How to Dehydrate Pet Food at Home — The Natural Way to Keep Your Dog Fed and Happy

When dehydrating homemade Chicken Chow for your dog, make sure the blobs are bite-sized so he won't choke (you know how dogs like to rush their food - um, and some humans too!)

Honestly? It's probably not cheaper to make your own, but you have the peace of mind that nothing nasty is in your dog's Chicken Chow. No preservatives, no ground-up goodness knows what... you get the picture.

Store the wet mix in plastic tubs: I store her food in those reusable plastic tubs (with lids) that are left over from my roast beef and turkey tubs! I freeze the doggie dinners and take one out as needed and thaw in the refrigerator.

I don't give her the food straight from the refrigerator; I warm it up a little in the microwave. Not too hot! Just enough to take the chill off. Yep, I spoil her rotten!

You'll need a dehydrator - or use your oven in a pinch which you'll set to its lowest setting possible. You may have to keep the door open a little - use a wooden spoon to prop the oven door open. But for me? It's too much of a hassle using a regular oven. Get a dehydrator and you're done messin' around wi' spoons.

Regarding the ingredients for Chicken Chow, check out How to Make Dog Food. My special recipe contains chicken and quinoa, along with millet. Tasty veggies such as sweet potato, butternut squash, and celery are included. And I share with you how to make the special mix of Vitamin powder from Alfalfa, Bone Meal, Brewers Yeast, and Kelp and what quantities to add. It's easy.

You can make it all in one big saucepan, but I use a pressure cooker for all the veggies, and drape the raw chicken breasts on the very top.

DO NOT add the millet and quinoa into the mix inside the pressure cooker. Millet and quinoa tend to get "foamy" and can block a pressure cooker's valve. Cook the millet and quinoa in a separate pan, then add the pressure cooked meat and veggies to the millet and quinoa pan. It's all in this book!

Regarding keeping it fresh, vacuum seal your Chicken Chow nuggets with an oxygen absorber tucked inside the bag. This is a great way to store your dehydrated dog food for weeks - even months. Store your dehydrated bags of Chicken Chow nuggets inside a Mylar bag for extra protection - for long-term storage.

In an emergency situation, it's easy to rehydrate a handful of Chicken Chow nuggets if you want to serve it as a wet meal.

If you're making Chicken Chow dried nuggets on a weekly basis, keep them in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator.

Please feel free to show your vet my "Make Your Own Dog Food" ingredients. My dog's vet said our Min Pin's coat shines, she has such bright eyes too. Oh, and her poo doesn't stink.

Great question, and if you make my Chicken Chow Dog Food from my book, you'll be able to dehydrate blobs of it. See how coming up!

On this page I'm not discussing dehydrating commercial canned dog food (that's gross, sorry). Rather, you'll be learning how to dehydrate blobs of my special "Chicken Chow Dog Food" that look just like chicken nuggets!