Apple in a dog bowl sounds like a gimmick, right up until you watch a dog hunt the pieces out one by one. This pork apple oat dog food recipe uses that: the apple goes in raw at the end so it keeps its crunch and its pectin, while the oats bring the soluble fibre that settles unpredictable stools. If your dog’s output has been something of a lottery lately, start here.
The beta-glucan in oats is a soluble fibre that helps steady post-meal glucose and supports gut health; apple adds pectin and natural palatability. Total fibre is about 12 g per 1000 kcal – a moderate-fat, higher-fibre design suited to dogs with variable stool quality.
Ingredients (standard batch)
| Ingredient | Amount | Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Lean pork shoulder | 1.8 kg | diced, visible fat trimmed |
| Pork liver | 150 g | finely chopped |
| Apple | 400 g | peeled, cored, deseeded, finely diced |
| Rolled oats | 350 g | |
| Carrot | 250 g | diced |
This batch yields about 2.9 kg of food (about 4,734 kcal), roughly 8 days for a 10 kg adult dog.
Method
- Put the pork in a pot, cover with water and simmer 12 minutes until cooked.
- Chop the liver finely and cook it together with the meat. Liver is nutrient dense, so keep to the stated amount and do not increase it.
- Add the carrot and cook 5 minutes.
- Stir in the oats and cook 3 minutes until thickened.
- Off the heat, cool slightly, then stir in the apple.
- Cool fully and portion per the dosing table.
Estimated nutrient analysis (base recipe, before supplements)
| Item | Per 100 g | Per 1000 kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Metabolisable energy | 165 kcal | – |
| Crude protein | 13.3 g | 81 g |
| Fat | 7.3 g | 44 g |
| Carbohydrate | 10.9 g | 67 g |
| Dietary fibre | 1.8 g | 11 g |
| Calcium | 22 mg | 1.25 g |
| Phosphorus | 165 mg | 1.01 g |
On its own this recipe cannot meet an adult dog’s full requirement – calcium, copper, zinc and vitamin D all fall short. Adding Eggshell Calcium Powder (about 2.9 g per 1000 kcal for this recipe) and Daily Multi for Dogs (about 7.0 g per 1000 kcal), as tabled below, brings it up to every minimum in the AAFCO adult maintenance profile, with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of about 1.2:1. Both doses are calculated from this recipe’s own shortfalls, not from a generic chart.
Feeding and supplement dosing (two meals per day)
| Dog weight | Daily energy need | Daily food | Batch lasts | Daily Multi (per meal) | Eggshell Calcium (per meal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 kg | 251 kcal | about 150 g | about 19 days* | 0.9 g | 0.4 g (about 1/8 tsp) |
| 5 kg | 368 kcal | about 220 g | about 13 days | 1.3 g | 0.5 g (about 1/4 tsp) |
| 10 kg | 619 kcal | about 380 g | about 8 days | 2.2 g | 0.9 g (about 3/8 tsp) |
| 20 kg | 1,040 kcal | about 630 g | about 5 days | 3.6 g | 1.5 g (about 5/8 tsp) |
| 30 kg | 1,410 kcal | about 860 g | about 3 days | 4.9 g | 2.1 g (about 7/8 tsp) |
*For small dogs one batch lasts beyond the 2-week freezer guideline – scale the batch down proportionally. If you feed once daily, combine both meal portions of the supplements. Stir them in only after the food has cooled to just warm. Energy needs follow NRC (2006) MER = 110 kcal x BW(kg)^0.75 and vary about 15% with neuter status and activity; weigh your dog every 2 weeks and adjust to body condition.
Storage
Let it cool, then divide it into daily portions. Three days worth goes in the fridge (4°C) and the rest straight into the freezer, where it keeps for two weeks. Move tomorrow’s portion down to the fridge the night before, and warm it in a bowl of hot water before serving. Skip the microwave: it heats unevenly and leaves scalding pockets next to frozen ones.
Clinical notes
- Apple seeds and cores contain cyanogenic compounds – remove them completely; leave the apple raw for texture and pectin.
- Cook all meat and fish right through (core temperature above 75°C), and add no salt, sugar or seasoning at all. It will taste bland to you, which is exactly right for your dog.
- Onion, garlic, chives, grapes and chocolate are toxic to dogs. No amount is safe, and there is no exception to this one.
- Give your dog a week to change over, adding a little more of the new food each day, and keep an eye on stools, skin and appetite as you go. There is no prize for rushing it.
- These recipes are formulated for healthy adult dogs. For puppies, pregnant or nursing mothers, seniors, or any dog with a medical condition, talk to your vet before you start.
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More recipes: Homemade Dog Food Recipes hub | Turkey, Carrot and Oats | Lamb and Sweet Potato