7 Best Homemade Dog Food Recipes For Big Dogs

Like humans, dogs also have taste buds, and whether you believe it or not, they sometimes can get fussy about foods. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make them eat healthy foods.

Several homemade foods can be offered to indoor dogs. In fact, vets also recommend homemade foods for dogs.

Large breed dogs have nutrition needs different from smaller breeds. And if you fail to offer them their daily nutrition requirement, they may face health issues including obesity, excessive shedding, nutrition deficiencies, and so on.

However, while thinking of offering your large dog homemade foods, take care to make a balanced diet for them. We say so because foods made at home often lack the nutrients that commercial dog foods have.

To be precise, remember that the food should be:

• Rich in calcium
• Have sufficient protein content
• Filled with veggies and grains
• Have vitamins and minerals
• Low in sodium and sugar
• Rich in fatty acids like omega 3 & 6

How Much Food Does my Dog Need Daily?

Your dog’s daily food needs would vary based on the breed, size, weight, health status, and activity level. Nonetheless, you may refer to the following table to get a generalized view.

Why Homemade Food?

The question that may arise in your mind is why you should prefer homemade food for your dog? We can give your more than one reason:

• Homemade food tend to have balanced nutritional value
• These foods do not contain a high level of sodium and sugar
• They can be tailor-made as per the dietary needs of dogs
• Dishes made from fresh ingredients can be offered

Our selected Homemade Dog Food Recipes for Big Dogs

Keeping in mind all the benefits of homemade dog foods, we have listed our top recipes that can be prepared at home without any hassle. Before presenting these recipes, we undertook thorough research and considered the pros and cons of each recipe, along with the convenience of cooking them at home.

So take a deep breath and start the journey of recipes for your big pooch.

1 Meatballs

We humans eat meatballs, and so do our dogs. So it is pretty easy to make dog-friendly meatballs. But be cautious not to overfeed your dogs with this dish. Also, never include onion and garlic when making meatballs for your furry friends.

You can make this dish out of any meat- chicken, lamb, turkey, and so on. Here, we have focused on turkey meatballs.

Ingredients:

• 1- 2lbs of ground turkey
• 3/4 cup cooked broccoli (any other veggie can also be used in place of broccoli)
• 3/4 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped oregano (optional)
• Flour
• Oil or butter

Directions:

• Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. If you feel the mixture is too dry, add some water.
• Heat a pan and add butter or oil to it.
• Roll the mixture into small netball sizes.
• Dredge the balls lightly in flour, and put them in the hot oil to fry.

Note: You can avoid frying and opt for baking the balls. Bake the balls at 400° until done.

Also Read: 7 Best Peanut Butter For Dogs In 2022 {Expert Reviews}

2 Beef Stew

Thick and luxurious beef stew! Can there be anything better than this? Your pooch would love it, and it is loaded with iron and protein. You can also refrigerate the dish for at least a week.

Ingredients:

• 1- 2lbs of beef meat
• 1/2 cup of carrots, diced
• 1/2 cup of green beans, diced
• 1 small sweet potato
• Flour
• Water, as required
• Vegetable oil or butter

Note: You can add veggies as per your preference and your dog’s need.

Directions:

• Slice the beef meat into small chunks.
• Boil the sweet potato and keep it aside.
• Heat a pan with oil or butter and fry the beef meat for 10- 15 minutes.
• Remove the meat pieces from the oil.
• Make a mix of flour and water and add it to the training oil to form a thick gravy. Continue to whisk until you get the desired consistency.
• Dice the boiled sweet potato.
• Add the sliced potato, diced veggies, and beef pieces to the gravy.
• Cook until the carrots are tender- 8- 10 minutes.
• Let the gravy cool down before serving.

3 Boiled chicken

Chicken dinner is more than just a virtual thing!

You can offer chicken dinner with boiled chicken to your big buddy.

Ingredients:

• 4- 5lbs of boneless chicken
• 2 cups of finely chopped spinach
• 2 cups of finely chopped red cabbage
• 1 skinned and de-seeded chopped apple
• 4- 3 whole eggs
• Vegetable oil

Directions:

• Clean the chicken pieces and boil them. Make sure to cook them half.
• Add the chopped vegetables and apple with the half-boiled chicken.
• Again boil the whole mixture until the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables are wilted.
• Stir in eggs and vegetable oil (you can also use olive oil).
• Let the recipe cool down before serving.

4 Turkey mixed with veggies

Follow this recipe if you wish to cook a dish free from any grain.

Instructions:

• 2lbs of lead turkey, ground
• 2- 3 tbsp of finely chopped raw chicken liver
• 2 chopped carrots
• 1 cup cauliflower
• 1 cup broccoli
• Vegetable oil

Directions:

• Boil the carrot pieces until they become tender.
• Fry the ground turkey and the chopped liver in a skillet until they turn brown.
• Drain the excess oil and keep the fried meat and liver aside.
• Add the rest of the veggies to the container with boiling carrot. Boil them until they turn mushy.
• Add the boiled vegetables to the turkey and liver and toss them in oil.
• Allow cooling before serving.

Also Read: Cat Licks Food But Doesn’t Eat

5 Crockpot

This easy crockpot recipe will take only 10 minutes to prepare and is loaded with nutritional value. And like the beef stew, you can refrigerate this dish for up to 6 days.

Instructions:

• 2 ½ lbs ground beef
• 1 ½ cups raw brown rice
• (15-oz) can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 ½ cups finely chopped carrots
• 1 ½ cups finely diced butternut squash
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 4 cups water

Directions:

• In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients and boil them.
• Cover the cooker for 5 to 6 hours on medium to low heat or 2 to 3 hours on high heat. Keep stirring now and then.
• Let the dish cool to room temperature before serving.

6 Pumpkin biscuits

Your big pooch would absolutely love pumpkin dog biscuits. These biscuits can help get rid of your dog’s stomach problems as well.

Instructions:

• 1 cup of pumpkin puree.
• 1/2 cup oats (replace it with grain-free flour if your dog is on a grain-free diet)
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons of xylitol free peanut butter
• 3 cups whole wheat flour

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Take a mixing bowl and stir the flour and oatmeal.
• Taking a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, and peanut butter until you get a lump-free smooth paste-like consistency.
• Combine the wet and dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
• Butter or flour a cookie tray, and spread the mixture on it to 1/2″ thick. You can use a rolling pin to roll out the mixture evenly.
• Cut out your desired shape using a cookie cutter.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown.
• Let the cookies cool down and harden before serving.

Bounus Read: Can Dogs Eat Pumpkin Seeds?

7 Raw meat patties

This is an easy-to-store raw meat patty recipe for all raw meat lovers. In fact, it is one of the easiest homemade food recipes for your large dogs. If you don’t have enough time to cook, follow this one, and you will be all sorted!

Ingredients:

• 5lbs of ground meat. You can use any meat type and even combine meat types.
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of veggies. You can mix two-three types of veggies for this recipe, finely chopped.
• 1 can of sardines in water

Directions:

Start by adding all ingredients to a mixing bowl and shaping them into meal-sized patties. Then, as needed, refrigerate and defrost before serving.

Conclusion

Offering homemade foods to the larger dog breeds can be an excellent way to maintain their health status. All the recipes listed here are easy to make and cost-effective.

These dishes are precisely made, keeping in mind the calorific needs of larger dog breeds. These are safe, tasty, and stored for at least 3- 4 days.

So, you don’t need to worry about investing colossal time or money to prepare dog food anymore. You just need some love and attention, and you will be all sorted with delicious homemade dog food.