The best way to know that you are giving your dog healthy food is to make it yourself. One must take care to see that every treat and meal that your dog eats is part of a balanced diet. Try out these easy-to-make dog food recipes and watch your pooch smack his lips in delight.
With the recent recall in pet food, most dog owners are making the food on their own! Though most experts will argue that there is nothing better than a homemade diet, it is best you do this temporarily until and unless you consult with you local vet, as most dogs have certain nutritional requirements.
If there are going to be any dietary changes, then it should be done very slowly, so as to avoid digestive upsets. Ingredients and recipes should be rotated to make sure there is nutritional variety in your pups diet.
Never feed your pet bones, especially if the bones are cooked. Fragments of the bone can break loose and get lodged in the dog's digestive tract. Wild and stray dogs who eat bones can do so because they also tend to consume a lot of hide and hair, which act as a 'padding' for the bone fragments and help them pass through without getting lodged anywhere.
Other dangerous foods to avoid are avocados, macadamia nuts, raisins, garlic, chocolate, mushrooms, grapes, and onions.
Doggy Hamburgers
Ingredients
Green beans, 1 jar
Carrots, 1 jar
Hamburger meat, 1 cup (stir-fried in 1 tablespoon canola oil)
Oatmeal, ½ cup (cooked)
Boiled egg, 1 (chopped)
Cottage cheese, 2 tablespoons
Directions
Mix all these ingredients well and serve at room temperature. You could also add a good puppy mineral/multivitamin supplement for good measure. Make sure you store the unused portions in an airtight container in the fridge and throw away any remains after three days.
Doggy Casserole
Ingredients
Chicken, 1 cup (boiled, chopped)
Brown rice, ½ cup (cooked)
Mixed vegetables, ½ cup (boiled)
Chicken broth, 3-4 tablespoons (unsalted)
Directions
(Point to be noted: salmon can be substituted occasionally for broiled poultry, but chicken broth has to be omitted.) Stir the contents together and serve the mixture at room temperature.
Doggy Rice, Veggies, and Meat
Ingredients
Plain yogurt, 1-2 oz
Ground beef, 1 oz (preferably hormone and antibiotic-free)
Mixed vegetables, 1 oz
Brown rice, 2 cups (cooked)
Directions
Fry the ground beef in a frying pan till it turns brown.
Steam the vegetables until they are soft and tender. Remove the veggies from the steamer and allow it to cool slightly.
Add the veggies to the beaker of a food processor and pulse them till they are chopped coarsely.
Mix these chopped vegetables with the fried ground beef and rice.
Multi Grain Kibble
Ingredients
Water, 3 cups
Whole-wheat flour, 2 cups
All-purpose flour, 1½ cups (unbleached)
Cornmeal, 1 cup
non-fat milk, 1 cup (dry, powdered)
Rolled oats, 1 cup
Soy flour, ½ cup
Wheat germ, ½ cup
Brewers yeast, ½ cup
Egg, 1
Corn oil, 5 tablespoons
Salt, 1 tablespoon
Direction
1. Heat the oven to about 350ºF. 2. In a small bowl, mix the corn oil and egg. 3. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir water into all the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture and mix all the contents well. 4. The batter should be thin.
5. Pour the batter on baking sheets and spread it evenly like you would for a pizza base. 6. Bake the sheets for about 45 minutes. 7. Cool this kibble and then break it into smaller pieces. Store the pieces in an airtight container and refrigerate.
These dog food recipes are easy to make and will give your pet a change in his/her diet. Cook them carefully, following the recipes, and with exact measure of ingredients.