People ask me all the time what I actually feed my own dogs. So here is the real thing: a home-cooked meal I make for Peach and Poppy, weighed to the gram and balanced with a vitamin-and-mineral supplement so it is nutritionally complete — not just a bowl of “healthy” ingredients.
That last part matters more than the recipe itself. A home-cooked diet built from good food is still incomplete unless you add a supplement designed to fill in the vitamins and minerals that whole ingredients alone don’t reliably provide. I’ll show you the recipe, then walk through how I balance it, portion it, and store it.
Dr. Gardner’s home-cooked recipe for Peach & Poppy
I weigh every ingredient in grams to stay accurate. Here is one full batch:
Ingredient Amount
Turkey breast, non-enhanced, cooked and chopped 500 g
Roasted sweet potato (no oil or salt, baked in their skins) 975 g
Cooked oatmeal (no salt) 853 g
Vegetables, total 778 g
• Broccoli 137 g
• Cauliflower 209 g
• Zucchini 315 g
• Carrot 117 g
Balance IT Canine supplement 5 tbsp
Iodized salt 2¼ tsp
Organic canola oil 4½ tbsp
Omega-3 fatty acids 6,000 mg
One full batch comes to 3,473 calories, with roughly 23% of calories from protein, 31% from fat, and 46% from carbohydrate.
A quick note on the supplement: I use Balance IT, and I have no affiliation with the company at all. It’s simply the tool I reach for. They also have a recipe creator on their website that can help you build your own.
How I make it, step by step
Cook each ingredient separately. The vegetables don’t have to be cooked, but I usually steam them lightly.
Let everything cool.
Mix it all together and add the salt, the canola oil, and the omega-3 fatty acids.
Add the Balance IT vitamin-and-mineral supplement daily, per serving — not into the whole batch at once. (Here’s why that matters ↓)
Do you really need a supplement in homemade dog food?
Yes. Any home-cooked diet should have a vitamin and mineral supplement appropriate for your pet added at the end. This is the step most homemade recipes skip, and it’s the difference between a meal that looks healthy and one that is actually complete and balanced. Good ingredients alone don’t reliably deliver every vitamin and mineral a dog needs in the right amounts — the supplement is what closes that gap.
Can you reheat homemade dog food after adding the supplement?
No — once the vitamin-and-mineral supplement is mixed in, I don’t reheat the food. That’s exactly why I add the supplement fresh each day to that day’s portion, rather than stirring it through the whole batch when I cook. I cook and store the base (turkey, sweet potato, oatmeal, vegetables, and the oil, salt, and omega-3), then add the Balance IT to each serving right before it goes in the bowl.
How much should you feed, and how long does a batch last?
It depends on your individual dog’s calorie needs. As an example: Peach is about 50 pounds and eats roughly 700 calories a day, so one 3,473-calorie batch lasts her about five days. Your dog may need more or fewer calories depending on size, age, and activity, so use your own dog’s daily calorie needs to figure out portions — and check with your veterinarian if you’re unsure.
Why weigh ingredients in grams?
Because accuracy is what keeps a balanced recipe balanced. When a supplement is dosed to a specific amount of food, eyeballing the ingredients can shift the nutrition in ways you can’t see. Weighing in grams takes the guesswork out and keeps each batch consistent with the next.
What if you don’t have time to cook?
Not everyone has the time or resources to home-cook, and that’s completely okay. A few gently-cooked and commercial options I mention for dogs (and cats) include JustFoodForDogs, Purina Pro Plan, The Farmer’s Dog, Instinct, and Smalls. If you’d rather build your own balanced recipes, Balance IT’s online recipe creator is a good place to start, and there are some cookbooks with great options as well — The Forever Dog is one I’m hoping to try soon.
Frequently asked questions
Is homemade dog food safe?
It can be, when it’s properly balanced. The key is adding an appropriate vitamin-and-mineral supplement so the diet is complete, and talking with your veterinarian before making changes.
What supplement is in this recipe?
Balance IT Canine. I have no affiliation with them — it’s just the product I use to balance my dogs’ food.
Can I swap the protein or vegetables?
Ingredient changes can shift the nutritional balance of a recipe, so I’d recommend rebuilding the recipe (Balance IT’s recipe creator can help) or checking with your veterinarian rather than substituting freely.
Related reading: is my senior dog in pain, or just getting old? and how to treat a hot spot on your dog at home. If you’re on the shoreline, see the areas we serve.