親子丼 — Japan's beloved "parent and child" rice bowl. Tender chicken thigh and silky soft egg simmered in gentle broth over Japanese short-grain rice. No soy sauce, no mirin, no spring onion — pure Japanese comfort, made safe for your dog.
Makes 4 servings. Use the calorie calculator to find the right portion for your dog's weight.
Rinse the short-grain rice under cold water, swirling until the water runs clear — this removes excess starch. Cook in 2 cups of unsalted broth over low heat for 18–20 minutes, covered, until fluffy. Using broth instead of plain water gives the rice a gentle savoury depth that dogs find irresistible.
Heat sesame oil in a wide, deep pan over medium heat. Add the diced chicken thigh and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until white all the way through with no pink remaining. Thigh meat stays juicier and more flavourful than breast during this cooking method.
Add the finely diced carrot and the remaining 2 cups of unsalted broth. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 4–5 minutes until the carrot is just tender and the broth has reduced slightly into a light, flavourful sauce around the chicken.
Add the baby spinach or bok choy and stir gently for about 1 minute until just wilted. Spinach shrinks to roughly one-third of its raw volume — this is completely normal. Don't overcook; the greens should be just wilted to preserve their iron, vitamin K and folate content.
Beat the 2 eggs well in a small bowl. Reduce heat to low. Pour the beaten egg in a slow, circular motion over the entire surface of the chicken mixture. Immediately cover the pan and cook for 60–90 seconds — the egg should be just set, silky and soft like a gentle custard, not fully scrambled. This delicate technique is the heart of authentic Oyakodon.
Spoon cooked rice into your dog's bowl and ladle the chicken-egg topping generously over it. Garnish with a little parsley. Allow to cool fully to body temperature — test with your wrist; it should feel neutral, not warm. Once cool, stir in the eggshell calcium and salmon oil per serving. These must always be added cold — heat destroys omega-3 fatty acids and diminishes calcium bioavailability.
The classic human version uses several ingredients that are unsafe for dogs and have been removed entirely:
Japan's most iconic dog breed deserves Japan's most iconic dish. But beyond the cultural connection, Oyakodon is exceptionally well-matched to the Shiba Inu's specific health profile:
Before salmon oil. Use the calorie calculator to adjust portion size for your dog's weight and activity level.
Sesame oil provides omega-6 — not omega-3. Only fish oil (salmon, sardine) provides DHA and EPA, which dogs cannot synthesise themselves.
Stir in ½–1 tsp salmon or sardine oil per serving after the bowl has cooled. Never cook the oil.
Make a full batch and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze individual portions for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently. Always add salmon oil freshly after reheating and cooling — never cook the oil into the reheated dish.
Whole food recipes are a strong foundation — but three steps are non-negotiable for long-term nutritional completeness, per NRC (National Research Council) 2006 guidelines, the gold standard for homemade dog food.
Meat is very high in phosphorus and very low in calcium. Without correction the body pulls calcium from bones. Add ¼ tsp ground eggshell powder per serving, stirred in cold after cooking (≈900 mg calcium per ½ tsp). This corrects the Ca:P ratio to the NRC target of ~1.2:1.
Unless this recipe already includes fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel), stir in ½–1 tsp salmon or sardine oil per serving after cooling. Never heat the oil — it destroys DHA and EPA. Dogs cannot convert plant omega-3 (ALA) to usable EPA/DHA at meaningful rates.
Beef liver covers copper, zinc, selenium, vitamin D and B12 — the micronutrients most commonly missing from home-cooked meals. Use 30–40g per 10 kg body weight, 2–3× per week. Do not exceed 10% of total food intake — vitamin A toxicity is a real risk with too much liver.
For complete peace of mind, add a calibrated dose of Balance IT Canine once per batch. Developed by UC Davis veterinary nutritionists, it fills remaining gaps for manganese, selenium, magnesium, iodine and vitamins not easily provided by whole foods alone. Follow the label dose for your dog's weight exactly.