Homemade puppy food for growing puppies: turkey, carrot and rice
Ground turkey with rice, carrot and egg for growing puppies. High protein, the supplement he needs and how to split his meals by age.
- Time
- 40 min + 10 min resting
- Makes
- About 1.25 kg / 2.75 lb (roughly 2½ days for a 10 kg / 22 lb puppy)
- Type
- Main meal
- Difficulty
- Easy
- 48 % lean ground turkey
- 31 % white rice
- 14 % carrot
- 7 % egg
Follows THE RULE. All 6 ingredients are on our safe list: nothing that could harm your dog.
This homemade puppy food for growing puppies is the simplest recipe in the section: ground turkey, white rice, grated carrot and hard-boiled egg, all in small pieces you can adjust to the size of his mouth. It is a good first homemade recipe if you are moving away from kibble.
The ground turkey cooks in a nonstick pan with no oil, broken up with a spatula until there is no pink left; it takes about 8 minutes. The finely grated carrot cooks with the rice and turns the grain orange, so the dish looks very uniform and puppies eat it without picking through it.
Why it works
Turkey and egg cover the protein needed by a body that is building muscle, with a moderate amount of fat that is easy to digest. White rice provides easily digested energy and carrot adds gentle fiber and beta-carotene. Eggshell keeps the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio balanced (the total calcium and phosphorus needed for growth is completed by the supplement) and salmon oil adds DHA, an omega-3 involved in the development of the brain and retina.
Talk to your vet first. This recipe does not, on its own, cover the calcium and phosphorus a growing puppy needs. As his only diet it needs the growth supplement your vet prescribes (do not add more eggshell by eye: more shell throws the phosphorus off balance, and excess calcium is harmful too, especially in large breeds). Without the supplement, use it as part of his daily food, not all of it.
Step by step
Cook the rice with the carrot
Put the rice and grated carrot in a pot with 500 ml (2 cups) of unsalted water. When it boils, lower the heat and simmer until the rice is very tender and has absorbed almost all the water.
Boil the eggs
Boil the eggs for 10 minutes from when the water comes to a boil, cool them in cold water and peel them.
Cook the turkey
In a nonstick pan with no oil, cook the ground turkey over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula until there are no pink bits left and the crumbles are small.
Mix and add the calcium
Combine the turkey with the rice and carrot, add the chopped eggs and sprinkle in the eggshell as you stir, so it is evenly distributed.
Divide into meals
Let it cool to lukewarm, split the day's food into the number of meals right for his age and add the salmon oil to each one just before serving.
How much should I feed?
Approximate daily portion for a "puppy (4-12 months)" profile. Split it into two meals (three or four for puppies).
— g a day
| Weight | 3 kg | 5 kg | 10 kg | 15 kg | 20 kg | 30 kg | 40 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grams/day | 215 | 315 | 530 | 715 | 890 | 1,205 | 1,495 |
Puppy, senior, very active or on a diet? Calculate the exact portion.
- Energy
- 149 kcal/100 g
- Protein
- 40 % dry matter
- Fat
- 20 % dry matter
- Calcium:phosphorus
- 1.4 : 1
Values estimated from the ingredients (BEDCA/USDA data). An everyday meal. To feed it daily as the only food, add a vitamin and mineral supplement for homemade diets.
Storage
Fridge: up to 3 days in an airtight container. Freezer: up to 2 months in single-meal portions (large silicone ice cube trays work very well for small puppies). Thaw in the fridge and warm, stirring, before serving.
If you don't have…
- You cannot find ground turkey
- Turkey breast chopped by hand, or chopped boneless chicken thigh, in the same amount
- You want to vary the vegetable
- Grated zucchini or small cubes of pumpkin, in the same amount
- Your puppy does not tolerate egg
- 100 g more ground turkey
Cooking tips
- If your puppy is a small breed, break the turkey down almost to a fine crumble; for large breeds it can stay in ⅓ inch (1 cm) pieces.
- Make a double batch and freeze it in single-meal portions: with a puppy eating 3 or 4 times a day, it saves a lot of time.
- For this to be his only diet, he needs the growth supplement your vet prescribes, not an adult one. Without it, use this as part of his daily food, not all of it.
- Watch his shape more than the scale: you should be able to feel his ribs when you run your hand over him without seeing them stand out.
Safety
- Ground turkey is always cooked through, with no pink parts.
- Do not add more eggshell than stated: it would throw the phosphorus off balance, and in puppies, especially large breeds, too much calcium is as harmful as too little. The calcium and phosphorus this recipe lacks for growth must come from the supplement your vet prescribes.
- Serve lukewarm and pick up whatever he has not eaten after 20 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What homemade food can puppies eat?
A puppy can eat cooked homemade food based on lean meat, egg, rice or oats and gentle vegetables such as carrot or zucchini, always with added calcium and, if it is his only diet, the growth supplement your vet prescribes. What a puppy cannot handle is improvisation: he needs more protein, calcium and phosphorus than an adult, in very precise proportions.
How many times a day should a 3-month-old puppy eat?
A 3-month-old puppy should eat 4 times a day, splitting the total daily amount into equal meals. Around 4 months you can move to 3 meals and keep them until he is one year old; in large and giant breeds, until 15-18 months. After that, 2 meals a day like an adult.
When should a puppy switch to adult food?
As far as food goes, a dog stops being a puppy when he reaches his adult size: around 10-12 months in small and medium breeds, between 15 and 18 months in large breeds and up to 24 months in giant breeds. Until then he needs a growth diet and his portion recalculated every month.
How do I change my puppy's food without causing diarrhea?
Change his food gradually over 7 to 10 days, mixing more and more new food with the old: 25 %, 50 %, 75 % and 100 %. Keep the same number of meals and the same times. If diarrhea appears, go back to the previous step; if it lasts more than a day or your puppy seems low, call your vet. If it will be his only diet, also start the growth supplement your vet prescribes.
What's in it, in detail
If they liked it, try
The fridge list
The foods your dog can eat, can have in moderation and must never eat, on a single printable page.