Many of us know that a raw food diet offers a whole host of health benefits for all dogs, regardless of age or breed.
This includes improved digestion, healthier skin and coat, better dental health, reduced allergy symptoms, firmer stools
And luckily, there are several top-notch commercial raw food companies out there that you can buy from. But what if you want to make your own? It’s easier than you might think.
Here are 5 easy-to-make raw dog food recipes. You can serve all of these recipes either straight away or freeze for the future.
RELATED: Switching Your Dog’s Diet From Kibble To Raw
5 Recipes For Raw Dog Food
All of these recipes provide healthy, nutritious meals for your dog. Mix them well and serve fresh. You may also want to puree or lightly steam the veggies for better digestibility.
You can also keep the food in the refrigerator for a few hours before you serve it.
These are approximate percentage of weight you can use. For example, if you’re making total 1kg of food, then 50% would be 500gm.
And remember, these are just approximate percentages. When you’re feeding a diet full of variety, with meaty bones a few times a week, don’t get caught up on exact amounts. If you try to stay within these ranges, your dog’s food will be well balanced.
RELATED: 11 Reasons To Feed Your Dogs Fruits And Vegetables
IMPORTANT: The meats should be boneless. The recipes actually include bone, so you don’t want to use bone-in meats and up the calcium content.
1. Chicken And Carrots
This is one of the easiest meals to prepare. It’s very healthy for older dogs.
Ingredients
- 35% – 50% chicken thighs or breasts
- 10% – 30% chicken hearts and liver
- 12% – 15% ground chicken bone
- 5% raw or lightly boiled chicken eggs
- 5% – 20% organic carrots
- 5% – 20% organic green beans
2. Beef And Greens
Leafy green vegetables are full of nutrition. Research shows that greens may help prevent cancer.
Ingredients
- 35% – 50% beef – ground, cheek or stewing
- 10% – 30% beef hearts and liver
- 12% – 15% beef tail bones
- 5% – 10% organic green apples
- 5% – 10% organic collard greens
- 5% – 20% organic kale
3. Turkey And Chicken With Fish
Fish is a good source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, which are important for immune and brain health as well as joints and skin.
Ingredients
- 12% – 15% bone-in chicken and turkey (ground or whole)
- 35% – 50% mackerel or other oily fish
- 10% – 30% chicken and turkey hearts and liver
- 5% lightly boiled chicken eggs
- 5% – 10% organic spinach
- 5% – 10% organic broccoli
4. Chicken And Beef Delight
This is a great combo that gives your dog whole food nutrition from beef and chicken.
Ingredients
- 20% – 25% chicken thighs or breasts
- 20% – 25% beef – ground, cheek or stewing
- 10% – 30% beef hearts and liver
- 12% – 15% ground chicken bone
- 5% – 10% organic green beans
- 5% – 10% organic broccoli
5. Chicken And Greens
Here are those nutritious leafy greens again!
Ingredients
- 35% – 50% chicken thighs or breasts
- 10% – 30% chicken hearts and liver
- 12% – 15% ground chicken bone
- 5% – 10% organic broccoli
- 5% – 10% organic spinach
- 5% – 10% organic carrots
**Note: These recipes feature heart and liver as the primary organ meats but try to find a wide variety to give your dog as much balanced nutrition as possible. All of the organs, not just the heart and liver, are important to feed. Find more about organ meats here.
How Much Should You Feed?
Now that you know what to make, how much should you be making?
That depends on a number of different factors, including weight, age and activity level.
To start, feed your dog about one to three percent of her ideal weight. So, if your dog’s ideal weight is 50 lbs, one pound of food a day (or a little more) is good.
But just keep an eye out. If your dog’s really active, you may want to give her a little more. Or, if she enjoys lounging more than a good game of fetch, you may want to feed a bit less. If she starts to gain or lose weight, adjust the amount you’re feeding.
And don’t forget that puppies always need more.
Puppies should be fed two to three percent of their ideal adult weight. So even if your puppy only weighs 15 lbs right now, but her ideal adult weight is around 50 lbs, you’ll want to be feeding for that future weight, not the current weight.
Puppies also need a lot of calcium to help the development of strong teeth and bones. Give them a few extra raw consumable bones to chew on during the week.
A Note About Fats
Adding some fats to your dog’s diet is also a good idea.
But you have to make sure you balance it correctly. The proper balance supports organ health, eye health, muscle development.
There are five essential fatty acids (EFAs) for dogs. They’re all polyunsaturated fats and they’re essential because your dog can’t make them himself. They must be included in her diet. These are:
- Alpha Linolenic Acid – an omega-3 fat found in flaxseeds and hempseeds
- Linoleic Acid – an omega-6 fat found in things like hempseeds and sunflower seeds
- Arachidonic Acid – an omega-6 fat found in meat, poultry and eggs
- Docosahexaenoic Acid – an omega-3 fat found in oily fish like sardines
- Eicosapetaenoic Acid– an omega-3 also found in oily fish
For optimal health, you need to make sure these oils are added to your dog’s diet.
That being said, you have to choose the right fats for the type of meat you’re feeding.
Here’s what to use and what to avoid:
Lean Poultry
Add:
- Flaxseed
- Chia seed
- Sardines
Don’t add:
- Corn
- Safflower
- Soybean
- Sunflower
- Hempseed
Lean Ruminant (Beef, Lamb, Bison, Venison,Goat)
Add:
- Hempseed
- Walnut oil
- Sardines
Don’t Add:
- Flaxseed
- Chia seed
Here are 2 basic options for fat depending on the type of meat you feed:
If you’re feeding beef, add 1 tsp of hempseed oil for every 1 to 1¼ pounds of lean meats, a few times a week.
If you’re feeding poultry,add 1 tsp flaxseed oil for every 1 to 1¼ pounds of lean chicken, a few times a week
You can also add a canned sardine or two to your dog’s food a few times a week for good fats.
RELATED: What about fish oil? Should that be one the menu?
There are a lot of other great raw dog food recipes out there that your dog is sure to love. You can also experiment with all of the recipes above, mixing them up in order to find out what your dog likes and doesn’t like.
