Homemade Dog Foods

hi i really want to start home cooking for my nearly 12yr old border terrier cross, and found a recipe online that seems popular (and cheap cos i cant afford decent comercial food right now..) but im not sure if itd provide all her nutritional requirements and the like..and wether itd need suppliments..the recipe is
# 2 lbs carrots
# 2 lbs potatoes
# 1/2 bunch celery (can sub zucchini when it’s plentiful)
# 3 lbs of beef (hamburger, mince, chuck or the like)
# drippings, from any roast you have made in the last week or 1/4 cup soy sauce
# 3 -4 chicken stock cubes
# 3 1/2-4 quarts water
# 1 lb of dried pearl barley
so would appriciate peoples opinions thanks

Does anyone have an easy but well balanced recipe for dog food made from ingredients from a grocery store?

My 15 1/2 year old lab mix is starting to go downhill, and she has decided that she no longer will eat dog food, but is still interested in people food. I’d like to put together meals for her that are as nutritionally complete as possible. I also need to avoid anything that might cause a problem for her liver (if you know which foods that might be, please list them), because one of her liver enzymes is ten times higher than it’s supposed to be.

Despite her advanced age, she was in great shape last Monday, then something happened to her on Tuesday, and she’s been recovering ever since. She’s functioning at about 90% right now. The vet said her high blood test readings could be due to Cushing’s disease, liver disease or cancer. She also has a heart murmur that she’s had for a few years. She’s really too old to try to cure any of those things, so I’m just trying to keep her happy for whatever time she’s got left. Tonight I made her beef, carrots and enriched pasta (Barilla Plus, with Omega-6). I plan on cooking her an egg in the morning.

So my questions are: dog food recipes, and any foods that might irritate her liver. Thanks.
Edit: my vet has given me Tramadol, a narcotic pain med to be given on an "as needed" basis.

I have an American Pit Bull Terrier with really bad food allergies. Before I decided to go back to college I was feeding him either Wellness, Blue Buffalo, or Evo. But since being back in college I can’t afford to spend 100 dollars in food a month anymore. Does anyone have any good dog food recipes?

BTW: I’m aware that this isn’t posted in the pet section. The question is already posted there but I haven’t gotten many answers. So I’ve turned to the recipe section. Hopefully I’ll get more answers here. It this also helps his doc told me to avoid wheats and fillers such as corn etc. Peas and string beans are fine and also his favorite. He also loves carrots. Thanks in advanced.

My dog has ALWAYS been a picky eater.. however, for the last week or so, she’s been progressively eating less. For the last 3 or so days, she hasn’t really wanted to eat almost anything. She eats a bit of her food, and then leaves it alone. I feed her homemade food, chicken or beef with brown rice or potato. For the last 3 days, it’s been the beef. She also gets a pet vitamin and a small spoonful of yogurt with it, and sometimes some carrots, but not lately. Anywho, she doesn’t eat the beef at all, very little. BUT she does eat her favorite treats, and also these other treats that are not her favorite, but she will only eat if she’s hungry. So.. it kind of seems like she doesn’t want to eat the beef. he gobbles down the 2 other treats.. although I haven’t given her any today, as I want her to eat her food instead. Anyway, I’ll be taking her to the vet this week, but just wanting your feedback.. she generally eats one or 2 times a day, and has often not eaten for a whole day..
Oh, and she’s a 2.5 year old poodle mix, female, spayed.
Ever since the whole nutro thing.. the recall.. so for a few months now. It’s not "vet approved" no, but our vet told us to just give her boiled chicken so.. ya. Lol. Like I said, I give her a vitamin (pet tab) in addition to the carbs, meat and veggies.. so I don’t see how that would mean she’s suffering from malnutrition? I suppose its still possible. But anyway, yes, I’m going to take her to the vet for sure.. thanks..
She refuses to eat kibble. Like I said, she generally doesn’t eat much anyway. Once a day is good for her, if that. Sometimes 2 days and nothing, but that was with the Nutro food. We’ve tried the "let’s switch her over to kibble" thing, and that just plain didn’t work. We didn’t give her treats or anything else, just kibble.. and she didn’t eat for about 3 days. One time she ate kibble, and thats it. She’s a small dog, so it really affects her.. she throws bile up all over the place when she doesn’t eat for more than 1.5 days so.. no kibble, nope.
She’s not constipated, no.. she poops just fine. Has everyday for the last 3 days on our walks.
Well, like I said, she never really eats. I mean she has the worst appetite of any dog I’ve ever seen. No matter what we’ve fed her, whether it’s been kibble, homemade or wet, she just has consistently not eaten it. Treats are also used sparingly in her diet. She also doesn’t like greenies, rawhide, etc. Food just plain doesn’t interest her often. But lately it’s just a bit WORSE so that’s why I’m concerned.

Hi everyone, I just got allergy testing done on a stray pup I found two months ago. He was in really bad shape and I had to spend over 00 to get him healthy(mange,worms,teeth removed,hematoman,ect) and NOW he’s got major allergies. I am trying to find out if anyone knows any good treats to buy at PetsMart or the grocery store for dogs with allergies. I’m trying to avoid homemade treats from doggie bakeries. Most of his allergies are to trees,grass,and fungus, but the foods he is allergic to are CHICKEN,CORN,CARROTS,BARLEY AND EGGS. He CAN have BEEF, PORK,VENISON,DUCK, MILK, WHEAT,OAT, CHEESE AND FLOUR. Does anyone know of any good dog treats that are not homemade or doggie bones that he can enjoy, but will not have a reaction to. I am giving him allergenic shots every three days too, but I don’t know how well that works. I am loosing my mind! I just want to find a good treat for my baby bowser. Help please?

Until I can try and convince my mom to let me cook homemade meals for our dog, I’ve been trying to think of some ways to put a bit of nutrients into her dog food (Beneful.) I know that stuff is nasty; but my mother isn’t budging about changing. Our dog is "9 years old and has never had a problem before… when she eats people food she barfs."

Anyway; I’ve began to cook a cup of dog food with about half an egg and mix it in with a few lightly steamed carrots. After the walks I give her each morning, she gets half a cup of the food… and at night, gets the other half cup. However, now I’m wondering if this is alright to do.

Eggs are a food my dog can handle and I know they have protein. I add to carrots to try and give a few extra nutrients along with the disgusting Beneful.
Is this safe to feed her everyday? Also; is 1 cup of food for a 20 pound dog enough to fill her for the day?

Thank you!
The ingredients of Beneful is what bothers me, using fillers and such. I’ve studied what goes into dog food… and, it isn’t entirely healthy for the dogs it seems. Thats what I mean by saying its gross; because I’ve learned low-quality dog foods aren’t the best.

When my puppy grows a little older i want to slowly switch her to homemade food, since it won’t have any chemicals or preservatives.

in her food i want to put
-eggs
-chicken
-vegetables (corn, carrots, peas)
-a little vegetable oil
-rice

does this sound good and how much of each should i put? also, will she need supplements (vitamins)?
umm im not starting my dog on raw food. everything will be cooked. no bones.
darksong- im not against raw feeding, im just not gonna do it with my dog
darksong- your right. i do need more research. that’s why i was asking this question

I have four pet rats. If you ever had pet rodent then you can imagine how much poop they generate. I am just wondering if I can put there poop to use. I have search the web some and have found people say it makes a terrible fertilizer and found people that say it makes a wonderful one. I know that the are omnivores but my rats are on a vegi diet. They have only tasted meat ones in there entire lives! I feed them a homemade mix made of dry pasta, oats, Cheerios,almonds, and a few other high grain healthy cereals also has a vegi diet healthily dog food mixed in. I also give them carrots, grapes and there favorite Bananas. Does there diet make a difference on weather or not using there poop is a good idea for a fertilizer? Logical to me yes it does but sometimes science over rules logic. This may be a silly question but i’d like serious answer concerning what I asked. That means Id prefer people to not leave dumb questions like why do u have rats..that’s weird? that’s a question for one not an answer which is what i need…two its not weird your just closed minded and rats make excellent pets..weird means different and it would be different to have a monkey but if i told u I had one u would call it cool..get the point. so basically i want serious answers don’t waste my time.

Ok here’s the situation. I have four healthy, happy Lab puppies. Three of them are 8 months old and the other is 6 1/2 months old. All of them are right about 50-60 lbs. and not too fat. They were quite overweight about 3 months ago but we have increased their exercise and cut their food intake a bit. We had been feeding them according to the bag guidelines which I think was too much. Now they get about a cup three times a day of Iams Smart Puppy Large Breed dry food, and they gets carrots, apples or bananas for treats. They are looking healthy and happy but seem hungry between feedings. Could it be they are going through a growth spurt or do they really need more food? Is there something like rice or canned vegetables that I can add to their food to help it hold them over longer? Don’t get me wrong… I will do whatever is best for my dogs, I just don’t want them to become overweight. If that means more food or a more expensive (better) brand, I will gladly pay the money. I just thought maybe there was a less expensive, homemade solution. Please let me know what you think.

Thank you all… what food would you recommend? The Iams was recommended because we were told to avoid the pups gaining too much too quickly, and the large breed formulas were supposed to help control that. Also, I heard that as a guideline whatever your dog eats in five minutes is what you should feed them.. for example, if you put their food down and its not gone in five minutes, you are overfeeding them. Does that sound about right to you? They definitely eat what is in their bowl and are ready for feeding time. Another question, I heard Labs should be on puppy food until they are 2 years old. Any thougts?

My 2 yr old. pug haves colitis so i have to put him on a bland diet, Today i bought him chicken, rice, carrots and cottage cheese, This will be my first time doing this?
Do you have to mix dog food w/ it?
Is there any homemade dog treats that i can make for him?
they said no to buy dog treats, is there anything i can make for him?
Any advise of this bland diet??
Thanks, Misty