All natural dog food is available commercially, or can be made at home. Some dog food manufacturers have become aware that dog owners are monitoring exactly what they are feeding their animals. Since some manufactured dog food was not entirely nutritious, dog owners began “manufacturing” dog food at home themselves. In response, some manufacturers produced some high-quality dog food that contains antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that are very wholesome and healthy with no added filler of cereal, corn or meat by-products.
Meat by-products are parts of animals that most humans do not eat, such as feet and beaks. Nutritious dog food contains real meats, such as:
- poultry (chicken or turkey)
- lamb
- beef
- pork
- fish
Del Monte’s Nature’s Recipe and Purina’s One are two examples of such nutritious commercial dog food.
Some dog food owners still wish to feed their dogs only food that they themselves have made. Here are several recipes that feature some quick and easy “fixings”.
Recipe 1 - Bacon Bit Cookies
Ingredients needed:
- 7 slices of crumbled cooked bacon
- Use 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat used in cooking the above bacon
- 1 cup of water
- 4 well beaten eggs
- ½ cup of non-fat milk
- ½ cup of cornmeal
- 2 cups of graham flour
After mixing ingredients listed above, drop heaping tablespoons onto a greased (use Pam) baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow the cookies to cool, dry and hardened. This recipe will produce about 4 dozen cookies.
Recipe 2 - Chicken Gravy
Ingredients needed:
- 1 skinless and boneless chicken breast
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of flour
- 4 cups of water
- Dash of garlic (for flea prevention)
After boiling the chicken breast for 30 minutes, remove the chicken breast from the chicken water. Beat in the flour until there are no lumps. Mix in the eggs and garlic. Simmer mixture until it thickens. Optional: chop the chicken into fine pieces or use a food processor to pulverize the chicken. Add the chicken to the mixture and serve over dog biscuits.
Recipe 3 – Doggie Casserole
Ingredients needed:
- 1 pound of meat (beef, chicken, turkey, lamb or pork) chopped into small chunks
- 1 small finely chopped potato
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 1 celery stick, sliced
- Dash of garlic (for flea control)
Cook meat in about an inch of water in a casserole cooker until brown. Add above ingredients, mix thoroughly and cover. Cook until tender (about ½ hour). Allow to cool before serving.
Recipe 4 – Doggie Meatballs
Ingredients needed:
- 1 pound of lean ground meat
- Dash of garlic (for flea control)
- 1 lightly beaten egg
- 2/3 cups of broth (chicken or beef)
Mix above ingredients thoroughly and then roll mixture into small meatballs. Cook until firm, but moist. Allow to cool before serving.
Create Recipes
There are a number of websites that feature natural dog food recipes, some for free and some with membership fees. With a little ingenuity, a dog owner can create his own recipes. The main goal is to provide a healthy and balanced diet to your dog. Therefore, the most important ingredient is meat since dogs in wild benefit most from its protein. The quality of the meat should be high since low quality meats contain too much fat and are chewy and stringy.