The recipe we use for our 12 lb dog:

2- 12 oz packages of veggies (green beans or peas)
3 eggs (shells included)
10 pounds lean beef chopped into 1” chunks (or ground)
1 cup pumpkin (unsweetened)
1/2 cup blueberries

Original recipe said boil the veggies for 8-minutes, cool and drain. We don't as feel it takes away too much of the nutrients in the veggies.

We blend the eggs (without the shells) with the pumpkin and blueberries. The shells we dry out and grind up fine in a coffee grinder before adding to the meat.

We add all this to the ground beef that we get in a 10 lb tube (chub) from Costco.

Sometimes I add extra veggies (saved broccoli stems, carrots kept in the freezer and sometimes add a cut up apple too.

Mix well using my hands. Since we feed about a 1/4 cup three times a day, will package about 12 to 14 ounces in a ziplock baggie, flatten it then store stacked in the freezer. This will last about three-days worth.

The fir ball guy also gets dried chicken treats that we slice from chicken breasts and dehydrate ourselves. And he also gets a few bites from our dinner depending on what we make that night.

quote:

Originally posted by dynorat:
easy peel hard boiled eggs.

I use the 5-5-5 method. 5 minutes high pressure, 5 minutes pressure relief, 5 minutes ice bath.

Older eggs work best, but this cooks them perfectly for us.

quote:

Originally posted by RGRacing:

quote:

homemade dog food

Don't leave us hanging - Post your Dog Food recipe. We make our own for our old Pom who eats better than some people.
Chicken, green beans and sweet potato.

One (1) large sweet potato (diced, I leave skins on)
One (1) smallish medium russet potato (diced, skins on)
One (1) large carrots, or two (2) medium chopped.
One (1) celery rib copped.
One (1) small beet (reserve the leafs and stims)
In stock pot cover with water (about 2 cups) and cook until tinder

When tender lightly mash.

Add fresh cut up green beans

Add one (1) pound lean ground beef
One package of chicken gizzard/hearts (which is usually 1.25lbs)
One package of chicken livers (which is usually 1.25lbs) liquid goes into the pot.

One (1) can of kidney beans (low sodium)

When this is almost done add one bunch of kale cut into small pieces.
One bunch of spinach cut in small pieces.
Half cup or so of parsley chopped (I get a bunch of parsley, cut it up and what is not used is frozen for next time)
And the reserved beet leafs and stims.

After wilted add 1 cup brown rice
**note may have to add water**
2/3cup oats
1/2cup quinoa
1/3cup ground flaxseed

Cook until done/tender, stirring mixture often to keep from scorching and breaking down to smaller/smoother consistency.

When done add 3 eggs, I dry the shells and grind them down into a powder. Then add one (1) can 15oz of mackerel or salmon. One (1) 15oz can of 100% pumpkin.

Cool, bag up. It usually makes enough to fill 2 one gallon freezer bags. One goes into the freezer, the other into refrigerator and there's usually a serving left.

I feed a 1/3 cup or so, along with half of what would be a serving of The Honest Kitchen dehydrated food. Along with a rotation of high quality kibble in rotation that makes up less than 10% of her food.

(I use the kibble as treats, and training treats are the higher value, and cheese is the highest value.)

This usually lasts about a month, feeding more of it someday and THK more other.

I also add stuff that is on hand, like this time yellow squash, diced apple, and a handful of blueberries.


My Vet always comments on Ahyoka, she's a mobile Vet and when she's in town and sees Ahyoka the Vet always tells me how healthy she looks.

Ahyoka rarely scratches, drinks little water and her coat is always shiny and beautiful. Her weight stays consistent and she loves her food.

ARman

Dang ARman ... can I please come over and eat with your dog ? :P

How big is your dog ?

quote:

Originally posted by old dino:
Dang ARman ... can I please come over and eat with your dog ? :P

How big is your dog ?

She definitely eats better/healthier than I do! LoL....

She's 50lbs Australian Shepard. She is large for her age, but not overweight.

She's taller than most females her age.

ARman

Sometimes I go with a pound of ground chicken or turkey and use beef liver. I don't do this often, about every 3 months or so, because I'm not a fan of liver in any form, and with the beef liver I have to cut it up in smaller portions.

But I try to change the meat protein source here and there.

A friend is getting beef butchered here soon, so I will be getting some offal, heart, kidney, liver, and tongue. They don't want any of it, so I'm getting it. I'll cut it up, and portion it as close to 1lbs and bag it and freeze it for future use.

I also give her sardines in water, low or no sodium add if I can find it, if not drained and rinsed, a couple/three times a week, along with raw eggs, with a small reduction of THK. A splash of extra virgin olive oil, or organic coconut oil here and there. Just a small amount. It really helps keeps her coat shiny.


ARman

Well, I was talking to a neighbor and she was talking about her Instapot and I was asking her about it. She said that after she cleaned it up, if I wanted to borrow it I could.

So she cleaned it up, and I took it home and made another batch of pup food. Well it took 45 minutes to cook instead of the 3 hours the other way.

After it was cooled, bagged up, I cleaned up the pot and made a batch of 15 beans soup, which took 45 minutes cooking, and 20 minutes to release the pressure.

So, I was able to cook two items in under 2 1/2 hours, which would have taken 15+ hours to do normally! The 15 beans soup came out outstanding! The Instapot was great.

But I do know that I will have to get a bigger one, because it's really to small to make the pup's food.

ARmam

I like our instapot, never tried making dog food but it’s pretty handy for people food. I wouldn’t say I’ve thrown out all my other pots and pans. The sauté function isn’t impressive. It does double as a crockpot.

Besides the normal meals it makes super easy to peel boiled eggs- I got on a pickled egg kick during the COVID lockdowns. I also use it to make my own yogurt pretty regularly.

One time my wife and I packed the freezer with some pre-planned and portioned freezer meals she pulled off Pinterest during a particularly busy season. That was a lifesaver - $200 or so for the groceries, bag them up and stack them in the freezer. Get home in the evening, take a bag out and throw it in the pot. 30 minutes and you had an actual fresh-cooked meal without standing over the stove for almost two months.