Dog Food Recipe

Some people have asked me how I manage to feed my 3 mastiffs. They're all big girls, and they do have big appetites. I avoid commercial dog food like the plague, (for reasons why, read Foods Pets Die For, for example), and have tried numerous food combinations over the years. For a while I preferred feeding raw foods, and I tried the raw chicken diet, and raw meat/veg diet, and those worked when the supply was there. Now I live in a ranching area, so the supply of meat is principally beef, and for large parts of the year we depend on frozen vegetables, so the dog diet has changed to reflect that.

I cook for my dogs now, once a day. I suppose you could do batches ahead and freeze them (I would do that if were going camping). But I like to cook it each day in the morning so that I can use up leftovers and vary things a bit. Dogs actually do have tastes once you change their diet from commercial food. They have palates that can discern good food from bad, and they develop preferences. My dogs don't just vacuum up anything in sight because they are not starving for nutrients all the time like they would on commercial food. They will no longer touch commercial food, in fact. Would you feed your kids nothing but Breakfast Cereal all their lives even though it claims to be nutritious and highly engineered? No? Well why feed your dog something that's so processed and preserved when making their food is easy and rewarding. And it's less expensive too!

Here's the basic recipe:


2 lbs chopped organ meats (I use beef liver, tongue and heart*, which is prepared by my butcher in big flats that are frozen and cut into 1 or 2 lb cubes)
3 eggs (to bind it together and for protein)
3 cups of whole wheat flour
1.5 cups of frozen mixed vegetables
a little salt for flavour
enough milk to make a sticky dough (you could use powdered milk and water too)

Put all the ingredients in a big mixing bowl and stir them until they're well blended.

You can add and change the components of this recipe. You could add cheese, leftover pasta sauce, leftover gravy, cooked or raw vegetables such as broccoli, corn, spinach (cooked sweet potatoes are a favorite), sour cream, etc. You could add a little cornmeal or rolled oats to the flour, or add a little bonemeal. Leftover rice works well too.

Once it's mixed, smear the mixture on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper to a depth of about 1 inch (I reuse the paper for this over and over again) and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Take it out, let it cool, separate it into bite-sized pieces and feed it. I always feed my dogs by hand because big dogs, and some high-waisted dogs have a preponderance to get torsion, which can be deadly, so for my peace of mind I dole out the food by hand. That way everyone gets the same amount whether they eat fast or slow, and it develops a bond with you and your dogs. All of my dogs have excellent table manners, and they don't snap at food or growl when eating and I attribute that to hand-feeding. It doesn't take more than 2 minutes.

Remember, onions and chocolate are poisonous to dogs and cats! Don't add those to any of their foods!

This diet works very well for my dogs. The wholewheat flour seems easier on their intestinal system (judging by the relative lack of flatulence) than other flours. Even too much oatmeal will cause fumes, so I mix the fancy stuff with the whole wheat rather than use all cornmeal or all oatmeal.

I also supplement this diet with plenty of raw beef bones, for calcium and dental care. There is a protein in blood that helps destroy plaque on dogs' teeth -- chewing raw bones is the best way for dogs to keep their teeth and gums healthy. My dogs have no plaque or gum disease, no tooth decay. But remember that if you are feeding small bones, you should supervise their consumption. Preferably feed bones big enough that the dog can't swallow them whole or get them stuck in their jaws. Cooked bones are not recommended since bones harden and dry when cooked, and can splinter into bowel perforating shards.

I don't recommend commercial treat "bones", (i.e. the fake bones make of cornstarch) because those have been known to kill dogs by compacting in the esophagus or stomach and either choking the dog or causing an obstruction. The cornstarch "bone" gets chewed and swallowed in chunks, and sticks together like cement in the dog's gastrointestinal tract.

I also give raw fruits for treats, apple, bananas, sweet potatoe (cut into chips), carrots, are the most popular. If you're a gardener, add a "doggie patch" and grow some veggies for them. Carrots, parsnips and pumpkins and squash are great because they last so long in the fall, you will have a good supply. I find feeding "real food" as opposed to commercial food is less expensive to make and you also save money on vet bills. Plus, this food smells good!
*My cats like this raw meat mixture as is.