Lesley's Raw Dog Food Recipe for $3 a Day & Her Raw Feeding Tips

At Healthy Active Pet we are passionate about healthy dogs and this starts with what they eat.

A healthy diet is crucial for the health of dogs and research also shows that dogs who are lean live 2.5 years longer than those dogs who are overweight - and diet is crucial to this.

raw dog food

And we are delighted to share a raw dog food recipe from our community member, Lesley.

You can also read Lesley's journey to raw feeding her dog here

Lesley says that the quantities below are for large batches and for a medium to large Border Collie

And if you want to see a HUGE selection of our raw dog food recipes and books go here

Raw dog food recipe

Fish:

Tuna in Springwater (3 x 425g tins)
Whole Sardines (2kg box snap frozen)

Offal:

Lamb hearts 10-12 approx.
Lamb Kidneys 15-20 approx.
Lamb Liver 3 or 4
Chicken hearts/Livers/Giblets 500g

Vegetables:

Frozen mixed veggies (Peas, Beans, Cauliflower, Broccoli) 3kg
Frozen chopped Spinach 250g pack (4 x packs = 1kg)
Raw Carrots coarsely grated (Easier to digest) 1kg

Mince Meats:

Kangaroo mince 2kg
Turkey mince 2kg
Beef mince 1kg
Pork mince 1kg
Chicken mince (frames, off cuts and bones) 2kg

raw dog food

Extra muscle meats (when available):

Lamb tongues, Kangaroo offcuts, Duck wings etc

MY HINTS AND TIPS

I make large quantities (about 25kg) which is 25 x 1 kg containers, equal to 50 days’ worth of food. Cost varies a bit depending on what is available, but it averages out to around $3 per day, for one evening meal of 500g (half a tub)
I have 2 x 10 litre buckets with fitted lids so that they can store in the fridge while thawing offal etc I also use a couple of large plastic tubs with handles to tip and mix everything up.
I chop all the offal into a bucket and mix it, then chop the sardines, drain the tuna and add. Much easier to mix everything well in smaller quantities and then combine at the end. In another bucket I combine all the mince meats together, add the frozen veggies, spinach, grated carrot and blend. If you get all the messy stuff like offal and fish done first, it’s much easier to keep your workspace clean. I use strong disposable gloves.

If you are super organised, chop any fresh offal up when you buy it before repackaging and putting into the freezer, then it’s just a matter of thawing enough to mix it through when you make your next batch of food. Saves a lot of prep time.
My butcher has a freezer specifically for Pet meat so a lot of what I buy is already frozen into large packs. Supermarkets offal is usually more expensive.
Food safety is important, but re-freezing is perfectly fine for PET food, if you are using quality fresh, human grade ingredients, and not leaving it out for a long time. I find that Fish and Offal is easier to chop when still partly frozen.

raw dog food

Remember: how small you chop everything should be relative to the size of the dog. Dogs need to chew for good digestion, healthy teeth/gums and to help prevent boredom.
I prefer to mix everything together because I feel more confident that he is getting a great variety of flavours, textures and nutrition every day.
Using tinned sardines was expensive and labour intensive. I checked out my local Tackle World fishing shop and they have 2kg boxed, snap frozen, human grade whole raw sardines. At $7/kg it’s a much better option. I am lucky to live in a Fishing Town, so these sardines are locally caught, however elsewhere in Australia ask at the Tackle store because most will carry an oily bait fish that is local to your region and should be suitable for your pet.
Here in SA, we have Drakes Independent Supermarkets. They do their own chicken frames, chicken meat off-cuts and bones, finely ground/minced. At $3.50kg it’s great value and provides a lot of nutritional benefit, especially calcium.
My almost 2-year-old gets a couple of chicken necks for breakfast, when I go to work, he gets a meaty Kangaroo bone or a frozen Turkey neck or beef brisket bone which takes care of his bone requirements for the day and keeps him busy for ages.
He has his prepared feed at night with an egg cracked onto it, or a spoonful of natural yoghurt or a spoonful of liquid coconut oil. Not all 3 at once.
Kangaroo bones are extremely hard, some say that “weight bearing” bones like leg bones are too hard and will damage teeth, especially for youngsters. I purchase Kangaroo bones from Woolworths which have quite a bit of meat and sinew on them. Once he has spent a few hours stripping every scrap off it, I bin the bone. Occasionally my Butcher has Kangaroo tail for human consumption, but make sure you ask them to saw it into sections for you, as it can be very hard to do at home.