Question: What's best to use in Home Made Dog Food?
By: Keri Dito
Published: July 30, 2010

I have a recipe for dog food that I've been using for about a year. It started out calling for slow cooked turkey legs, but after a while, I could no longer stand the smell or look of the turkey legs and so many bones.  

I've worked the recipe a little, and now make it with pork roast. I want to bring down the cost and increase the health benefits for my furry ones.  Any suggestions?

Answers:
Chris Paulk

Chicken can be pretty reasonable if you purchase a whole chicken & debone it.
You might look at some of the salmon varieties- like chum, they're usually less expensive - you could maybe grind the cooked fish to eliminate bone problems and the skin would be good for your dog as well.
You could incorporate some grains & veggies to help bring the cost down.
If the smell of turkey makes you gag- try only using turkey occasionally and use other means to vary the dogs diet- look for what's on sale.
Dogs tend to like carrots, zucchini, squash, eggs, potatoes and peanut butter.
I haven't checked anything related to dogs- but, quinoa is high in protein.
Keri Dito

Those are great suggestions, thank you very much.  I'm curious about the potatoes.  I read somewhere never to give dogs white potatoes, only sweet potatoes.  Either way, I like the idea of the salmon and grains. While I sometimes include rice with my slow-cooked protien, I always worry it's making them fat.  
Appreciate the quick reply.  I'm learning to love Foodista.com. Very user friendly, easy to navigate with a friendly feel overall. Outstanding. Keri
Barnaby Dorfman

Consider broccoli, cook up a bunch of it, stems and all, then mix in when soft with meats and grains. You might also look for cheaper frozen veggies in bulk to use. I had a dog that loved peas.
Gabriel Cross

I have a dog who had some digestive issues a while back.  I finally found a kibble that is great for her (taste of the wild) but before that, I developed a dog food recipe that allowed a lot of variability and guaranteed a perfect nutritional value.  Well, its more a list of guidelines than a recipe.  Here is my formula:
At Least Half Meat - Chx, beef, pork, turkey, salmon (canned is cheap and good), tuna, duck, etc.  Whatever you can find that is cost effective, and variety is (according to many sources) good.
The other (less than) half: veggies, starches, fruits, and ingredients that provide specific nutrients:
Always include an orange vegetable (for vitamin A) like pumpkin, carrots or sweet potato (peaches also have A).
Frozen spinach is a great addition (for folic acid)
Egg, especially yolk, add tons of good stuff (A, D, and Biotin)
A little liver or heart every now and again provides Biotin, folic acid, and vitamin D.
A tiny bit of ground (not just crushed) egg shell provides plenty of dietary calcium (too little or too much calcium can be bad).
All fat and oil is good for dogs, especially fish oil.  It is like sugar for us, they burn it for energy (so too much can be bad, but it takes a lot to get that bad).
That is the list of rules I followed for making dog food, I hope you all find it helpful.  Actually, I should probably recap that on my blog, I promised I would several months back...