Cooking for our Fur Babies

[LaughingWater]

I'm looking into cooking for our dog as opposed to buying dog food and wondered if anyone here had experience with this.

He's currently eating Solid Gold, which has been fine, but I wouldn't mind cooking for him (I cook for everyone else, why not him?), especially if it would be healthier for the little guy.

Thanks.

 

[eraslan]

Our two Maltese are always begging for whatever we are eating though we try to make them eat their own food. When we take long vacations, we leave them with their breeder family. They have about 6-8 Maltese, and cook rice with chicken for the dogs every day. Ours really enjoy their stay at the "gourmet food place."

 

[hiitdogs]

Lori,

I have cooked for my dogs for several years. I think it is much better for them, people actually stop me on the street to ask what I feed my dogs because their coat looks awesome.

I started cooking for them after I found out what they really put in commercial dog food. Let's just say, it turned my stomach I have an emergency bag of Nature's Variety kibble but won't put my hand into many of the commercial dog foods, let alone feed it to my dogs.

Do you have any specific questions?

 

[sparrow13]

I've been looking into making food for my cats, since the food I feed them is Wellness brand, which is really hard on my budget. I won't feed them cheap food since I too am repulsed at what goes into "regular" cat foods and also I'm not going to risk Comet getting diabetes again. I recently checked out a pet food cookbook and wasn't impressed. Cat kibble recommended all over the place AND it was full of whole wheat, which are two things that experts are starting to believe have massively contributed to the jump in cat diabetes. So I am still looking for alternatives myself.

Anybody do raw food for their cats and dogs?

Sparrow

 

[fit44]

Anybody do raw food for their cats and dogs?

Sparrow

I fed raw for about 7 years. I was buying from http://www.aplaceforpaws.com/
I had it shipped to my home every month. It was expensive, but I did it out of necessity. I couldn't find anything locally. I tried grinding and mixing the stuff myself, but I just couldn't keep that up every month. It was gross and messy!

We found out our male boxer cannot tolerate a lot of grain. He had diarrhea the first year of his life and several scary bloat episodes.
My vet wanted me to give our boxer pepcid AC, and gas-X everyday for the rest of his life. That was after he had surgery to staple his stomach to his ribs(to prevent gastric torosion) I felt this was just masking the problem and I wanted to resolve it. My female was allergic to any and all preservatives so I needed something they could both live a happy healthy life with. Raw was it. An instant cure. My male had his first solid stool after one feeding!!!

I just recently tried Fresh Pet Select. http://freshpet.com/
It is saving me $150.00 a month. Don't get me wrong, I would have continued feeding the premade raw from the company in Ohio. Fresh Pet came to my area and I gave it a try just to see.
My two boxers LOVE the taste and I switched them overnight without any problems. I've been feeding it for about 5 months now without any incident of stomach upset or loose stools. They gobble this stuff down like it's candy!
It contains grain, but a very small amount of brown rice. It doesn't have any preservatives, and has a real expiration date!!
I purchased a refrigerator specifically for my boxer's food and I stock a month's worth at a time. Fresh Pet is not raw, it's lightly cooked.

My boxers will not touch dog kibble, or eat any dog biscuit you put in front of their nose. They only eat fresh food!

 

[fit44]

Lori,

I wanted to give you this link.
http://www.boxerlife.com/

At the top of the web page you will find some links to cooking for dogs and some pretty great recipes you may find helpful.

 

[Gayle]

Lori - I dabbled with cooking for my dogs years ago. I had Boxer and Boston Terrier at the time and had trouble at that time dialing in the right recipe for my Boston, so didn't continue with it. Knowing what I do now, I would have kept with it...I think I've gained a little more confidence in that area. FWIW, my Boxer did well on the home cooked diet.

Anyway, a book that several Boxer people recommended was "Dr Pitcairns Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats".
http://www.amazon.com/Pitcairns-Complete-Guide-Natural-Health/dp/0875962432

THere's also a gentleman who moderates the Boxer Mailing List who has some home cooking info on his web site. Go to the "Cooking for Dogs" link at the top of his page: http://www.boxerlife.com/

He has recipes with grain (oatmeal) and grain-free food. He uses a pressure cooker to cook whole chickens and turkeys up for his Boxers.



HTH.

ETA: Oops, Cynthia beat me to that link.

 

[PhyllisG]

I have cooked for my dogs for years. Basically it is rice, meat or chicken, and vegies--if I don't have fresh I keep a bag of frozen mixed vegies--garlic, oil. Usually I put the whole thing in a pot and cook and then store it in the fridge in containers. Sometimes I leave out the meat and cook that separately and mix it in. A store near me frequently has cheap steaks and I will buy them and put them on the indoor girill and mix that in. Personally I think pet food is a big scam and the idea of eating dry kibble day after day for your whole life is revolting. Pet food was "invented" from corn surplus and what to do with it and how to sell it. Don't even get me started on what most vets DON"T know about pet nutrition. They sell what they get a commission on. Not talking about prescription foods.
As far as the cats I have not been as successful. They eat some fresh cooked foods but like their dry food and Fancy Feast. But I am working on it. Someone suggested mixing pastena in for the cats. Good luck and give it a try. At least you won't be lugging around big bags of dog food.

 

[fit44]

I Don't even get me started on what most vets DON"T know about pet nutrition. They sell what they get a commission on. Not talking about prescription foods.

Tell me about it!
I interviewed all the vets I considered. It's not easy finding a vet who isn't a kibble pusher.
I was taking my two to a holistic vet, but the vet bill were more than we could afford. My current vet was not 100% on board with my raw feeding at first, but he agreed not to give me grief about the way I feed.
Fast forward a few years, he's changed his mind. He said the biggest difference when he performs an autopsy. The kidneys are in much better shape in an animal who has been fed a natural diet.

 

[Afreet]

After Cynthia posted about the Freshpet food a while back, I decided to try it, too.

I have two 9-year old mini Schnauzers who are generally healthy. I had been feeding them a combination of super-premium kibble and home-cooked food. I briefly tried frozen raw foods for them, but they both almost immediately developed pancreatitis (don't know if it was related for sure, but I strongly suspect it was), so I prefer cooked foods for them for safety reasons. I know a lot of folks have had success with raw, and I don't think it's fundamentally bad or anything, I just think it's not the right food for my little cuties.

They LOVE the Freshpet food, it's reasonably priced and I save a lot of time & money on cooking.

I guess it's been a couple months or so, and my dogs are continuing to maintain a healthy weight (they also get lots of exercise), are energetic and cheerful. I like that it is gently cooked (no more pancreatitis, thanks), human-grade food that is nutirtionally balanced.

Lisa/Afreet

 

[PhyllisG]

I also tried the frozen raw only to have both dogs have digestive difficulties resulting in big messes in the house. Plus I didn't like the idea of defrosting the food one day at a time overnight and feeding it to them cold. That is what the instructions said to do. If anyone can solve the "homecooked" for cats I am there for that info. My cats will eat (sometimes) boiled chicken or sauteed chopped meat but not always and sometimes raw meat but again not always. I found it really easy to cook for the dogs--easier than heading off to the store. My vet also was not on board for the raw diet but has since changed his thoughts.

 

[LaughingWater]

I was happy to find so many replies waiting for me. And with links! Thank you.

Carola, I was curious about two things:

1) What experiences people had with cooking for their pets...

and

2) What's a typical menu like?

I've been reading about it and found a few books at our library, so I now have a bit of an idea: Beef, chicken, brown rice, some veggies, etc. I also have a list of what NOT to give dogs. Grapes and raisins?! That was news to me.

I'm not a big fan of dog food for a number of reasons, so I really hope Snoopy takes to homecooked meals.

 

[PhyllisG]

Also no broccoli. My dogs also love sweet potatoes cooked in with their rice and meat. You can also throw everything in a pressure cooker if you want to be fast. Once you get into it it is so easy you just don't even think about it. You can also give them a doggie multivitamin if you are worried they are getting everything they need to be healthy.

 

[Sunshine1528]

I had a black lab who, as he was over 10, starting having horrible bouts with his digestion.

So I started making food for he and my giant schnauz. DH won't feed only the homemade - he thinks they need the dry - so he mixes about 1/2 and 1/2 for each meal.

I just buy a chicken, some cheap steaks or hamburger, etc. and cook. Then add frozen veggies or any leftover fresh veggies - yes mine gets some sweet potatos or potatos, cook some brown rice and sometimes add some of the little pasta pieces.

After mixing I just freeze in batches that last 3 - 4 days and a large pot will make enough for about 2 weeks.

Very easy to do while cleaning the kitchen or fixing other meals at the same time.

 

[Gayle]

I also tried the frozen raw only to have both dogs have digestive difficulties resulting in big messes in the house. Plus I didn't like the idea of defrosting the food one day at a time overnight and feeding it to them cold. That is what the instructions said to do. If anyone can solve the "homecooked" for cats I am there for that info. My cats will eat (sometimes) boiled chicken or sauteed chopped meat but not always and sometimes raw meat but again not always. I found it really easy to cook for the dogs--easier than heading off to the store. My vet also was not on board for the raw diet but has since changed his thoughts.

Hi Phyllis - Have you tried canned jack mackerel? I give that to my dog and cat (straight from the can) occasionally and the cat gobbles it right up.

 

[andtckrtoo]

Actually broccoli is good for most dogs. Some dogs cannot tolerate it. Like about everything else out there.

My older dog, Kimo, was diagnosed with Diabetes and Cushings disease. The vet handed me on of those prescription diet cans of food, I read the ingredients and handed it right back to him with a "No thanks, I can make better than this". I researched cooked foods (she could not tolerate raw, although my Aussie gets raw sometimes), and came up with a formula that has managed to keep her as healthy as possible and alive a lot longer than we thought she would be. It's a 2/1/1/1 mix of brown rice, chicken, cottage cheese and mixed veggies. I use the California blend of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots and green beans. I put everything (except the cottage cheese) into the slow cooker and cook over night. Chop up the chicken, mix in the cottage cheese and put it into individual serving container.

My Australian Shepherd gets a mix of premium kibble, Fresh Pet, raw I get from Whole Foods, and the home cooked stuff. I find by switching his diet frequently, he has never developed the sensititve stomach my other Aussie had. I'm a lot less fussy about giving him table scraps than others, but I will only give him "clean" table scraps - meaning good healthy foods - not junk.

But - Carola was absolutely instrumental in determining the diet for Kimo. She helped me so much. She does say I should not cook my chicken that much, but Kimo cannot tolerate it any other way. Jimmy gets enough other stuff that I don't think it matters as much.

 

[PhyllisG]

Thank you for the suggestion of cannd jack mackeral--will definitely look into that. As far as broccoli goes my dogs just don't like it but then a friend told me her dog almost died from eating it. She cooks for her dog and was mixing it in with his food. He collapsed rushed to the hospital and the vet claimed it was the broccoli. I went back thru my vet books because I doubted that could be the cause but there it was--limited or no broccoli listed among the no-no's.