and give up on manufactured food, i just read about what "meat byproducts " really are and it made me sick. i cannot imagine feeding my dogs this stuff anymore. plus my little stinker Lily at ripe age of 10 and with CHF refuses to eat dog food so I have to swoon her with some better food.
Here is what i do:
I microwave sweet potatoes in skins (recipe for potatoes courtesy of one great lady here on BDW)
I cook chicken breast or tenders in no salt chicken stock with water (usually half /half)
I take out chicken, add frozen or fresh vegetable mix, any kind, cook it, sometimes I actually steam veggies over that stock.
I put half of all this into food processor and let it go for a long time until well processed because I use it to wrap pills into it as well (again, courtesy of that great lady on BDW).
Now my added version...
The rest of chicken gets torn /sliced into small pieces that gets added to the mush as main protein in meals. Now, they both love it but I think Chester may be allergic to chicken so I may have to be cooking mash without chicken, adding chicken for Lily and then cooking fish for him. No problem.
Often I just do mash separately, then I split a can of sardines packed in water (no salt with their meal between both of them. Or other fish that i cook for them, i am a maniac, so they get salmon, halibut, anything...I eat a lot of fish so it is easy for me just make a lot of it for them.
I add pet-tinic to the mash when I feed them as Chester is anemic so that he gets all iron and vitamins.
I also try to get more fiber into them, so recently I started adding no-flavor metamucil, one teaspoon at each meal.
Chester is allergic to rice so i have to use potatoes, but Lily could eat rice. i did the mash with other veggies though and they were OK.
Yes, my husband says they eat better than him as i often have only time to cook for them...then i eat something fast myself, LOL.

I felt comfortable that it was nutritionally balanced with that supplement powder recipe. I only stopped because shopping and cooking for three dogs was consuming all my time and it was very expensive. I'd do it again if I only had one dog.


I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

I felt comfortable that it was nutritionally balanced with that supplement powder recipe. I only stopped because shopping and cooking for three dogs was consuming all my time and it was very expensive. I'd do it again if I only had one dog.


I don't rescue animals because I want to feel better about myself, or morally superior to anyone. The best part of my life with animals is the humility they teach and the humanity the foster.
Jon Katz "Soul of a Dog"

I got the Dr. Pitcairn's book and decided to give it a shot. I'm using lean pork as my protein source (a novel protein for Winnie). I am using red potatoes and oats. This last batch I used pork, lentils and brown rice. I crock pot a good sized pork loin or roast around 5 lbs. w/ a little water and garlic salt. Then I cube up around 10lbs of red potatoes. I skim the fat off the cooking juices from the pork and make oats in that, around 10 c. dry. I steam carrots or sweet potatoes and add a bag of frozen peas. I made the supplement powder from the book that has added calcium and bone meal. I mix it all up in a big tub and then divide it into two day portions. One batch lasts for two weeks. It's a lot of work but she's doing really well on it. She's lost weight, has NO gas, poop is solid.
She still get's a little itchy but I think she's got some environmental allergies but no skin flair up since we started cooking.

Hope it helps

that is run by a vet....who will go over a home made diet...i feed raw so i dont know where or how their listed....but i would google it and try to find it...
feeding home made is the same as raw....80% meat 10% bone and 10% oragns... that is the rule of thumb... i would also steam than cook as you dont want to lose any of the good stuff....
keep it very simple and straight forward....stay away from sugars in processed foods...
but double check for that web site....

I don't cook it, but really as far as worrying about necessary nutrients, all your dog needs is meat, organs and bones that come from animals. Anything else is not necessary to his health. If your dog has so much trouble with starchy foods, it's beacuse carnivores do not have the digestive capabilities to process them the way an omnivore or vegetarian can. Commercial dog foods add plant matter to the food because it is so inexpensive, not because it's necessary. It's not hurting your dog,(unless there is an obvious issue) but it's not helping much either. So you don't need to worry if he's getting enough veggies, they are just going to pass through his body anyways, unless you pulverize them first. If you cook them, it is still going to pass through his body so fast the few nutrients left after cooking aren't going to be absorbed either. Grains are really not doing him any good at all, there is no need to try and find one that he can tolerate.
The added benefit to you making your own food for him is that he also will NOT be getting the chemicals and preservatives in commercial food. They have to artifically add all the nutrients that were lost during the rendering process, and they also have to preserve it with something to keep it from spoiling for months on end. There is a good possibility your dog is having reactions to the those artificial nutrients. I know if I give my dog anything with chemicals in it, in a few days her face will be stinking again. (we have tried different training treats, now we have a dehydrator and make our own).

Cathy
when she first came home

for dogs and cats. It's a great book. Bought mine at Barne's and Noble... it is holisitic and has lots of information on treating illnesses as well as recipes.

~Kellie and Chloe~

huggs and sloppy kisses

jenny and bruce

lean ground beef , carrots , sweet potatoes and beef broth (broth cubes) for extra flavor !

i went to a bookstore and bought dog cookbooks my fav books is "the healthy dog cookbook - 50 nutritious and delicious recipes your dog will love"

i got in at barnes and noble.... the isbn no. is : 978-0-7938-0657-7 - in case you want to order it

i loved cooking for bruce and he would just eat the heck out of it but when jackie came along it became to expensive..... !

huggs and sloppy kisses

jenny and bruce

me

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Andrea, Ruby, Lola and Jigger
XXOO