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.
You May Need...
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!
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.
Love this recipe?
Subscribe to the free membership group and never miss another recipe!
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!