Dogs are omnivore creatures. For thousands of years, they have lived together with man and thrived on the scraps from his table. A good natural dog food recipe should therefore contain not only meat, but vegetables as well. In the wild, carnivore animals such as wolfs get ample amounts of vegetable matter when they consume the intestines of grazing animals. Few of us are prepared to cook deer intestines for our canine friends; but luckily enough adding some vegetables to your favourite natural dog food recipe will work just as well.

Natural dog food recipe with carrots

This natural dog food recipe contains vitamin packed carrots, cornmeal and rice to make sure that your furry friend stays healthy and happy.

• 2 chicken breasts
• Rice (1 cup when steamed)
• 250-300 ml of carrots
• ½ cup of cornmeal
• ½ cup of chicken broth
• Oil

• Start by cooking the chicken breast and steaming the rice. Preferably use brown rice since a lot of important vitamins and fibres are lost when brown rice is turned into white rice.
• Shred the carrots. They should make up approximately 1 -1 ½ cup when shredded.
• Shred the cooked chicken and quickly sauté it in some oil.
• Stir in cornmeal and chicken broth.
• Add steamed rice and shredded carrots and blend well.
• Leave to simmer for approximately 15 minutes.
• Leave to cool before you serve this delicious natural dog food recipe to your dog.
• If you want to make a large batch and store for later, you can use plastic ziplock bags and store the natural dog food in the fridge, or even longer in the freezer. That way, you will always have tasty natural dog food ready for your hungry pets.

Natural dog food recipe for crunchy biscuits

• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 cup of wheat flour
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• ½ cup of wheat germ + enough wheat germ to dredge the natural dog food biscuits   
• ¼ cup of milk powder (use a non-fat variety)
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil + oil for the baking sheet

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
• Oil a baking sheet.
• Prepare the chicken stock according to the recommendations from the manufacturer, or make your own chicken stock from scratch.
• Mix wheat flour and all purpose flour.
• Mix in wheat germ, milk powder and salt.
• Use another container to shake together vegetable oil with chicken stock.  
• Pour 50 percent of the flour mix and 50 percent of the stock mix into a bowl and mix well. Gradually add the remaining flour mix and stock mix and combine until all ingredients are well blended.
• Pour some flour over a clean surface and knead the dough. Add more flour if necessary, the dough should be soft, even and easy to shape.  
• Make small, round balls and dredge them in wheat germ.
• Place the natural dog food balls on the oiled baking sheet.
• Use a fork to flatten the balls into semi-thin biscuits.  
• Place in the preheated oven and bake until fully cooked. This will usually take about 15-20 minutes.
• Turn of the oven but to dot remove the biscuits. The biscuits should be left in the oven until they have turned hard and dry.
• Make sure the biscuit is cool before you serve it to your dog.
• Biscuits should ideally be stored in the fridge or in the freezer if you want to preserve them for more than just a few days.

Tip! If you do not wish to use milk powder, you can use a small amount of skimmed milk instead. Increase the amount of flour to match the extra fluid.

Dog Food Articles

Chicken Compared to Chicken Meal - A article about why a chicken meal is a better choice for your dog than just chicken.
Health and Dog Food - An article about how the food affects the health of your dog.
History of dog food - A review of the history of dog food and how dog food as developed over the years.
Home made dog food - An article aout how to make home made dog food.
Is There Taurine In Your Dogs Food - An article about Taurine, how it effects dogs and which foods that containe Taurine.
Life Long Nutrition - A detailed look at dog food.
Natural Dog Food Recipe for Healthy Dogs - Recipe for a healthy natural dog food.
Poisonous Food For Dogs - An article about different types of food that are poisonous for dogs.