A slow-cooked, weekly-batch dog food recipe for Toddy — modeled on the only store-bought food that's never upset his stomach.
Toddy has a sensitive stomach. Over the years we've cycled through more foods than we'd like to admit, and exactly one has never caused a problem: Freshpet's Tender Chicken Recipe. It's fresh, gently steam-cooked, and built from whole-food ingredients you can actually name — chicken, chicken broth, eggs, peas, chicken liver, brown rice, carrots, and spinach.
Just as important is what isn't in it: no corn, wheat, or soy fillers, no synthetic preservatives like BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, and no harsh high-heat kibble extrusion cooking the food into something unrecognizable.
We checked the label — it does not contain probiotics. AAFCO and FDA rules require any probiotic (a "direct-fed microbial") to be specifically disclosed with a "contains a source of live microorganisms" statement and a CFU guarantee. This product has neither. So whatever is settling his stomach isn't a bacterial culture — it's the simple, gently cooked, recognizable-ingredient formula itself. This homemade version replicates that same approach.
Makes roughly 6–7 pounds — about the same size as the store-bought roll, so it slots straight into the same weekly rhythm.
Gentle cooking is the whole point. Low heat preserves more of the nutrients, keeps the texture close to Freshpet's steamed formula, and is far easier on a sensitive gut than anything fried, seared, or heavily browned.
Rinse the rice, then simmer it low and slow in water or the chicken broth — low heat, partially covered, about 45 minutes until tender. Don't rush it at high heat.
Gently poach the thighs and liver in barely-simmering water, not a rolling boil, until cooked through to 165°F internally. Low heat keeps the meat tender and easy to digest instead of tough.
Soft-scramble or hard-boil the eggs. No butter, no oil, no salt.
Steam the carrots, peas, and spinach just until soft — don't boil the nutrients out of them.
Shred or dice the chicken and liver finely, then combine everything in a large bowl.
Stir in the ground eggshell, fish oil, and multivitamin. This step is what makes the batch nutritionally complete — don't skip it.
Portion into daily containers. Refrigerate what you'll use in 5–7 days and freeze the rest flat for easy thawing.
A vet-recommended probiotic like FortiFlora or Proviable can be added on top if his gut needs extra help. To be clear: that's an addition we're making — it is not something the original Freshpet product contains.
Assuming you're grabbing everything at Walmart.
| Ingredient | Amount | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken thighs | 2.5 lb @ ~$3.50/lb | $8.75 |
| Chicken liver | 0.5 lb @ ~$1.60/lb | $0.80 |
| Brown rice | 2 cups dry | $1.40 |
| Carrots | 1.5 cups | $0.60 |
| Frozen peas | 1 cup | $0.40 |
| Spinach | 1 cup | $0.80 |
| Eggs | 3 large | $0.75 |
| Chicken broth | 1 cup | $0.60 |
| Ground eggshell | Reuse shells from the eggs above | Free |
| Fish oil | 1 tbsp | $0.30 |
| Multivitamin | 1 dose | $0.30 |
| Total | ~6–7 lb batch | $14.70 · $2.35/lb |
Homemade runs modestly cheaper — roughly 15–20% less than the store roll. But the real win isn't the savings. It's knowing exactly what's in it, and being able to adjust it if his stomach ever reacts to something.
Prices are Walmart estimates and will shift by store, season, and sale.