Select a recipe from the Recipe Generator on mealmixfordogs.com, and prepare the meal as instructed, and feed as according to the recipe. These are the recommended serving sizes for adult dogs:

• Toy Breed Dogs (up to 14 lbs.) – 6 oz. to 10 oz. per day
• Small Breed Dogs (15 to 29 lbs.) – 10 oz. to 1 lb. per day
• Medium Breed Dogs (30 to 49 lbs.) – 1 lb. to 1 lb. 10 oz. per day
• Large Breed Dogs (50 to 79 lbs.) – 1 lb. 10 oz. to 2 lbs. 6 oz. per day
• Giant Breed Dogs (80+ lbs.) – 2 lbs. 6 oz. to 2 lbs. 14 oz. per day

Yes. The recipes you receive from the Recipe Generator are designed specifically for your dog and meet unique needs based on weight and activity level, ensuring you’re preparing a nutritionally balanced meal every time.

Krill or fish oil is needed to meet EPA and DHA requirements. Because it’s impossible to keep the delicate essential fatty acids stable in a powdered mix, we don’t include it in the Meal Mix supplement. To remain viable, these critical fats should be added right before the meal is served, and you may choose any marine-sourced oil.

We recommend our Bark & Whiskers^® Antarctic Krill Oil for quality and convenience. Flax oil and other vegetable sources of omega-3 fatty acids do not provide adequate amounts of DHA or EPA.

We recommend adding this to replace the omega-6 essential fatty acids missing from red meats. Poultry is a rich source of omega-6 fatty acids, so if you are rotating between red meats and poultry, this addition isn’t necessary. If you don’t want to feed (or can’t feed) poultry, then adding in a source of omega-6 fatty acids is necessary.

Our recommended type of omega-6 oil is hemp seed oil, but you may also use other sources, such as walnut, sunflower or safflower oil.

Usually the cheaper the meat, the higher the fat content. Fat is a great energy source for dogs, but it displaces other key nutrients needed for optimal health, as essential minerals are in the protein, not the fat.

Puppies have different nutritional requirements at different ages of growth, and this formula does not account for these different needs.

No problem. Feed as many fresh meals as you can afford. If you feed your dog 14 meals a week, and you can afford to make half of those fresh, that’s a 50% improvement in your dog’s overall nutritional intake, which will provide valuable health benefits over time.

If your budget allows you to feed just two homemade meals a week, you might want to consider dividing the meals into snack-size portions and feeding a little bit every day as training treats or on top of your pet’s processed food, which you then reduce in portion size to account for the fresh food being added.

A quick search of the FDA recall website reveals there are potential risks to feeding all types of dog foods, including raw food. We recommend discussing your pet’s nutrition with a veterinarian who understands fresh food to learn what type of food, amount and feeding frequency is best for your dog.

Most vets discourage raw meat diets if the patient has undergone GI surgery within the last month or has a white blood cell count that is below normal (indicating immunosuppression). Additionally, some oncologists recommend a cooked food diet for dogs undergoing chemotherapy, and then allow a return to raw food after treatment, provided they were eating it before.

If you and your vet decide a cooked meal is best for your dog, you may still use Meal Mix. It will supply the necessary nutrients to make the food complete and balanced. A lightly cooked balanced fresh food diet is still superior to any store-bought foods.

Yes, this is a popular feeding approach. Some nutrient levels actually increase after gentle steaming (such as lycopene levels in tomatoes). Please avoid using onions, garlic, chives and rhubarb, as they are toxic to dogs. If you add potatoes, make sure you remove any sprouted “eyes,” as they are also toxic to dogs.

Fruit may be included. We recommend berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) because they’re loaded with beneficial antioxidants for dogs. Pits must be removed from fruits before feeding. Avoid starfruit, grapes and raisins.

If you have a healthy dog, then feed a little bit of all of them, except onions. Here’s what we know about some vegetables and other produce:

• Soy and yams have phytoestrogens. Soy is almost always genetically engineered and contains anti-nutrients, which may be harmful for your dog.
• Cruciferous veggies – such as broccoli and cauliflower – can be goitrogenic, which means they can negatively affect your dog’s thyroid health if fed exclusively.
• Vegetables have different oxalate concentrations, so some dogs predisposed to certain bladder stones do best avoiding high oxalate veggies, such as spinach and beets.
• The lectins in legumes can lead to gastric upset and leaky gut.
• Non-organic wheat, bulgur, spelt, barley, rye and oats contain at least some gluten (you can avoid traces of gluten by buying gluten-free oats). When these grains are non-organic, they often contain glyphosate, a likely carcinogenic herbicide.
• Some vegetables are sky high on the glycemic index, such as corn and potatoes, while some are very low. Better choices for your dog’s metabolic health include asparagus, dark green leafy vegetables, green beans and zucchini.

All mushrooms that are safe for people are safe for pets. Mushrooms that are toxic to people are also toxic to dogs.

The meal is still balanced, but your dog will not get any fiber or roughage, food-based phytonutrients or enzymes present in fresh produce. Research shows dogs consuming a meat-only diet have a less diverse microbiome than dogs fed vegetable matter.

Nature intended dogs to eat small amounts of vegetables, and the wild ancestors of dogs naturally consumed the vegetables in the stomachs of their prey. This is why small amounts of vegetables are recommended.

Grains are typically added to reduce cost. Many people are able to afford fresh meals by offsetting some of the more expensive meats with other foods, such as grains, legumes or potatoes. A fresh diet that includes these foods is more nourishing than a processed diet. Some animals have medical issues that require them to consume a lower protein diet or higher fiber diet. As always, choose organic whenever possible.

There are many ways to transition your dog, but no one way works for every dog. To know if you’re transitioning your dog too fast or too slow, keep an eye on your dog’s stools. Here are some general guidelines:

The first step is to make a batch of food. You can calculate how much your dog needs to eat daily and divide the food into daily portions. Keep a few days’ worth in the refrigerator, and freeze the rest. We recommend making only the amount of food your pet will eat within two weeks.

If you have a finicky dog or a dog with a sensitive stomach, the “slow trick” is recommended: Remove 5% of your dog’s old food, and replace it with the same amount (5%) of new food. Watch your pet’s stools. They may become soft for a day, but they should firm back up.

If stools are normal, replace 10% old food with 10% new food, and watch stools. Continue replacing old food with new food until your dog is transitioned completely. If stools soften, simply continue feeding the same ratio of new and old food until the bowels balance themselves, then proceed with the transition schedule.

Another option is to divide up one freshly prepared meal, and give the food as treats throughout the day, then feed your dog regular food for the evening meal or vice versa – feed the old food for breakfast, then use the new food as treats for the remaining part of the day. Continue this for several days until stools are normal, and then discontinue old food entirely.

Some dogs may prefer the food cooked, initially, as cooking releases an amazing aroma that dogs find irresistible. If you wean your dog onto cooked meals and then would like to wean them onto raw food, gradually cook the food less and less.

If you’re now adding certain nutrients, such as calcium or vitamin D, to your dog’s homemade meals as a means of balancing the diet, then yes, you should discontinue these supplements. Meal Mix provides all the required nutrients conveniently in one packet. Continue using probiotics, enzymes, joint or eye supplement, ubiquinol, astaxanthin or medications from your veterinarian.

Do not increase or decrease single ingredients in the recipes – this can create nutritional imbalance. If you desire a higher recipe yield, double or triple the entire recipe. This will increase the amount of food while maintaining the calculated nutritional balance.

If too few recipes are displayed after filtering the ingredients, choose your desired meat, and skip to ‘Create Recipe.’ All the recipes containing that specific meat will be displayed on the page.

Yes, you may use your desired seasonal vegetable following the ‘Any Vegetable’ recipes. These recipes will list ‘Any Vegetable’ in the ingredient list and can easily be found by selecting ‘Any Vegetable’ when choosing your vegetable option in the Recipe Generator.

The individual Meal Mix packets are perfectly measured to deliver the appropriate amount of vitamins and minerals to the provided recipes in order to create a nutritionally balanced meal. Just as getting too little of a vitamin can cause deficiencies, too much of a vitamin may cause health problems, and AAFCO has recommended maximum daily intakes for these vitamins.

For this reason, Meal Mix packets should not be added to commercial pet food or recipes other than those found on the Recipe Generator, as this could cause a nutrient imbalance over time. Additionally, using a different amount of Meal Mix other than what is directed in the Recipe Generator is not advised for the same reason.

Take the daily recommended amount of kibble found on the bag, or directed by your veterinarian, and cut it in half, then take the suggested feeding amount listed on your Meal Mix recipe, and cut that in half as well. Commercial pet food and Meal Mix recipes can be fed together or separately throughout the day. Alternate ratios may also be used, such as feeding one-third of the recommended amount of commercial food and two-thirds of the recommended amount of a Meal Mix recipe each day.

This product was not formulated specifically for pregnant or nursing pets. We always recommend consulting with your veterinarian before giving your pet a new dietary supplement.