Raw Dog Food Recipes & Tips For Dogs With Allergies

Raw dog food recipes and tips for dogs with allergies, anyone?!

That’s exactly what you’ll find here in this blog post!

I specifically wrote it for raw-fed dogs with allergies to common protein sources like chicken, beef, turkey, pork, lamb, salmon, etc.

That said, my raw dog food recipes are inspired by my very own pup Wally’s food intolerances.

He’s a raw-fed, 38 lb Feist mix who used to get rashes and hot spots from eating several different foods.

These foods are:

• Quail
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Pheasant
• Anchovies
• Any and all grains
• Green lipped mussels
• Several veggies and fruit
• Chicken (including eggs)

Spoiler alert: After 6 years of avoiding those foods, he finally overcame his sensitivities. Having said that, feeding him the novel proteins featured in this blog entry helped him overcome his intolerances.

What’s In These Raw Dog Food Recipes For Dogs With Allergies?

For starters, there’s 10 raw dog food recipes.

They feature 10 novel protein sources, including:

• Rabbit
• Duck
• Venison
• Camel
• Kangaroo
• Ostrich
• Beaver
• Alpaca
• Herring
• Lake trout

Also, low-carb, non-starchy veggies.

That’s because starchy foods contribute to inflammation in the body, which causes itchiness that leads to excessive licking, hot spots and hair loss.

I include resources of where to buy the ingredients in the US as well as a few resources in Canada.

You’ll also find basic raw feeding knowledge. That means I’ll teach you how much to feed your dog per day and what balanced raw dog food consists of.

That includes the feeding math for your particular dog(s).

Also, how to find out which foods don’t agree with your dog using the food elimination approach or food sensitivity tests.

Raw Dog Food Ingredient Cost

So how much does this type of raw feeding cost?

Well, it depends on where in the world you live!

But generally speaking, you can find great deals on many ingredients, you may just have to do some comparing and digging around.

That’s especially true if you buy from local farms, make friends with hunters and wildlife processors or hunt yourself.

You can also save money by placing orders together with other raw feeders, and by browsing the sales sections of online raw dog food retailers like:

For Raw Feeding Miami and Raw Paws Pet Food, I can also offer you a 10-15% off discount.

Use this referral link for 10% OFF your first order from Raw Feeding Miami.

Use affiliate discount code K9Savings for 15% OFF anything you order from Raw Paws Pet Food.

And one more tip for saving on shipping costs from Raw Paws Pet Food – some of their raw dog food is also available on Amazon.

For example:

• Wild caught, raw frozen venison dog food
• Raw frozen duck dog food

So if you have an Amazon Prime membership, you won’t pay any shipping!

It also really pays off to invest in a chest or upright freezer for your dog’s raw cuts of meat.

That way you can buy bulk raw dog food and stock up on ingredients that are seasonal items only, like venison or beaver.

Last but not least, keep in mind that raw feeding drastically decreases your vet bills.

Especially the ones for steroid shots, creams, and any pills that are supposed to help dogs with allergies.

Your Dog’s Size And Daily Raw Dog Food Requirement

This is highly individual as every dog is different, but let me give you a few examples.

For example, a 15 lb adult dog who exercises moderately will eat around 6 oz per day.

A 30 lb adult couch potato will eat closer to 9.6 ounces.

A highly active, 70 lb adult working dog will eat more like 2.8 lbs per day.

It essentially depends on a dog’s respective size, metabolism and activity.

Click here to learn more about the different raw dog food amounts for puppies.

Example 1: 15 lb dog eats between 4.8 – 9.6 oz of raw dog food/day

For instance, an adult dog whose ideal body weight is 15 lbs eats between 4.8 and 9.6 oz per day.

Now let’s assume that you place an order for 30 lbs = 480 oz of Signature Duck from Raw Paws Pet Food. This food can be fed as is. All you need to add is some kelp as a natural iodine source (Raw Paws carries that, too).

Here’s what’s in it:

Whole Duck, Duck Necks, Duck Liver, Duck Gizzards

Since you’re meeting the free shipping threshold, there’s no shipping charge.

Before using my discount code, the total cost would be $299.9 (in 2024), or $9.99/lb.

If you use my affiliate discount code K9Savings, that takes 15% OFF and brings the total price down to $254.92.

That would last the 15 lb dog between 50-100 days:

Example 2: 30 lb dog eats between 9.6 oz – 1.2 lbs of raw dog food/day

An adult dog whose target body weight is 30 lbs eats between 9.6 oz and 1.2 lbs per day.

Let’s assume that you’re placing an order for 30 lbs of complete duck and 30 lbs of complete beaver from My Pet Carnivore, for a total of 60 lbs of meat.

The cost including $78 shipping would be $446.85 (in 2024) or $7.45/lb.

That would also last the 30 lb dog 50 – 100 days.

Example 3: 70 lb dog eats 1.4 – 2.8 lbs of raw dog food/day

An adult dog with a target body weight of 70 lbs eats between 1.4 lbs and 2.8 lbs per day.

Now let’s assume that you can get 30 lbs of free venison meat from a local wildlife processor.

During hunting season (September – January), this is absolutely realistic!

Additionally, you place an order for the following from Raw Feeding Miami:

• 20 lbs of ground camel: $300
• 7.5 lbs of Atlantic herring: $39.45
• 5 lb of rabbit bones: $33.00
• 2 lb of rabbit liver: $19.00
• 2 lb of rabbit kidneys: $19.00

The cost would be $410.45 (in 2024) – 10% referral discount = $369.41.

Shipping is free because it meets the free shipping threshold of $150+.

Raw Dog Food Recipes For Dogs With Allergies: Meet The Author, Barbara Rivers

Hi, I’m Barbara Rivers, raw dog food nerd par excellence!

I’ve been feeding raw dog food since 2015, started making my own in 2016 and really had to step up my raw feeding game when I adopted my pup Wally in early 2019.

That’s because of his many food sensitivities!

Before him, I had two Boxers, Missy & Buzz, who weren’t nearly as sensitive as far as different cuts of meat were concerned.

So feeding them raw was comparatively easy.

In case you’re wondering, no, I’m not a veterinarian.

However, I got my certification as a raw dog food nutrition specialist from Dogs Naturally Magazine in early 2020 and have prepped 1000s of raw meals at this point.

Also, in 2024, I started working for one of Germany’s leading raw dog food brands, BARFER’S.

10 Hypoallergenic Raw Dog Food Recipes for Dogs with Skin Allergies

How to Use My Recipes

Raw meal prep for dogs with food sensitivities is highly individual.

That’s why I want you to be inspired by my recipes and understand that it depends on what your individual dog can and cannot have as to what his exact recipes will look like.

That said, the likelihood that your dog will do just fine with the proteins featured in the recipes is high.

They’re novel proteins for dogs after all, which is why I chose them in the first place.

However, since every dog is different, you can replace certain cuts of meat with protein sources your dog does well with.

For example, instead of using duck wings, feed turkey necks if your dog does well with turkey but can’t have duck.

How to do the feeding math for your dog using my pup Wally as an example

	Target weight	Feeding Percentage	Daily Food Amount
Wally	38lb	2.5%	15.2oz
Your Dog

How to do the raw feeding math:

38/100=0.38 x 2.5 = 0.95 lb = 15.2 oz

Divide your dog’s target body weight by 100.

Multiply the result with your feeding percentage (2%, 2.5%, 3%, 3.5%, or 4%).

That gives you your daily feeding amount in pounds (or kilos), which you can then convert into ounces (or grams).

The recipes featured below consist of Wally’s daily amount of raw dog food.

Related Reading: Easy BARF & PMR Raw Dog Food Feeding Charts + Worksheets

Balance over time

Not every single meal you give your adult dog has to be 100% balanced.

It’s perfectly fine to achieve balance over the course of 7-10 days (unless you feed pregnant/lactating dogs or puppies – they need more daily balance because they’re still growing).

For example, Wally’s daily overall food allowance is around 15.2 ounces:

• 1.52 oz meaty bones
• 0.75 oz liver
• 0.75 oz other secreting organ
• 1.52 oz veggies and herbs
• 1.52 oz (oily) fish
• 9.12 oz (muscle) meat

As you’ll see in my recipes, Wally’s raw meaty bone allowance will sometimes be a little under the 1.52 oz, and sometimes a little over.

That’s totally fine. He can also have larger raw meaty bones like turkey necks because turkey doesn’t bother him as far as any sensitivities are concerned with that protein source.

That said, turkey necks weigh anywhere between 8 and 13 oz and have a bone content of around 42%.

When he gets a 10 oz turkey neck, he consumes 4.2 oz of bone. That’s enough bone for almost 3 days.

In cases like these, he won’t need any more bone for the next 2 days.

It’s so much easier to do it that way than to cut up a turkey neck into multiple pieces!

But if you’d rather do it that way, that’s totally fine too. This is just my personal preference.

Do whatever works for YOU and your raw meal prep routine.

Finding Novel Proteins for Dogs

Novel proteins for dogs are the name of the game for your food sensitive pup.

They’re the kind of proteins that act as hypoallergenic protein options for dogs that won’t make him flare up.

After you’ve determined which types of food your dog can and can’t have, the next step is to come up with alternatives for the ones he can’t have.

Related Reading: How to do an Elimination Diet for Dogs

They’re the types of proteins that aren’t commonly used in commercial dog foods.

As such, they can be a bit tricky to source, but I recommend eight different ones, rabbit being the number one hypoallergenic protein source:

• Rabbit
• Duck
• Beaver
• Kangaroo
• Ostrich
• Alpaca
• Camel
• Venison

Wally does well with all of them, so I’ve been using them for his meal prep.

He also does fine with beef and turkey which is great news because they’re fairly easy to source.

As far as fish goes, he can have herring, mackerel, and lake trout.

Where to Source the Novel Proteins

Rabbit and duck are available year-round here in the US, but the rest of the proteins I mentioned are subject to seasonal availability.

That’s why I strongly suggest you stock up on them when they are available.

For that reason, it’s a good idea to invest in a raw dog food freezer if you don’t already have one.

Wally has had 5 cu ft & 7 cu ft chest freezers for this purpose, and currently has an 8 cu ft upright freezer for his raw dog food.

Read more on how to figure out the right size freezer for raw dog food here.

Rabbit

My Pet Carnivore carries rabbit (coarse/fine ground & rabbit feet), but is frequently sold out.

BJs Raw Pet Food carries a raw rabbit blend (whole ground rabbit including fur).

Raw Feeding Miami carries the following cuts of rabbit:

• Rabbit grinds (can be fed as a meal)
• Rabbit heads (bone and secreting organ)
• Rabbit hearts (muscle meat)
• Rabbit kidneys (secreting organ)
• Rabbit liver (secreting organ)

Tip: Fur is a great source of fiber and manganese. Read more on fur in my blog post here.

For more information and resources about rabbit, check out my blog post:

Rabbit for Raw Dog Food: Where to Buy it & More

Duck

Three great sources for duck are Raw Feeding Miami, Raw Paws Pet Food, and My Pet Carnivore.

Raw Feeding Miami carries the following cuts of duck:

• Boneless ground duck (muscle meat)
• Chunked duck (bone)
• Duck feet (bone)
• Duck frames (bone)
• Duck gizzards (muscle meat)
• Duck heads (bone)
• Duck hearts (muscle meat)
• Duck necks (bone)
• Duck tenders (muscle meat)
• Duck wings (bone)
• Ground duck necks (bone)

Raw Paws Pet Food carries these cuts of duck:

• Duck necks (bone)
• Duck frames (bone)
• Complete duck (can be fed as a meal)

Tip: Save 15% with my affiliate code K9Savings.

And My Pet Carnivore carries these cuts of duck:

• Coarse ground whole duck (can be fed as a meal)
• Fine ground whole duck (can be fed as a meal)
• Duck feet (bone)
• Duck hearts (muscle meat)
• Duck necks (bone)

For more information and resources about duck, check out my blog post:

Where to Buy Raw Duck for Dogs & How to Feed It

Beaver

I found beaver at four different raw dog food retailers in the US:

• My Pet Carnivore (seasonal availability only)
• Raw Pet Food Delivery Market
• Raw Delivery Montana
• Simply Rawsome

Kangaroo

I only found kangaroo for a reasonable price at Raw Feeding Miami where 1lb costs $15 (seasonal availability only):

• Boneless ground kangaroo (muscle meat)
• Kangaroo chunks (muscle meat)

Exotic Meat Market carries ground kangaroo as well, but at astronomical prices of 1lb for $39.99.

Tip: Canada seems to have easier access to kangaroo than we do here in the US.

So if you live in Canada or go there frequently to visit or work, you can get Kangaroo from a variety of places such as:

• K9ChoiceFoods: Ground kangaroo (can be fed as a meal)
• Big Country Raw: Ground kangaroo (can be fed as a meal)
• Hounds On Raw: Ground kangaroo (can be fed as a meal)

Ostrich

There are a few hundred ostrich farms here in the US, so chances are, there’s one not too far away from you.

Just do a Google search for Ostrich farms near me.

As a matter of fact, I have two near me here in NC where I can get boneless ground ostrich (muscle meat), ostrich heart (muscle meat), and ostrich liver (secreting organ).

Their names are Misty Morning Ranch and Amaroo Hills.

American Ostrich Farms is an online farm that sells the following cuts of raw ostrich out of their HQ in Kuna, ID:

• Ostrich necks (bone)
• Ostrich marrow bones (great for bone broth or recreational bones)
• Ostrich liver (secreting organ)
• Ostrich heart (muscle meat)
• Ostrich wings (bone)

Alpaca

Hare Today is located in PA and carries the following cuts of alpaca:

• Boneless ground alpaca (muscle meat)
• Ground alpaca with bones/secreting organs/muscle meat/tripe
• Meaty alpaca bones (bone)
• Alpaca trim

Camel

Raw Feeding Miami carries ground camel.

Exotic Meat Markets carries different cuts of camel.

Venison

Raw Paws Pet Food carries venison trim (muscle meat). Use K9Savings for 15% off.

Raw Feeding Miami carries the following cuts of venison:

• Boneless ground venison(muscle meat)
• Venison trim(muscle meat)

Hare Today carries the following cuts of venison:

• Boneless ground venison (muscle meat)
• Boneless venison cubes/strips (muscle meat)
• Venison heart (muscle meat)
• Venison liver (secreting organ)

Of course you can also hunt and gut your own wild venison during hunting season. That’s what my boyfriend does.

Learn more on feeding your dog wild venison here.

Raw Dog Food Recipe #1: Rabbit, Herring, Veggies & Herbs

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
Complete bone-in rabbit, 80%	Bone, meat and organs	12.6oz
Herring, 10%	Fish	1.52oz
Paradigm, 10%	Veggies & herbs	1.52oz

The complete rabbit can be fed as a meal.

Fish should make up around 10% of the overall meal, which is one herring in Wally’s case.

If your dog is smaller or larger than Wally, just add less or more cut up or whole thread herring.

You can use mackerel, anchovies, lake trout, or sardines as an alternative.

Use Dr. Harvey’s Paradigm for your pup’s veggie and herb allowance.

Alternatively, use Sojo’s Fruit & Veggie Mix-a-Meal, or The Honest Kitchen’s Grain-Free Veggie, Nut & Seed BaseMix.

If you’re in the UK, use Smart Barf.

Raw Dog Food Recipe 2: Beaver, Lake Trout, Veggies & Herbs

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
Complete bone-in beaver, 80%	Bone, meat and organs	12.6oz
Ground lake trout, 10%	Fish	1.52oz
Paradigm, 10%	Veggies & herbs	1.52oz

The complete beaver can be fed as a meal.

Since fish should make up around 10% of the overall meal, I measured out 1.52 oz of ground lake trout.

Adjust accordingly for your dog.

You can use mackerel, anchovies, herring, or sardines as an alternative.

Use Dr. Harvey’s Paradigm for your pup’s veggie and herb allowance.

Alternatively, use Sojo’s Fruit & Veggie Mix-a-Meal, or The Honest Kitchen’s Grain-Free Veggie, Nut & Seed Base Mix.

If you’re in the UK, use Smart Barf.

Raw Dog Food Recipe 3: Rabbit, Kangaroo, Lake Trout

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
Bone-in rabbit chunks, 10%	Raw meaty bone	1.2oz bone (6oz total)
Rabbit meat, 30% (taken from rabbit chunks)	Muscle meat	4.8oz muscle meat (6 oz total)
Kangaroo chunks, 40%	Muscle meat	6oz
Rabbit liver, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Rabbit kidneys, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Ground lake trout, 10%	Fish	1.52oz

The bone-in rabbit chunks consist of around 20% bone.

The rest is simply rabbit meat.

So a 6 oz rabbit chunk consists of roughly 1.2 oz bone and 4.8 oz meat.

That’s close enough to Wally’s daily allowance of 10% bone (1.52 oz).

Raw Dog Food Recipe 4: Rabbit, Ostrich, Alpaca, Duck

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
Complete bone-in rabbit, 70%	Bone, meat and organs	10.64oz
Ground ostrich, 10%	Muscle meat	1.52oz
Ground alpaca, 15%	Muscle meat	2.28oz
Duck hearts, 5%	Muscle meat	0.76oz

The bone-in rabbit can be fed as a meal.

For protein variety’s sake, I added ostrich, alpaca, and duck muscle meat.

If your dog doesn’t do well with duck, add some turkey gizzard and a little oily fish like sardines, herring, lake trout, or mackerel.

Raw Dog Food Recipe 5: Rabbit, Beaver, Thread Herring

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
Complete bone-in rabbit, 60%	Bone, meat and organs	9.12oz
Complete bone-in beaver, 30%	Bone, meat and organs	4.56oz
Herring, 10%	Fish	1.52oz

The bone-in rabbit and beaver can be fed as a meal.

Use mackerel, sardines, lake trout, or anchovies as an alternative for the herring.

Another option is fish oil.

Raw Dog Food Recipe 6: Rabbit, Herring

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
Bone-in rabbit chunks, 9%	Raw meaty bone	1.2oz bone (6oz total)
Rabbit meat, 30% (taken from rabbit chunks)	Muscle meat	4.8oz meat (6 oz total)
Rabbit heart, 40%	Muscle meat	6.18oz
Rabbit liver, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Rabbit kidney, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Herring, 10%	Fish	1.52oz

The bone-in rabbit chunks consist of around 20% bone.

The rest is simply rabbit meat.

So a 6 oz rabbit chunk consists of roughly 1.2 oz bone and 4.8 oz meat.

That’s close enough to Wally’s daily allowance of 10% bone (1.52 oz).

Raw Dog Food Recipe 7: Duck, Rabbit, Herring, Camel, Alpaca, Ostrich

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
Duck wings, 12%	Raw meaty bone	1.8oz bone (4.5oz total)
Duck meat, 18% (taken from duck wings)	Muscle meat	2.7oz meat (4.5oz total)
Duck heart, 15%	Muscle meat	2.3oz
Rabbit kidney, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Herring, 10%	Fish	1.52oz
Camel trim, 15%	Muscle meat	2.3oz
Ground alpaca, 20%	Muscle meat	3oz
Ostrich liver, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz

I used 1.5 duck wings with a total weight of 4.5 oz.

Duck wings consist of 40% bone and 60% meat, so Wally got 1.8 oz of bone with this meal.

That’s a bit more than this regular allowance of 1.52 oz.

Raw Dog Food Recipe 8: Duck, Kangaroo, Rabbit, Ostrich, Lake Trout

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
Duck wing, 8%	Raw meaty bone	total)
Duck foot, 4%	Raw meaty bone	0.6oz bone (1 oz total)
Duck meat, 14.5% (taken from duck wing & foot)	Muscle meat	2.2oz meat (out of 4oz of raw meaty bones)
Kangaroo chunks, 40%	Muscle meat	6.1oz
Rabbit liver, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Rabbit kidney, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Ostrich heart, 14%	Muscle meat	2.2oz
Lake trout, 10%	Fish	1.52oz

The raw meaty bones in this recipe are a duck wing (40% bone) and a duck foot (60% bone).

The total bone amount of 1.8 oz is slightly over Wally’s daily allowance of 1.52 oz.

The duck meat from both bones comes out to 2.2 oz of meat.

Raw Dog Food Recipe 9: Rabbit, Herring, Alpaca, Ostrich

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
Bone-in rabbit chunks, 9%	Raw meaty bone	1.2oz bone (6oz total)
Rabbit meat, 30% (taken from bone-in rabbit chunks)	Muscle meat	4.8oz meat (6 oz total)
Rabbit liver, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Rabbit kidney, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Herring, 10%	Fish	1,52oz
Ground alpaca, 30%	Muscle meat	4.5oz
Ostrich heart, 12%	Muscle meat	1.8oz

The bone-in rabbit chunks consist of around 20% bone.

The rest is simply rabbit meat.

So a 6 oz rabbit chunk consists of roughly 1.2 oz bone and 4.8 oz meat.

That’s close enough to Wally’s daily allowance of 10% bone (1.52 oz).

Raw Dog Food Recipe 10: Venison, Rabbit, Duck, Herring, Veggies, Egg

Ingredients	Type of Food	Wally’s Amount	Your Dog’s Amount
3 Duck feet, 12%	Raw meaty bone	1.8oz bone (3oz total)
Duck meat, 8% (taken from duck feet)	Muscle meat	1.2oz meat (3 oz total)
Rabbit liver, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Rabbit kidney, 5%	Secreting organ	0.75oz
Venison meat, 50%	Muscle meat	7.5oz
Herring, 10%	Fish	1.52oz
Paradigm, 10%	Veggies & herbs	1.52oz
Duck egg, 3%	Nutritional powerhouse	3oz

The 3 duck feet have a combined bone content of 1.8 oz, which is slightly over Wally’s daily allowance of 1.52 oz.

He gets a raw duck egg once to twice per week.

Bottom Line

Now, even if your dog doesn’t have the exact same food sensitivities as my Feist mix Wally, you’ll still get tons of feeding ideas.

That’s because I specifically chose the raw dog food ingredients that I used in the recipes because of their hypoallergenic qualities.

That means that they’re not commonly used in commercial raw and dry dog food.

And because of that, there’s less of a chance that dogs are sensitive to them.

So even if you’re not able to source all of them on a regular basis, you can still choose between enough foods to add to your homemade raw meals.

Now go ahead and get a grip on your dog’s allergies!

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