Archive for the ‘Home Cooking for Dogs’ Category
Home Cooking on A Budget
January 28th, 2010
Tip 1 Grow some Fruits and Vegetables
If you have a small garden, growing some fruits and vegetables can be a rewarding and frugal experience. I’m sure doggy would enjoy some time in the fresh air and sunshine! Some easy veggies for the novice gardener include tomatoes, beans, celery, eggplant. If you are already an ace gardener then maybe you could leave us tips on other easy plants to grow. (squash? cucumber)
Tomatoes and beans will need some trellis to wind up on. A quick trip to the garden or hardware store will be in order.
Eggplants are fairly hardy plants that sprout up with little assistance here in Hawaii. There are several varieties of eggplant avaliable to grow. I really like the thai eggplant. It is long and slender and one eggplant would be the perfect size fruit for a doggy meal. Not to mention I could make a little Green Thai Chicken Curry for myself.
When I was a little girl, we once tried to grow potatoes. It worked and a tree grew in the pot we planted in but when we dug up the roots the potatoes were… small. I’m not sure if our failure was due to our climate, the pot, or that we were not patient enough but I am certain that it wasn’t so hard. Cut a potato in half and bury it preferably in a really big pot. A plant should soon sprout.
To cook or not to cook?
December 3rd, 2009
So as I’m sure every one can tell, until now my main doggy menu consisted of home cooked meals of starch, veggies, and protein. Truth be told, I was struggling to find foods that made my dogs less itchy. Rice= scratching, sneezing,and stomach aches. Cooked chicken = scratching excessively. Certain foods made my poor puppies immediately and incredibly itchy. But there has been a low level of itch that has persisted in spite of my best efforts.
This whole dog allergy situation really reached a head a few weeks ago. Emmala began scratching so vigorously that she was leaving open sores along her mouth and behind her ears. She has a dime sized bald spot behind her ear.
So after a lot of thought, I decided to try all raw meats to see if that offered relief. I would consider this basically an attempt at a raw dog food diet. As a biology major in college, I thought about the nature of cooked meat. When proteins are heated they begin to denature. The proteins break apart and no longer have the three dimensional shape that they had when they were being used by the body. As protein is the real culprit that cause immune response, I thought could it be that the denatured proteins matter? Even in potatoes and rice, protein in those foods are the culprit for allergies.
I’m not going to lie. I don’t really understand how my dogs were not more itchy when they were eating kibble as that is all obviously cooked. Maybe they weren’t allergic to the corn in the food? Perhaps the percent of the protein in their food was less. I’ve even considered giving up and going back to kibble! (Briefly)
Any way, I began feeding my dogs all raw meats raw dog food diet. If they are going to eat it I have to be willing to eat it so everything comes fresh from the grocery store. I began feeding slabs of raw tuna, some hamburger, raw chicken, and raw organ meat. I still supplement with raw veggies and an occasional cooked potato but I feed them their meat all rare.
The dogs really love this new raw diet. But don’t really prefer the gizzards and livers. (I wouldn’t suggest stocking up until you know your dog will eat it.) I am giving them a varied diet of body parts and animal types. There is a whole movement called the BARF (biologically appropriate raw food.. I believe) diet. The diet consists of entirely raw meat with the philosophy that raw animals are exactly what a wild dog would eat.
After a few weeks of raw meat, low and behold my dogs are no longer pink all the time. They are still scratching a little but this seems to make a world of difference. No more swollen lips or scabs. I will keep you updated. But so far that is looking really good.
Tips for Starting to Home Cook For Dogs
November 3rd, 2009
When I took my dogs in for a food consultation, I received some basic guidelines on what to feed them and how much. Along the way, I’ve realized that there are a lot of things I wish someone had told me. I was expecting a doggy stomach ache with the food change but not some of the other issues.
Tip one
When starting a home cooking or raw dog food diet, start off slowly.
I started from kibble and began by soaking the kibble to introduce more moisture into the diet. Even with this large amount of water, the kibble had enough substance to easily be processed by my doggy’s stomach. After soaking kibble I moved onto canned food. The canned food really wreaked havoc on my dogs’ stomach and I had a lot of cleaning to do. Ew. If I could have done it again, I would have definitely skipped the canned food.
In retrospect, the best way to introduce the new diet would have been to add one new food to the diet at a time. By planning out a complete meal, each part of the meal can be added to the diet and judged whether or not the dog benefits from it. A complete meal would consist of a meat, vegetable, and a starch. Since every dog is different, a little research would help to determine the approximate needs for a dog. Many dogs are allergic to certain starches and by adding some starch first to the kibble, it will be easy to tell if the doggy is allergic. To completely switch over to home cooked or a raw dog food diet, wait at least a few days to add a new ingredent and cut back on kibble proportionally.
Tip 2
If your dog does have allergies
If the dog begins to scratch excessively, cough after meals, or shows intestinal upset, it may have a food allergy to one of the new foods. For my dogs it was the rice that was causing allergy. Eppie began to scratch intensely after meals and also started to cough immediately after meals. Not to mention the terrible upset stomachs. I suspected a food allergy so I switched them to potatoes. Since then Eppie hasn’t had any symptoms.
Tip 3
Buy a Food Processor!
This is just a suggestion based on my fervent wish of having one as I slave away chopping potatoes and veggies and chicken into itty bitty pieces. Chopping the food into small pieces might not be necessary at all but it does save time when I cook the potatoes. I also feel like it’s easier for my dogs to eat! It cuts down on the mess in my house because my dogs do not feel the need to not so sneakily carry away big pieces to eat on the couch.
Customizing Your Home cooked meal for dogs
October 29th, 2009
Consulting a professional about a particular dog’s needs is very important. A nutritionist can set some basic requirements for a well balanced meal. For my dogs, the requirements are each dog gets about a half cup of food split into 40% protein, 40 % veggies/fruits and 20% carbohydrates. A 100lb dog will need about 4 lbs of food! Depending on size, age and type, each dog will have different food composition needs.
I try to give my dogs a varied vegetable diet and alternate the protein source every 2 weeks. I only use tubers for my carbohydrate requirement as my dogs are allergic to rice.
As for the amount of food a dog needs, I would recommend trying about 1 cup for every 15 lbs of weight. Another way to choose portion size is to feed slightly less home cooked food than the amount of dry food the dog was eating previously. From the initial amount of food, adjustments can be made to keep doggy fit and trim. Active dogs will need more protein and fats than a couch potato dog.
When cooking for dogs, always measure out exactly how much food the dog is receiving. Keeping a record of how much food dogs are eating will allow owners to be able to easily adjust the amount of food doggy needs.
Owners will know if their dog needs more or less food. When Eppie is hungry, she tends to destroy my house more in search of a snack. If a dog needs more food they will act excessively hungry all the time and lose weight. If the dog needs less food, they will probably gain weight rapidly. Owners will need to adjust accordingly.
Raw or Cooked
When preparing food, either one can opt for the cooked style or raw style depending on the owner’s preference. I personally boil everything together in a pot for about 20 minutes in a small amount of water. I don’t cook the fruits and often give my dogs fresh vegetables for snacks.
If one opts to go the raw food way, care must be taken to properly handle the meats to prevent food born disease. The only meats I am comfortable feeding my dogs are meats that I would feel comfortable eating raw. (I do enjoy sashimi and very raw steak.) Either way, the feeding concept is similar.
As gross as this sounds, it is important to pay attention to doggy’s bathroom habits. Stools should be well-formed and firm. Stools that appear bleached are caused by excessive plant material and shows imbalance in the diet. Loose stools can be caused by excess fats, food poisoning, or while adjusting to the new diet. Because home cooked foods don’t contain the same amount of grain fillers that commercial foods do, stool output will decrease.
As a last note, potato-type starches will need to be cooked as they are not digestible in the uncooked form. Bones, of course, always need to be eaten raw. Also, for large, broad-chested dogs who will need pounds of food, I would strongly recommend feeding at least two meals to avoid bloat.
Home cooking and Raw food Diet Nutrition Basics
October 25th, 2009
Dog nutrition is just like human nutrition. The latest news is always changing things up and shaking the established status quo of a balanced meal. Doesn’t it always seem that tofu is good for you one moment and then the next causes cancer? The same goes with dog nutrition; what was hailed as a break through last week may be old news by this week. We all hope to stay up to date on the latest studies but realistically most of us won’t get the memo. My best advice is to feed a varied diet that is as fresh as possible that makes sense to you. And maybe avoid those foods that apparently are really, really, probably still will be really, bad for dogs this week!
Dogs need at least approximately 10-15% fats and 10-20% protein in their diet. They also need some fiber and carbohydrates to be healthy. When preparing a home meal for dogs, it should start with a high quality protein source.
While the most common proteins are chicken, beef, and fish, some dogs may benefit from novel proteins like rabbit especially those prone to allergies. It is also recommended that pets sometimes be fed organ meats and not just flesh. These meats provide different concentrations and combinations of nutrients. Introducing proteins one at a time will help to avoid allergy riddles.
The next important aspect of a balanced diet is fats. Like people, many pet dogs lead a rather sedentary lifestyle with abundant food sources generously donated by their owners. In people, increased tv watching and microwavable food lead to..? Obesity! That’s right! Many pet dogs and cats are fat. And just like humans it’s unhealthy for a dog to be over weight.
Too much fat contributes to obesity, but at the same time fats are necessary for over all health and to promote optimal skin and coats. Some fatty acids cannot be produced by the dog and need to be obtained through dietary sources, usually meats. Fish oil can be supplemented from the local health store to encourage healthy skin and fur. Oils can also come from plant sources like plant oils and from seeds and nuts. Small amounts of oil are sometimes included in recipes to provide this need.
In commercial pet food, frequently the major ingredient is from starch. Dogs require some carbohydrates but not nearly as much as we humans consume or is present in commercial pet foods. Starches often are allergy culprits and are another huge contributer to obesity in pets as it is quickly metabolized and has a high caloric content. In general, starches are the least important contributor to a healthy diet for dogs.
Dogs should eat produce! Fresh fruits and vegetables are great sources of vitamins and minerals that dogs need. Some healthy snacks for dogs could be a few nuts or a carrot stick or celery. My dogs love some fresh cut melon or apples. There are some plant types of foods dogs should avoid but the vast majority are great contributers to a healthy diet. Fruits and veggies should make up a hearty portion of home cooked and raw dog food diet meals. A variety of produce should be offered to make sure doggy gets all of the different nutrients he needs.
As a last note, dogs on a home cooked diet may still need their diets supplemented with a multivitamin. This question will require some research by owners to decide if a supplement is needed by their dog.