Holistic for Dogs!

Posts Tagged ‘Home Cooking for Dogs’

I’ve been feeding my dogs a lot of raw meats for the last few weeks.  Since then the itchy has really gone down.  There is a lot less licking and scratching in my house.   My dogs have no red itchy spots on their skin and it’s quite a relief!   Overall, I’d consider my raw meat home cooking has resolved the initial dog allergy problem in my house.

So after feeding almost exclusively raw meat, I’ve added back potatoes to their meals.  And also veggies.  So the average dog meal consists of one boiled potato, a bunch of peas or green beans, and some raw meat.   After boiling the potato, it is mashed with some added water to make butter-free mashed potatoes.  Then the veggies are added at about equal parts.

To be honest, the only raw meats I’ve been feeding have been beef, chicken, and some organ meats.  Raw meat still makes me nervous with the chances for disease but I haven’t had any problems.  As a precaution, I freeze all of the meats prior to feeding.  I do not know if this has been proven scientifically but many raw feeders suggest freezing at some point in the preparation process.   Raw pork or game meats have a trichinosis risk and should either be frozen properly or cooked.

I’ve had the most success with cutting the meat up into small pieces or else the dogs run away and eat it on the couch, blood and all.  I’ve tried giving whole turkey necks and turkey gizzards but have found those overwhelming for my small dogs.  The turkey necks are simply too large and the gizzards I believe have a funny taste as they refuse to eat them.  Those will need a little bit of work.   Chicken gizzards, hearts, and livers all were greedily taken though.   The seven bone roast cut is an affordable way to bring home both meat and bones to puppy not to mention the organ meats are all REALLY cheap.

I have also been utilizing a lot of frozen veggies into my meals.  They keep longer and are tasty to me!  I try to give my dogs frozen veggies and some other veggies as available.

I suppose though, the lesson to take is:  if a dog has allergies, feed a limited diet for at least two weeks or until symptoms subside.  Then begin adding back one food at a time.  Strangely, I’ve found that cooking chicken causes severe itching while raw chicken does not.  Patience and a clear idea of the allergy food plan is super important as giving a wide variety of foods will not help the diagnosis of the culprit.

Technorati Tags: dog allergies, food safety, Home Cooking for Dogs, raw dog food diet

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.

Technorati Tags: Home Cooking for Dogs, raw food diet