How to Make Homemade Dog Food Without Meat

Many vegans and vegetarians want to feed their four legged friends the same way they feed themselves, meat-free. Giving your dog a homemade, all-vegetable diet can reduce the risk of future ailments such as bad digestive health, cancer, kidney, bone, heart, and weight problems.

Things You'll Need

• Pasta, rice, or oatmeal
• Bread
• Vegetables of your choice (avoid onions and acidic fruits)
• Vegetable stock
• Vitamin E
• L-carnitine
• Taurine

Instructions

Homemade Dog Food without Meat

1. Cook rice, pasta and/ or oatmeal according to package instructions. Amounts will vary depending on how much vegetarian dog food you plan to make. Use a pot large enough to also hold the vegetables and vegetable stock later on.

2. While your pasta, rice and/or oatmeal are cooking, cook the vegetables.

3. After the pasta, rice and/or oatmeal have been cooked, put in then vegetables and vegetable stock, then return to low heat.

4. Divide the mixture into plastic containers with lids and store them in the refrigerator.

5. Use a a measuring cup to portion the serving for your dog. (Consult with your veterinarian regarding an appropriate serving size for your dog.)

6. Microwave the food for 1 to 2 minutes before feeding.

7. Break up 2-3 pieces of bread and add it to the reheated mixture.

8. Take a Vitamin E capsule and poke a hole in one end. Drizzle the oil on to food and serve.

9. Chop two (dogs under 25 pounds get one) 500mg L-carnitine tablets into small pieces and mix in to food.

10. Chop two (dogs under 25 pounds get one) 250mg Taurine tablets into small pieces and mix in to food along with the L-carnitine.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with lots of vegetables to find out what your dog likes for optimal health and variety. It is best to mix the homemade recipe with what you normally feed your dog for a few days to help his or her stomach adjust to the changing diet. Feed dogs twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. A deficiency in L- carnitine and Taurine can cause dilated cardiomyopathy, a serious illness in which the heart becomes large and flabby and can no longer function. L-carnitine and Taurine can be bought at your local health food store.

• Onions are known to cause anemia in dogs, so avoid using them. Do not feed dogs high-acid fruits such as oranges and grapefruits. The acids can harm sensitive stomachs. Dogs are just like humans when it comes to digestion. What one dog can handle, it may not be the same for another. Pay attention to your dog when it eats and when it defecates. If a food causes loose stools, avoid that substance in the future. Chocolate should never be given to a dog. Avoid giving your dog grapes or raisins. In some dogs they are toxic, affecting the kidneys. Other things you should not feed your dog -- fruit pits and seeds, nuts, potato peelings or green potatoes, rhubarb, broccoli in large amounts, green parts of tomatoes (like the green potatoes and peels, tomato stems contain oxalates, which can affect digestive, nervous, and urinary systems).

References

• Canine Heart Health

Resources

• Is an L-Carnitine or Taurine Deficiency the Cause of Your Dog's Heart Disease?