Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 3 cups 629 calories - enough for 2 meals/day for 1 day for a 25 lb dog maintaining weight

Meal Prep / Batch Cooking Tip: Can be frozen for up to one year from cook date.

Ingredient quantities for batch cooking:
3 lbs chicken (raw weight)
1.5 lbs dry brown rice
2.5 lbs carrots
1/2 cup Azestfor Vitamins

Servings:        14 - enough for 2 meals/day for 7 days for a 25 lb dog maintaining weight

Your dog will love this simple and healthy homemade dog food recipe with chicken, rice and carrots. Dog food prepared at home is minimally processed and free of harsh chemicals and preservatives. The smarter way to feed your dog.

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Instructional Cooking Video:

Yes. Your fur baby needs them more than you may know.

An excellent vitamin and mineral supplement is actually ESSENTIAL for dogs eating homemade dog food, because even the highest quality, human grade food won't deliver the exact blend of vitamins and minerals (especially calcium) canines need to thrive.

Our homemade dog food recipes with vitamins and supplements have been scientifically developed to meet AFFCO’s standards, make your homemade dog food nutritionally complete, and will provide your dog’s body with the nourishment s/he craves, so you can live your best life together!

Feel like Chicken and Rice with Carrots isn’t quite what your dog needs? We have 24 homemade dog food recipes featuring a wide range of protein choices, as well as options for dogs with allergies who may need grain free, vegetarian or vegan food options.

It’s easy to become complacent and used to the way our pet looks every day. But as a dog parent, it’s important to understand how carrying extra pounds can affect your pet’s long term health and quality of life.  

Overweight and obese dogs often develop diet related illnesses from heart disease to diabetes, and experience a poorer quality of life due to mobility issues from aching or arthritic joints.

One of the easiest ways to determine if your pet should slim down (besides hearing from the vet that your pet could stand to lose a few pounds!), is to study his/her body shape.

If your dog’s ribs, spine and pelvic bones are visible, and it’s easy to feel a well-proportioned waist, your pet is at his/her ideal weight, with a silhouette similar to this:

The dog's ribs, spine and pelvic bones are more visible with an obvious tuck under tummy.

The dog's ribs, spine and pelvic bone are highly visible and jutting out with a severe tuck under the tummy.

The dog's ribs, spine and pelvic bones are not visible and are not easily felt. There is no tuck under the tummy, and no waist.

The dog's ribs, spine and pelvic bones are not defined, fat covers the chest, spine, and tail base, there is no waist, and no tuck under the tummy.

If your dog’s shape resembles one of the last two diagrams, or if your vet has asked you to help your dog lose weight, we have tips to make it easier for you both.

Any of our dog food recipes can be tailored to meet your pet’s weight control needs. Meal time is only part of the equation. Just like with human weight loss, nutritionally balanced meals need to be combined with exercise.

Tip 1:

Our most popular dog food recipe to help a dog lose weight is chicken and rice with carrots.

Tip 2:

Make sure your entire household is on board with weight loss plans for your pet, especially if feeding the dog is a shared responsibility.

You can decrease your dog’s meal serving by ¼ cup per day for weight loss. Alternatively- you can calculate kcals for your dog for a more exact serving suggestion.

Use a feeding chart to ensure the household only feeds the dog once at meal time. Dogs can be very convincing at telling you they haven’t eaten in days.

Always use a measuring cup when dishing out your dog’s meal portions. If your dog is overweight, replace the cup with a smaller measuring scoop so the portion of food served is smaller.

Sneaking the dog treats or food scraps is not doing your dog any favors. Substitute food rewards with praise and physical petting. Dogs love having their cheeks scratched. Tell your dog in a sing song voice what a good girl or boy s/he is.

Tip 3:

Find an activity that motivates your dog to get moving. Some dogs love playing fetch. Try throwing a tennis ball for your dog ten times daily. Increase as s/he is able.

If your dog enjoys swimming, take her to a lake or a dog beach where she can play on the water’s shore.

If your dog is a digger, create a sand pit with a mountain of sand that he can dig in and where it won’t ruin the rest of your garden.

Use the pedometer on your smartphone and measure how many steps you and your dog take together. Each day see if you can best the distance you went the day before. Aim for 30 minutes a day at a brisk pace.

Make the exercise a ritual that you and your dog do on a daily basis for ten minutes every day. If you find yourself having fun and playing together outside for longer, it’s a win-win for you both!

If moving initially is painful for your dog, find an aqua therapy or hydro therapy center that will help rehabilitate your dog in water until s/he can get moving unassisted. The water will keep your dog buoyed and will put less stress on joints.

You may also want to seriously consider adding a joint supplement to your pet’s diet, such as our Green Lipped Mussel. 

Tip 4:

Keep fresh water readily available. A drink of water can make the stomach feel fuller and aids in digestion.

Do not allow your dog to graze freely throughout the day. Present his food bowl for fifteen minutes. If the meal is not eaten in the allotted time pick up the food bowl and put it away. Do not present it again until the next scheduled meal time.

Tip 5:

Many dog parents ask, “What fillers can I add to my dog’s food?” One tablespoon of canned pumpkin is a great choice because it will make your dog feel full, but is low in calories. Canned pumpkin can be found in the baking aisle of most major grocery stores. Make sure it is plain with no added sugar or spices.

Some pets are naturally smaller and may not be as interested in their food as other breeds.

Take a look at your dog’s silhouette and compare it to the diagrams above for underweight and very thin dogs. If your dog falls into one of these categories, it’s likely your dog needs a trip to the vet to ensure there is not an underlying health condition that requires treatment.

If your vet has given you the green light to help your dog gain weight, we have some tips to help you along.

Tip 1:

Any of our recipes can be tailored to help your pet gain weight in a healthy way. If your dog has a sensitive stomach, chicken and rice with carrots is an excellent choice because it is easy on digestion. If you are looking for weight gaining dog foods, simply substitute brown rice for white rice to safely add additional calories to your dog’s meal.

Tip 2:

If there is more than one dog in your household, feed them separately to ensure that one dog is not stealing the other’s food.

Tip 3:

Dogs and humans experience food differently. Many dog parents wonder if their dog will grow tired of their existing food. The answer is simple because dogs have fewer taste buds in their mouths than humans! They are not hoping for the varied textures and unexpected flavor combinations humans enjoy.

Your dog’s nose, however, is a thousand times more sensitive than yours! Fresh, whole food ingredients will smell aromatic to your dog when served at room temperature. Food that smells good to a dog will taste good.  

If your dog is not currently eating homemade dog food, it’s important to transition gently to avoid indigestion, diarrhea or constipation.

Simply combine your existing dog food with the new as shown over the course of 10 days.

If your dog chooses to self regulate and skip a meal or two, that is fine. Be patient and consistent with your meal time offerings. Usually dogs are thrilled to begin eating homemade meals like the rest of the family. If your dog refuses his food for more than two meals, be sure to get him checked at the vet as soon as possible. It’s likely there is an underlying medical condition that requires attention.

This Best Homemade Dog Food recipe is grain free, easy on digestion and designed for weight loss. This three ingredient recipe combines chicken, potatoes and Azestfor Homemade Dog Food Vitamins to create a meal that will help with weight reduction to manage obesity and is a great diet for large and giant breed dogs, as it helps to prevent rapid growth which can lead to orthopedic problems later in life.

1. Make Homemade Dog Food
2. Reduce portion size
3. Smaller Sized Treats
4. Replace Treats with Praise & Petting
5. Add vegetables to the dogs diet
6. Feed dogs separately
7. Get moving

Homemade Dog Food – Fresh whole food ingredients free of fillers, made from human grade ingredients will give you confidence that you know exactly what your dog is eating. Just like with your body what you eat effects how you feel the same is with your dog.

Reduce Portion Size – replace the current scoop in the dog food with a smaller one. It is human instinct to give a scoop. Help your unconscious mind, which will be working on auto pilot give the dog the right sized portion. Having the correct sized scoop will help you, help your dog eat less.

Smaller Treat - Dogs love being rewarded with a tasty treat. It is a very effective way to mark a behavior if you are training a dog. You only need to deliver a treat that is large enough that they can taste it. We recommend Azestfor beef treats made from one ingredient.

Praise and Petting - If you just feel like showing your dog some love give them a pat and praise them. Even with giving dogs food rewards you will get better recall meaning the dog comes when called if you only pay the dog with a food reward 75% of the time. This is because the dog is more motivated to come see if it is going to get paid than is it is guaranteed.

Vegetables – When you want to give your dog a snack give them some vegetables full of fiber.

Feed dogs separately that live in multiple pet households as one dog may be stealing another pet’s food.

If your dog is not moving and is overweight they will likely develop mobility issues. This detrimentally impacts a dog’s quality of life. To help manage the inflammation of dog’s joints we recommend Azestfor Anti-inflammatory.

As a rule of thumb as a dog ages it should be fed less food. If a dog is young it will require approximately 20% more food than a dog aged between two and seven years of age. Dogs over seven years of age will need twenty percent (20%) less calories than what they previously did.

Some dogs of different breeds require less calories than others. The goal is to be observant and to alter the amount of calories given to your dog as per your dog’s requirements in the current stage of their life.

If your dog is obese and needs to lose weight than cut the recommended feeding amount in half.

To illustrate how much food to feed an obese dog, this recipe Chicken and potato recommends feeding a normal healthy dog that weighs 50 lbs four (4) cups (26 oz) per day to maintain weight. For an obese dog you would cut that amount of food in half and feed the obese dog only two (2) cups of food total for the day.

Review the daily caloric requirements for adult dogs click here.

To help make the dog feel fuller add extra fiber to the dogs diet.

1. Ground Flax Seed
2. Vegetables high in Cellulose
3. Wheat Bran
4. Pumpkin

Ground Flax Seed – Make sure the flax seed is ground – otherwise whole flax seed will pass straight through the dog undigested. The oils in flax seed can go rancid so only purchase small quantities and store them in the refrigerator to preserve them.
Recommended dosage of ground flax seed to add to food twice a day.

1. Teacup size, 10 lb i.e. Pomeranian 1/8 to 1/4 of a teaspoon total per day.
2. Small dogs, 15 lb i.e. Boston Terrier 1/2 teaspoon to 1 full teaspoon total per day.
3. Medium-sized 35 lb dogs i.e. Husky 1 1/2 teaspoons to 2 full teaspoons total per day.
4. Large dogs, 60 lb i.e. Weimaraner 2 1/2 teaspoons to 1 full tablespoon total per day.
5. Giant breeds, 100 lb + i.e. Newfoundland, 1 1/2 to 2 full tablespoons total per day.

Vegetables high in Cellulose – vegetables can be added to the dogs diet to help satisfy appetite. No need to count the calories in veggies as they are low in calories.

Wheat Bran – you can give up to two tablespoons of fiber per day. Follow the suggested dosage amounts for ground flax seed above.

Pumpkin-Canned is available in the baking section of supermarkets. Choose the canned pumpkin without spices and sugar added. Most dogs love the taste. It is also good at helping bind loose stools when a dog has an upset stomach.

A side effect of adding fiber will result in an increase in the volume of the dogs stool. If the fiber supplements are not helping curb the dogs appetite than stop.

The flip side to a dog losing weight is to have a dog gain weight. We want our dogs to be their ideal weight. So they have enough calories to be active and lead a healthy life.
Foods that help a dog gain weight and can be added to the dog’s diet to supplement their calorie intake are whey protein powder, eggs and peanut butter.

Whey Protein Powder- Choose a protein powder that is free of any additives including flavoring. Essential that you avoid Xylitol which is highly toxic to dogs.

Eggs – You can add eggs to your dog’s diet in a multitude of way. Add a raw egg as a topper to the dog’s meal. Mix in powdered eggs.

Peanut Butter - You can put the peanut butter in a kong chew toy and have the dog lick it out. Make sure the peanut butter is all natural and does not contain the ingredient xylitol which is an artificial sweetener toxic to dogs.

Put the dog on a scale and weigh it. You can weigh yourself than hold the dog and step on the scale again the difference will be the weight of the dog. Estimate the weight the dog should be. Keep a log of the progress the dog is making in weight loss.

If the dog is 50 lbs and should weigh 40 lbs feed the dog 60% of the food suggested for the ideal weight of the dog 40 lbs. If the dog is obese feed it 50% of the recommended amount.

To help keep the dog on a diet determine the correct amount of each serving and prepackage it.

Cook the chicken by boiling it in a little water. It is important that all bones are removed from the cooked chicken. Let the chicken cool than dice the chicken into bit size chunks. Shredding it is also fine. The chicken is cooked when the juices inside run clear. You can use white or dark meat or ground chicken.

Cook the potatoes by boiling them in water. OK to leave the skins on. Remove any green or dark discoloration and sprouts. They can be mashed or cubed into bite size – depending on the preference of your dog. Begin checking the potatoes after around 5 minutes of boiling; most potatoes will be done in 10 to 20 minutes. Potatoes are done when tender: The potatoes are done when they are tender all the way through. You can test this by poking the potato with a fork, paring knife, or skewer. Potatoes need to be completely cooked to increase digestibility.

When the meat and potatoes are cool to touch you can add the Azestfor nutritional supplements. Heat destroys the potency of vitamins.

The recipe can be prepared in large batches and frozen. It will keep for up to a year in the freezer, or one week in the fridge. Freezing vitamins preserves their potency. I would recommend portioning the food into meal size servings before freezing it.

To defrost a frozen meal – put it in the fridge overnight.

Best homemade dog food recipe for weight loss, growing large and giant breeds and should be considered for dogs with heart disease who need a low sodium diet or dogs who are allergic to grains. If your dog has underlying health issues consult with a holistic veterinarian who is trained in nutrition to ensure a new diet is appropriate for your dog.

We suggest dividing the daily amount into two servings, one in the morning and one in the evening. Every dog’s nutritional requirements are a little bit different due to age & amount of exercise. If your dog is losing weight, increase food by 1/4 cup a day, if they are gaining weight reduce accordingly.

Weight of Dog

• 5 lbs to maintain weight 3/4 cup (4.6 oz) per day
• 10 lbs to maintain weight 1 cup (7.84 oz) per day
• 15 lbs to maintain weight 1 1/2 cups (10.5 oz) per day
• 20 lbs to maintain weight 2 cups (13 oz) per day
• 30 lbs to maintain weight 2 3/4 cups (18 oz) per day
• 40 lbs to maintain weight 3 1/2 cups (22 oz) per day
• 50 lbs to maintain weight 4 cups (26 oz) per day
• 60 lbs to maintain weight 4 1/2 cups (30 oz) per day
• 70 lbs to maintain weight 5 1/4 cups (34 oz) per day
• 80 lbs to maintain weight 5 3/4 cups (37 oz) per day
• 90 lbs to maintain weight 6 1/3 cups (41 oz) per day

• Chicken
• Potatoes
• Azestfor Homemade Dog Food Vitamins
• Freezer bags or other storage containers

This recipe will yield approximately 1 lbs of food. Equating to 819 calories (Kcals) Approximately enough servings of food for 2 days for an 32 lb dog to maintain weight.

This healthy grain free dog food recipe is high in fiber, low in fat and naturally rich in essential omegas 3 & 6. With only three ingredients its easy to make your own healthy grain free dog food. 

Place salmon in a pan on top of the stove, add water to just cover fish.

Cover and cook until salmon is opaque throughout, about 5 minutes (longer for thicker fillets). Using a wide slotted spatula, remove salmon from liquid.

It is important that all bones are removed from the fish. Bone splinters can pierce your dogs digestive system.

Cook lentils on a stove top, using 1 1/2 cups of water for the 1/2 cup of dry lentils.

Be sure to use a large enough saucepan as the lentils will triple in size.

Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer until they are tender. For whole lentils, cook time is typically 15-20 minutes.

When the fish and lentils are cool to touch you can add the Azestfor nutritional supplements. Combine all ingredients and serve.

The recipe can be prepared in large batches and frozen. It will keep for up to a year in the freezer, or one week in the fridge.

Freezing vitamins preserves their potency. I would recommend portioning the food into meal size servings before freezing it.

To defrost a frozen meal – put it in the fridge overnight.

We suggest dividing the daily amount into two servings, one in the morning and one in the evening.

Every dog’s nutritional requirements are a little bit different due to age & amount of exercise.

If your dog is losing weight, increase food by 1/4 cup a day, if they are gaining weight reduce accordingly.

Weight of Dog
5 lbs to maintain weight 2/3 cup (4.4 oz) per day
10 lbs to maintain weight 1 cups ( 7.5 oz) per day
15 lbs to maintain weight 1 1/2 cups ( 10.5 oz) per day
20 lbs to maintain weight 2 cups ( 13 oz) per day
30 lbs to maintain weight 2 1/2 cups (17.5 oz) per day
40 lbs to maintain weight 3 cups (20 oz) per day
50 lbs to maintain weight 3 2/3 cups (25.5 oz) per day
60 lbs to maintain weight 4 1/4 cups (29.5 oz) per day
70 lbs to maintain weight 4 3/4 cups ( 33 oz) per day
80 lbs to maintain weight 5 1/4 cups (36.5 oz) per day
90 lbs to maintain weight 5 3/4 cups ( 40 oz) per day

Salmon
Lentils
Azestfor Homemade Dog Food Vitamins
Freezer bags or other storage containers