Dog Food Recipe for Sensitive Dogs

Table of Contents:

Why on Earth would a person make their dog’s food, you ask? 

 

Well, anyone who has a Frenchie knows, they’re sensitive. And when I say sensitive, I mean literally everything about them is sensitive… their skin, tummies, feelings… everything!

 

My sweet Frenchie is 10 years old and has really put me through the wringer trying to figure out what to feed her. She ate kibble for a good portion of her puppyhood. Then I did a stint of making her dog food, but when life got busy I went back to kibble (soaked in warm water of course, like a kibble soup). That’s when it became clear that even the highest quality kibble wasn’t going to work. She was gassy, had inflamed irritated skin, and lacked energy.

This sent me on a path to find food that would restore her back to peak health.

 

I first gave a fair shot to The Farmer’s Dog and NomNom. These fresh dog food delivery services are good. But they’re expensive and the quality would vary between shipments. It was also messy and sometimes gross. Her skin improved a little, but would still flare up occasionally, and it was hard to tell what “flavors” were creating the issues.

 

Nonetheless, the obvious thing to do was to start making her dog food from scratch again. And after a year of tweaking the recipe, I’ve found the formulation that works best for her. She is no longer stinky, her coat is shiny, her skin is calm, and she has lots of energy… most days… I mean, let’s be real, she’s still a Frenchie that naps all day. The point, is that she is healthy and living her best life now!

 

Another benefit is how much more your dog will love you. You probably think it's not possible for your dog to love you more, but they will. 

 

And lastly, if you’re middle-aged like me and don’t go out much anymore, you will probably find great pleasure in making batches of dog food. For example, it’s a good excuse for skipping the gym on a Wednesday night, a fun Friday date night, or the perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.

 

Determining Your Dog's Needs

 

If I’ve properly convinced you to try making dog food, then your next step is to determine your dog’s caloric needs.

 

If you use this recipe, please do your due diligence first. You’ll at least need to know your dog’s caloric needs and experiment with the ingredients that work best for your dog.

 

To check your dog’s caloric needs you can ask your vet or use the link below: 

 

Vetcalculators - Calories

 

Now full transparency, my Frenchie is a little overweight, so her caloric need is an average of 760 calories per day. Your dog’s needs may be higher, so you may get few servings per batch. Nonetheless, the whole point is that this is an important step in the process.

 

I like to input all the ingredients into MyFitnessPal as a recipe to determine how many calories per serving are in each batch. I especially do this if I switch things up. I make up to four batches at a time, but the recipe below is only for one batch. Once you get your process down, it goes pretty quickly and you can make up to a month at a time, as long as you have room in your freezer. My dogs like it fresh so any longer than a month in the freezer and they start to seem unimpressed. I keep about three days worth in the refrigerator in any given moment and keep the rest frozen.

 

At the end of the recipe, I’ve included some alternate ingredient options for you to try that have worked for my dogs. Don’t forget to adjust your recipe as you swap out ingredients. It will change the calories in each serving! Have I belabored this point enough?

 

And I should probably mention, I’m not an experienced cook or an official recipe writer. So if you need specific or more detailed instructions on cooking, chopping, etc… you’re gonna need to Google that part.

 

Now let’s get to it!

Supplies and Ingredients

 

Makes 15 servings

267 Calories per serving

 

Supplies:

 

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 c Cooked Brown Rice
  • 4 lbs 93/7 Ground Beef
  • 1 Tbs Dog Vitamin Powder - Life Extension Dog Mix
  • Half Can of Pumpkin Puree
  • 1 Tbs Coconut Oil
  • 2 Yellow Squash
  • 2 Zucchini
  • 1 Large Apple
  • 2 c Chopped Carrots
  • 1 Medium to Large Sweet Potato

Instructions & Store:

 

  1. Cook the rice following the instructions on the package in a large pot. Start this first so it’s ready when you need it. (Do not use any seasoning or flavoring in your rice.)
  2. Dice the sweet potato and microwave for 5 minutes to soften
  3. Start cooking the ground beef on medium-high heat in the large pan.
  4. When the beef is about half way cooked, add the dog vitamins, pumpkin, and coconut oil. Mix thoroughly and continue cooking on medium/low heat until the beef is all the way cooked.
  5. While the beef is cooking, chop the yellow squash, zucchini, apple, and carrots.
  6. Add all the vegetables, including the sweet potato, to the beef in the pan.
  7. Mix thoroughly so all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Cover and let cook for 10 minutes, mixing half way through.
  8. Add the rice and mix thoroughly. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 more minutes.
  9. Remove the pan from heat and when it’s not burning hot anymore, portion approximately 1 cup servings.
  10. Keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator and store the rest in the freezer.

 

Alternate Options:

  • Different sizes of containers for different size dogs and number of meals per day
  • Brown Rice -> Quinoa
  • Beef -> Turkey, Chicken, or Pork (all of these proteins are much lower in calories so you will need to make larger servings and/or more to accommodate)
  • Coconut Oil -> Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

 

If you’ve made it this far, or even better tried it, please share your experience!!