Homemade Dog Chow

I have three dogs that I constantly have to keep an eye on what they’re eating. This past summer, they were getting endless bouts of diarrhea. One dog after another. And vice versa. Countless visits to the vet had us questioning about their diet. “Are they eating healthy?” “Should we add more Greek yogurt or pumpkin?” “Are we giving them too little or too much?” “Are they drinking enough water?” “Is the grass poisoning them?” “What in the world are we feeding our dogs?!”

All kinds of crazy thoughts! The vets would say it’s environmental. I was so puzzled and got sick of it. Fast. They were eating high end expensive kibbles to grain-free wet food. Finally, I said enough. I did my research. Found a site that offers homemade food recipes.

BalanceIT

That website has useful information on supplements and what to feed your dogs. How much you can give them and such. There’s also free recipes for certain conditions. Always consult with your vet before starting this.

Also for you feline lovers!

What a life changer. Our dogs LOVE homemade food. I can’t remember the last time Jameson was excited about a meal.

I buy the ground meat on sale whenever possible. It should be lean meat. Frozen veggies are almost always on sale. Huge bag of rice. Steel cut oats. Coconut oil. Throw in canned pumpkin or frozen butternut squash. Whatever you got laying around.

I throw it all in the instant pot. Turn it on and set it for manual pressure cook for only SEVEN MINUTES! Can we talk about how amazing this thing is? It cooks so fast in less than half the time! I love my slow cooker but this one takes the Gold. If you still have your faithful slow cooker, low for 8 hrs or high for 4-6 depending on rice.

I still give them kibbles because they need their minerals and vitamins. So what I do is, kibbles and homemade chow in the morning with fish oil. At night, heaping homemade chow. That’s it. Sometimes they’ll get their homemade treats. Even Store bought ones.

For a long time, the Vet would call out on Nikki for being overweight. She was starting to show signs of hip problems. She’s a Rottweiler mix and had those traits of hip dysphasia. She had her check up and went from 93 to 81 pounds. And still needs to lose a little bit more. She was also stomach sensitive to certain foods like some of the kibbles and wet foods in the past. Once we started this diet, her loose stools were gone. As well as Jameson and Charley. Nikki’s hips seem to be in good working order today.

Charley has a knee problem and keeping his weight under check was super important.

Jameson used to hate his meals. Nothing was making him happy. I’ve never seen him so excited for meal time. His energy is up. He’s no longer sulking around like he used to.

Over all, all three of them have high energy and look forward to their meals. And they’re senior dogs! Charley is 10. Jameson is 8. Nikki will be 8 in May. Yikes! Please freeze time.