Home Cooked Food

daisy'smom · 05-29-2009, 05:02 PM

I started making all of Daisy's food homemade and have continued it with Georgie. I am really not comfortable with doing a raw diet so I feel home cooked food is probably second best. Daisy thrived on it and Georgie loves it. I usually use turkey as the base and add rice or potatoes, veggies, & flax meal. Now I am wondering if I am giving her all the nutrition that she needs. Should I give her some dog food? I do sometimes if I get lazy and don't get her food done but not usually. Especially since she is a pup I am worried that she may not be getting all she needs. I do give her cottage cheese sometimes and I add a yogurt from time to time. Should I change up the kind of meat I use? Is pork bad for dogs (I never see it in dog food)? What foods besides onions, raisins and nuts should I avoid? I notice that some dog foods have blueberries and cranberries in it, should I add those and if I do is dried OK??
Thanks
Tanny and Georgie

bruinsBoxers · 05-29-2009, 06:19 PM

With homecooked ( and raw ) the diet should be balenced out over a month . So you do not need to have everything in every meal . It would be best if she did get a variety of proteins , beef , chicken , turkey , pork & fish .

take it slowly , you want her to have only 1 protein source for a week or two , that way you can make sure she can tolerate it . If she does well with turkey then switch to another , then another and keep going until you have gone through them all .
While trying the different proteins be sure you keep the rest of the diet the same .

I use any friut/vedgies but mostle brocolli , cauliflower , sweet potatoes , green beans , tomatoes , apples ,bananas , cantalope . What ever i have in the house really .

I stay away from regular potatoes as any green skins can make them sick .

You may also want to switch up the grains after you have checked out all the proteins . I know many who use oatmeal .

I also give Vit C and vit E . I try for daily but have done every other day too . Both are good for the immune system and vit E is great for the skin and coat .

KeeperBoy · 05-29-2009, 09:51 PM

Wouldn't a home cooked diet need bone meal? I also give my guys kelp, vitamin C, vitamin E, letithin, brewers yeast and a few other supplements from time to time.

With raw I feed Keepers pork, beef and lamb, we would do chicken and turkey but he is allergic. He loves sweet potato and apple. Boo loves carrots, green beans and pineapple. I use veggies and fruit as more of a treat or snack than diet staple.

daisy'smom · 05-29-2009, 10:19 PM

How much of the supplements do you give? How do you know if your dog is allergic to a food?

bruinsBoxers · 05-30-2009, 07:59 AM

You know if they can not handle a food or are allergic is by trying it .

You try one food for a week or 2 . If they do well then try a different one . And so on until you have tried them all .

Week 1 & 2 feed chicken . if she does well then try cutting back on chicken and adding some beef for 2 weeks , then cut the beef and try pork for 2 weeks . Etc...

Fruits and vedgies are usually not a problem with tolerance or allergies it is usually the grains or protein sources that they have reactions to .

And yes you should also add some bone meal to a home cooked diet .

If you give kelp you should just make sure it does not have iodine added to it , too much can cause the thyroid function to become messed up .

daisy'smom · 05-30-2009, 10:56 AM

What are the symptoms of a food allergy? How much bone meal? What about eggs? Dairy? I have avoided beef or pork because I was worried about the antibiotics and hormones used in them. Organic is so costly. Maybe just use them once in a while? Maybe I can find a cheaper organic source. How much fat should they have in their diets? I use olive oil as a healthy fat, should I uses lean meat or is the fat OK? Sorry for all the questions but I want to be sure I am doing it right especially for a growing puppy.

KeeperBoy · 05-30-2009, 07:58 PM

I would check out Dr. Pitcarin's book...

http://www.amazon.com/Pitcairns-Comp.../dp/0875962432

It would answer all your questions better than I can. Even if you don't follow the recipes exactly (I found them too grain heavy) there is some great info about calcium, vitamins and oil.

Spyglass Sally · 05-31-2009, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeeperBoy

I would check out Dr. Pitcarin's book...

http://www.amazon.com/Pitcairns-Comp.../dp/0875962432

I believe this is a a newer, updated version of this book. I also would highly recommend it. I use it as a reference for illness & treatments and so many other things. Well worth the $12.89!

KeeperBoy · 05-31-2009, 09:02 AM

Yeah, that was just the first version I found on Amazon. We have the newer version also.

daisy'smom · 05-31-2009, 10:48 PM

Thanks!! I ordered the book today.