A bland dog food recipe is essential to have on hand for all dog owners. Certain foods can calm the digestive tract and restore proper digestive function. This recipe will help if your dog has a sensitive stomach or is temporarily dealing with a digestive issue. Rich foods that are fatty and harder to digest should be avoided during times like this. We created a simple yet effective bland dog food recipe that will help your pup feel better.
Bland Dog Food Recipe
Turkey & Oats
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yields: 1.5 cups
Servings: 6
Bland Dog Food Recipe Ingredients:
• 1 cup cooked ground turkey
• ½ cup cooked oats
• 2 tablespoons bone broth
• 2 tablespoon pumpkin puree
Cooking Utensils Needed:
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoon
• Large bowl
• Large spoon or spatula
Bland Dog Food Recipe Instructions:
• Add 1 cup of cooked ground turkey and ½ cup cooked oats to a large bowl.
• Mix 2 tablespoons of bone broth and 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree into the turkey and oats. Stir together until the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This food should be consumed within 4 days. You can freeze this food in smaller portions, in a ziplock bag or other airtight container.
Bland Dog Food Recipe Notes:
• Depending on your dog’s weight, you can feed your dog ¼ – 1 cup 2x a day. You can also follow feeding guidelines as advised by your feed.
• You can double or even triple the recipe if you have a larger dog and want to make a larger batch.
Why we chose these ingredients
We love this recipe because it has simple ingredients that can be bought at most stores and dogs will love the taste. It can be so worrying when your dog isn’t feeling well, but you want to be sure your dog is getting adequate nutrition and hydration despite feeling poorly.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to help a dog who is experiencing an upset stomach. The first step towards helping a dog with a digestive issue is taking out any trigger foods that could be exacerbating the problem.
That’s why having a bland dog food recipe on hand can be so helpful. The ingredients in this recipe are simple yet nutritious. Below we’ll talk about why we chose these ingredients plus include alternatives and variations that you can use.
Turkey
Turkey is an excellent choice for a bland dog food recipe because it’s high in protein and low in fat. It has all the essential amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids that your dog needs to be healthy. Turkey is easily digested compared to red meat, which has more fat.
If needed, you can substitute ground chicken for the turkey.
Turkey contains:
• High-quality protein
• Essential amino acids
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• B Vitamin
• Essential minerals including phosphorous, magnesium and potassium
• L-tryptophan
Bone Broth
This ingredient is optional but it’s very beneficial for gut health. When your dog is experiencing an upset stomach, it’s important to monitor their hydration levels.
Bone broth is packed full of nutrition and will keep your pup well hydrated. Bone broth is anti-inflammatory which can help lower inflammation in your dog’s stomach and gastrointestinal tract.
Bone broth contains:
• Glucosamine and chondroitin
• Essential minerals
• Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids
• Vitamin A, Vitamin E, B Vitamins
• Collagen
• Gelatin
• Amino Acids
• Protein
Bone broth is one of the most nutritious things that you could add to your dog’s diet for whole-body benefits. Besides helping your dog’s digestion, bone broth will boost their immune system, promote healthy skin and coat, and support joint health.
Bone broth is often made from the bones of beef, turkey, chicken, and lamb. There are simple bone broth recipes available online if you want to make your homemade bone broth.
Once made, bone broth can also be frozen for later use. You can buy premade bone broth at some local pet food stores as well as some grocery stores. Be sure the bone broth does not have garlic, onion, or other spices!
Pumpkin
Veterinarians often recommend canned pumpkin to help soothe an irritated digestive tract. You can find canned pumpkin at most grocery stores as well as pet food stores.
If you shop at the grocery store, be sure to grab a can of plain, unseasoned pumpkin puree with no additional ingredients (like sweeteners which can be toxic to dogs) added.
Pumpkin contains:
• Vitamins E, C, and A
• B Vitamins: Thiamine, niacin, folate, riboflavin, B6
• Essential minerals such as copper, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese
• Iron
• Fiber
The fiber content in pumpkin will help if your dog is having an upset stomach with diarrhea. The high moisture content of pumpkin will boost your dog’s hydration level.
Sweet potato also provides similar nutrients and benefits as pumpkin does. You can substitute the canned pumpkin for canned, baked, or steamed sweet potato.
Oats
A very common ingredient in bland dog food recipes is rice. Even though it’s a common go-to, not all dogs tolerate rice. We decided to use oats because they are nutritious and easy on the digestive system.
Oats contain:
• Minerals
• Fiber
• B Vitamins, Iron, Zinc
• Antioxidants
Oats are high in fiber which can help if your dog is experiencing an upset stomach and/or diarrhea. If you know that your dog does better with rice than oats, you can substitute cooked rice for the oats in this recipe.
In our experience
All of the ingredients in this recipe can nourish and benefit your dog while he/she is healing from a digestive upset. We’ve tried out this recipe on our dogs and they loved the taste.
We like to use slow-feeder bowls or puzzle toys to serve recipes like these. It encourages your pup to slow down while eating which in turn helps digestion.
Slow-feeder bowls and puzzle toys also encourage licking which is both soothing and calming for dogs. Dogs with sensitive stomachs or a habit of eating too fast will really benefit from this bland dog food recipe in combination with a slow-feeder bowl.
We hope your pup enjoys this recipe and that it helps their digestion!
