Homemade Dogfood for health & savings!

Here’s a great idea for pet lovers! My dachshund started developing some sort of allergy – scratching a lot and whatnot – so I started thinking about what she was eating and researching dog foods, etc. I found that a lot (MOST) dog foods - especially those you typically find in grocery stores - contain very little nutritional value and lots of “fillers” that can’t be digested by pups and can cause allergies. This makes them cheap to produce, but can really harm our 4-legged family members. I decided to start making homemade dog food, and found that it’s not only healthier for them, but much cheaper than buying commercial brands!

Here’s my basic recipe:

Ground beef, chicken, turkey, pork - whatever is cheapest depending on the week – check the “soon to expire” section of your grocers meat section. It’s still perfectly safe to eat, and MUCH cheaper! I mix a pound or so of whatever I happen to find on sale each week.

1 can of store brand carrots

1 can of store brand green beans

1 can of store brand potatoes (whole or diced is fine)

1 tbsp minced garlic or garlic powder (helps keep away fleas and great for their immune system and more!) Click here if you’ve heard that garlic is poisonous for dogs – that is ONLY in large quantities – which we will not use for dogfood.

On sale, all of this together can cost less than $5!

* Brown the ground meat in a big pot
* Rinse canned veggies to remove any salt that may be added
* Combine veggies with the browned meat
* Cook on medium heat until the veggies are mushy
* Mash it all together using a potato masher, spatula, whatever you have on hand.
* Remove from heat and add garlic (when cooked, it loses a lot of it’s health benefits)

You can also dry your eggshells and grind them up to add for added calcium, which is great for your pup’s bones! Add ½ teaspoon per pound of meat.

Put in an airtight container and store in your fridge until mealtime! My dogs really LOVE this recipe and the allergies have disappeared! Our older pup (slighyly overweight – shhh, don’t’ tell him I told you!) has also dropped a few pounds since I started making their food and is more energetic and playful!