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 (or any new food) 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 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.
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.
Tip
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.
Totally the opposite of what I do when I'm making meatballs for us, for example.
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 crack raw eggs into 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.
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.
Update
I am sad to update this to say that Cuddles succumbed to his kidney disease but he lasted longer than the vet thought he would. His kidneys were just very weak.
We miss him terribly but within a few months two more pitties were at our kitchen door, starved and abused. We just couldn't resist Toby and Bisous.
Homemade Dog Food Recipes for Senior Dogs
Print Rate RecipeIngredients
- ¼ 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)
Instructions
- Cook the beef until it is cooked through.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix it well.
- Feed twice a day.
- Be sure to give your dog a vitamin supplement.
Notes
5 pounds feed ¼ pound
10 pounds feed ½ pound
20 pounds feed 1 pound
40 pounds feed 1 ½ pounds
60 pounds feed 2 pounds
80 pounds feed 2 ½ pounds
100 pounds feed 3 pounds
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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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.