How to Make Raw Dog Food Patties? (Dog's Favorite or Not?)

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Making raw dog food patties is a process that requires careful and proper preparation. Note that a well-prepared and carefully thought out raw dog food patty is helpful in making your dog feel happy, while keeping him healthy and in his best condition. How to make raw dog food patties requires an understanding of the basics of choosing the right ingredients, the specific amounts you should use, and the steps involved in preparing them.

One thing you must do during preparation is learn the specific nutrients required by your dog. It is also important for you to gain a full understanding of the foods he can and can’t safely eat. Being aware of those important facts can guide you in preparing healthy and tasty raw dog foods guaranteed to satisfy him.

Understanding the Raw Food Diet

Also called the BARF diet, which means Bones and Raw Food, a raw food diet serves as a great substitute to dry dog foods. Usually,such raw foods comprise bones, raw meats, supplements, and vegetables. What’s good about letting your pet stick to a raw dog food diet is that it offers plenty of benefits, including better digestion, skin, coat, and overall health.

Feeding him a healthy raw dog food patty also works in strengthening his immune system and increasing his muscle mass and energy. It is also safe for dogs at least 12 weeks old. If your dog started to eat dry dog food, then you must make the transition from the dry to the raw variety in a gradual manner.

On the first day of the transition process, only feed him water. There should be no food during that day. On the second day, feed him one-fourth of the recommended serving size. It should be followed by one-half then three-fourths of the recommended serving size on the third and fourth days, respectively. On day 5, you can feed him the full recommended serving.

To prepare your own raw dog food patties that you can serve to your pet, here are two recipes to guide you:

Raw Dog Food Patties Recipe #1

Ingredients:

1 can sardines (water packed)
2 lbs. ground turkey, pork, lamb, beef, or chicken – You can also use a combination of the mentioned ingredients.
4 free-range eggs – Choose the raw and organic variety. Ensure the eggs still have their shell when used in this recipe, so your dog can get sufficient amounts of calcium.

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients together as you do when making a meatloaf. Mix well.
Once properly mixed, form patties from the mixture. Ensure each patty is just the right size that’s suitable for your dog.
Store in your fridge or freeze. Thaw on the day you decide tofeed your dog with it.

One tip is to ensure this is not the only patty you serve your dog all the time. Consider varying the meat, too, so he will receive full nutrition.

Raw Dog Food Patties Recipe #2

Ingredients:

2 and ½ lbs. ground beef
4 oz. chicken livers
1 cored small apple
1 chopped carrot
2 whole eggs – Make sure to include their shells.
½ c. baby spinach
1 tbsp. each of olive oil and ground flax seed
½ c. plain yogurt

Instructions:

Process the spinach, apple, and carrot in your food processor. Continue processing until ingredients are finely chopped.
Add the other ingredients into the food processor,except for the ground beef. Process once more until all the ingredients in the device are well-combined.
Get a large bowl and pour the processed mixture there. Add the ground beef. Use your hands or a spatula to mix everything together.
Form patties. Each patty should be the same size as your palm. Put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Store in your freezer until they become solid. After that, you can transfer the patties to a plastic bag or storage container. Keep them frozen.
Take a day’s worth of the prepared patties from your freezer a night prior to feeding your dog with these foods. Put in your fridge to thaw prior to serving.

Best Ingredients to Use in Raw Dog Food Patties

When trying to learn how to make raw dog food patties, you must understand the specific ingredients you can use for it. Here are some of the best ones you can use for your recipe:

Meat – Any dog diet requires an excellent source of protein. One of the best sources of protein is a high-quality meat. Here,note that meaty bones serve as vital parts of most raw dog food recipes. However, it’s also advisable to incorporate organ meat, raw meat, and fish into the recipes. Also, you have to remember the importance of using human-grade meat. It is also a must to go organic regarding the ingredients you’ll use.

For the meat, some of your options are turkey, duck, and chicken. Here, the best parts you can include in your recipes are their thighs, necks, wings, and feet. You can also use lamb, venison, rabbit, beef, and wild game birds, like partridge or pheasant. In addition, you have the option to include organ meat or offal, like kidneys and liver. Ensure you use these parts sparingly at first, though.

Any whole fish is also a great choice. However, it is not recommended to use raw salmon. If you plan to use a wild-caught game, then note you have to freeze it first for at least three weeks prior to using it in a raw dog food recipe. That’s essential in killing parasites that might be present in it. The same should be done for trout and raw salmon, but you can freeze it for 24 hours only.

Vegetables – Aside from meat, it is also possible to add veggies to your recipe. Note, however, the digestive system of dogs is incapable of absorbing nutrients from raw veggies unless you grind or chop them finely, like when processed in a blender or food processor. You can also juice them to make it easier for your dog to absorb their nutrients.

Another tip is to steam the veggies lightly to break them down, making it possible for your dog to receive their maximum nutrition value. When using vegetables, ensure they are safe for your dog. Some of the safest ones that you can use for the raw dog food patties recipe are cauliflower, carrots, Brussels sprouts, peas, green beans, okra, romaine lettuce, squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, parsley, and celery.

Fruits – You can also add your preferred fruits to the recipe. Just make sure you do the same techniques mentioned earlier for the veggies to guarantee your dog can absorb their nutrients well. Among the most popular and common choices for fruits are bananas, blueberries, strawberries, apples, pears, and melon.
Other ingredients – There are also other ingredients you can add to your raw dog food patties recipe to increase its variety and nutritional value. However, take note you need not add these extra ingredients every day. You can just mix them in once or twice weekly.

Some of the healthiest ingredients you can include in the recipe are plain yogurt, cottage cheese, raw eggs, sunflower seeds, peanuts or almonds, and kelp. For the raw eggs, you must use their shells, too, but you must process them into a fine powder.

Guidelines for Making the Raw Dog Food Patties

Do you want to make sure you are making the raw dog food recipes correctly? Then use these guidelines during the preparation process so you can make one that is safe and healthy for your beloved pet:

1. Ensure it is rich in calcium – Your dog, especially if he is still a puppy, requires an excellent source of minerals, especially calcium. He also needs phosphorus. You can’t expect him to survive without the mentioned minerals. Here, you should usebones as these contain both minerals.

To ensure the raw dog food you created is rich in calcium and maintains the right balance of minerals, it should contain around 12-15 percent bones. Around one-third of his diet should consist of nice meaty bones. Among the best choices for healthy and meaty bones are chicken wings thighs, legs, or necks, beef tail bones that are good for large dogs, turkey necks, and the ribs or necks of goat or lamb.

Another tip is to feed him whole animals, like whole poultry, rabbit, and fish, as such contains more than enough of the required bones for phosphorus and calcium.

2. Include organs – These organs are rich in different essential vitamins. The organs are considered among those parts of an animal rich in nutrients. Without them, there’s a great risk for your dog to miss out on essential vitamins. A wise tip is to include around 10-30 percent organ meats.

Some of the nutrient-rich organs you can incorporate into your raw dog food patty recipe are kidney, liver, brain, testicles, lung, pancreas, thymus, and spleen. Make sure, though, that you go easy when adding the organ meat, initially, as it might lead to loose stools. It takes time for your dog to get used to all the nutrition, so do the addition gradually.

3. Use lean meat – After ensuring the recipe contains meaty organs and bones, the next thing you must ensure is to include nice lean meat into the diet. It is highly recommended to make lean meat compose around half to one-third of his entire food. Such will also depend on the amount of organ meat you included in the recipe.

Note that lean meat is rich in protein. It is vital for your dog, as it aids in building strong tissues, enzymes, and hormones. For the lean and muscle meat, your options include beef, beef heart, turkey, bison, lamb, chicken, and pork. Ensure you choose the leanest cuts or parts of the meat.

4. Monitor the fat content – While fat is good for your dog, since it is vital in improving his immune and nerve function and skin health, it still has a downside – one of which is that it has two times the number of calories present in protein. With that in mind, ensure your recipe does not contain too much fat.

If you want to make sure the recipe is not too high in fat content, then consider using low-fat ingredients, like chicken necks without skin, turkey or chicken meat without skin, lean ground beef, rabbit, pork loin, and most fish and wild game (except for duck).

5. Make sure it is free of starch – Note that starchy ingredients, such as peas, potatoes, and grains, are not actually good for your dog. Dogs can still digest some grains, but you must include only a limited or small amount of them.

Ensure your dog won’t accumulate too much starchy foods that might cause him constantly to produce the hormone known as insulin. Too much insulin production might trigger him to store plenty of the foods he eats as fat. In that case,you should stay away from using grains and starchy ingredients.

Final Words

How to make raw dog food patties at home is easy if you are fully aware of certain safety guidelines. Ensure you know what’s safe and what’s not safe for your dog so you can make a healthy raw food recipe for him.

How to Make Raw Dog Food Patties?