Homemade dog food recipes for senior dogs and those with medical issues aren’t as difficult to make as I thought they would be. If you use my tips it doesn’t even take that much time! Just a note – I am not a vet. This recipe was given to me by my vet to feed to my dog that has kidney failure. It is meant to be low protein. You should not feed this to your dog without talking to your vet first.
If you are following the Restless Chipotle Facebook page you already know that we had a serious issue with Cuddles, our pit bull (yes… Cuddles. If you have a pit you understand why that name, I’m sure). We aren’t sure how it happened but he got a bacterial infection and his kidneys began to shut down. He spent a week in doggie ICU — refusing to eat. When he got home he refused the special low-protein dog food and he just got thinner and thinner. It was time for some homemade dog food recipes!
I finally started making a dog food gruel that he would eat and he began to make a comeback. It was a long, hard road! When I took him in for his check up and talked to the vet she gave me a recipe that she approved of. You see, although we have always fed our dogs premium dog food (Taste of the Wild) the protein was way too high for Cuddles now. My vet explained that even our older dogs who were healthy should have less protein than before. She said dog food recipes for Cuddles had to be under 20 grams of protein but under 10 was better. This recipe has 6.9% protein and Cuddles loves it. In fact, our older dog does, too. He is playing and jumping around like a puppy. The other two (yes, we have four — 2 yorkies that moved in when my husband and I got married and my old dog which is a long haired chihuaha mix-up, and then Cuddles) like the food as well so I mix it in with their dog food.
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Cuddles is a rescue dog – both of my dogs are. We found him under our porch one day. When my son coaxed him out we saw that his chest and shoulders were basically shredded. He had been used as a bait dog — thrown in with pit bulls being trained to fight. I am horrified to say that there is a lot of that in my area. Anyway, my son had been wanting a pit bull and praying for one — who am I to argue with God?
We found him on a Saturday so of course there were no vets open. I wasn’t sure if he wasn’t going to need his leg amputated it was so bad. Shreds of flesh and muscle infested with maggots. I had my husband and son hold him so I could clean the wounds with cotton swabs and a copious amount of peroxide. I was nervous because here I was digging into this dog’s wounds and he was a big dog with big teeth — even if he was skinny.
That dog never even snapped at me. He looked it me with those big eyes and pushed at my hand with his nose. That was all. I cleaned those wounds a couple times a day all weekend long and then to my vet.They kept him overnight, put him out, scrubbed a couple of pounds of mud and dried blood off of him, then fixed him up.
When you make homemade dog food recipes for senior dogs, and those with kidney failure, it’s important to use the fattiest, cheapest ground beef you can find. You want more fat and less protein. I get a big chub pack and cook all of it up at once with the eggs that go in the recipe. Then I divide in in portions and freeze it. When I need another batch of food I thaw it and add the rest of the ingredients. So easy!
The recipe calls for boiled eggs but I add the to the nearly cooked ground beef and then cover the pan until everything is cooked and the yolks are cooked through. Then I chop them into the ground beef.
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It’s very important that you use a kitchen scale to make this and to serve it. It must be done by weight. It helps me to keep Restless Chipotle up and running – so thank you in advance. Anyway, this is similar to the kitchen scale I use and it works really well. Escali Glass Digital Kitchen Scale is thin and accurate plus easy to clean. Just remember to put your dogs bowl on the scale and zero the scale out before measuring in the food.
Measure everything very accurately and be sure not to make any substitutions or changes. The food should be refrigerated in an airtight container and eaten within three or four days. Also – get a good canine multivitamin like (another affiliate link) Pet MD Multivitamin plus Minerals. This is extremely important because your food will not be enriched like the commercial foods are.
Homemade Dog Food Recipes for Senior Dogs
Ingredients
- 1/4 pound ground beef (do not use lean)
- 2 cups cooked white rice (no salt)
- 1 hard cooked egg , peeled and chopped
- 3 slices white bread , crumbled
- 1 teaspoon calcium carbonate (blend a bottle of calcium carbonate in the blender until it's a powder then keep in a resealable plastic bag)
Carlene Aronstein says
This was very helpful. Thank you. I do have a question though – how much protein is there actually in one serving? I sent your recipe to my vet to make sure it is good for our 14 year old rescue Yorkie, who we found out has kidney disease after we got her. She has been on k/d canned food since we found out a couple of months ago. We took her to the vet for a recheck and everything was back to normal, except for the protein. It had come down a good bit but she will have to be on the kidney diet from now on.
Marye Audet says
The protein per serving would depend on the size of the dog and a billion other factors that I can’t figure. Sorry. I’d suggest talking to your vet. 🙂
Linda McMurray says
I don’t think you should ever give a dog with failing kidneys high fat ground beef. They need lean meats. The fat is really hard on the liver as well. I use 95% lean ground beef but I leave the little bit of fat on it. Always check with your vet before feeding your dog with kidney problems a homemade diet.
Lisa Stahlberg says
How much calcium carbonate, for a 60 lb dog? We can get powdered calcium carbonate that is 600 mg per 1/2 tsp.
Marye Audet says
Please check with your vet on that.
Angela says
Hi! I’m happy this helped your pupper! im’m hoping it helps my as he ha already rejected all types of KD forumla.
Question:
Does the egg have to be hard boiled or can it be scrambled in?
Marye Audet says
I just added it in.
Bree says
Hi Mary. My dog just got out of ICU with Pancreatitis and Kidney Disease. She NEEDS both LOW FAT and LOW PROTEIN diet but the vet doesn’t seem to know what she can eat. He says he’s not experienced a dog with both. Do you have any recommendations?
Katy says
My dog needs low protein and low fat.
I cook turkey mince, then add a grated carrot, a grated courgette, mashed sweet potato and some oars cooked in water. Then when I serve it I put a dollop of low fat natural yogurt on top.
I also stir in a product called Bone Builder (mainly calcium and minerals) and squeeze a few flaxseed capsules in it.
My dog is a big fan and it completely reversed her hepatic encephalopathy.
Zaneta says
Do I spent endless hours finding out our dogs are not common with BOTH kidney AND pancreatitis!! LOW fat turkey crumbles on occasion or chicken breast with rice and carrots and green beans and low sodium broth warmed slightly and very important! Make sure it is CHOPPED as tiny or mushy as possible! And make sure it’s over cooked this will all help your dogs kidney and pancreas to process it easier!
Jeffrey Jameson says
You have probably answered this question before but the recipe calls for 2 cups cooked rice. I assume this means to measure it after cooking since 2 cups uncooked rice yields 6 cups cooked.
Marye Audet says
yes
Anna L Eby Eastman says
My dog is having liver problems and or pancreatitis. Vet has her on meds but she needs very low protein foods, also no fat and no sodium. She is also not a big fan of rice. So far I’ve only been able to get her to eat boiled pasta flavored with no salt, no fat broth. I do put in a few very small pieces of chicken but I hand feed most of that to my other dog. The greasy beef wouldn’t work for her. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Kathryn says
. Good foods to feed a dog with liver disease include:
Feed 2-3% of their body weight a day, My dog is 18 lbs so that would be about 1/2-3/4 lb of food per day
Protein
Eggs
Low fat cottage cheese
Low fat yogurt
Chicken with skin and visible fat removed
Fish
Carbohydrate sources:
Oatmeal
Barley
Whole wheat bread
Pulped vegetable skins
Canned pumpkin
Fat Sources:
Meat fat
Omega 3 fatty acids such as EPA Fish Oil or Salmon Oil (Not cod liver oil)
Raquel House says
Hello and thank you for your recipe! My 16 yr. old doxie is having fluid therapy at this very moment for kidney failure. Besides not wanting to eat she is an extremely fussy eater which makes it more difficult. I know you said no substitutions but do you think it is possible to use chicken instead of beef?
Thanks a million!
Marye Audet says
chicken has more protein than fatty beef… so its not a good option…. but it is better than starvation.:) maybe half and half?
Barbara says
Hi. We just found out yesterday that my golden retriever has protein in his urine. The vet gave us this exact receipe. Before this we were feeding him chicken breast, sweet potatoes and carrots. Of course this being the 4th of July, I can’t ask the vet any questions. I am trying to gradually add the beef to his diet so I’m doing 1/3 beef to 2/3… chicken thighs for a day or so then adding more each day. Here is my question…My dog is 90 pounds. From what I can figure out, this recipe has to be tripled for 1 day of food (2 feedings)…but that would mean 6 cups of rice a day! Am I doing something wrong? Seems like too much rice doesn’t it? Thanks.
Marye Audet says
Rice has little to no protein and that’s what you want. It keeps the protein levels down.
Michael Martino says
there is no perfect diet for any dog. that said ..feed your dog 1 time a day 2% of his/her body weight..dogs are carnivores not omnivores..i/o/w..they eat meat..raw meat,,feeding a dog cooked food would be like you eating raw food. 85% muscle meat, 10% bison heart, and 5% bison liver..stick to a raw meat formula ..bison will not eat grain so the meat is grain free grass fed no question about it..and stay away from veterinarians..the closest you can get to a balanced diet is variety. bison tripe, goat meat, turkey, rabbit, chicken, bison, bison pancreas, bison lung.organs are an essential..rotate through a verity of meats..raw bones..uncooked bones wont hurt your dog,,cooked bones will..bake some sweet potato 350 degrees for 10 minutes to get the sugar out and feed small pieces to your dog at the end of the meal..last in last out..the sweet potato will not be digested but will act as a transit marker..when you see the sweet potato in the stool you know your dog is empty and nothing is left to ferment ..keep your dog away from the veterinarians..60 yrs of healthy happy dogs
Lilly’s Mom says
Help. My almost 17 yr old Maltese has kidney disease. What can I feed her? Lilly was always a fussy eater. I have to “force feed” the kd kidney chicken pate or kd chicken stew. I also feed her sweet
Potatoes & eggs. I give
Her an appetite stimulant but she still doesn’t want to eat. She was under 4 lbs, I got her up to 4.3 but now she’s dropped to 3.89.
She goes to vet 2-3 x’s a week for sub q fluids. Is on different meds & vitamins .Help! What can I feed her??
Marye Audet says
You would need to discuss that with your vet. 🙂
Susan says
I totally agree! Bread has yeast, which is very bad, awful, for dogs! Raw meat is natural, species-appropriate. You need to supplement vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes and maybe other things, depending on your dogs needs. It’s great to make homemade food but be sure it is giving your dog all he or she needs to thrive and live a long, healthy life.
Tammie says
I have a 13.5, 11.7 dog who’s creatinine is 4.7. She is doing liquid therapy at the vet as of today for the next 3 days. Do you know what the best recipe would be for her when she gets home?
Marye Audet says
I always suggest talking to your vet.
Kelly says
Barbara.. Question did you notice any changes in your golden that lead you to take to the vet? I noticed my golden has a dark foamy pee now and I know that’s a sign of protein in the pee, but my vets next available appt isn’t for a week.
Linda says
Do you only freeze the hamburger and egg. And then wait and add the rice and bread and store that in refrigerator for 3-4 days
Marye Audet says
yes. 🙂
Fran says
Where can i get i get the calcium carbonate?
My yorkie is 9 pounds finding it very hard to feed her . I given her I V fuid every day
Marye Audet says
Try Amazon.
Faira Leigh says
I found the calcium carbonate at sprouts
Cindy says
I think the chicken has more protein then the beef.
Brandi Kosemund says
Thank you for the recipe! My lil guy is having liver issues. He’s a picky eater and I’ve been up in arms about him not wanting to eat. I think this will work!
Alice Casey says
Thank you for the recipe. I’m going through a similar drama with my dog at the moment. That’s an amazing story about cuddles. Recently I read a story about a dog who had been similarly abused (lots and lots of bite wounds) and the vet had treated his wounds with topically applied sugar! Here’s the link: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180328-how-sugar-could-help-heal-wounds
Marilyn Haire says
OMG! So many thanks for this site! My older dog [15-17] has been to the vet 3 days straight after refusing food & water into 4th day. Kidney tests show low kidney function of as yet undetermined origin. My vet gave similar diet without the meat. He suggested grits or even cheese (for fat content) grits as gruel first while stool is liquidy until near normal. Then thicken consistency. They will rerun tests on 5th day of diet. Hoping for full recovery. Again: Thanks so much for recipe!
Marye Audet says
Id be careful of cheese because of the protein. Thanks for commenting!
Chris Marrs says
In the servings, is it 2 1/2 pounds divided into two meals a day or 2 1/2 pounds twice a day?
Marye Audet says
It depends on the size of your dog. We feed twice a day.
patricia colley says
do you mean cups in how much to feed because my dog weighs 24 lbs but needs to lose weight and a pound of food is way too much. Do you mean a half a cup for every five pounds? I tried using the scale and weighing out 8 ounces and it seems like way too much.
Marye Audet says
I’d suggest talking to your vet.
Holly says
Our vet gave us this recipe for our dog whose kidney levels are continuously decking after a bout with lime. This is the only recipe we have found that he will actually eat!
We feed our dog twice a day as well. He is about 40lbs so the recipes says 1 1/2 cups. Do we do 1 1/2 cups in the morning and another 1 1/2 cups in the evening? Or .3/4 cup in the morning and 3/4 cup in the evening? Thank you!
Marye Audet says
Try 3/4 and 3/4 and adjust as you need to, Holly
Maria Oliveira says
Is ground turkey or chicken better than beef?
Marye Audet says
The fat from the beef is needed – ground poultry is too lean.
carol says
Too lean, but beef is higher in protein…use chicken thighs WITH skin for fat
Elsea says
My vet gave me this recipe a couple of days ago. There were a few differences in that the recipe she gave me said the beef should be 80% lean, only use 1/2 of the boiled egg, 2 pieces of white bread and 1-1/3 cups of the white rice (instant). For the calcium carbonate I was told to use tums. The recipe also called for 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil and a “dash’ of iodized salt. This was the daily diet for a 40 lb dog – my dog is a bit bigger than that so the hope is he’ll more than just this during the day (I also have the prescription K/D for him as well). Thanks for posting the recipe and encouraging people to be sure this would be good for their pets!
Beth Small says
I found this while looking for low protein treats. My dog has liver disease and I also recently started making her food. I use Balanceit.com to create recipes based on her illness, age and weight. They sell a supplement for the homemade food so your pet (dog or cat) gets all the nutrients they need.
sandy says
DO you drain the hamburger fat?? then add the rest of the ingredence?
Marye Audet says
No leave the fat in.
Cheryl M. says
I just checked with my vet about this recipe for my 15 year old dog ^ he OK’d it for him. So my question is about the calcium carbonate. The recipe calls for 1 tsp. But when I went to the store there were various kinds with different milligram levels. There is regular strength, ultra strength, 500 mgs, 1000 mgs, etc. What strength or milligram level should be in the 1 tsp.?
Marye Audet says
I can remember how it was done – check with your vet.
mary says
Hi. Thx for the recipie. Just bought an expensive bag of renal food. Was going to mix in your recipie to supplement and make it stretch… It`s confusing. He ate 1/2 cup of food per day (20 lb dog). A pound seems like alot. I’ll need to watch his weight, but i know he’ll like your recipie
Candace says
Hi! My dog has kidney disease and is being super picky and I came across this recipe and wanted to give it a try. I have some calcium carbonate at home and 1/2 teaspoon is 600mg. Just curious if that is equivalent to your 1 teaspoon you are referring to in your recipe? TIA!
Marye Audet says
I believe so, yes. 🙂
Darlene Brungardt says
Bread is not good for dogs . Rice shouldn’t be given long term either. Rice with chicken when there sick and they need a small amount of vegetables for digestion. I’d suggest research before changing any diet from a trust worthy source.
Marye Audet says
Again, as I mentioned in the post – This is a recipe from my vet for my dog. I posted it as information and I always suggest that you talk to your own vet before changing your dog’s diet. 🙂
Rayne says
Can you suggest an alternative to bread and rice as my dog is allergic to grains as well as having kidney disease
Marye Audet says
Rayne it would be best to discuss that with your vet. 🙂
Pauline says
My daughter works at my vets and she asked him on my behalf if this recipe would be appropriate for my senior/renal problemed dogs and he said it would be “Perfect”. Therefore we are in the kitchen cooking up batches of it..just hope they like it…
Jill Bello says
the egg shell can be used in place of the calcium carbonate.
Bonbon says
This recipe saved my dogs life.
Bonnie says
All I know is this recipe is vastly improving my dogs quality of life. Before he was up and down all night panting and drinking water and urinating. The next day after giving him this food he was back. His old self.I don’t use the bread I put some cooked carrots in the food processor then add. He is very picky but eats this. If your dog is picky just let them get a little hungry introduce the food then don’t watch them haha!
Megan says
I’m confused, my vet said low fat and low protein for my dog with renal failure. Did your vet tell you otherwise?
Marye Audet says
Megan. this is the recipe I got from my vet for my dog. I always recommend checking with your vet before any dietary changes
Em says
My vet just recommended high fat, low protein (more carbs, less protein basically) for my senior chi who has been on an rx renal diet.
R Remillard, PhD, DVM, ACVN says
This recipe is from a copyrighted textbook titled: Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, appendix 3-1 written by Dr. Lon D Lewis in 1987. It is not nutritionally complete and balanced even with the suggested OTC canine vitamin mineral tab.
Canine Nutrition has evolved over the last 30 yrs, and this recipe containing 20% protein is higher than currently recommended for adult dogs with renal disease.
Please take great care when feeding your sick pet as much of the ‘free’ information on the web is worth exactly what you paid for it …. and possibly harmful.
Marye Audet says
Thank you. This was given to my by my vet 3 years ago so it is the best information I have. I also posted several times that one should ALWAYS check with one’s vet before trying any new feeding program.
Paul Smith says
If we could only have the ingredients listed on the very expensive vet precription diets us on low incomes could afford to care for our animals better. Rather than put your recipe down the vet above might suggest a better recipe perhaps?
Circus says
I agree that the vet could have tried to be more helpful instead of just making critical comments. This is terribly confusing to the layperson, and diet can make a huge impact on our dogs’ health and longevity, especially when dealing with renal disease. It’s a shame that the animal has to suffer when we cannot afford to take them to the vet 5 or 10 times to work these dietary things out. Bad enough that the blood work to diagnose costs hundreds of dollars, and the medicine (calcitriol) is also fairly expensive. I’m disabled with multiple chronic health conditions and feel terrible that I can’t spend unlimited amounts of money on my dog.
Pat says
This is the same exact recipe I was just given..The only difference is that mine said to add a complete vitamin supplement (I use pet tabs) to it daily. Plus, I add a Pet glucosamine tablet once a day as well. I just ground the supplements into a powder and add to each serving separately)
Kellie says
Thank you for the recipes! With all the recalls I would feel that the food I am feeding is safe!!
The belief that low protein diets for dogs with renal disease has changed to dogs with renal disease, and senior dogs actually need a high protein diet as their bodies no longer process protein as efficiently as needed.
Although, a dog in acute liver failure needs to have a high quality low protein diet as ammonium levels, from digesting protein, can elevate quickly. The compromised liver isn’t able to rid the body of high ammonium levels as needed.
Pauline says
I think it would better serve the public if the Vet criticising the diet would come up with an updated alternative then. Or maybe that would cut into profits gained from the sales of the very expensive KD food that I am currently buying. Wasn’t your profession all about the animals once upon a time Dr?
Kathy says
What was the point of your reply? Instead of complaining on copyrighted material, (which we don’t care about. We just want to help our dogs), and saying that we should be careful of the recipes we use, why don’t you offer up a better, “updated” recipe?
Teri says
Thank you for sharing but one question….what kind of calcium carbonate should be used and where is it available? After looking online I found many choices but I’m just not sure which one is the correct and safe one to use with dogs.
Marye Audet says
I’d suggest checking with your vet to be sure what you’re getting is right for your dog.
Ellen says
I have a question about using the scale. You don’t mention in the recipe any weights. So how do you know how many grams of protein etc. are in the food when you only use imperial measures?
Marye Audet says
well since the portion sizes are based on weight I can’t figure the nutrition on my nutrition calculator – it would be different for every size dog. I got this recipe from my vet for my dog. You should ALWAYS check with your own vet before changing your dog’s diet.
Jennifer says
Hi Thank you for this. I rescued a dog with renal failure and he is very thin. I am going to make up a batch of this tonight. Question though… The weight for the food to give the dog per day is that off one batch or is that the ground beef weight?
Thank you!
Marye Audet says
the weight of the food.
Kellie Wasden says
Great information! Is the recommended feed about (pounds per day) pounds of protein or the entire mixture? My Juno is 110 pounds, so 3 pounds of food each day total? Or 3 pounds of protein?
Marye Audet says
3 pounds of food – but I suggest you discuss this with your vet just to make sure.
Janie says
Hi – is there an acceptable substitution for the bread in this recipe? My dog is allergic to wheat in addition to having kidney disease.
Marye Audet says
Janie – I don’t know. This is the recipe given to my by my vet so I’d hesitate to suggest changes.
Katie King says
What about phosphorous? Does this diet address this at all? I’m trying to figure out the best diet for my pup who was recently diagnosed with CRF and phosphorous is hard on kidneys. Any info is appreciated.
Marye Audet says
I’d suggest discussing this with your vet. 🙂 Just to be on the safe side.
Koby says
Your recipe looks good, but in doing research and in discussions with my vet, Phosphorous should also e limited in dogs with kidney issues. I also include eggs in my homemade diet, but only the egg whites. The yolks are higher in phosphorous. Check vegetables or fruits you include as some are higher in phosphates. Anything on a label with “phos” ingredients should be limited. I search for lower protein treats with no artificial preservatives. Thank you for your recipe!
Marye Audet says
Thanks! This is the recipe my vet suggested in my situation. I always suggest discussing any diet changes with your vet. Thank you for the information!
Karen says
You could try gluten free bread.
Rebecca says
Me too! Have you found anything?
Fsops says
Dr. Harveys diet for dogs with renal problems uses other items in place of grain. Look it up on the web.
Jason says
This recipe says “yields 1”.
…One what?
Marye Audet says
It’s a typo. There should not be any yield on it at all.