Soft food for senior dogs: hake with potato and carrot
Soft food for senior dogs: hake with potato, carrot and egg, easy to chew and digest, with calcium and omega-3. Step by step, plus storage tips.
- Time
- 40 min + 10 min resting
- Makes
- About 1.15 kg / 2.5 lb (2 days for a 10 kg / 22 lb senior dog; 3 days for a 6 kg / 13 lb dog)
- Type
- Main meal
- Difficulty
- Easy
- 45 % hake, boneless
- 30 % peeled potato
- 15 % carrot
- 8 % egg
Follows THE RULE. All 7 ingredients are on our safe list: nothing that could harm your dog.
This soft food for senior dogs is a homemade dish of hake, potato and carrot so tender it mashes with the back of a spoon. It's designed for dogs over 8-10 years old (earlier in large breeds) who have lost teeth, have sensitive gums or simply chew less well and leave the hard pieces in the bowl.
The potato and carrot are cooked until they fall apart and mashed with the hake and egg into a purée with very tender bits. The smell of freshly cooked fish, warmed to body temperature, encourages dogs that have lost some of their sense of smell to eat. If yours has hardly any teeth left, just blend it for a few seconds with a little of the cooking water.
Why it works
Hake is a very easy-to-digest, low-fat protein, well suited to senior dogs that shouldn't lose muscle but do need to watch their weight. The egg adds protein of high biological value. Very well-cooked potato and carrot provide energy and fiber in a texture that needs no chewing. The olive oil raises the energy of a very lean dish a little, and the salmon oil provides the omega-3s EPA and DHA, which can help support the joints. The eggshell balances the phosphorus in the fish.
Step by step
Cook the potato and carrot
Peel the potato and carrot and cut them into 1.5 cm (⅝ inch) dice. Cover them with water in a pot, bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes, until they fall apart when pressed with a fork. For a senior dog, overcooked is better.
Boil the eggs
In a separate saucepan, boil the eggs for 10 minutes. Cool, peel and chop them very finely.
Cook the hake
For the last 6-8 minutes of the potato's cooking time, lay the hake on top of the vegetables in the same pot and cover. It will cook in the steam and water until opaque and flaking apart.
Remove the bones
Transfer the hake to a plate and flake it with your fingers to find any bone that slipped through, even if you bought it cleaned.
Mash it all together
Drain the potato and carrot, saving a cup of the cooking water. Mash with a fork, add the hake, egg and olive oil and mix into a purée with soft bits. Add cooking water until it's moist.
Cool and add the calcium
Let it cool for 10 minutes, sprinkle over the ground eggshell and mix well. The salmon oil goes on the bowl at serving time.
How much should I feed?
Approximate daily portion for a "senior dog" 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 | 235 | 340 | 575 | 780 | 965 | 1,310 | 1,625 |
Puppy, senior, very active or on a diet? Calculate the exact portion.
- Energy
- 96 kcal/100 g
- Protein
- 45 % dry matter
- Fat
- 11 % dry matter
- Calcium:phosphorus
- 1.3 : 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: 2 days at most in an airtight container. Freezer: up to 2 months in one-day portions. Thaw in the fridge and warm with a tablespoon of water, stirring, until lukewarm. Serve at body temperature, never hot, and add the salmon oil after warming.
If you don't have…
- You can't find hake
- Fresh cod (never salt cod), haddock or pollock in the same amount, cooked the same way
- Your senior dog doesn't tolerate egg
- Leave it out and add 100 g (3.5 oz) more hake
- Your dog is overweight
- Swap 150 g (5 oz) of the potato for 150 g of zucchini, added for the last 8 minutes
- Your dog doesn't like carrot
- Pumpkin in the same amount
Cooking tips
- If your dog has lost a lot of teeth, blend the mix with a little of the cooking water until it's like a pâté: it can be eaten by licking.
- Split the daily portion into two or three meals: many senior dogs do better eating smaller amounts more often.
- As the only daily meal it needs a vitamin and mineral supplement made for homemade diets: the recipe covers protein, energy, calcium and omega-3, but not every vitamin and trace mineral.
- Weigh your dog once a month. Senior dogs can lose muscle without the scale changing much: if you notice the spine or hips becoming more prominent, mention it to your vet.
Safety
- If your senior dog has diagnosed kidney, liver or heart disease, the protein, phosphorus and fat need to be adjusted with your vet before you use this recipe.
- Check for bones even if you buy cleaned fillets: in a senior dog that swallows without chewing, a bone can easily get stuck.
- Potatoes always peeled and well cooked, with no green parts or sprouts.
- In a senior dog, loss of appetite lasting more than two days, or unexplained weight loss, is a reason to see the vet, not to change recipes.
Frequently asked questions
What homemade food is best for a senior dog?
Food that's easy to chew and digest and keeps a good amount of quality protein: white fish, chicken, turkey or rabbit, with very well-cooked potato, sweet potato or rice and soft vegetables. It should be moist, served lukewarm and balanced with calcium, omega-3 and a vitamin and mineral supplement. If your dog has a medical condition, the vet should adjust the recipe.
Do senior dogs need less protein?
Not if they're healthy. That's an outdated belief: a healthy senior dog needs the same amount of protein as an adult, or even a little more, because muscle mass is lost more easily with age. What does matter is that it's highly digestible. Only in specific conditions, such as advanced kidney disease, may the vet prescribe reducing protein or phosphorus.
Is hake good for dogs?
Yes, cooked, boneless hake is one of the most suitable fish for dogs: it's high in protein, very low in fat and easy to digest, which is why it's used for dogs with sensitive stomachs and for senior dogs. Serve it poached, steamed or baked, without salt or seasoning. Because it's lean, it provides few omega-3s: round it out with salmon oil.
What can I feed a senior dog with no teeth?
Soft homemade food like this one, mashed or blended to a pâté texture, or kibble soaked in warm water for 15-20 minutes. What matters is that there are no hard pieces to chew and the food is moist. A dog without teeth can eat well and keep their weight; if they suddenly eat less, have the vet check their mouth in case there's pain.
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.