Whole Food Recipe For Your Dog

We decided to stop feeding our dogs kibble after Winnie flat out refused to eat it. I had been adding in other tantalizing tidbits to entice her to eat the kibble -bacon with drippings, scrambled eggs, you name it- and she still wouldn't eat. Reading up on kibble, I wouldn't want to eat it, either. So I began cooking our dogs food from scratch and here's the general recipe I use.

Make this your own, work with it, try out some different variations. You'll find what works best for you and what your dog likes.

This makes a huge batch and, at the moment, is feeding Winnie, Tucker and 9 puppies for 1 1/2 days. If you don't have an instant pot, you don't need one, but it makes my cooking so much easier and faster. Below the recipe I'll share my work structure and hopefully it will help make cooking for your dog easier and fulfilling!

Serving recommendations:

1/2 c to 3/4 c for Puppies (2- 6 months), 4x day

Increase amount as needed (6 months up), 3x day

Adult Goldens, 1 1/2 to 2 c, 3x day

Doggone Good Casserole

This is so good, you might as well grab a plate and enjoy dinner with your new best friend.

Cook up the elements, mix them together in a huge bowl (I do mean HUGE) and refrigerate. I use a roasting pan or canning pot.

The casserole can easily be frozen. Place in ziplocks or containers for individual or daily servings, thawing overnight before dishing up for your dog. In a pinch, place the ziplock/container in a bowl or sink of hot water to quickly thaw.

4 c Brown Rice

3 c Lentils

Cook with 14 c water in an instant pot for 30 min.

3-4 lbs Sweet Potatoes

Cook with 1 c water in an instant pot for 25 min

3-5 lbs Meat of Choice, cooked (Ground beef or turkey, shredded chicken or pork

Optional Varation, add 10 scrambled eggs

3 packages 12 oz frozen veggies (California mix, peas, mixed veggies, etc), warmed/thawed

1 c Coconut Oil, melted

1/2 c Nutritional Yeast

1 tsp Garlic Powder or Granulated

1 Tbsp Sea Salt

My Work Flow

• Cook up Rice and Lentils together in the Instant Pot.

• While rice and lentils are doing their thing, on the stove cook meat.

• Dump cooked rice, lentils and meat in the canning pot; rinse Instant Pot liner.

• Cook Sweet Potatoes cut in large chunks with 1 c water in Instant Pot.

• While Sweet Potatoes are cooking, in the same pot/pan meat was cooked in, place the 3 bags of frozen veggies (I like one bag each of California mix, sweet peas, and mixed small veggies. I'd avoid a bag of corn because it just doesn't digest.)

• Add Sweet Potatoes and Veggies to the canning pot

• Melt Coconut Oil and add it along with the seasonings to the canning pot.

A Note On Some Ingredients

Coconut oil is great for coats, skin, gut and pest prevention.

Garlic is fabulous for pest prevention and immune health, though can be overdosed, so use with a measured hand.

Nutritional Yeast has tons of B vitamins excellent for health.

Sea Salt adds a plethora of other minerals to help fill out your dogs needs.

Dairy?

In my experience, dairy causes loose stools and digestive distress to our dogs. Granted, anytime you change your pooch's diet, it can cause distress. Small doses of dairy seem to be okay, but anything over a couple tablespoons upsets their tummies. Feel free to experiment, though!

I'm not a vet, just a dog owner who cares about our dogs' health and wants to provide well for them so they can have a long, happy life with us. There are many types of diets for dogs -raw, kibble, whole food, etc.- and it's important that you choose what is best for you, your lifestyle and your dog.

Resource:

Dr. Pitcairn's Guide to Natural Care For Dogs and Cats

This is a great book to own. Recipes and homeopathic remedies for all sorts of issues and care for your pets.