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@cheapfoodhereHealthy, Cheap, Homemade Dogfood
Recently we have looked closer at our dog’s food. We have two dogs, Toby and Bailey, who are about 60 lbs each. Bailey is getting older and thus has arthritis in her back knee, which significantly cuts into her ability to run after the tennis ball. She ignores it but limps most of the time, especially after a long play session or lake swimming.
Not too long ago, we were turned onto a sure-fire ‘cure’ to her arthritis in the form of homemade dog food packed full of nutrients that are supposed to help reverse the affects of arthritis. We had tried glucosamine and anti-inflammatory pills, to no avail, we thought it was worth a shot. It had to be healthier for the dogs than the bagged dry dog’s food anyway.
We’ve had the dogs on the food for over two weeks now and have been giving Bailey extra vitamin C to help her immune system and we’ve seen a lot of progress. Her limp is almost gone except for after play, in which case it is short-lived. Both dogs’ coats are shinier and they don’t seem to be shedding as much, however that might just be coincidence this time of year.
We are hoping for more progress and two extra-healthy dogs for the rest of their years. The food is also reasonable to make, only about $6 per batch, which lasts our two big dogs 7 days when mixed with a little dry dog food. We give each dog 3/4 of a Solo cup full of the homemade dogfood and top off the cup with the dry food, twice per day.
Here’s the recipe:
HOMEMADE DOG’S FOOD INGREDIENTS
3 cups of uncooked brown rice
2 cups of uncooked barley
2 cups of chopped raw carrots
2 cups fresh chopped beet root
1 cup fresh chopped beet tops
1 cup fresh spinach chopped
2 cups chicken livers
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp dry or fresh sage
12 cups of water
HOMEMADE DOG’S FOOD DIRECTIONS
1. Combine ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Simmer for 1 hour. Keep pot covered, stirring every 15 minutes.
3. Add water as needed.
Carrot
11 Comments »
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Healthy dog food is just as important as healthy food for humans! Great post!
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Just to let you know garlic is not good for dog so I would avoid using it.
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About how much a month will this cost me?
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Thanks for the information. We have two 100+ lb Ridgbacks. I am definitely considering your recipe. However, I am wondering how long its shelf life is? Being home brewers, we have some pretty big pots and could make large batches easily. I suppose I could freeze portions . . . but I do also have limited freezer space. Do you have any more experiential knowledge about how long this stuff lasts – room temp, fridge temp, and freezer temp? I think I could do it, but probably would be lazy and stop doing it if I had to cook their food up more than maybe once a month.
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I read on another site that dogs should not have garlic. Have you heard anything about this one way or another?
Thanks for sharing this recipe. My dog has been showing early signs of arthritis and if there is a way to lessen the affects on her, I am ALL for it.