping, you'll hear all those hard grains being scattered across your floor.
I also add a seaweed product called Solid Gold Seameal that I order from Amazon. You can read about it's claimed benefits over there, but having used it, I can attest that it's great stuff.
Anyway, just wanted to post this up for anyone looking for a good way to improve their dog's health and life. Artpig dropped 10lbs of fat/bloat and is more athletic, happy and healthy than she's ever been, and her fur shines and feels like velvet. Try it out for a while- it's a lot of work (once a week) but, in my opinion (and Artpig's), well worth the effort.
Initially, I was hesitant to tell anyone about my little undertaking, as I have never been one of those dog owners who sends Muffy to the groomer for a lavender conditioning treatment and a manicure. Rather, I have a very short haired breed- a pit- and I wash her quarterly (if that) and she just flat doesn't smell. For nails, I find that taking her for runs on pavement (we live in the city) keeps her nails pretty well filed down.
All that said, I just couldn't continue to feed my dog (my wife and I call her Artpig- long story) kibble. She had a continuous appearance of being a little bloated, and she needed to lose a few pounds. I had heard about people feeding dogs raw fruits and veggies to replace part of their kibble ration, so I googled up some stuff. Of course, the internet sucked me in and I went from trying to figure out some kibble amendments to getting in the truck and driving to Kroger to pick up the ingredients for my inaugural batch of DIY dog food.
Since then (several, if not many moons) my recipe has evolved according to my bumbling assessment of the strengths and shortcomings of prior batches. As of my latest batch, here's how it goes:
(Makes enough for approx. 6-7 days of 2x daily feeding @ ~1 3/4 cup per feeding)
1lb 85/15 ground chicken or turkey (whichever is cheaper)
1 container chicken livers (already tossed this batch's containers, so I don't know the exact size, but it's a Tyson plastic container that sells for approx. $1.25)
1lb brown rice
1/3lb green beans
4 large whole carrots/ 5-6 avg whole carrots
2 large sweet potatoes
1 russet or other white potato
5tsp turmeric
3-4 Granny Smith apples (or any cheap apple, really)
6 eggs
Throw the meats, rice and turmeric into a big ass crockpot. Add plenty of water, covering everything by 1/2 inch or so. Place lid on crockpot and cook on high approx. 2-3 hrs for meats to be just cooked. During cooking, check periodically for burning around the sides of the crockpot- if found, add more water, scrape sides and stir thoroughly.
Coarsely chop veggies and toss into your food processor. Process with large blade until finely minced. Set veggies aside.
About .5hrs before your meats are cooked through (which you'll know when, upon stirring, the liver breaks down into a paste), add eggs. I throw them in shell and all, breaking up the shell into tiny bits with my wooden spoon. After eggs are cooked, add veggies.
Cook on high for another 2-3 hrs and let cool. The food is done when it has the consistency of really coarse mashed potatoes. The biggest thing to look for in doneness is the status of the rice. If you don't cook it through, when your dog plows into his first helping, you'll hear all those hard grains being scattered across your floor.
I also add a seaweed product called Solid Gold Seameal that I order from Amazon. You can read about it's claimed benefits over there, but having used it, I can attest that it's great stuff.
Anyway, just wanted to post this up for anyone looking for a good way to improve their dog's health and life. Artpig dropped 10lbs of fat/bloat and is more athletic, happy and healthy than she's ever been, and her fur shines and feels like velvet. Try it out for a while- it's a lot of work (once a week) but, in my opinion (and Artpig's), well worth the effort.
