First let me say that our dogs are our 4-legged, fur covered children and we love them dearly. They are a very important part of our lives and everyone in our family has at least 2. That being said, I have been making my own dogfood for probably 10-15 years. I use this in addition to their dry kibble, not in place of it, but I've been reluctant to post the recipe here as I fully understand what our dogs mean to us all and would never want to do anything that would harm one of yours or mine.
So it's time once again to make another batch and I've decided to post my recipe that I developed after doing a lot of reading about what's good for dogs and talking to my vet. Not saying that this is the perfect recipe for everyone, but our dogs have been eating it for a long time. It all started with Molly. She's gone now, but the last few years of her life she had lost most of her teeth and I started buying really good canned food for her. Well as anyone who has bought quality canned food knows, it is very expensive so that's what lead me down the path of developing my own recipe and besides, I know what's in it.
Here it is for those who may be interested...
- 3-4 lbs. Boneless meat cut up into small pieces. I use either boneless pork loin or boneless/skinless chicken breast, whatever I can find on sale. Usually it’s around $1.99/lb.
- 1 lb. Dry beans re-hydrated overnight in 6 cups of water. I use pinto beans and buy them in bulk from Walmart, usually 10lb. Bags.
- 2-3 lbs. Fresh carrots chopped. I buy the whole carrots from Aldi or Walmart. Do not peel.
- 3 lbs. Sweet potatoes chopped. Do not peel. I buy them at Aldi or Walmart.
- 3 lbs. Fresh apples chopped. Remove the seeds, but do not peel. I buy whatever is the cheapest at Aldi or Walmart.
- 1½-2 cups brown rice. Walmart brand.
- 4 12oz. bags of frozen green beans. I use Walmart brand.
- 4 12oz. bags of frozen leaf spinach. Walmart brand.
- 3 1lb. bags of frozen sweet peas. Walmart brand.
I combine everything except the frozen vegetables in a large pot (24 quart), including the water the beans are soaked in, and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 1 – 1½ hours until all is very tender, stirring often to prevent burning on the bottom. The frozen vegetables are cooked/heated in a separate pot (12 quart) without water until warm or hot, stirring regularly to prevent burning. As they thaw/cook, they'll create their own moisture. Once hot, I combine them in with everything else in the big pot and cook until all is very tender or falling apart stirring regularly to combine well. I puree it all using an immersion blender and then put it in quart containers. Should yield about 10-12 quarts and lasts us about 6 weeks or so. Allow to cool before putting in freezer. The cost is, or was last time I did the math, around $25-$30 total whereas a quality canned food is $3-$4, or much more, for each 12oz-14oz can.
I use no seasonings or canned vegetables. I have used broccoli, but it gave my dogs TERRIBLE gas so never again. There is a debate about the effects on dogs' health when eating a grain free diet, dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM, but that's another topic altogether...
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Yeah, it looks very unappetizing, but really doesn't taste bad, just could use a little seasoning...

I feed our dogs a ½&½ mixture of my wet and the dry I buy. By the way, I heat it up a little in the microwave. Yes I know...spoiled rotten...