Home prepared diet recipe example

For a 15kg neutered senior dog

Home prepared recipe for a puppy
home cooked dog food diet

Home cooked dog food diet recipe

(optimal weight 15kg, neutered, with no special activity)

This home cooked dog food diet recipe is designed for a 15kg neutered senior (over 8 years old).

If you’re dog is under 8 years old, check the recipe for a neutered adult dog.
For a puppy (15kg adult weight), less than 12 months old, then check the recipe for a puppy.

Not neutered?

Check the recipe for a 15kg senior.

Senior: over 8 years

Daily amount

Ingredients

home cooked dog food diet

Ingredients: amount and details

home cooked dog food diet
  • Meat
    KANGOO human grade MEAT (boneless no mince no banga. Weight raw, then slightly cook, poach OR pan with no fat for 5 minutes)


230 grams

12,5 ml

  • Oil
    CANOLA OIL or SOYBEAN OIL (Do not cook or heat. Keep the bottle in the fridge)


15 ml

  • Vegetables
    GREEN BEANS(Weight raw. Steam or boil ; cook until soft (mashable) and cut in 5mm pieces)


270 grams

  • Carbohydrates
    WHITE RICE (weight dry, then cook twice the time on the label for humans) 
    or SWEET POTATOES / POTATOES (skinless, boiled in water, must be cooked enough to be easily mashed)


50 grams

200 grams

Adjust the amount of food delivered daily, but keep the same proportions of all ingredients listed here, in order to keep the diet balanced.

The recipe for one day can be prepared as described, and distributed in 2 days. The half for the next day shall be stored in the fridge.

Homemade diet: easy preparation, storage and distribution

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1- Weigh all ingredients raw, or as mentioned in the recipe

2- Chop and cook vegetables and meat/fish

If using canned vegetables, only strained and rinse.
If used fresh or frozen vegetables, cook them in salted boiling water, until mashable. Add the meat/fish filet for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

3- Prepare the mixture

First, mix the small ingredients, then add the cooked ones.
Mix the Vit’i5 powder + Canola or Soybean Oil + Salt/Wheat bran if any in the recipe.
Add cooked vegetables and meat/fish. Mix all ingredients until the mixture is homogenous.

4- Storage, preservation & feeding

If any in the recipe, cooked carbohydrates, such as oat flakes or rice or potato, must not be frozen/thamw : cook them on the day of distribution, and add to the freshly made or defrost mixture.

  • Prepared and distributed the same day?
    Cook the carbohydrates with the vegetables, This mixture can be used for the day.
    The portion left for the other meals of the day can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours.
  • Prepared for later?
    The mixture can be frozen in daily portions. It can be frozen for up to 4 weeks.
    Each portion can be thaw in the fridge the day before the day of distribution.
    The carbohydrate must be cooked on the day of distribution and mixed with the thawed portion of food.
    This mixture can be used for the day. The portion left for the other meals of the day can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours.

5- Split the daily amount in at least 4 meals (no matter at what time)

Give the first meal freshly prepared, or a meal from the fridge.
Do not fry pan, microwave oven or oven heat: you can heat a meal by mixing with a bit of warm water.

Give half the amount of wet or dry petfood normally recommended to feed the dog for a day.

In case you feed your dog Half-Half, for instance kibble or canned petfood in the morning, and Homemade (this recipe) in the evening, use Vit’i5 Half-Half instead of the Vit’i5 Blue in the home prepared recipe, at the same amount, to balance the home prepared half of the diet.

If you have more specific questions, or in case of health issue, ask a certified nutritionist for special recipes.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This recipe is balanced and formulated by a veterinary nutrition specialist for a heathy pet. It is offered for personal use only.

Copyright 2023 @DrGeraldineBLANCHARD, European Specialist in Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition

Tailored recipes are also available on our website.

Warning

Avoid changing ingredients without a proper advice.
Changing an ingredient for another in a recipe may affect the overall composition and balance: for instance, for the same amount, providing a fatter meat/fish will bring more calories from fat (energy) and may increase body weight by increasing fat mass. Also, different vegetables may bring different amount of calories (energy).

Nutritional information

WHY SUCH INGREDIENTS?

This recipe for a home cooked dog food diet contains

Animal Proteins

Meat, muscle meat, and fish filet are a source of animal protein, and provide protein and all amino acids necessary in the diet of dogs.

home prepared recipe for a dogYou can cook meat of fish in order to reach 70°C for a few minutes, as food safety requires to avoid contamination problems (such as bacteria, parasites…).

Different meats and fish filets differ by their composition in water, protein and fat, and energy. So they are not all the same and substitution of one by another must be guided.
Also, some pets find some tastes more interesting/palatable/attractive than others.

Do not replace without considering the composition or asking to your vet or assess the body weight of your pet weekly.

Mineral vitamin supplement

Vit’i5 is a mineral and vitamin supplement formulated by a veterinary nutrition specialist in order to balance homemade diet. It provides the micronutrients that are lacking of in the routine dietary components such has meat+oil+vegetables+carbs.

viti5Vit’i5 has to be added to a diet each time it contains fish or meat. It has been designed in 3 products. Vit’i5 may be adapted depending on age and condition, and with the amount of meat/fish each day. It is neither seasonal nor optional.
If the diet is half homemade and half commercial, give Vit’i5 Half-half instead of any Vit’i5 recommended in the homemade recipe. Adjust to the amount of meat or fish filet to keep the same proportions Vit’i5/meat.

Warning:
Do not heat or cook Vit’i5, in order to preserve vitamins
Do not give Vit’i5 if your dog of cat eats only a complete pet food either dry or wet.

Complex carbohydrates (source of energy from Starch)

Starch is the complex carbohydrate contained is pasta, rice, corn, potatoes, tapioca, chick pees, lentils…
It must be cooked (water boiled) to be digestible and become a source of energy. Pets have individual and variable capacity to digest starch, linked to their genetic and epigenetic production potential of alpha-amylase.

home cooked recipe for a dogMake sure to boil carbohydrates, such as rice or peeled potatoes, TWICE the time it should be for people. That maximises the digestibility of the starch by pets.

Once cooked, DO NOT freeze carbohydrates as freezing-defrosting process decreases the digestibility of starch, and could induce digestive issue such as diarrhea and bloating.

In the recipe, a part of Carbs can also be replaced by other carbs or by treats, to provide an equivalent amount of calories.

Equivalent to 10 grams of raw (dry)  OAT FLAKES:

– 10 grams of PASTA or white RICE, cooked
– 40 grams of POTATO or SWEET POTATO, cooked
– 10 grams of any BISCUIT designed for cats
– 5ml (1 spoon) of peanut butter
– 10 grams of Cheese, such as cheddar CHEESE
– 40 grams of Cottage cheese (4%Fat)
– 50 grams of Pure Plain 4%Fat Natural YOGURT (such as Greek or Plain organic yogurt without additional flavours or ingredients)

Essential fatty acids

Canola oil, or soybean oil, is a source of essential fatty acids, omega 6 (linoleic acid) and omega 3 (linolenic acid). They may be altered by heat and sunlight.

homemade recipe for a dogDon’t heat or cook it, to preserve the fatty acids. Store the bottle in the fridge.

Caps of fish oil may be added to bring also long chain omega 3 fatty acids EPA & DHA, but this does not replace the canola or soybean oil. The fatty acids are different.

Fiber source

Vegetables are a beneficial source of fiber.
Give all vegetables cooked, either boiled, or steamed enough to become smooth form, or strained if canned.

Zucchini is a special vegetable that can be given cooked, but can also be cut and frozen raw, and, once defrost, included in the diet without cooking.

home cooked dog food dietCarrots may be replaced by broccoli, green beans, skinless pumpkin or butternut with the same weight basis. These vegetables must be cooked  enough to be easily cut or mashed.

Last, to offer a bigger amount of vegetables, 100 grams of carrots or equivalent may be replaced by 150 grams of zucchini, tomato, mushroom, asparagus, endives, all cooked well enough to be easily cut or mashed.

Treat

FRUITS are usually more appreciated by dogs than cats.
Fruits may represent a treat or a part of the vegetables. Dogs can eat them raw.

Better offer juicy FRUITS such as apple, peach, watermelon, strawberry, pear…
If doing so, stick to the following equivalence: 50 grams of FRESH FRUIT may subsitute 50 to 100 grams of CARROT.
(Do not offer banana or dry fruit as a TREAT, they are very rich in energy and can replace carbohydrates).

Please DO NOT REPLACE more than half of the vegetables with fruits as part of fiber source.

ingredients for a homemade recipe for a dogFor example, in a recipe with 200grams of vegetables, that should not be more that 100 grams (half of 200 grams) of vegetables to be replaced by fruits. Thus so 100/2 = 50 grams of FRUIT such as fresh APPLE in this recipe.

Avoid large amounts of vitamin C-rich fruits such as kiwi fruit, orange… as large amounts of vitamin C would be metabolized in oxalic acid, excreted in urine.

DAIRY such as cheese or yogurt are also commonly shared with the pet. No problem with plain yogurt with only milk and ferments in the list of ingredients (avoid the ones with any other component added), and with plain cheese, but be very careful at the amount given, it brings a lot of calories, and 10 grams of cheese must be considered as bringing as much energy as 4 ml of oil or 15 g of raw rice!

BISCUITS also are often proposed. They also brings energy, so limit the amount, and substitute the similar amount (in grams) of raw Rice rather than add biscuit to a recipe

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