Homemade soft/canned food for mix-in?

[Veronica]

I usually add 3 or 4 tablespoons of canned food to Panzer's dry kibble, but at $2/can for TOTW, I'm thinking I can make this myself with better quality ingredients and a cheaper cost.

Anyone do this? If so, do you have a basic recipe to share?

Also thinking of adding in coconut oil, salmon oil, and vitamin E - amounts equivalent to the number of servings in a batch? I'd probably add these at the end, after the rest has been cooked. Sound ok?

[GatorDog]

Is there a store near you that sells Evangers? They make a really great quality canned food and its only $1.09 here in NY where I used to buy it. I'm not a big fan of canned food, though. It really made my dog's teeth kinda gunky and as a result his breath was pretty rancid.

I still use salmon oil, though. And I know many people who only use salmon oil to entice their dogs to eat kibble rather than adding canned food. A good size canister of salmon oil can last a long time and save you money on buying cans as well.

[jprice103]

I make homemade dog food for my Chihuahua who is diabetic. He needs to eat twice a day in order to get his insulin, but mornings have always been tough. He will absolutely NOT eat dog food in the mornings no matter what we add to it. So I make up this batch once a month. I seperate into 1 lb bags and freeze them, and then just take one out a week.

4 lbs. chicken thighs (I usually buy them when they are on sale at $1.99/lb)
1 pkg frozen peas
1 cup brown rice
1 can chicken broth

Remove majority of the fat (but not all) from chicken thighs
Place thighs on foil lined pan and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees
While chicken is cooking, get large pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil.
Add brown rice and peas and cook for 15 on high, then reduce heat to low and cook for another 30 minutes.

When chicken is done, let cool.
Drain rice and peas and let cool.

Get large bowl and set aside.
Remove chicken from bone (I just use my hands - it goes quicker) and add 4-5 chicken thighs to food processor and run until fine ground consistency. When done, add to bowl. Process all chicken this way.
Add peas and rice to food processor and process until it is smooth.

Mix all together in large bowl. Add chicken broth to get to the consistency of canned food. Separate into 1 lb. packs.

This usually makes 5-6 1 lb. packs and if you are only adding as a topper/additive to dry, one pack should last a week at a cost of 1.60/week!

[GSKnight]

a friend of mine makes and sells beef jerky, so I get bags of beef scraps. More than I can use. I boil this and mix it and the broth in with his kibble. He likes it, he is putting on the weight the vet wants, his coat is nice, and it's FREE!!!!

[WVGSD]

I have eight dogs to feed and give them all kibble with warm water and a home-made mixture that I cook/prepare about once per month. I was going through two entire cans daily with their kibble and then pills and supplements. Now, I just go through about 2/3 of one can per day in two feedings.

Ingredients
Barley - 2 bags/5 cups
Green beans - frozen and thawed/4 pounds
Carrots - grated - 3 pounds
Chicken roaster - one whole cooked and meat removed from bone

Cook the roaster chicken in a crock pot or large stock pot for several hours. Once that is done, cook the barley. Five cups of barley needs ten cups of water. Take the chicken off of the bone and, when the barley is done, you are ready. Get out the blender. Pour a small amount of water and/or the chicken broth in the bottom of the blender, throw in a handful of meat, carrots, beans and a large slotted spoon of barley, cover and voila - you should have a porridge consistency (thick oatmeal).

Seasonally, you can also add apples, strawberries, blueberries, banannas, etc. My dogs like apples, so I have begun to add those year round.