5 Simple Recipes For Raw Dog Food

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 weight management.

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.

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.

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

raw dog food recipe # 1 - Chicken and carrots

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

raw dog food recipe # 3 - turkey and chicken with fish

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

raw dog food recipe $4 - chicken and beef

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

raw dog food recipe #5- chicken and greens

**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.

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.

5 Simple Recipes For Raw Dog Food