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My Dive into Homemade Dog Food

Okay, so I started making my dog's food myself a while back. Honestly, I got a bit weirded out by the ingredient lists on some store-bought stuff. Plus, my furry buddy was getting kinda picky, turning his nose up at his kibble half the time. Seemed like a good enough reason to give it a shot, right? Didn't really know where to start, just figured, how hard could it be?

First time was messy. Went to the store, grabbed some ground turkey because it looked lean, a bag of frozen peas and carrots, and some brown rice I already had. Got home, browned the turkey in a big pot. Just dumped it all in. Then I threw in the veggies, still frozen, and cooked the rice separately. Once the rice was done, I just mixed it all together in the pot. Looked like… well, mush. A big pot of brownish, greenish mush.

The Trial and Error Phase

Served up the first bowl. He sniffed it. Looked at me. Sniffed it again. Then, he actually ate it! Success, kinda. But I felt like it was missing stuff. It was mostly meat and rice. Over the next few weeks, I started experimenting.

• Tried adding sweet potatoes instead of rice sometimes. Mashed 'em up after boiling.
• Chopped up some spinach really fine and mixed it in.
• Added a dollop of plain yogurt occasionally.
• Threw in some chopped apples once (he wasn't a huge fan of that).

Cooking became a bit of a weekend ritual. Big pot on the stove, chopping veggies, stirring the mix. The kitchen usually ended up looking like a disaster zone, but hey. I figured out pretty quick that cooking in bigger batches saved time. I'd make enough for a week or so.

Figuring Out a Rhythm

After a few hits and misses, I landed on a basic mix that seems to work. Usually a lean ground meat (turkey or beef), brown rice or quinoa, and a rotation of dog-safe veggies like carrots, peas, green beans, and sweet potatoes. I make sure everything is cooked really well. No spices, no salt, no onions or garlic, obviously. Read somewhere those are bad news for dogs.

The process now is pretty straightforward. Cook the meat. Cook the grains. Steam or boil the veggies until they're soft. Then I mix it all together in a massive bowl. Sometimes I'll add a tiny bit of fish oil or coconut oil. Once it cools down completely, I portion it out into containers and stick most of them in the freezer. Pull one out the night before to thaw in the fridge.

It's definitely more work than scooping kibble, no doubt about it. Takes up a chunk of my Sunday afternoon sometimes. But honestly? Seeing him excited for mealtime again, gobbling it all down without hesitation, makes it feel worth it. His coat looks good, energy levels are up. So yeah, I'm sticking with it. It's just part of the routine now.