Homemade Dog Food and Treat Recipes...
These are recipes I use and my dogs love them! Feel free to try them out, I bet your furry family members will love them too. Not all these recipes I came up with, some are from dog loving friends.
The Benefits of a Raw Diet - Feeding a raw dog food diet has many notable benefits…
The Benefits of a Raw Diet - Feeding a raw dog food diet has many notable benefits…
- Firmer stools
- Improved digestion
- Healthier skin and coat
- Reduced allergy symptoms
- Better weight management
Frozen Berry Treats
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cup assorted berries frozen or fresh
- 1 cup yogurt plain
- 1 tablespoon Honey (optional)
- 1 tablespoon The Honest Kitchen Pro Bloom (or any powdered goats milk)
- Add assorted berries, yogurt, Pro Bloom and honey to blender. Puree until smooth.
- Pour in ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap or bags to avoid spills.
- Leave overnight to freeze.
- Take trays out of freezer, let sit out for 2 minutes and remove from tray to serve.
Gluten-free Raspberries Muffins
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 cups gluten-free flour
- 1 tablespoon the honest kitchen Pro Bloom goat’s milk (or any powered goats milk)
- 4 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups raspberries
- 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup water
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners or spray with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, Pro Bloom, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk oil, eggs, and water.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients, and combine.
- Fold in raspberries to the mix. The flour should be thick when complete.
- Fill each muffin cup with two spoonfuls of dough (almost to the top) as they don't rise much.
- Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Take muffins out of pans and let cool on racks.
Dog biscuits
Instructions
- 1 cup pumpkin
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup oil*
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons bacon grease, coconut oil, chicken fat, or any other fat that will solidify at room temperature, melted
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine pumpkin, peanut butter, eggs, and oil in a bowl. Add in baking soda and whole wheat flour. Stir until a stiff dough forms. Knead dough or mix just until flour is incorporated.
- Roll out dough with a rolling pin and use a cookie cutter to cut out dog bone shapes, or just bake into little circles like cookies. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Whisk the bacon grease and peanut butter until very smooth. Drizzle over the treats and cool till glaze hardens (it does best in the fridge or freezer).
Easy Two-Ingredient Dog Treats
Ingredients:
Also, this recipe makes a lot and lasts for a few weeks. If the amount is too much for your dog to consume within that time, consider halving the recipe or freezing the dough/treats for later!
**A note on the baby food: Most baby foods do not contain these ingredients anyway, but it’s good to note that you should avoid using any that contain onions, grapes, or raisins.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups 100% organic whole wheat flour* (or wheat germ, spelt, rolled oats — or a mixture of these)
- 2 (4oz) jars of pureed baby food** – beef, blueberry, sweet potato, chicken, etc.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Mix ingredients together to form a stiff dough. If necessary, add extra flour or water as needed.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out evenly until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shape or a pizza cutter to make cubes.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, place treats about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely before storing in a paper bag (storing in an air-tight container will make them soft, but they’re still edible).
Also, this recipe makes a lot and lasts for a few weeks. If the amount is too much for your dog to consume within that time, consider halving the recipe or freezing the dough/treats for later!
**A note on the baby food: Most baby foods do not contain these ingredients anyway, but it’s good to note that you should avoid using any that contain onions, grapes, or raisins.
Sweet Potato Fries For Dogs
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 Sweet Potato
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil (melted)
- Spices - Turmeric
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
- Wash and peel the sweet potato
- Cut the sweet potato into evenly sized long skinny (fry shaped) pieces
- Coat with oil and spices - Mix in a large bowl or Ziploc bag
- Place fries on baking sheet in one layer
- Bake for 15 minutes
- Flip over fries for even baking
- Bake for another 10-15 minutes
- Let cool before giving to your dog!
Frozen Apple Treat
Ingredients
This recipe makes 16 treats if using a standard ice cube tray.Instructions – How To Make Frozen Apple Dog Treats 1. Slice 2 apples into small pieces but remove the seeds and the core
2. Mix the apple slices, yogurt, and a splash of water in your NutriBullet or blender and blend until you get a liquid consistency.
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and freeze for a few hours or until hard.
I recommend only feeding your dog one “cube” at a time. You can put the left over treats into a Tupperware container and store them in the freezer.
Ingredients
- 2 Apples
- 1 Cup Greek Nonfat Plain Yogurt
- Water
This recipe makes 16 treats if using a standard ice cube tray.Instructions – How To Make Frozen Apple Dog Treats 1. Slice 2 apples into small pieces but remove the seeds and the core
2. Mix the apple slices, yogurt, and a splash of water in your NutriBullet or blender and blend until you get a liquid consistency.
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and freeze for a few hours or until hard.
I recommend only feeding your dog one “cube” at a time. You can put the left over treats into a Tupperware container and store them in the freezer.
Cheesy Bone Treats
4 cups of flour
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp-1/4 cup of oil
1 1/3 cups of water
Combine flour and cheese. Stir in oil and water. Adjust liquid as necessary to make stiff dough. Roll on floured cutting board to 3/8″ thick. Cut with bone shaped cutter. Placed on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 2 1/2 – 3 hours in 250 degrees oven until thoroughly dry.
Optional Ingredient: 1 egg or use whole dried egg (powder)
4 cups of flour
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp-1/4 cup of oil
1 1/3 cups of water
Combine flour and cheese. Stir in oil and water. Adjust liquid as necessary to make stiff dough. Roll on floured cutting board to 3/8″ thick. Cut with bone shaped cutter. Placed on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 2 1/2 – 3 hours in 250 degrees oven until thoroughly dry.
Optional Ingredient: 1 egg or use whole dried egg (powder)
Pumpkin Dog Treats
Ingredients:
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Oats
1 tsp. Honey
2 1/2 Cups Flower
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl in the order they are listed. Role out the dough then cut out 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick pieces . Bake at 350 F for 10 to 15 minutes. When done the cookies should be soft on the inside and slightly hard on the outside.
Ingredients:
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Oats
1 tsp. Honey
2 1/2 Cups Flower
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl in the order they are listed. Role out the dough then cut out 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick pieces . Bake at 350 F for 10 to 15 minutes. When done the cookies should be soft on the inside and slightly hard on the outside.
Frozen Pupsicles
Ingredients:
½ cup plain yogurt
1 ripe banana
1 teaspoon ground flax seed (optional)
Splash of unsweetened almond milk
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Pour into ice cube trays or small bowls (I used Kong ice cube trays & the Bonz mini silicon tray)
Freeze until solid. Remove from freezer 5-10 minutes before serving to soften.
Ingredients:
½ cup plain yogurt
1 ripe banana
1 teaspoon ground flax seed (optional)
Splash of unsweetened almond milk
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Pour into ice cube trays or small bowls (I used Kong ice cube trays & the Bonz mini silicon tray)
Freeze until solid. Remove from freezer 5-10 minutes before serving to soften.
Raw Dog Food - This recipe makes about 48 cups of raw dog food. Feel free to make this recipe your own to fit your dog(s).
Ingredients:
1. 10+lbs. of raw ground beef
2. 1 - 2 raw eggs pre dogs dish or 12 - 18 hardboiled eggs including the shells-cooled. Raw is better but I know some dogs can be picky and will only eat the eggs cooked so hardboiled is a good alternative. If you do hardboiled; chop and mix with raw ground beef. (the egg shells supply digestible calcium to your dog. Yes, studies have proved that the calcium in egg shell is highly absorbable.)
3. Optional 4 cups of cooked white rice-cooled (Use white rice not brown because it is more easily digested by your dog.)
4. 1 bag of chopped raw carrots. This can be added to the ground beef or added to the dogs dish after.
Note: This recipe can be cut in half depending on how many dogs are in your house hold. I have 3 Poms and 1 German Shepherd and this lasts me about two weeks.
Directions:
In a very large bowl, bucket or in your plugged kitchen sink, crush the cooled hard boiled eggs (and shells) into small pieces. Add the cooled cooked white rice. Add raw ground beef. Mix well and completely with your hands or with a large,strong spoon until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Place 2-3 days worth of raw dog food in zip lock bags or plastic freezer containers. Store the containers of raw dog food in your freezer. You can also make individual patties or meatballs in single daily servings, freeze the raw dog food patties on cookie sheets and remove and store in larger bags/containers once frozen. Thaw the raw dog food as needed.
I personally prefer the freezer containers because they are easy to fill, thaw and serve the raw dog food. There is never any mess. I take one out and let it thaw on my counter. Feed my dogs and store the unused raw dog food in my refrigerator. When it’s empty I wash it and it is ready for the next batch of raw dog food. It works well.
10 lb. dog – 1/2 cup raw dog food daily
20 lb. dog – 1 cup raw dog food daily
40 lb. dog – 2 cups raw dog food daily
60 lb. dog – 3 cups raw dog food daily
80 lb. dog – 3 1/2–4 cups raw dog food daily
Ingredients:
1. 10+lbs. of raw ground beef
2. 1 - 2 raw eggs pre dogs dish or 12 - 18 hardboiled eggs including the shells-cooled. Raw is better but I know some dogs can be picky and will only eat the eggs cooked so hardboiled is a good alternative. If you do hardboiled; chop and mix with raw ground beef. (the egg shells supply digestible calcium to your dog. Yes, studies have proved that the calcium in egg shell is highly absorbable.)
3. Optional 4 cups of cooked white rice-cooled (Use white rice not brown because it is more easily digested by your dog.)
4. 1 bag of chopped raw carrots. This can be added to the ground beef or added to the dogs dish after.
Note: This recipe can be cut in half depending on how many dogs are in your house hold. I have 3 Poms and 1 German Shepherd and this lasts me about two weeks.
Directions:
In a very large bowl, bucket or in your plugged kitchen sink, crush the cooled hard boiled eggs (and shells) into small pieces. Add the cooled cooked white rice. Add raw ground beef. Mix well and completely with your hands or with a large,strong spoon until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Place 2-3 days worth of raw dog food in zip lock bags or plastic freezer containers. Store the containers of raw dog food in your freezer. You can also make individual patties or meatballs in single daily servings, freeze the raw dog food patties on cookie sheets and remove and store in larger bags/containers once frozen. Thaw the raw dog food as needed.
I personally prefer the freezer containers because they are easy to fill, thaw and serve the raw dog food. There is never any mess. I take one out and let it thaw on my counter. Feed my dogs and store the unused raw dog food in my refrigerator. When it’s empty I wash it and it is ready for the next batch of raw dog food. It works well.
10 lb. dog – 1/2 cup raw dog food daily
20 lb. dog – 1 cup raw dog food daily
40 lb. dog – 2 cups raw dog food daily
60 lb. dog – 3 cups raw dog food daily
80 lb. dog – 3 1/2–4 cups raw dog food daily
Chicken - This recipe last one to two days for my 4 dogs
Ingredients:
2 Boiled Chicken Breasts
1 - 2 Cups Cooked White Rice
5 Chopped Carrots, Raw
1 Boiled Egg Per Dog, Chopped
Directions:
Shred the cooked chicken breast and put into a large bowl then add the rice and mix. Next add the carrots and mix again. Then add one chopped egg to each dogs dish.
Ingredients:
2 Boiled Chicken Breasts
1 - 2 Cups Cooked White Rice
5 Chopped Carrots, Raw
1 Boiled Egg Per Dog, Chopped
Directions:
Shred the cooked chicken breast and put into a large bowl then add the rice and mix. Next add the carrots and mix again. Then add one chopped egg to each dogs dish.
RAW Mix - This is a mix of meat, bone and eggs. You will portion this out according to your dogs size.
Beef Tripe
Beef Cheeks
Duck Neck
Liver
Beef Heart
Egg
Buffalo
Ground Beef (bone in)
Beef Ribs
I chop (what can be) this in chunks and portion this to fit each one of my dogs diet.
Beef Tripe
Beef Cheeks
Duck Neck
Liver
Beef Heart
Egg
Buffalo
Ground Beef (bone in)
Beef Ribs
I chop (what can be) this in chunks and portion this to fit each one of my dogs diet.
What is raw feeding?
Raw feeding must be done with some degree of science to provide your dog with a complete and balanced diet. There are so many sources of information about raw feeding so we have tried to simplify and summaries the key points to remember with a raw natural diet are:
As a thumb rule
Organ
Organ is a great source of valuable nutrients and vitamins and plays a big part in an overall balanced diet. Feeding organ twice or three times a week can provide your dog with much needed rich protein, minerals, vitamins, iron and fats. Organ such as liver, heart, kidney, stomach, brain, intestines, lungs, tongue, and spleen or any other secretion organ, are ideal and should be included into your dog’s weekly diet.
IMPORTANT NOTE– Although organ is a much-needed dietary requirement, organ is a very rich source of food. Feeding too much can cause your dog to have diarrhea. It is recommended to feed no more than three times a week, which will vary from each individual dog. Should your dog experience diarrhea, discontinue feeding organ until your dog’s stool is firm and of normal consistency. You may continue feeding organ once you are satisfied that your dog’s stool is fine, keeping in mind how much organ you are feeding per week. Organ should be no more than 5% of the dog’s meal.
Tripe
Tripe IS NOT organ or intestine meat. Tripe is the wall/lining of the stomach of these (goat, cow, deer, or lamb) animals, like a large sponge, soaking up digestive and gastric juices, which are rich in essential fatty acids omega 3 & 6, and an excellent source of protein.
Due to the fermentation process and the way that the ruminant digests, the abomasum provides a food that is incredibly rich. Not only will it provide completely natural digestive enzymes to the dog but also vitamins, fatty acids and amino acids. The enzymes not only help digestion in the canine but are also said to have a substantial effect on the cleaning of your pup’s teeth. Tripe can be extremely helpful in maintaining a gorgeous set of white teeth in your dog.
Fatty acids are another benefit. All dogs need omega 3’s and omega 6’s in their diet – especially to maintain healthy skin and coat. The vitamins and amino acids are in large part what gives your dog energy and spunk – tripe has plenty of these.
Whilst many dog owners feed probiotics to help their dogs to help with runny stools, upset tummies, and recovery and regeneration of good bacteria from depletion via prescribed antibiotics. tripe is an excellent source of probiotics due to the large numbers of helpful microorganisms contained within the digestive tract.
Raw tripe also has a perfect 1:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus, which is vital for proper bone and joint development and sustainability.
Raw Meaty Bones
Eating raw bones is as completely natural as eating fresh meat for dogs. They come hand in hand, in the wild. Dogs are natural hunters and dogs are happy to eat fresh, or decaying. Either way, catching and eating prey has always involved the consumption of bones. Feeding bones to domestic dogs has been a time-honored tradition, and is still practiced by knowledgeable dog breeders and pet owners. Since the advent of “ready to serve” commercial pet foods, there has been a noticeable decline in the practice of feeding bones to dogs by many pet owners, particularly raw bones. This decline in consumption of fresh bones has been matched by a marked increase in dental disease in dogs and the evolution of an entirely new industry, veterinary dentistry.
Benefits of raw meaty bones:
Raw bones are consumed first and foremost for their nutritional value to the dog. A natural, and highly digestible source of calcium is provided by raw bones, and is required to provide a natural balance to the higher levels of phosphorous found in raw meat.
Adequate calcium is vital for normal growth and development, for correct mineralization (strength) of the teeth and bones, and structure of joints. It is vital for muscular contraction in the body, including the heart muscle, and is involved in a wide array of metabolic processes. The calcium in raw bones can be up to 4 times more digestible than most common calcium supplements available. Bones also supply smaller amounts of cartilage (natural glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate to prevent arthritis), bone marrow and other minerals like boron, which are vital for bone health.
Why raw bones NOT cooked bones.
The benefits of eating bones are greatly reduced by cooking, and it can actually create dangers. Cooking bones renders the natural calcium almost unavailable for absorption, losing that vital source of mineral availability. Cooked bones are much tougher, and more brittle than raw bones, and will actually blunt (or even break) an animals teeth after regular chewing. The bones can also break into large chunks more easily, and can result in your pet swallowing a piece too large to digest, and resulting in a visit for some veterinary attention.
Bones for Dogs:
The basic guide for choice of bones is really decided by the size of the dog. Large dogs can handle larger bones, like lamb necks, lamb shanks, beef leg bones, whole rabbit, whole chickens or chicken carcasses, kangaroo tails. Smaller dogs will fare better with chicken frames, chicken necks or wings, lamb flaps, brisket bones, ribs etc. There are two distinct types of bones; those that are eaten easily and quite quickly, are nutritional, and provide all of the above listed benefits. We don’t recommend feeding large massive bones that are they have little nutritional value and end up scattered over the back yard, or buried in the lawn, and dug up or chewed on over many days and are more of a “toy”.
When feeding bones it is preferable to source and feed with some meat left on the bone as it encourages the dog to exercise the front incisor teeth while tearing at the meat. This is very important during puppy-hood, when the milk teeth are replaced by the adult teeth.
How often:
Puppies should have a bone offering every day during their growth phase. For small breed dogs, this ends around 6-12 months of age, for medium sized dogs at 12-18 months, and for large and giant breeds, at 2 years old. Puppies can tackle soft macerated meat and bone pieces as soon as they develop their milk teeth, at around 4-5 weeks old. Adult dogs can still happily eat a bone every day, but can get by with bones at least twice weekly. Older pets should get more bones, as they start to need more calcium in old age to maintain good health and prevent arthritis
What to avoid:
Avoid cooked bones! As a general rule, avoid bones of size that will tempt the dog to swallow rather than chewing. Bones small enough can get wedged across the roof of the mouth, or get stuck in the gut. Also beware that if you feed your dog a high level of dry food, they will not be able to digest raw bones as easily as a dog that eats plenty of fresh meat.
Raw Fish
Raw fish is something we can feed in true ‘prey model’ style, it is a ‘whole food’ and this is the best way you can feed it…….as a whole; head tail, bones and all. Oily fish is a good choice, such as sprats, sardines etc.
There is a valuable nutrient that raw fish is very high in, which dogs need as part of their balanced diet. This is of course Omega 3. If you are feeding your dog a natural diet made up from mostly grain fed animals then the addition of fish to your diet is quite essential, to ensure that you are providing enough of this valuable nutrient; whereas if you feed from free range or organic grass fed sources, then the meat you are providing your dog with will be higher in Omega 3s.
If you are able to provide your dog with ‘wild caught’ items, such as rabbit or venison then you are also increasing the amount of Omega 3s in his diet. There are other sources of Omega 3s present in the foods you are already feeding, for example egg yolk contains a small amount, and this will increase if the hen that laid the egg was free range and reared on natural foods instead of corn fed.
Plenty of owners choose is to feed canned fish, as many dogs that won’t eat raw fish, will eat it out of a tin! Tinned fish contains a lot of salt in the form of sodium. The dog is not designed to process large amounts of salt and will very often drink more to help the salt pass through his body more quickly; this causes him to urinate more often, but if he can’t process it quickly enough then he could be at risk from salt intoxication, which could even lead to kidney failure and seizures.
So when we choose a fish to include, we should be looking for the ‘oily’ types, as these are much higher in Omega 3s. If you really must used canned fish instead of fresh, try to go for fish in spring water, rather than oil as unfortunately the oil surrounding the canned fish is usually sunflower oil and will cause free radical damage
How much and how often can you feed RAW Fish?
Two fish meals per week is a great variety to add to your dogs diet, it still leaves plenty of opportunity for a wide variety of other foods. If you feed just once a day then it would be better to include added fish to certain meals, to mix and match with the right type of food again depends on which type of fish you are feeding.
Recommended for being the highest in omega 3’s but also the safest and most free from pollution.
But what about Parasites?
Freezing will kill all parasites in the fish, rendering it safe for your dog to eat. Freeze all of your dog’s fish for a week before feeding and you will not have to worry about parasites
Mixing Kibble and Raw food
Dogs are designed to meet their energy needs through protein and fat – components that are readily supplied and available with a well-balanced raw diet. Their acidic stomach pH aids in the breakdown and digestion of their components and allows pepsin to function at the optimal level.
This natural acidity also acts to protect them from any potential bacteria that may be ingested. Dogs are scavengers by nature and their system is designed to deal with any elements they come into contact with.
Protein digestion in the stomach is pH dependent due to the requirements of pepsin. Changes in the stomach pH in dogs fed a dry diet (kibble) may denature pepsin and lead to an increase in digestion time or impaired absorption of protein. This would make the dog more susceptible to bacteria, since their normally acidic stomach helps protect them from infection.
Starting Puppies on a raw diet
When you bring home a new puppy that was not raised on raw, it can be a bit trickier to get him started – although really not that difficult. There are just a few guidelines you need to follow to avoid digestive upset as your puppy transitions from kibble to raw food.
Before I start, I would like to address the issue that many people have with feeding large breed puppies raw. Yes, it is important to balance the calcium and phosphorus content in the food, but it’s easy to do with raw food – and in light of the dog foods that were recalled due to excesses of some nutrients, the ability to monitor the nutrients in raw food makes it a safer option than kibble.
Here are a few tips for getting your puppy started on raw with a minimum of fuss – and minimal stains on your rugs!
Start off cold turkey
It’s not wise to mix your puppy’s raw food with kibble. Because kibble requires a different pH in the gut to digest, it will make your puppy more susceptible to the bacteria in the raw meats. He is capable of handling this bacteria just fine, but once you add in artificial foods, the meat will sit in his digestive tract twice as long, meaning there is a much greater chance of harmful bacteria building up.
Start with one protein source
Regardless of whether you are preparing your own raw or are using a prepared raw food, it is best to start with just one protein source, like chicken, or Tripe. Give that one protein for a good week and, if there are no signs of digestive upset, start your puppy on a second source of protein, and so on.
Balance the calcium and phosphorus
This is fairly easy to do. If you view a turkey neck as a nice meaty bone, then your puppy’s diet should be half to two-thirds meaty bones and half to one-third meats and offal (organ meats). There is no magic formula and every puppy is a bit different. Despite what the kibble manufacturers say, it’s pretty easy to balance calcium and phosphorus and there is a wider margin of error when feeding raw. Calcium that comes in a synthetic powder is nearly impossible for a puppy to excrete, so excesses of calcium are more of a concern with synthetic products than with the naturally occurring calcium found in bones.
Feed three times a day
Your puppy should eat three small meals a day until he is about six months of age – then he can eat twice a day and eventually once a day if you wish. This is especially important for small breed puppies as they can become hypoglycemic if meals are spread out too long.
Feed 2-3% of his adult body weight
This is easier to determine if you have a purebred dog, but the amount you feed should be 2-3% of your puppy’s anticipated adult weight. If you’re not sure what that will be, then feed about 10% of his current weight. Watch to see if he gets too fat or too thin and adjust accordingly.
Don’t overdo it with the offal Liver and other organ meat
This can cause some pretty nasty loose stools in puppies who have never had them before. If your puppy is new to raw feeding, wait until you see a good two or more weeks of solid stools before you introduce organ meats. Then add them in gradually instead of feeding one giant meal of liver. Don’t skip the organ meats; they are important because they are full of nutrients not found in muscle meat.
Other important stuff
Make sure your puppy has plenty of fresh, non-chlorinated water. He should also have plenty of fresh air and exercise. Exercise for young puppies should not be forced walks – his growing joints will suffer less stress if you take him outside for short play or training sessions instead. Keep the walks short – about five minutes per month of age until he is about six months of age.
- Balance over time – one meal could have more bone content, another more meat or organ.
- The approximate ratio to aim for overall is 80% meat (tripe and heart forms part of meat), sinew, ligaments, fat 10% edible bone 5% liver 5% other organ meat
- Rotation of proteins – don’t feed just one protein source day in day out
- Fasting for adult dogs
- Pet rolls is not raw feeding
- Just because YOU don’t like it doesn’t mean your dog doesn’t NEED it!
As a thumb rule
- 2% if your dog is overweight
- 5% – 3% to maintain present weight
- Feed more % to fatten a skinny dog
- Puppies may require up to 10% of body weight
Organ
Organ is a great source of valuable nutrients and vitamins and plays a big part in an overall balanced diet. Feeding organ twice or three times a week can provide your dog with much needed rich protein, minerals, vitamins, iron and fats. Organ such as liver, heart, kidney, stomach, brain, intestines, lungs, tongue, and spleen or any other secretion organ, are ideal and should be included into your dog’s weekly diet.
IMPORTANT NOTE– Although organ is a much-needed dietary requirement, organ is a very rich source of food. Feeding too much can cause your dog to have diarrhea. It is recommended to feed no more than three times a week, which will vary from each individual dog. Should your dog experience diarrhea, discontinue feeding organ until your dog’s stool is firm and of normal consistency. You may continue feeding organ once you are satisfied that your dog’s stool is fine, keeping in mind how much organ you are feeding per week. Organ should be no more than 5% of the dog’s meal.
Tripe
Tripe IS NOT organ or intestine meat. Tripe is the wall/lining of the stomach of these (goat, cow, deer, or lamb) animals, like a large sponge, soaking up digestive and gastric juices, which are rich in essential fatty acids omega 3 & 6, and an excellent source of protein.
Due to the fermentation process and the way that the ruminant digests, the abomasum provides a food that is incredibly rich. Not only will it provide completely natural digestive enzymes to the dog but also vitamins, fatty acids and amino acids. The enzymes not only help digestion in the canine but are also said to have a substantial effect on the cleaning of your pup’s teeth. Tripe can be extremely helpful in maintaining a gorgeous set of white teeth in your dog.
Fatty acids are another benefit. All dogs need omega 3’s and omega 6’s in their diet – especially to maintain healthy skin and coat. The vitamins and amino acids are in large part what gives your dog energy and spunk – tripe has plenty of these.
Whilst many dog owners feed probiotics to help their dogs to help with runny stools, upset tummies, and recovery and regeneration of good bacteria from depletion via prescribed antibiotics. tripe is an excellent source of probiotics due to the large numbers of helpful microorganisms contained within the digestive tract.
Raw tripe also has a perfect 1:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus, which is vital for proper bone and joint development and sustainability.
Raw Meaty Bones
Eating raw bones is as completely natural as eating fresh meat for dogs. They come hand in hand, in the wild. Dogs are natural hunters and dogs are happy to eat fresh, or decaying. Either way, catching and eating prey has always involved the consumption of bones. Feeding bones to domestic dogs has been a time-honored tradition, and is still practiced by knowledgeable dog breeders and pet owners. Since the advent of “ready to serve” commercial pet foods, there has been a noticeable decline in the practice of feeding bones to dogs by many pet owners, particularly raw bones. This decline in consumption of fresh bones has been matched by a marked increase in dental disease in dogs and the evolution of an entirely new industry, veterinary dentistry.
Benefits of raw meaty bones:
Raw bones are consumed first and foremost for their nutritional value to the dog. A natural, and highly digestible source of calcium is provided by raw bones, and is required to provide a natural balance to the higher levels of phosphorous found in raw meat.
Adequate calcium is vital for normal growth and development, for correct mineralization (strength) of the teeth and bones, and structure of joints. It is vital for muscular contraction in the body, including the heart muscle, and is involved in a wide array of metabolic processes. The calcium in raw bones can be up to 4 times more digestible than most common calcium supplements available. Bones also supply smaller amounts of cartilage (natural glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate to prevent arthritis), bone marrow and other minerals like boron, which are vital for bone health.
Why raw bones NOT cooked bones.
The benefits of eating bones are greatly reduced by cooking, and it can actually create dangers. Cooking bones renders the natural calcium almost unavailable for absorption, losing that vital source of mineral availability. Cooked bones are much tougher, and more brittle than raw bones, and will actually blunt (or even break) an animals teeth after regular chewing. The bones can also break into large chunks more easily, and can result in your pet swallowing a piece too large to digest, and resulting in a visit for some veterinary attention.
Bones for Dogs:
The basic guide for choice of bones is really decided by the size of the dog. Large dogs can handle larger bones, like lamb necks, lamb shanks, beef leg bones, whole rabbit, whole chickens or chicken carcasses, kangaroo tails. Smaller dogs will fare better with chicken frames, chicken necks or wings, lamb flaps, brisket bones, ribs etc. There are two distinct types of bones; those that are eaten easily and quite quickly, are nutritional, and provide all of the above listed benefits. We don’t recommend feeding large massive bones that are they have little nutritional value and end up scattered over the back yard, or buried in the lawn, and dug up or chewed on over many days and are more of a “toy”.
When feeding bones it is preferable to source and feed with some meat left on the bone as it encourages the dog to exercise the front incisor teeth while tearing at the meat. This is very important during puppy-hood, when the milk teeth are replaced by the adult teeth.
How often:
Puppies should have a bone offering every day during their growth phase. For small breed dogs, this ends around 6-12 months of age, for medium sized dogs at 12-18 months, and for large and giant breeds, at 2 years old. Puppies can tackle soft macerated meat and bone pieces as soon as they develop their milk teeth, at around 4-5 weeks old. Adult dogs can still happily eat a bone every day, but can get by with bones at least twice weekly. Older pets should get more bones, as they start to need more calcium in old age to maintain good health and prevent arthritis
What to avoid:
Avoid cooked bones! As a general rule, avoid bones of size that will tempt the dog to swallow rather than chewing. Bones small enough can get wedged across the roof of the mouth, or get stuck in the gut. Also beware that if you feed your dog a high level of dry food, they will not be able to digest raw bones as easily as a dog that eats plenty of fresh meat.
Raw Fish
Raw fish is something we can feed in true ‘prey model’ style, it is a ‘whole food’ and this is the best way you can feed it…….as a whole; head tail, bones and all. Oily fish is a good choice, such as sprats, sardines etc.
There is a valuable nutrient that raw fish is very high in, which dogs need as part of their balanced diet. This is of course Omega 3. If you are feeding your dog a natural diet made up from mostly grain fed animals then the addition of fish to your diet is quite essential, to ensure that you are providing enough of this valuable nutrient; whereas if you feed from free range or organic grass fed sources, then the meat you are providing your dog with will be higher in Omega 3s.
If you are able to provide your dog with ‘wild caught’ items, such as rabbit or venison then you are also increasing the amount of Omega 3s in his diet. There are other sources of Omega 3s present in the foods you are already feeding, for example egg yolk contains a small amount, and this will increase if the hen that laid the egg was free range and reared on natural foods instead of corn fed.
Plenty of owners choose is to feed canned fish, as many dogs that won’t eat raw fish, will eat it out of a tin! Tinned fish contains a lot of salt in the form of sodium. The dog is not designed to process large amounts of salt and will very often drink more to help the salt pass through his body more quickly; this causes him to urinate more often, but if he can’t process it quickly enough then he could be at risk from salt intoxication, which could even lead to kidney failure and seizures.
So when we choose a fish to include, we should be looking for the ‘oily’ types, as these are much higher in Omega 3s. If you really must used canned fish instead of fresh, try to go for fish in spring water, rather than oil as unfortunately the oil surrounding the canned fish is usually sunflower oil and will cause free radical damage
How much and how often can you feed RAW Fish?
Two fish meals per week is a great variety to add to your dogs diet, it still leaves plenty of opportunity for a wide variety of other foods. If you feed just once a day then it would be better to include added fish to certain meals, to mix and match with the right type of food again depends on which type of fish you are feeding.
Recommended for being the highest in omega 3’s but also the safest and most free from pollution.
But what about Parasites?
Freezing will kill all parasites in the fish, rendering it safe for your dog to eat. Freeze all of your dog’s fish for a week before feeding and you will not have to worry about parasites
Mixing Kibble and Raw food
Dogs are designed to meet their energy needs through protein and fat – components that are readily supplied and available with a well-balanced raw diet. Their acidic stomach pH aids in the breakdown and digestion of their components and allows pepsin to function at the optimal level.
This natural acidity also acts to protect them from any potential bacteria that may be ingested. Dogs are scavengers by nature and their system is designed to deal with any elements they come into contact with.
Protein digestion in the stomach is pH dependent due to the requirements of pepsin. Changes in the stomach pH in dogs fed a dry diet (kibble) may denature pepsin and lead to an increase in digestion time or impaired absorption of protein. This would make the dog more susceptible to bacteria, since their normally acidic stomach helps protect them from infection.
Starting Puppies on a raw diet
When you bring home a new puppy that was not raised on raw, it can be a bit trickier to get him started – although really not that difficult. There are just a few guidelines you need to follow to avoid digestive upset as your puppy transitions from kibble to raw food.
Before I start, I would like to address the issue that many people have with feeding large breed puppies raw. Yes, it is important to balance the calcium and phosphorus content in the food, but it’s easy to do with raw food – and in light of the dog foods that were recalled due to excesses of some nutrients, the ability to monitor the nutrients in raw food makes it a safer option than kibble.
Here are a few tips for getting your puppy started on raw with a minimum of fuss – and minimal stains on your rugs!
Start off cold turkey
It’s not wise to mix your puppy’s raw food with kibble. Because kibble requires a different pH in the gut to digest, it will make your puppy more susceptible to the bacteria in the raw meats. He is capable of handling this bacteria just fine, but once you add in artificial foods, the meat will sit in his digestive tract twice as long, meaning there is a much greater chance of harmful bacteria building up.
Start with one protein source
Regardless of whether you are preparing your own raw or are using a prepared raw food, it is best to start with just one protein source, like chicken, or Tripe. Give that one protein for a good week and, if there are no signs of digestive upset, start your puppy on a second source of protein, and so on.
Balance the calcium and phosphorus
This is fairly easy to do. If you view a turkey neck as a nice meaty bone, then your puppy’s diet should be half to two-thirds meaty bones and half to one-third meats and offal (organ meats). There is no magic formula and every puppy is a bit different. Despite what the kibble manufacturers say, it’s pretty easy to balance calcium and phosphorus and there is a wider margin of error when feeding raw. Calcium that comes in a synthetic powder is nearly impossible for a puppy to excrete, so excesses of calcium are more of a concern with synthetic products than with the naturally occurring calcium found in bones.
Feed three times a day
Your puppy should eat three small meals a day until he is about six months of age – then he can eat twice a day and eventually once a day if you wish. This is especially important for small breed puppies as they can become hypoglycemic if meals are spread out too long.
Feed 2-3% of his adult body weight
This is easier to determine if you have a purebred dog, but the amount you feed should be 2-3% of your puppy’s anticipated adult weight. If you’re not sure what that will be, then feed about 10% of his current weight. Watch to see if he gets too fat or too thin and adjust accordingly.
Don’t overdo it with the offal Liver and other organ meat
This can cause some pretty nasty loose stools in puppies who have never had them before. If your puppy is new to raw feeding, wait until you see a good two or more weeks of solid stools before you introduce organ meats. Then add them in gradually instead of feeding one giant meal of liver. Don’t skip the organ meats; they are important because they are full of nutrients not found in muscle meat.
Other important stuff
Make sure your puppy has plenty of fresh, non-chlorinated water. He should also have plenty of fresh air and exercise. Exercise for young puppies should not be forced walks – his growing joints will suffer less stress if you take him outside for short play or training sessions instead. Keep the walks short – about five minutes per month of age until he is about six months of age.