Would you cook for your dog?

Posted on 20 May, 2019

Dog Food

A recent article in the Guardian highlighted that cooking for your dog seems to be a growing trend among owners keen to avoid additives in commercial dog food or who want to have more control over their dog’s diet.

Is this a good idea? Who has got the time to spend time cooking for their dog?

The writer of the Guardian article points out that working out the number of calories, protein and fat your pooch needs is likely to be a bit of a faff, compared with buying a big bag of kibble with all the values written on the side.

However the article inspired us to find a couple of dog food recipes that we thought we’d share, just in case you decide to give it a go.

These are courtesy of the Dog Bakery web site which offers 20 healthy homemade recipes they say your dogs will love!

The Old Standard - They call it this because it’s made up of ingredients you’ve likely seen in many a homemade dog meals - brown rice, turkey and veggies. It’s healthy, easy to make and inexpensive. This is also the perfect meal to make in large batches and then freeze as single servings you can thaw for days and days.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice
  • 2 carrots, shredded
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 zucchini (courgette) shredded
  • 3 pounds ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup peas, canned or frozen
  • 3 cups baby spinach, chopped

Method:

  • Cook the rice in a large saucepan as per the instructions
  • Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground turkey and cook until browned, for about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the turkey as it cooks.
  • Stir in spinach, carrots, zucchini, peas and brown rice until the spinach has wilted and the mixture is heated through, for about 3-5 minutes. Then let cool completely.

Chicken & Veggie Slow Cooker - This recipe is great for dogs that have sensitive stomachs. Dog Bakery liked this one because it also includes fruit, which they didn’t find in many other dog food recipes.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2-3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs and breasts
  • 2 c. frozen peas
  • 1 sweet potato, cubed
  • 1 large or 2 medium apples, cored and cubed (no seeds!!)
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 c. frozen green beans
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

  • Place meat in the crockpot and add water so that it just covers the chicken. Then, add potato, carrots, kidney beans, green beans, and apple.
  • Cook on low for 8-9 hours, when it is about finished, add the frozen peas and cook for another 30 minutes.
  • When finished, drain off excess liquid, add olive oil, and stir to mash (or place in a food processor).
  • When cooled, scoop daily servings into individual ziploc bags and freeze. Each night, remove one bag from the freezer and place in the fridge to defrost overnight.

Do let us know what your dog thinks if you decide to try one of these recipes!

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