The first batch of food I made was made when Ava and Mishka were 12 weeks old. I used it as a supplement to puppy food, but didn’t take them off it completely. Puppies require more specific nutritional demands, and I didn’t feel knowledgeable enough to take on that endeavor. However, feeding two big puppies is an expensive affair and supplementing homemade food actually saves money, or at least it did for me.
Let me start by saying that at 12 weeks of age, Mishka weighed 26 pounds and Ava weighed 27. I’ve never had dogs this big before so the amount of food they needed was astronomical in my opinion. They were eating about 4 cups each! So 8 cups of dog food a day more or, well, never less but definitely more at times. They constantly appeared hungry, sometimes crying at where they knew the food was being kept. Thus began my venture into making my dogs homemade food.
I’m gonna begin by saying that supplementing food only saves money depending on the ingredients you choose and the quality of those ingredients. That brings me to the second reason I began supplementing my dogs’ food. I’m definitely a paranoid dog owner. I read about all of these lawsuits, civil suits, and recalls on dog food brands… no dog food seemed safe. Making my own food seemed like the only way to actually know what my dogs were eating. So I’ve done some research and consulted with my vet before I began my venture. This is the first food I made. This batch and the next batch as well as the green bean snacks I made for the puppies came all from the same grocery shopping list and cost me a total of $27.73 to buy. In total, I yielded 27 cups of wet dog food and 2 ⅓ cup of green bean snacks. I call that a job well done, and I still have brown rice and eggs left over.
To begin the first batch, I started by putting half the ground beef I bought into the crockpot. This was approximately one and a half pounds. Then I added the rice and broth. Note that if you can’t find any with no salt added or make you own, water is a fine substitute. To be honest, I mostly used broth to spoil my dogs with added flavor but most of the liquid should cook out and be absorbed by the rice at the end. I thought perhaps the meat and rice would need longer to cook than the vegetables so I started them on low while I prepared the sweet potatoes and carrots.
For those, I peeled them and cut them up. The pieces don’t need to be even but know if you don’t have a food processor, the smaller the pieces the easier mashing it at the end will be. I found this out because I did not cut my vegetables up well. Size DOES matter!
Something I don’t know for sure yet is if sweet potato peels are toxic for dogs. I read that regular potato skins were, but I’m going to ask my vet next time I go. For this reason, I took the time to peel my sweet potatoes before cutting them up. I peeled the carrots mostly because I like my carrots peeled. I don’t know if there is anything detrimental about them, but I’ll be sure to update this once I ask the vet.
Luckily, the green beans needed no prep so I threw them in the crockpot along with the sweet potatoes and carrots. I turned the heat up to high and allowed that to cook for five hours. I know now that the meat and vegetables could have all gone in together. You live and learn. The peas and eggs, including the shells, went in next. Egg shells have nutrients and minerals in them that benefit dogs and a plethora of other animals including chickens.
I didn’t do this the first time but I know now that the sardines and blueberries also could have been added at this point. As it so happens, I waited 20 minutes before adding them to the mix and turned the heat to low. At this point, I gave everything a quick mash with the potato masher before leaving it for another hour. When I deemed it complete, I turned off the heat and gave everything in the crockpot a good mashing.
I don’t know if this is necessary. Some dog people swear that, since dogs usually forgo the chewing process while eating, smaller or mashed food is the best way to feed dogs homemade food. Others disagree and say bigger chunks are fine. I think it mostly comes down to preference. Either way, like all the other questions I have, until I ask the vet I’m gonna play things safe. Is it more work? Absolutely. But dogs in general are work and I enjoy this whole process of making them food especially when I get to see how much the love it.
After the cooking process, I began meal prepping. This whole concoction yielded 17 cups of food which I divided into bags. In the fridge, I wouldn’t recommend leaving the food in it for more than four days. I stored anything past that period in the freezer. When I was ready for another bag, I would just move it to the fridge the day before to allow it time to thaw.
The reward of seeing how happy and excited my pups got when they received it was worth a day of work for them. For most people, this whole process would be relatively quick and easy. I do have MS which makes everything harder. Chopping and peeling takes me a good long while than most people. Standing too long is dangerous and just not possible for me to push past. My legs will just give out which isn’t something you want to happen while holding a knife. So I had to take numerous breaks in between preparing and cooking their food. I find the reward of them being happy as outweighing the repercussions I feel. That’s just me. Nobody should feel like they need to do this for the dogs, especially all the time like I am. It isn’t easy and the only reward you receive for doing this is saving very little on dog food (depending on the ingredients and quality) and whatever reaction you dog has.
Dog food bought at a store is good and most people will go their whole dog owning lives never having a problem with it. Just remember to be aware of dog food recalls like you would be any other recall of a product. And just like with anything, if this isn’t something you want to do or are interested in, don’t let other dog owners or anyone else try to shame or bully you into doing it. This is a choice you have to make and be comfortable with. If you do choose to make your own dog food remember to do research and consult with your vet first, but also remember to have fun. Just like cooking human food, this process is supposed to be fun and creative and healthier than “buying out”.
Batch One
Ground Beef – 1.5 lbs
Brown Rice – 1.5 cups
Beef Broth – 4 cups
Sweet Potatoes – 4 small
Carrots – 5
Green Beans – 1 cup
Peas – 1 cup
Eggs – 3
Sardines – 3 whole fish
Blueberries – 1 cup
*Prep: About 20 minutes*
*Cook: 6 hours*
**Yields 17 cups**
*Cost: $27.73*
Place the first 6 ingredients into the crockpot. Cook on high for 5 hours. Turn heat down to low and add the last four items to the crockpot. Cook for an hour or until everything is soft and mashable. Mash all items together and serve/store.
A Girl With A Story 
Lucky pups!