Alright, let’s talk about making food for my Golden Retriever. It’s been quite a journey, really. I started looking into this whole homemade dog food thing a while back. My boy, Cooper, he’s a good dog, but sometimes the kibble just didn’t seem to sit right, you know? Plus, reading those labels, sometimes it feels like you need a science degree.
Getting Started – What to Put In?
So, I started digging around. Read a bunch of stuff online, talked to a couple of folks. Everyone says meat is key, obviously. Chicken, beef, turkey… gotta have that protein. Then veggies for vitamins and stuff. Carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes seemed popular. Some people get real intense about it, talking percentages like 80% meat, 10% bone, 10% organ stuff. That sounded a bit much for me starting out, felt like I’d mess it up.
I figured, let’s keep it simple first. Meat, some veggies, maybe a bit of grain like rice or oats for energy. Seemed like a decent starting point based on what most dogs seem to need.
My First Few Tries – Trial and Error
My first attempt was pretty basic. I grabbed a bunch of ground turkey, cooked it up in a big pot. Threw in some chopped carrots and a bag of frozen green beans. Cooked some brown rice separately and mixed it all together. It looked… okay? Kind of like mush, but hey, homemade!
- Cooked the ground turkey until it was brown.
- Boiled the carrots and green beans until they were soft.
- Made a batch of plain brown rice.
- Mixed it all together in a big container.
Cooper? He absolutely loved it. Gobbled it down way faster than his kibble. Success, right? Well, sort of. His digestion was a little… off… for a day or two. Maybe too much change at once, or maybe the specific combo wasn’t perfect.
Finding Our Groove
So, the next batch, I tweaked things. I switched to chicken, seemed a bit leaner. Used sweet potatoes instead of green beans, mashed ’em up real good. Kept the carrots and brown rice. That seemed to go over much better! No tummy troubles this time.
Over the next few months, I just kept experimenting a little. Sometimes I use beef, sometimes fish like salmon (he loves that!). I rotate the veggies – pumpkin is great, spinach sometimes too. I stopped worrying too much about exact percentages and focused more on variety and what seemed to keep Cooper happy and healthy. I did add some calcium powder eventually, just to make sure he’s getting enough, and sometimes a fish oil squirt.
My usual process now is pretty straightforward:
- Cook a big batch of protein (whatever meat is on sale, usually).
- Steam or boil a mix of dog-safe veggies until soft.
- Cook a grain like brown rice or quinoa.
- Mash or chop everything up reasonably small.
- Mix it all together. Sometimes I add a little water or broth if it seems too dry.
- Portion it out into containers for the fridge/freezer.
How It’s Going
Honestly, it’s been great. It takes time, yeah, usually a couple of hours one day a week to prep everything. But Cooper’s coat looks fantastic, he’s got tons of energy, and he genuinely seems to enjoy his meals more. Seeing him excited for dinner makes the effort feel worth it. It’s not for everyone, takes commitment, but for us, switching to homemade has been a really good move. Just sharing what worked for me and my Golden buddy.
