25 Sep Home-Made Dog Food Can Be a Lifesaver

Does your dog suffer from allergies? Colitis? Other skin or digestive ailments? The kibble you are feeding her might be partially to blame.

When one of our board members (Ramey) discovered her blue heeler mix (Dyna) had severe skin allergies, she tried everything the vet suggested: creams, sprays, prednisone, supplements, and prescription food. None of it seemed to help. Dyna was miserable; swollen, red, scaly, itchy, and losing hair.

One day, as she was discovering her own food intolerances, it occurred to Ramey that perhaps cooking whole, unprocessed foods for her dog might be beneficial, too. It worked like a charm. After a couple months on her new diet, her hair grew back, her skin went back to normal, her coat was shiny and healthy. What a relief!

Allergy-ridden Dyna, a GSP/ACD mix

Here’s the recipe:

• 5 lbs potatoes, boiled (with skins)
• 7-8 lbs bone-in chicken (you can buy whole legs with skin and bone to save money, or you could do two whole chickens, too)
• 1 head broccoli (stalks included)
• 1 lb carrots
• 2 medium sized zucchini or yellow squash
• 1 bunch kale or spinach
• 1 apple
• 6-8 eggs, scrambled, with egg shells crushed and added in
• 1 cup salmon oil
• 1 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 can 100% pumpkin puree (no additives, sugar, etc.)

Note that you can rotate out vegetables as they are seasonally available. You can use turnips, beets (in moderation), sweet potatoes, etc., but always make sure you have a high-protein veggie like broccoli, some leafy greens, and a good enough variety to get the vitamins they need. You can also add a cup or two of cooked brown rice in place of some of the potatoes. And obviously avoid onions, garlic, raisins, and other items harmful to dogs. You can blanch the vegetables briefly before stirring into pot if your dog has a very sensitive gut.

Boil and drain potatoes in a big stock pot. Cook chicken in a roasting pan until done and easy to pull off the bone, conserving the juices and fat drippings (I usually put some water in the bottom of the pan while cooking). After the chicken cools, pull all meat, cartilage and skin off the bones and put in pot with potatoes. Pour in the juices and fat, too. Scramble and cook eggs. Mash potatoes with meat and juices. Shred all vegetables in a food processor raw, add to pot. Add salmon oil, flaxseed, pumpkin puree and scrambled eggs with shells to pot, then stir thoroughly.

Ta-da! Doggie dinner. This size batch will last a 40-lb dog about 2 weeks. You will need to play around with the proper amount for your dog, but keep in mind they will require slightly more volume than they would from a high-quality kibble since it is not as concentrated.

Ramey recently shared this recipe with her friend who had a senior Aussie with severe colitis. After two weeks, the friend was shocked with how much her dog had improved, and very thankful! It’s not a guaranteed cure, but it sure can’t hurt to try it.