Raw Dog Food Recipe

1 minute

Making Raw Dog Food

A home made dog food recipe is not difficult to prepare. The primary ingredient in a raw dog food recipe is raw meat. A Kitchen Aid mixer with a meat grinder attachment may come in handy when you make your own dog food.

A general recipe for raw food for dogs:

A balance of 75% meat to 25% vegetables. Choose organic choices for an organic raw dog food recipe.

Meat – Choose a variety of different meat, fish and poultry. Preferably organic. You can rotate between:

• Beef
• Chicken
• Lamb
• Salmon (without skin)
• Tuna
• Turkey
• Rabbit
• Venison

And don’t forget the organ meats.

Vegetables – Use a large mix of different in-season vegetables. Include as many as you can of the following:

• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Brussel Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Chicory
• Green Beans
• Greens – i.e. Dandelion, Kale, Parsley, Swiss Chard
• Okra
• Parsnips
• Peas
• Pumpkin
• Sprouts
• Squash
• Sweet Potatoes
• Yams
• Turnips
• Rutabagas

Onions should NEVER be added.

While garlic is fine in moderation, onions can destroy a dog’s red blood cells, resulting in a condition called hemolytic anemia.

Optional Ingredients:

• Alfalfa
• Almonds
• Apples
• Bananas
• Chlorella
• Garlic
• Kelp
• Nettles
• Pears
• Spirulina
• Sunflower seeds
• Walnuts
• Wheat Grass
• Whole eggs (including shell)

If you plan to freeze the raw dog food, make sure to add purified water.

A good vitamin/mineral supplement, digestive enzymes and probiotics will balance the diet.

How Much Do I Need?

The following will amount to about 1 cup of food, or 1/2 pound. A 100 pound dog will eat about 1.5-2lbs of raw food per day.

• 75% – 6 ounces (3/4 cup) coarse-ground or chopped meat, raw or cooked.
• 25% – 2 ounces (1/4 cup) ground, mixed vegetables, raw or cooked.

Dogs should also be given raw bones (i.e. chicken or turkey necks, wings, backs).

Raw Bones for Dogs

Raw dog bones? You’ve probably heard that chicken bones are harmful to dogs. They are only a problem after they’ve been cooked. Since cooking can make them brittle and splinter, always give your dog RAW bones.

Do not feed meat without the bone. Along with the meat, grind up chicken necks and wings. Meat and bone keep the calcium to phosphorous ratio balanced. They MUST be fed together, or you can cause growth problems.

Raw Feeding Dogs

A raw dog food recipe does take time to prepare. But, if you make a batch and freeze it in individual serving sizes, you can knock it out in a couple of hours once a week.

If it increases the quality (and length) of life of your pet, it is absolutely worth it.