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 Save Recipe 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.
Phat Tran says
Been feeding this receipt for a month now. Is it ok to use ground pork or ground turkey very once in a while instead of ground beef? Seems like my dog is getting tied of ground beef since he's been eating the same thing for a month?
Marye Audet says
Beef is what was recommended to me. nothing low fat.
jamie linville says
How many milligrams of Calcium do you use?
Marye Audet says
Jamie, I am unsure. I measure by the teaspoon.
Shannon says
Hi Marye, Thank you for the recipe. I have been looking for Calcium Carbonate and came across generic Calcium supplements. The #1 ingredient is calcium carbonate and they are 600 milligrams. But there were ALOT of choices when it came to the milligrams. Is it possible to check your bottle of calcium that you crush to see what you are using? Or if you found just plain powdered calcium carbonate, can you tell me where you found it? Thank you
Marye Audet says
I believe I used the 50?
Boh says
Look up making egg shell calcium for dogs (the baked version not the one that uses lemon juice). I've made this using the shells from organic pastured eggs. I grind them up in the coffee bean grinder. I think there is a 2 month expiration. So, keep that in mind when choosing how much to make.
Patrice says
Thank you for this recipe! Unfortunately, I had to put my almost 16-year-old lab, Brandie, down last week. 🙁 I am so sad and heartbroken! She left behind her littermate, Allie, who I just found out has kidney disease. Knowing her symptoms were a lot like Brandie's, I'm pretty sure Brandie probably had kidney disease as well, as they had both lost so much weight. Back in July when they had their senior panels done, nothing had shown up yet on the blood work, but the symptoms were all there. Had I been suggested this diet or a low protein back then by the vet, I certainly would have made it! But unfortunately, nothing was offered to me so I just attributed her weight loss to old age, so I was feeding them salmon, chicken, and brown rice to get them to eat, which they loved! I just started feeding this special diet to Allie on Friday and she loves it (she won't eat the special canned K/D diet I bought from the vet)! But I am a little confused on the quantity. The vet said to feed her based on what she *should* weigh. She's just 38 lbs and has lost 10 lbs since July, so I'm basing it on 48 lbs. So, would I feed her 1.75 lbs? And did I read it right that it is 2X per day, so she's actually eating 3.5 lbs per day? Or do I split the 1.75 lbs up for 2 meals? Seems like a lot, and I don't want to bloat her up. In just a few days, though, I can already tell she is gaining weight.
Marye Audet says
split it up - so half at each feeding. I am so sorry. We did lose cuddles this past fall, too. 🙁
Boh says
I ordered some drops Kidney Support Gold @ petwellbeing.com that have good reviews (the only negative reviews are because the dog was too far gone). I'm hoping they will help my old dog along with a homemade diet.
Brenda says
Do you need the calcium carbonate if it is in the vitamin that you get them.
Marye Audet says
Yes it helps keep the levels good and low.
Phat Tran says
Show my vet this recipe the other day and he said there's no need for bread just add a little extra rice. Your thoughts??
Marye Audet says
go with what your vet says
Phat Tran says
Can we used ground turkey as a substitution for ground beef? I know my dog will get tried of eating this everyday. Just want to rotate different protiens.
Marye Audet says
My vet suggests ground beef only... because they need the extra fat.
Phat Tran says
Can I add frozen carrots and peas?? Is other senior recipes with low protein? I know my dog will get tried of this.
Marye Audet says
yes you can. I am sure there are. I just don't have any.
Phat Tran says
Question about the slice bread? Should I put the bread in a toast let first??
Marye Audet says
No. Leave it soft.
Gennita says
Homemade food is great for kidney dogs but you must keep the phosphorus values down. for example, a whole egg isn't recommended. Buy egg whites. Learn about phosphorus levels and how to keep the values down. Learn how to read the BUN levels of your baby's blood work.
Best to all. Bless you for taking care of your fur babies.
Marye Audet says
Absolutely right. The calcium helps keep the levels down.
Polyhana Ruvalcaba says
The suggested serving portion of let's say a 40 lbs dog is 1 1/2 lbs. Is that a day or per serving?
Barry Pasco says
I'm not a scientist and am confused how ground beef and hard boiled egg are a part of a low protien diet.
Now that I've began to look I'm amazed at the amount of protien in some of the treats I've fed my dogs.
Also some food items give a percentage while others list the amount of grams of protien. Is there a way to convert grams to %age?
Marye Audet says
It's not that they are low protein in and of themselves but mixed with the other ingredients the entire serving is lower in protein than ALL dry food and pretty much all canned foods too. Dogs need some protein... even when their kidneys are bad.
Loretta says
My vet gave me the same recipe. Should I add parsley cucumber or celery ? for veggies? This may help in giving some more moisture too.
Marye Audet says
Parsley would probably be a great idea! Be sure to check with your vet.
Eddy coggin says
Do you drain the fat off the meat??
Marye Audet says
Nope. I leave it all in there.
kelly says
nice site. sad story that ended wonderfully. I love pits. but I have rat terrier & jackhuahua. never met a dog I didnt love!
im bookmarking your site. lots of great info and its got a good vibe goin. thanks again
ps hug cuddles for me and say hi from az from mimi milo and me ???
Marye Audet says
🙂 thank you. Sadly, that was written over a year ago and Cuddles succumbed to the kidney failure in September.
Christina says
First of all you sound like an amazing mom for saving cuddles from what he had to go through. I have a 15 year old chihuahua and she is in the early stages of kidney failure. When I took her in for blood work in April a lot of her levels were high. The vet then put her on royal canin renal diet she soon stopped eating that so they switched her to hills k/d diet she ate that for a few days and stopped eating that as well. She went a day and a half without eating, So I took her in to see the vet because I was worried that something was wrong with her but I knew she was hungry. They ran blood test and all her levels were back to normal. The vet finally said to give her a homemade meal. Today is the first day I cooked this meal for my baby and she loved it, I pray to God she continues to eat this. I also pray that her levels stay normal with this homemade meal.
What brand of calcium do you use?
Sorry for the long post I hope I hear back from you soon!
Marye Audet says
Thanks Christina. I just use regular calcium from Walgreens. I am sorry to say that last week Cuddles went in to renal failure again and we couldn't pull him out of it and had to put him down.
Christina says
I am so so sorry to hear. Just know you gave him a better life, and he knows how much you and your family love him and cared for him.
How many mg of calcium did you buy 500mg or 600mg?
I just hope this recipe helps my baby girl because she can not stand the prescription food and I don't blame her.
Thanks for replying
Christina says
Hi again Marye, my dog has been on this diet since Monday but she is having diarrhea since then. Is this to be expected since there tummies aren't used to it?
Marye Audet says
Christina - talk to your vet. I think that's the safest thing to do.
Florence Cimino says
Did you do the subq fluids for him, it's vital in bringing down his values. They get very ill from it, though it is treatable. It looks as though they are going to die from it, but in reality it just upsets their tummies so badly it keeps them from wanting to eat along with vomiting. We had 2 dogs with this horrible disease, my husband administered the fluids himself and my 18 1/2 year old Chihuahuas values were off the charts. He went into a state of euphoria it was so bad. Well with continued fluids and kidney support vitamins his values went down to normal. He was amazing, he actually passed in 2012 on Xmas day in my arms and not from kidney failure. Thank you for the recipe, my 13 year old Chihuahua has just had her blood done and she's in the beginning stages of kidney disease... 30% of the kidneys are affected. I'm grateful for catching this early on, only due to getting her blood work every six months to check her organs because they age much quicker and these diseases are not usually caught until their at 70%. So I find early detection is the way to go. Keeping this illness at bay as much as possible.
Marye Audet says
yes we tried everything. I miss him a lot. :/
grace ulrey says
Thank you so much for this recipe and so sorry to hear about cuddles. my dog maddy is a 8 year old lab with no medical isues period exept now weve discovered she has a kidneystone. We discovered it too late she was already in kidney failure and with speacial pills, speacial dog food, and a bill of over 600 bucks we went home with a happy little girl but then she got worse at almost a month after the vet appoinment and when the vet look at her test results she was still in kidney failure which was common with labs but not ones who were only 8. the vet said no matter what we could do there ould be only 6 months at the most of life. she wont eat her dog food and lost a lot of weight so shes been on a steady diet of pizza crust and marshmellows and anything else fatty with no protein.
im going to be making this more and maybe adding stuff too it that she loves.
whats so funny abput dogs they just know the perfect way and time too die , my grandmas dog koda who was the best dog ever got diegnosed with diabetes in 2012 and last month he got very sick and passed away so with a crushed grandmother and grandfather who arodor maddy and 2 days after koda died and me telling my retierd nurse of a grandmother about her symtoms we too her to the vet. after listening to the vet tell me about maddy i was heart broken. i could only imajine what you went through with cuddles.
God Bless You and Your Family!
Marye Audet says
Awww.. Grace I am sorry. It is a hard thing to go through.
Heather says
Thank you for your story and for the recipe. I have 2 dogs and 1 of them has kidney issues and wears a diaper and has since he was 7 months old and he he just turned 9 yrs old thankfully! I take very good care of him but each day I find little things that seems to start to go south. My vet pays for his food since it was their mistake on why he is the way he is and he eat Science Diet K/D and has for all 8 yrs that he has been like this but I am seriously considering switching him to this diet since the K/D has 21 grams of protein in it. My other dog (both labs) has allergies, skin issues and anxiety and I now he wont eat his kibble for what ever reason so I have been making him brown rice, sweet potato, peas & either chicken or salmon for dinner and I have used ground beef but I always bought lean. I also cook him a fried egg in bacon grease because I felt like he was loosing so much weight and I thought the food I was feeding him didnt have enough fat in it for him. Plus I thought the fried egg would help his coat too. But after seeing your post I think I may switch him to this recipe but add in the veggies. i am going to make him some kale chips today because it is high in vit k and he had a bought of anemia in the past and vit k is good for that. Yes I know I have doggie issues but I wouldnt want them any other way. I love them with issues just as much as I would if they didnt have issues. Thank you so much for saving Cuddles and being such a great furbaby mom we need more moms like you and myself!! Thanks again for the recipe!
Shawn Blair says
You don't use any vegetables?
Marye Audet says
The recipe my vet gave me does not call for vegetables. I have since begun adding a few peas or green beans chopped up.
Ellen says
I don't understand. My dog is 60 pounds. Is this saying I need to give her 2 pounds of this food a day?
Marye Audet says
Yes.
rebecca says
thanks for the information. I am in a similar situation- as my Madeline somehow got a bacterial infection as well and is now kidney issues. I am going to discuss your recipe with my vet tomorrow, but I wanted to see how Cuddles is doing on the diet...
Thanks for being a great dog mom- we need more people like you in the world:)
Marye Audet says
Cuddles is doing great. He got sick in October and I started him on the homemade food when he came home from the vet (a week on IV meds) around the first of November. I took him back for a check up around the first of may and the vet was amazed at his bloodwork... she said he was as low as was possible with his issues! She was very happy.. and he is still doing well.
Sidney says
Hello, I just came across your Homemade Dog Food Recipe for Senior Dogs. I loved this article for many reasons. Your story about finding Cuddles under your porch and helping him to recover from his wounds is so heart warming! I completely understand why you named him Cuddles. I have 2 pitbulls of my own (both rescues) and they are the typical cuddle-bugs 🙂 I also now have a 3rd dog which I found on the streets in a very bad part of Los Angeles. I've named him Toby and he is some kind of American Bulldog mix. Toby is elderly and his blood work is not good. His kidneys are not good, he had a bladder infection, worms, he is also vision impaired, and of course he was completely emaciated when I found him. I have been doing my best to treat him with the limited funds that I have and I decided to feed him only homemade meals. So I have been doing my research and trying to find more recipes that will suit his needs. Your article was very helpful! I am considering to feed my other dogs homemade food as well and I'm trying to figure out the best recipes for them and the best way to store their food. I want to thank you for the recipe and also for having the heart to bring Cuddles into your home.
Thank you!
- Sidney