Homemade dog food

[Idolikeanicepieceofcake]

This could be an odd question but I'm hoping that there's a wealth of experience here on MN.
Has anyone bought the Lily's Kitchen recipe book or alternative recipe book to make their own dog food at home? And have you found it worth it?
I currently buy Lily's Kitchen wet food to go with dry food for my fussy pooches. Occasionally I will buy them other fancy pants cans/ pouches of food, but it's got so expensive! And one of them can't eat chicken so it rules out a lot of options for food selection. Thanks all.

I haven't done this but I decided a while ago that when I get another dog I will.

It's got to be better quality food than you'd buy, and as long as you follow guidelines to ensure the correct vitamins/minerals and have got the time to make it, why not give it a go? I had no idea you could actually buy a dog cook book 😂

Just be careful that they're getting enough nutrients & calcium. I saw an episode of vet on the hill recently where a Husky had such a severe calcium deficiency from his owner feeding him "proper home cooked food, none of that packaged crap" that his spine had become twisted and his joints had to be operated on. I don't think the poor dog made it in the end. He was only a year old.

Said "packaged crap" has everything dogs need. That's why they say 'complete' on them

I cook for my dog, and give him supplements. Save a fortune and he is very healthy.

Thank you all for your replies.
I was quite worried about them getting the right amount of nutrients, so I will still feed them the dry food, and simply supplement with home made 'wet' food I think.
I'll have a go with the Lily's Kitchen cook book, as their recipes should be similar to what you can buy in a can.
I am going to try it for a month and work out how much it costs in comparison.

I have cooked their food before, for a few of my dogs. Just chopped up loads of veg and added fish or meat, rice and/or lentils and gave them a good vitamin supplement. Our lab lived to 16, on it all his life. A gsd rescue with a skin issue cleared right up and was really healthy for the rest of his life. Happy cooking!

It's a lot of work to get the nutrients and the balance right. A friend of mine makes her own raw diet for her dogs and it takes her ages - she honestly spends longer on the dogs' food than she does her own and her DC's.

I've just looked at Lily's Kitchen, crikey it's expensive :(

For my dog, feeding the wet food would be £10/day.
I feed raw and everyone tells me that's expensive, but not compared to Lily's kitchen. It doesn't cost me £300/month :eek:

I don't think the recipes in the book are similar but I've got the book so I can take some photos later.

I make my own dog food as my dog wouldn't eat anything.

I put a whole chicken, pearl barley and hearts/livers etc into the slow cooker and I mix it with kibble.

That's a fantastic age! Could I ask what you fed them? Recipes, etc?

Most people only feed the wet food as a topper for dry, so it's much cheaper than the feeding guidelines suggest.

When mine was on Lily's he had a third of a tin a day mixed with biscuits.

I bought it on kindle. I was a bit disappointed, as to me there were more snack/ treat recipes than meals. Especially as we have quite a few intolerances to cater for, I was hoping for more batch cooking, adaptable recipes.

I make home cooked food as an addition to their commercial "complete" foods.

@Hellohah Raw feeder here too and I’m always shocked by the price of wet food. People think raw is messy/expensive/confusing but it’s not at all.
I have 3 big dogs and it costs approx £50 per week to feed them including chicken feet, duck necks etc.

One of mine is a recently acquired rescue and the kennels said he was very fussy and wouldn’t eat for days at a time if he was a bit stressed. He absolutely loves raw and is thriving on it, never leaves any.

As long as you are getting a good mix of meat, bone and offal, homemade should be straightforward but quite time consuming.

I have 3 big dogs and it costs approx £50 per week to feed them including chicken feet, duck necks etc.

That's a huge amount of money to me

Wet food isn't as expensive as the guidelines make out as the majority of people feed it mixed with dry food, not as the only food.

I buy all my dogs' food in bulk direct from the supplier and I can feed him for around £30 a month with Harringtons. I buy 24 packs of wet food for £16 ish and 4 x 2kg bags of dry food for about £22. It lasts him about six weeks, give or take, as he only has a quarter of a pack of wet food a day mixed with the dry.

We do give him natural treats on top too for around £20 a month.

I home cooked for my border collie, he loved it, but it was very hard work. I worked on 75% protein, which included various meats and organs and 25% veg, which I got frozen to help with storage. I added calcium powder. It helps if you have a good butcher for brains, kidneys, hearts etc. I stopped just because I found Butternut Box food to be as close to my own homemade food and is reasonable if you buy. If anyone wants to try some my referral code is

Hello 👋, Here's a gift I think your dog will love (Harry is already a big fan). It's 60% off your first box (and 30% off your second box) of Butternut Box meals. That's freshly prepared dog food, cooked like you would at home, and delivered to your door. No need to thank me - I'll get 60% off my next box too. Go us. Check it out here: https://butternutbox.com/Mandy460?share_source=copy_link 🐶💛

@abracadabra1980 no recipe as such, I just made sure he had a good supplement can’t remember which one, it was a long time ago. I put a bag of fish from Farmfoods in a pressure cooker and added a good mix of veg, usually carrots, cabbage and parsnips, and enough rice and lentils to make it thicker. He’ll have had about a kilo a day of that. Seemed to work!

@AtreidesAtreidesAtreides we moved to raw after he finished puppy food as he lost a lot of weight. He's 28kg now (ideal) but was on the cusp of medium/large dog and adult kibble just didn't satisfy him. Had to overfeed to get weight on and kibble went straight through him so he gained no weight at all, had a load of tests and no medical issues.

Raw is so easy. I just get it on subscription (Bella and Duke and ProDog), and I have forthglade trays in case I forget to get raw out of the freezer. I pay more than £100/month all in but he does eat more than recommended as he's extremely active (and that includes the treats like rabbits feet, cows ears, ostrich etc)

Wet food tends to stick to his teeth, and you really notice when he's had the forthglade when giving them a brush. I don't really need to brush much as there is no need with the raw, but keep at it so he's used to it.

To OP, a friend cooks their food. She does stewing steak, chicken, mince, veg, pasta/rice in a slow cooker and adds supplements but her dog is massively overweight so not sure she's doing it right 🤦🏻‍♀️

Here’s some photos from the book. Loads of it is just nonsense though like cupcakes.

Mine get Butternut box but last week I ran out and cooked at home for them . Literally
2 x packs minced beef , one bag of mixed veg , all in slow cooker , job done .
Served with a side of Lily's kitchen kibble lol
I was given the Lily's kitchen cook book as a gift but I've never used it .

Ditto for me! It’s twice as expensive to feed my dogs Lilys Kitchen (even 50% with biscuits) than butternut box or raw (Bella and Duke).

To give my cocker what she needed on Lilys Kitchen it was £120 a month. Butternut box is £80. And she actually likes that

OP, maybe try something like Bella and Duke or Butternut Box first?

Ditto for me! It’s twice as expensive to feed my dogs Lilys Kitchen (even 50% with biscuits) than butternut box or raw (Bella and Duke).

Even 50% wet per meal is a lot though, I basically use the wet food as a small topper and feed mostly dry. The wet is just mixed through to coat the biscuits and add a different texture and flavour.

He's a 6yo beagle, weighs 18.5kg and only gets 100g of wet food a day. The rest of his diet is dry food, human food (chicken, fish, veggies) and natural treats.

I made SandyDog’s food.

I have an 11 litre stockpot and would poach a 2+ kg chicken. Remove. Into the stock I put 4 cups brown rice and, whizzed in the processor a whole sweet potato, large potato, carrot, beans, some iodised salt.

Allow to simmer until cooked. Tip in the chopped chicken meat and gristle. No bones. That mixed with table scraps did her well. Raw bones went through her like a bullet train so cooked lamb shanks did for chewing.

Thanks all for the advice.
I liked the look of butternut box or Bella and Duke, however one of my dogs is allergic to chicken, lamb, turkey, sardines and eggs, so there's not much choice.
I am going to try making my own as toppers to their good quality dry biscuits.
Thanks @TheSandgroper, I will try your recipe with beef/venison instead of chicken.

Thanks for this - I already stuff marrowbones then freeze with huge amounts of mashed up frozen veg for a treat which my dog loves - no other treats last long enough to make them worth the calories (he's a giant breed). This sounds easy and along the same lines. Will give it a go.