Homecooking for Your Dogs

A place to talk about feeding our dogs a variety of home-cooked foods, with recipes included. Ask questions, check on safe ingredients, share some tips.

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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on February 27, 2009 at 5:15pm

Homecooking Recipies:

www.dogchefs.com
www.dogchefdetective.com
“The Pet Chef,” www.thepetchef.net

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on March 2, 2009 at 9:28am

Feb 21, 2009
Preparing Homemade Dog Food

Making homemade dog food is not as difficult as you might think. In fact, once you get the hang of it, you will wonder why you didn’t start sooner. It’s a win-win situation for both you and your dog.

The meals that you prepare can be healthier than what you but at the store. Your dog might just enjoy these homemade meals more than canned or dry dog food. Plus, you get the added bonus or perk of the “fuzzies,” that warm, wonderful feeling you get when you know that you have done something good for someone besides yourself.

Initially, you will need to practice until you figure out exactly what it is that you are doing and exactly what it is that your dog is willing to eat. For example, some dogs are fussier than others about what it is that they are willing to eat. Let’s face it, just because a dog is willing to eat road kill, does not mean that he is going to eat vegetables or rice.

My dog will actually take the things he doesn’t like out of his dish and place them on the floor. He doesn’t even try to hide it like the kids do- he just leaves it out in plain sight. A slice of tomato, a few string beans, a strip of onion might all have been meant for his tummy, but they all wind up on the floor. Maybe he wants to make sure that I know I will be cleaning it up after him if I have the nerve to put it in his dish again.

At any rate, the less fussy of an eater your fog is, the better it is for you and your culinary efforts. You probably will go through a trial and error process with your doggie meals. It’s okay to prepare batches and batches of homemade dog food looking for the perfect recipe that your dog will actually eat. Just make sure that the meals you make are small enough for one serving so that you aren’t wasting too much food.

Start with the basics. Realize that most of the dog food on the shelves has some type of meat in it- chicken, beef, lamb, etc. You don’t need to buy the leanest cuts either, unless, of course, your dog is already overweight. In that case, trimming off a little bit of fat can certainly go a long way.

Remember, you are in control of what goes into your dog’s food. Therefore, you can decide how much attention you are going to pay to his nutritional needs. Not only do you want his food to taste good, but also, you want it to be good for him.

Plus, when you prepare homemade dog food, you have the added benefit that it may be cheaper than purchasing it at the store. In particular, name brands are very expensive and can add up to a tidy little sum by the end of the month.

However, you need to be careful because your dog might not like the taste of your homemade dog food better than the store variety. This is exactly why you have to pay attention to your dog’s preferences when it comes to flavors and types of food. You don’t want to waste a lot of money preparing something that he won’t eat.

Hopefully, the foods that you use for fillers will appeal to your dog. It may take him a while to get used to the change in taste, so don’t give up after only a few meals. The taste may not be as close to his favorite brand of dog food as you would like and he may need time to adjust. If you are lucky, he will simply love what you are making him and he probably will.

Finally, consider the fact that the time you take to prepare his meal can be additional bonding time. You can enjoy each other’s company as well as the savory aroma coming from the cooking food.

At any rate, one of the easiest meats to prepare for this venture is chicken liver. Not only is it easy to cook up, but also, it is relatively inexpensive. The flavor is strong, as with all liver, but that is more likely a positive factor rather than a negative one. Ground meat, beef, pork, turkey, or veal, are also good choices for an easily prepared dish for your dog.

Ground veal or turkey has less fat and is easier to digest than ground beef. However, you will need to cook it slower than the ground beef. Additionally, you may need to add some cooking oil to the meat to prevent it from sticking to the pan initially. The pricing on these different types of ground meat varies, so you may need to consider that when you are making your selection.

Always avoid adding salt since you don’t really need it for flavoring. Plus, it really isn’t good for your dog and will only make him thirsty. Cook the meat slowly. Stir or turn the meat in the pan constantly. This will allow the meat to remain juicy rather than becoming dried out. You will know the meat is fully cooked when the meat juices are no longer red and have turned clear.

If you prefer, you can use beef or chicken broth to keep the meat moist. If necessary, add a small bit of soybean oil to the pan to keep the meat from sticking to the pan.

If you want to add vegetables, you should precook them. Dice them into small pieces so that they will cook faster and you won’t risk a choking episode with your pet. Once the meat is almost finished cooking, add the vegetables to it. This way, they retain their shape while picking up some of the meat flavoring. If you want to save time, precook enough vegetables for the week and store them in the refrigerator until you need them.

Knowing what vegetables to add to the meal might be the most difficult part. If your dog has already enjoyed store bought stew for dogs, use that as a starting place. It really is a process of trial and error at this point to discover what your dog likes and what he doesn’t.

Attempt to use nutritional vegetables for your dog’s meal, keeping in mind the vitamin content. Green vegetables are usually a good option that pleases both you and your dog. Moreover, you can also add a small bit of rice, fortified bread, or pasta for variety.

Take note of what your dog leaves behind once he is finished eating his new meal of homemade chow. Don’t include any of those types of vegetables, pasta, or meat in the next batch.

The quantity of food that you cook depends on a few different things- your dog’s appetite, the size of your dog, and the number of meals that you are preparing. You can either prepare one meal at the same time that you prepare your own or you can prepare a small stockpile to store in the refrigerator.

Always remember that you should introduce a gradual change in your dog’s diet to avoid digestion and elimination problems. Start out slowly by adding a bit of homemade to his usual brand. Gradually increase the amount of the homemade food and decrease the amount of his old food until you have completed the switch.

Also - it is important to add nutrients if you only feed homemade. Speak to your vet about your pet's nutritional needs to make sure you are providing the best for fido.

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AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on April 25, 2009 at 7:25am

Basic guidelines for a cooked diet, or a diet that uses raw meat but no bones:

* Feed at least half (preferably more) meat products, such as muscle meat, heart, liver, kidney, eggs, dairy (e.g., yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese), and canned fish with bones, such as pink salmon, jack mackerel and sardines. Meat and eggs can be fed either raw or cooked (light cooking is better than cooking for longer periods at higher heats).
* Liver (and some kidney) should make up around 5% of the total diet.
* Feed as wide a variety as possible of different types of foods (e.g., beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey, canned fish with bones, eggs, dairy) and different parts, including heart.
* No more than half the diet (preferably less) should be grains, pasta and vegetables. These should be cooked. Fruits can also be fed in small amounts. Note that grains seem to be related to a number of health problems in dogs, including allergies, arthritis, IBD, seizures, etc., so if your dog has any of these problems, try omitting grains (and maybe starchy carbs as well) to see if there is improvement. If your dog is healthy or appears to have no problems with grains, it's OK to feed them in moderate amounts. Remember that dogs have no nutritional need for carbohydrates, but they can be a source of less expensive calories, if needed.
* Add 800 to 1000 mg calcium per pound of food fed (cooked weight). You can use ground eggshell at the rate of 1/2 teaspoon per pound of food, or any other form of calcium is fine, including calcium carbonate, calcium lactate, calcium citrate and vegetable calcium, such as Animal Essentials Natural Calcium. If you use bone meal, add an amount that provides 1000 to 1200 mg calcium (more is needed than when using plain calcium due to the amount of phosphorus in the bone meal). Do not use supplements that contain vitamin D, as the amount will be too high. These guidelines are for adult dogs only, not puppies (contact me privately if you need feeding guidelines for puppies).
* Healthy leftovers can also be added to the diet.
* Supplements: See below for information on supplements to add to the diet.

See below for sample diet plans. See Now We're Cooking! for more information on preparing a homemade cooked diet for dogs.
Basic guidelines for adding supplements to a homemade diet
Supplements are not required if the diet you feed provides a wide variety of healthy foods in appropriate proportions, but they may still be valuable. The more limited the diet you feed, the more supplements may be required. Supplements may be more important for cooked diets, since heat destroys some nutrients. Freezing also destroys some nutrients. The longer food is cooked or frozen, the more nutrients will be lost. Following are some supplements that can be added to help ensure that all nutritional needs are met:

* Fish oil (body oil, such as salmon oil or EPA oil) is a healthy addition to any diet. Sardines can also be used in place of fish oil to supply omega-3 fatty acids. You need to give vitamin E at least once or twice a week when you supplement with oils, to prevent the body from becoming depleted.
* A green blend or a mixture of kelp and alfalfa. Another option is to use a mix such as Preference from The Honest Kitchen. which contains alfalfa, kelp, vegetables and fruit. These are particularly useful if you do not include vegetables in the diet you feed. See Supplements section above for more options.
* Organic apple cider vinegar (which may provide trace minerals)
* Honey
* Fresh crushed garlic (no more than 1/2 to 1 small clove per 20 lbs of body weight daily)
* Nutritional or Brewer's yeast
* Molasses

You can also give vitamin-mineral supplements, see the section on Supplements above for more info.
Sample Diets
Remember that it’s not necessary to feed a balanced diet every day, as long as the diet is balanced over time. For example, it would be fine to feed eggs one day alternating with organ meat the next, rather than feeding both foods every day. Or you might feed just muscle meat one day, with a mix of organ meat, eggs and dairy the next. Many raw feeders feed two meals a day: one meal of raw meaty bones and one meal of everything else.

Following are sample diet guidelines for a 40 pound adult dog. Amounts will vary depending on the individual dog, and on the amount of fat in the diet.

Sample daily raw diet:

# 6 to 8 ounces raw meaty bones (may include canned fish with bones once or twice a week)
# 4 to 6 ounces muscle meat/heart/tripe/leftovers
# 1 to 2 ounces liver or kidney
# 1 to 2 eggs (daily or every other day)
# Spoonful of yogurt or cottage cheese
# 1 to 4 ounces pureed or cooked vegetables (optional)

Sample daily raw diet using Bravo! (or similar) blends:

# 7 to 14 ounces Bravo Original Formula Blends (may replace up to half with canned fish with bones once or twice a week)
# 2 to 4 ounces muscle meat/heart/tripe/leftovers/Bravo Boneless Meats
# ½ to 1 ounce liver or kidney, or 1 to 2 ounces Bravo Organs (daily or every other day)
# 1 or 2 eggs (daily or every other day)
# Spoonful of yogurt or cottage cheese

Sample daily cooked diet:

# 8 to 12 ounces muscle meat/heart/fish/leftovers
# 1 to 2 ounces liver or kidney
# 1 to 2 eggs (daily or every other day)
# 1 to 4 ounces yogurt, kefir or cottage cheese
# 2 to 8 ounces cooked grains, pasta or veggies (no more than half the diet, max)
# 1000 mg calcium (for example, 1/2 tsp ground eggshell, or 1 tsp Animal Essentials Natural Calcium, or 1 tsp bone meal that has 1000 mg calcium per teaspoon)

Sample daily supplements (optional)

* 1 or 2 fish oil capsules (500 mg combined EPA and DHA), or 3 small sardines.
* 200 IUs vitamin E (required at least a couple of times a week if giving oils)
* 1/8 to 1/4 tsp green blend
* 500-1000 mg vitamin C once or twice a day
* Vitamin B-50 complex once or twice a day
* Cod liver oil in an amount yielding around 100 IUs vitamin D
* ½ teaspoon organic apple cider vinegar mixed with ½ teaspoon raw honey
* 1 clove fresh crushed raw garlic
* 1 to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on April 25, 2009 at 7:26am

Basic guidelines for feeding a raw, homemade diet that includes bones:

* 30%-50% (1/3 to 1/2) of the diet should be raw meaty bones, such as chicken necks, backs, wings and leg quarters, lamb breast, lamb necks, pork necks, pork riblets, beef necks (usually only consumed by large dogs), turkey necks, etc. These can also include canned fish, such as jack mackerel, pink salmon, or sardines (preferably packed in water rather than oil) -- do not feed tuna, as it does not include bones and is higher in mercury. Be careful when feeding anything round and meaty, that your dog does not try to swallow it whole, which can lead to choking. Parts to especially watch out for include turkey necks (large dogs), chicken necks (small dogs), and ox tails.
* 5% liver. Liver is extremely nutritionally dense, providing nutrients that are hard to find in other foods. It should be a part of every diet, or you will need to provide suitable supplements to make up for its lack. Other organs such as kidney are also good, but should not be substituted for liver on a regular basis. Note that too much organ meat at one time can lead to loose stools. It's better to feed small amounts daily or every other day, rather than large amounts once or twice a week. Note I have revised my recommendation for liver down from 10%, as I no longer think that much is needed.
* 5%-10% heart, which is nutritionally more like a muscle meat. It's OK to feed more as long as it doesn't cause loose stools.
* The rest a mixture of the following:
o Muscle meat. Feed as much variety as possible, such as beef, lamb, pork, turkey, chicken. Don't feed every kind of exotic protein (venison, rabbit, duck, etc.); reserve at least one or two in case you ever need to feed an elimination diet to determine food allergies.
o Eggs, as many as you want. Eggs that are lightly cooked (e.g., soft boiled) may be more digestible than raw, but either way is fine.
o Dairy: yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, etc.
o Healthy leftovers (the kind of food you would eat yourself, not the parts you would throw away).
* If desired, you can also add the following:
o Veggies. Note that some people choose not to feed veggies, either for their own convenience or because their dog won't eat them. Dogs have no nutritional need for carbohydrates, so it's OK not to feed them, although I prefer to add them if possible, as they are a natural source of antioxidants and trace minerals. Veggies must be either cooked or pureed in order to be digestible by dogs. Legumes (beans) and starchy veggies, such as sweet potatoes and winter squashes, and should be cooked. Whole, raw veggies are not harmful, they just don't provide much nutrition.
o If you don't feed veggies, I think it's a good idea to add a green blend or a mixture of kelp and alfalfa. Note that too much iodine from kelp can suppress the thyroid, so don't give more than the recommended amount. Kelp may also contain arsenic, so I think it's better to use a blend of several green foods, such as kelp, alfalfa and spirulina, rather than plain kelp (or other mixture of sea vegetables).
o Fruit. Apples, bananas, blueberries, papaya, melon, etc. are good foods to add. Overripe fruits are more easily digested.
o Grains and Pasta. Grains seem to be related to a number of health problems in dogs, including allergies, arthritis, IBD, seizures, etc., so if your dog has any of these problems, try omitting grains (and maybe starchy carbs as well) to see if there is improvement. If your dog is healthy or appears to have no problems with grains, it's OK to feed them in moderate amounts: never more than half the diet, preferably no more than about 1/5 of the total diet -- if carbs are half the diet, reduce raw meaty bones to 1/4 of the total diet, or half of the non-carbohydrate foods, with eggs, meat, liver and dairy making up the other half. Remember that dogs have no nutritional need for carbohydrates, but they can be a source of less expensive calories, if needed.
o Supplements. See the Supplements section below for guidelines on supplements you may want to add.

Feed as much variety as possible, both in types of meat (chicken, beef, lamb, pork, turkey, fish, etc.) and in parts fed. Make sure that no one food, such as chicken, is more than 50% of the diet.

See A Raw Deal for more information on feeding a raw diet. Also see the K9Nutrition FAQ for more info on getting started with a raw diet.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on April 25, 2009 at 8:10am

You're welcome. Whenever I find something interesting, I like to put it here for everyone.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on April 25, 2009 at 8:44am

It's not that hard if you aim for "Balance over Time" rather than "Complete and Balanced." Your aim should be to make sure Gamine gets everything over the course of the week or two weeks. Just like with people, they should eat a balanced diet over the course of the day or week. People should eat Fish a couple times a week, meat and veggies a few times a day. Dogs just need more protein than we do, and it gets easier over time. We have all been brainwashed by the commercial dogfood companies. Before dogfood, dogs caught their food or ate table scraps. They lived longer and had much fewer diseases that are creeping into veterinary clinics today.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on April 25, 2009 at 9:11am

Some believe in raw everything, but I cook it.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on April 25, 2009 at 11:31pm

Traycee, my Jack is 90 lbs and he gets about 1 1/2 cups of homemade. Ginger is about 45 lbs and she gets about 3/4 to 1 cup of homemade. I try to eyeball it and give about as much as I did when I fed canned food. I have never believed in kibble only and even now I will leave out kibble (only Premium like Innova Evo or Taste of the Wild, Karen likes Fromm) all day for free feeding if they get hungry. They never gorge and between the three dogs they eat a bowl of kibble every 2 days.

The way to do it is by trial and error to some extent. They will let you know if they are hungry. Most of my regimen is in this discussion and others in The Food Group so you can read it. My best advice is to read Pitcairn's Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. It really gave me the confidence to go for this. Once you get used to it, it is so much easier and healthier for the doggies.

My Ginger is a fussy eater, too. Even with homecooked. She doesn't like mushed anything and only wants chunks. Jack will eat anything I put in front of him. It is through trial and error that you will find what they like.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on April 27, 2009 at 5:35am

Traycee and Jeannine, Don't trust me...or anyone else either. Do your own research. I want you to believe and buy into the truth not because I think these things or because someone else does. You have to believe it. You can only do that if you do some learning. It's never too late to go back to school. The teacher in me recommends Pitcairn and other sources listed in this group for you to learn it. I am no expert in homecooking dogfood...I am just someone who lost a dog to lies and went in search of the truth. What I learned changed my thinking forever. I am an educated consumer now and when more of us are on to the commercial dogfood companies tricks and lies, the more dogs that will live and hopefully the profit mongers will change their ways. The sad part is they they are the one's with the experts and the FDA and the vets who push their agendas and their products. Do just a little reading and you learn the truth. I just posted a discussion in this group of links, go read some of the things in those links and learn for yourself.

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on April 28, 2009 at 9:10pm

Thank you, Trace and Jeannine! You guys are too much. A lot of it is buying into it and I never want to talk someone into doing something. I believe people should make up their own minds, maybe with a gentle nudge. Nudge...nudge.

Member Since 2009Permalink Reply by Jodie Hart on May 15, 2009 at 6:03pm

My new doodle rescue boy Marco is a very finicky eater and I really need to fatten him up. I'm extremely interested and very willing to home cook for him but feel out of my league. I feel like I can probably increase his interest in eating with home cooked. This discussion is so interesting to me but I feel lost as I've always been the "run to the store and buy the dog food" type. Do any of you have actual recipes you would be willing to share which also includes serving sizes to help get me started?

AdminPermalink Reply by LM Fowler - Admin on May 15, 2009 at 6:12pm

Jodie, I felt the same way when I first started homecooking. My recipes are here in these discussions, but what I do now, I might not recommend for you to start with. You might start with some chicken legs, brown rice and some peas and carrots. I don't know what you are feeding now, but if you start slowly you can figure out what Marco likes and doesn't and also see if there are any problems with any ingredients. Plus, if you start with just a couple of ingredients, you gain more and more confidence as you go on. A good book is Pitcairn's "Natural Heath," but even that is just a place to start. What I do is through 2.5 years of trial and error. If you start with one or 2 things you will be able to figure out your routine. When you shop for you, shop for him. It will probably be better to put weight on if he gets real food.