When I noticed that Jed seemed to feel bloated and listless after eating, I asked him what was wrong. He said that eating always made his stomach hurt, and I was worried that he might have cancer. I took him to the vet, and they did an X-Ray. Turned out he was constipated. The vet suggested that Jed should have canned food instead of kibble. But for a hundred-pound dog, that’s expensive! Plus, if Jed got the fabulously smelly canned food, everyone else would want it too. So, I went online with a mission: Learn how to make my own dog food. After some trial and error, here’s the recipe I settled on:
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- A big package of ground turkey
- A big package of boneless chicken thighs
- A package or two of chicken livers
- 10-12 oz bagged frozen root veggies, choose two:
- Squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, beets
- 10-12 oz bagged frozen green veggies, choose two:
- Green peas, green beans, turnip greens, kale, spinach
- 1-2 containers of bone broth for liquid.
- Coconut oil, enough to keep meat from sticking in the sauté phase.
- Two cups of pre-cooked rice.
- Turmeric and cinnamon for seasoning.
- Optional: add a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries after cooking.
In a large pressure cooker, use a splash of coconut oil to grease the pot, then sauté the ground turkey until done. (Season with turmeric and cinnamon, just as you would if you were cooking for yourself.) Turn the cooker to meat/stew and add the rest of the meats. On top of that, add your frozen veggies and enough bone broth to cover everything. (If your pressure cooker is too small, you can cook the meats in the pressure cooker, and cook the veggies separately, then combine it later.) When it’s all done, let it cool, add the cooked rice and fresh or frozen blueberries, mash it all together, and put it in whatever containers fit in your fridge and/or freezer. If I’ve made more than the dogs can eat in a week, I freeze some and take it out to thaw in the fridge for a couple of days before I will need it.
This will make A LOT of dog food. With as many dogs as we have, it only lasts a week. But if you only have a couple of small dogs, this batch may last much longer. Remember to freeze everything that you won’t be able to use in a week. Also, just saying as usual, always consult your vet before changing your dog’s diet, and make any changes slowly so they don’t get upset tummies. Even with Jed, I mixed this with his regular food for a couple of weeks, adding a bit at a time while reducing his amount of kibble. Also, watch their weight and adjust portions as necessary. You don’t know until you try how this compares to the food they’re already getting, and you don’t want them to get too fat or too skinny.
Hope your dog enjoys!
