DIY Farmer’s Dog Food Recipe – Farmer’s Dog is excellent, but my dog has food allergies. So here is an affordable, easy, veterinarian approved way to make healthy food for your dog.
DIY Farmer’s Dog Food Recipe
We’ve all seen Farmer’s Dog commercials and thought “it’s about time!”. But subscription dog food delivery services are not affordable for everyone (me included). Plus, my dog is literally allergic to every protein we’ve tried EXCEPT salmon.
The recipe I landed on is a huge hit with our dog. He never used to ask for his food. We had to pretty much coax him into eating. Now, he sits next to his empty bowl and asks to be fed. He also seems happier, has perfect poops, and has not had any allergy issues.
DIY SALMON DOG TREATS RECIPE / COPYCAT TRADER JOE’S SALMON JERKY DOG TREATS RECIPE
EASY SWEET POTATO DOG TREATS RECIPE
DIY Farmer’s Dog Food Recipe – Food Allergies Version “The Wesley”
SMALL DOGS – 15lbs & Under / Adjust Measurements for Larger Dogs / My Dog in These Pics is 10-12 lbs / Serving Size – 1 Bowl (We Make All The Ingredients for 1 Week’s Worth of Meals)
Homemade Dog Food Recipe Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons cooked brown rice
- 1 Tablespoon pureed pumpkin
- 2 Tablespoons frozen peas, thawed, diced
- 1/2 baby carrot, diced and cooked
- 1 Tablespoon frozen cut green beans, thawed, diced
- 7-10 blueberries (mashed, don’t leave them whole)
- 3 1-in cubes cooked sweet potatoes (peeled), diced
- 1 teaspoon ground flaxseed
- 1 oz. cooked wild caught salmon with skin on / YES, you can used canned if you’d like
- water (I use the water the sweet potatoes were cooked in and the carrots were cooked in)
Make Your Own Dog Food Directions
For best results, keep all of the ingredients separate in the fridge. At mealtime, plop all ingredients into your dog’s bowl. I quickly snip the diced beans with scissors, and smash the peas, sweet potatoes, and fresh blueberries with a spoon, and then stir the ingredients all together. Add some of the sweet potato water and the carrots water to get the desired consistency. Serve fresh.
DIY Farmers Dog Recipe NOTES
- Substitute whichever “proteins” you want instead of fish. With my dog’s allergies, I’m stuck with a salmon only DIY Farmer’s Dog Food Recipe.
- When I told our vet what we were putting in the homemade food, she said there was such a good variety that we did not need to supplement with a dog vitamin… but make sure to check with your vet before starting a homemade dog food diet.
- I prep all the food 1-2 times per week and store the separate ingredients in the fridge for easy meal times. Similar to how many moms make a whole week’s worth of school lunches on Sundays ;)
- When mixing everything together, I do it by hand, leaving it with tiny bits of food rather than pureed. But, I make very small pieces.
- The potatoes and pumpkin puree make for a nice base to keep all the food together in like a thick oatmeal type of texture. The added water makes it like a canned dog food consistency.
- Keep an eye on your dog’s weight after feeding them homemade food for 2 months. Optimally, they shouldn’t be gaining or losing, unless you’re shooting for weight loss:).
- My do comfortably eats 2 bowls a day. On certain days, we give him a half-bowl extra if he’s been particularly hungry or particularly active
- When feeding your dog a homemade food diet, he/she will likely not drink much water, or any and may still need to urinate as much as, or even more than before. They get plenty of fluids from the food itself. I was a little freaked out by this, but my dog’s vet confirmed this was normal. This new diet will likely “speed up” their digestive system. Get ready more trips for #1s & #2s than you’re used to.
Last DIY Farmer’s Dog Food Recipe Note – I’ve been making this dog food for Wesley for more than a year now and he’s had his first vet appointment since the change. He was developing a heart murmur before we started the diet and I’m happy to report they could not find the murmur. Our vet is 100% convinced it is because of his new diet. I feel bad not getting him on this diet much sooner. Dogs don’t have many choices for meals unless you go the table scraps route. Mine had so few choices because of his dog food food allergies problem. This has opened up a whole new world for him. I feel bad sticking him on awful “diet dog food for food allergies” for 5 years.
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Please consult your dog’s vet before getting them a DIY Farmer’s Dog Food recipe diet.
Do you feed once or twice per day? I want to try this
Thanks!
I should have stated this in the article, Dennis… We feed him 2x per day.
I Like this idea! Do you have recipes for medium and large dogs, or recommendations for puppies?
Hi Sabrina! So sorry for missing your question!!! I do not have any recommendations for puppies unfortunately. I would ask your vet. For the medium and large dogs, I would try scaling it…e.g. this recipe is for a dog that averages 11-12 lbs. If your dog is 25 lbs, maybe try doubling the portion sizes. Not sure if this is accurate, might want to check with the vet. You will also know soon enough because the food is so healthy that your dog will trim down if they’re not getting as much as they would need if you want them to maintain their weight. I hope this helps.
My 8 year old Bully Pit was just diagnosed with Heart Disease. Out of nowhere he started almost like choking and gurgling when he breaths. He has been on a grain free (expensive food I wont name) his entire life. Nice to know the vet said they say grain free food is why. Not due to anything besides it doesnt have vital nutrients they need. Im going to try this now and pray we caught this early! THANK YOU
I think your pitty can bounce back, Toni! Keep us updated. Our dog made remarkable improvements from his food allergies going this route. It’s a little cumbersome at first, but we’re so used to this diet and schedule that we don’t even think about the routine any more. It’s so worth it to see him so happy and healthy. GOOD LUCK!
What is the portion to give my 6 yr old jack, spanial mix
I don’t know your dog’s weight but the portions I used for my dog are for 10 lbs. I give him 2 bowls a day, he’s particularly active… 2.5 to 3 bowls of food per day.
Is it 2 times of the listed amount you posted, so is that recipe needed to be made 2 times?
I love this but my dog is 9 lbs and should 5 can I use smaller portions for him to lose weight?
I would keep it around the same or pare it down just a little for a 9 lb dog and then go from there. I would also space out his bowls – 1 early in the day, 1 later.
My two pups did not like the blueberries. They both spit them out. Do you have any ideas for substitutions? Thanks!
I might not have made this clear in the article, I smash up the blueberries so my dog can’t spit them out. If you put them in whole, they find the round blueberries like a ball and instinctively spit them out. My dog enjoys the blueberries but would spit them out if he found a whole one in his food. If your dog doesn’t like blueberries, try smash up raspberries or strawberries as a substitute (my vet says those are OK too). Good luck
I make my own food which is healthier. Slow boil on medium flame an organic skinless chicken breast, boil yam, cut into cubes, two handful of fresh spinach( I eat the rest) , buy frozen broccoli florets or Brussel sprouts, fresh or frozen red or yellow pepper., fresh spinach, organic Trader Joe’s jasmine rice and knorrs chicken cubes optional. I cook for two weeks and the rest I eat or I have frozen veggies in the freezer which I use for future dog food. In pan I cook the pepper, & broccoli.. separately in same pan I Galway cook the spinach I do both with a little sunflower oil, I cook the rice with 1/2 bouillon cube and I boil chicken breast, I let peas thaw, Once done mixer add cubed chicken pieces up 1/2 of the chicken breast, 3 to 4 TBspn yam, 4 broccoli florets, 1/4 to 1/2 red pepper cut cubs pending on size of pepper, 6 Tbspn of cooked rice (per half Cup dry rice I use 1/2 bouillon cube )
Turn o to purée and in 30 sec take out mix in Trader Joe’s baby organic peas to your liking and Voila ur done. You can substitute chick peas pumpkin purée green beans brussel sprouts asparagus. I do not use brown rice as this is bad for our and our dogs intestines. I give my dog a probiotic so they get all vitamin needed. My dog hated all DYI powders. I also add at feeding yo keep its potency touch of powder Turmeric at and one drop of fish oil. This is Healthier than any food you can buy. For a 5lb dog Farmers dog is $120 mo. + tax and ship. My way = $40 or less per mo. With all extra supplements included. You can take 40 min to boil chicken and 15 min to boil yam everything else take 5 min or less. Then put all together. You can do one month and freeze. If two weeks you eat the leftover chicken and spinach etc. taste the dog food you made as it is YUMMY. So ur pup will love it.
How are you preparing the salmon?
Can you use canned?
Hi Joan, we usually use fresh… but sometimes we use canned when we run out and it’s basically the same. I should have specified in the article and will have to update that. Thank you and good luck!
Is the salmon cooked or raw?
Yes, Janelle – cook it with the skin on :)
I may have missed it but how much does your pup get each meal…as in how many cups? What is the serving size? My dog is 65 lbs so trying to determine what’s best for him. Will check with vet next visit but want to start now if I can.
Our dog is just over 10 lbs and we serve him 3/4 to 1 cup of food per meal. You’ll learn the appropriate portion sizes very quickly, your dog will let you know! If I were you, I would have no problem starting your dog on this homemade dog food before the next vet appointment, especially if the appointment is coming soon.
Thank you!
Has your dogs appearance changed, meaning coat, skin, eyes, ears, nails? Also, does your dog act differently such as more energy, happier, younger etc?
Appearance – I’d have to say not really… but he has (even) more energy. He also doesn’t itch or scratch as much as he used to. He had a diagnosed developing heart murmur 2 years ago that disappeared completely as of his most recent vet appointment. His digestive system is really tuned up now, he urinates and defecates far more than he used to.
I have 3 shih tsus 4, 2 and 9 months. I just started making them food with ground chicken. Do you cook the meat, whatever you use? I’ve been using ground chicken but my human brain felt it needed to be cooked. Is garlic ok to put in it? Heard it was good for digestion. Also I’ve seen recipes with olive oil. Is fish oil good as well.
Also, I’ve been supplementing dry food, again my human brain, didn’t want them to be hungry. My sweeties are not over weight at all.
Hi Shelly! Yes, we cook the salmon and I definitely think you should cook the chicken if you go the chicken route. I can’t see why fish oil wouldn’t be a good idea but you should probably run it by your vet. If my dog preferred dry to this, I would consider dry food but his food allergies prevent him from any sort of a dry food where he likes the taste so we’re stuck going the fresh DIY option of this recipe. Actually it was his aversion to his diet dry food that started this recipe lol
No to garlic! Not good for dogs.
They can definitely be picky. I always thought mine were allergic to chicken but it was actually a wheat allergy that was in a lot of can and dry foods. I’m glad you posted the recipe and thank you so much for responding.
Can you please clarify the measurement for baby carrots?
Thank you
Our dog is small (about 10 lbs), we buy a typical bag of “baby carrots” from the store – each carrot is 1.5 to 2 inches long. We cut them in half length-wise and then dice or slice them.
Garlic can cause digestive issues in dogs. I’d be careful with using garlic.
Yes, that is why we don’t use garlic in this recipe
What is cooked and what is raw in your receipe?
Everything is cooked except for the blueberries and the ground flax seed. I use canned pumpkin puree.
We have three dogs and the cost is astronomical to make sure they are eating healthy. Not going to mention the brand but begins with a P and ends in an A. I purchase the one that seems healthy in both dry and canned. I end up doctoring up the food with a piece of cheese or boiled chicken breast/ground beef/chicken etc. I have never tried steamed salmon but it is an idea now. My dogs weight….Olivia (age 7 1/2) …black lab and weighs around 70 lbs. Kayla age 6 1/2) …black lab/boxer (my mushie beast) is roughly 90 lbs and lastly Ginny (age 1 year 4 months) Alaskan husky/Australian shepard mix is roughly 50 lbs. How would I make food and how much do I need to feed them? Kayla needs to drop 20 lbs and has had problems with her back paws for a few years now (genetic so the vet says). Olivia can handle to lose 10 lbs and Ginny is still in puppy mode. Thanks to your comments, I now will STOP feeding them 3x a day. I appreciate your wisdom.
Thanks Fred, since our dog has a number of food allergies, his special dry food was very expensive too! We actually save money this way… but yes it can be inconvenient to prep this food.
You can use other proteins, but for my situation… our dog’s only real option is the salmon… and we often used canned salmon that resembles canned tuna fish.
Our dog is so small compared to yours. He gets 2 bowls about the size you see in these pics at about 11a & 3:30p… then 1 more half-bowl at around 6:30p. He’s slim, fit, and happy this way. Plus he gets his usual “treats” – I’ll have a recipe for making those “treats” on this page soon. Thanks again for the feedback, Fred!
Hi Fred I have six dogs two very large (Neapolitan Mastiff and German shepherd ). A small 25 ponds and 3 bull dogs two are 50 and one 70 pounds.
The dry food I buy is super expensive. I was going to try to give them home made food but I cannot figure out how many cups…Have you solved the problem? Thanks. Mairi
I did the 2 weeks at %70 off of Farmers Dog and there’s no going back to the fancy designer dry food he didn’t t like. Was putting parmigiana on it so he’d eat it. I said no going back but what I mean is I’m gonna start making it. As much as I ❤️ my Shih Tzu, I cannot spend $200 a month on food. Is it okay to prepare and freeze it the way FD does? Thanks fir sharing. Gotta get busy! My baby boy s 1 year birthday is tomorrow so must look for a special treat to make him. Any suggestions? I’m still using the 2 weeks worth I purchased at the discount. He licks the bowl and would probably eat a lot more than the recommended serving. He’s perfect!
I don’t personally freeze my dog’s food. I’ll make 2-4 days worth in advance and keep it refrigerated in tupperware containers but I heard it is OK to freeze it. Good luck with making your dog’s food! It may seem like a pain in the butt but it’s very rewarding when you see how much they enjoy eating it. Happy Birthday to your pooch :)
I would freeze my dog food in Ziploc bags if they needed to be boarded for a few days. The only difference is, it was a lot wetter. My female cattle dog had a lot of intestinal problems and this really helped her out. Both my male and female loved it. Now I have a Papillon (looks like you do too) that I need to start making for her. Thank you for clarifying what is cooked because my pup would pick out the carrots.
Absolutely. I see some dog food manufacturers are starting to freeze dry their foods. I’d like to try that too. Did you notice a loss in quality or freshness when you froze your food in ziploc bags?
Will the portions be similar in size to the Farmers dogfood? I have an overweight mixed 34 pound mutt and a 50 point border collie
No, we made the portions per bowl with the portions for a small dog up to 15 lbs. So, if you have a 30 lb dog, you can double the ingredients per bowl
Can you leave a recipe portioned out for a dog that’s 8 pounds please
Hi Austin! The recipe I listed is what I do for each serving for our dog who is about 11 lbs. So, I would guess that you would reduce the quantities by about 25%. Your best gauge will be what happens with your dog’s weight…my dog trimmed down a bit once we switched him over to this food and then he stabilized. When he’s active, we actually have to increase the quantity because this food is so healthy, it’s hard to gain weight with it.
Ok thanks! He seems to be doing good on it however he threw up once but I’m adding a probiotic and he’s currently on cough meds/ gabapentin to heal his cough but other then that he’s scraping at the bowl, I’ve tried every dog food and happens to come across this! He was having stomach issues with ground beef/ rice & carrots, also tried different varieties of chicken and ground turkey but didn’t seem to be good for him
When my 12 lb Papillon has a cough, I give her a 1/4 teaspoon of honey. I let her lick it off the spoon. It helps immediately.
I just want to know I’m reading everything correctly, so for the recipe am I good to do that 2 times a day and feed it twice for a 8 pound dog? Or is that recipe for 2 meals split up sorry just confused
Can you make this food in quantities instead of just one bowl at a time. Seems like it would be fastest , then refrigerate it? . Thanks
Yes, I make mine in bulk and store in the fridge one week at a time
Can you make this food in quantities instead of just one bowl at a time. Then refrigerate it.
My lab weighs 108#. So, would I triple the recipe or 4x? Thank you!
Wow, that’s a big pup! I would try about 3-4x as much, and maybe three bowls when he’s more active. My dog liked 3 bowls on most days in the summer. I would also ask your vet since I’m no expert;). But for the most part, our dog lets us know when he wants more and he’s not just looking to eat more. He has maintained his weight very well. So if your dog isn’t getting enough, I’m sure he’ll ask for more, whereas our dog never asked for food when it was the store bought bagged food. Now, we can follow his cues.
I’ve started making my own once per week, but I use the Instant Pot pressure cooker. I put one cup of brown rice in first, then two chicken breasts, 4 oz of beef liver cut into pieces (bought frozen at my local Kroger store), 2 chunked carrots, 1 medium sweet potato, cut into chunks, 1/2 cup frozen peas, 1 cup frozen green beans, and two cups of water. In that order, don’t stir. Cook on high for 12 minutes, letting it naturally release for about ten minutes. Remove lid, stir, then add 1 cup of frozen organic blueberries and stir again. Then I hit the entire pot with an immersion blender (blender on a stick, $20 on Amazon). This makes enough for two cockers, two meals per day. I use it as a topper over their kibble, and they inhale it. All the canned food that I found had carrageenan in it which causes colon cancer and kidney failure. Now I know exactly what they are getting. Just thought I would share another way of preparing your recipe. Oh, and it only takes an hour start to finish, including cleaning the pot, and including ten minutes to throw everything in the pot!!
Thank you so much for this recipe! And for the info about the carrageenan in the dog foods! There are so many fur babies dying from cancer these days! I’m definitely going to use your recipe. Thank you Again!!
Nadine Summers
Peas are horrible for dogs. It is believed to be a leading cause of dilated cardiomyopathy. DCM. FDA’s Center For Veterinary Medicine and the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation And Response Network issued a warning about this potential link. Do not feed your dogs peas. Also be aware many dog treats use pea protein and flour as a filler.
Thanks for the heads up. I had cleared everything through my vet so I was not told of any problems with peas.
What size dog is this recipe for because my dog could literally eat this entire recipe in one bite. He’s a 150lb Cane Corso.
Hi there! Yes, this is for a little 10 lb Shih Tzu. And he even has many days where he wants three bowls instead of two:). The food is so healthy and they really enjoy it. I would ask your vet about how to convert this to a serving for your dog.
How many ounces or cups would you use for a 38 lb. Dog who needs to lose 8 lbs & a 24 lb. who needs to lose 4? My vet recommended approximately 600 for the larger calories and 400 for the smaller.
That’s a great question. It’s really a tough call because their activity levels vary every day. I actually modify this recipe a bit daily, depending on how active or lazy our dog is being on each given day. That being said, here’s a sample calorie breakdown that totals roughly about 340 calories; something you can work off of easily…but I would definitely run everything past your vet.
1/2 c. wild caught canned salmon – 120 calories
1/2 c. green beans – 20 calories
1/4 c. pumpkin puree – 20 calories
2 T. flaxseed meal – 70 calories
3 T. brown rice – 40 calories
2 T. blueberries – 10 calories
1/2 c. steamed broccoli – 10 calories (I recently swapped out the peas for broccoli)
1/4 c. sweet potatoes – 45 calories
1 T. cooked carrots – 5 calories
What brand of canned salmon should be used? Not sure about what ingredients such as amount of sodium etc…