your thoughts on home cooked diet vs. commerical dog food

[davetgabby]

Originally Posted by lanabanana

I think I am ready to begin home cooking and ordered this today.
Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats: Richard H. Pitcairn, Susan Hubble Pitcairn: 9781579549732: Amazon.com: Books

It seems like a place to start and apparently contains recipes and directions on supplements. I'll report back once I actually make my first batch and the pups are able to try it.

Alanna

good book

[lanabanana]

Originally Posted by Thumper

I am all for the home cooked route, however, you have to be vigilent with the supplements, they often get picky and try to eat around the vegetables, unless you sometimes puree them like baby food, but then you have to switch up the vegetables because they have different key nutrients. I have alot of vitamins and vitamin powders that I use, flax, olive oil, different little things she'll get each meal and so far her health has been great. You have to do your research and be mindful of what doesn't sit well with them. Gucci's tummy gets upset with turkey and buffalo, so we mainly do lamb, chicken and sometimes venison if I can get my hands on it, with cous cous, rice (not a lot, I worry about the natural arsenic) fresh potatoes mashed (she loves them), crushed up cheerios is another grain I'll use (which has vitamins added, but I only do those once every 2-3 weeks)

When you make the commitment, know that you'll be doing butt baths for a few weeks/month until the adjust their water intake down. They drink alot more water when they eat dry kibble, it would be like a human only living off of Fritos and Tostitos with vitamin powder in it, so they drink more to digest it, and with the home cooked, they get more water through food source, so for awhile, they will have loose stools until they naturally just start craving less water ..that was one of the helpful things I learned in the home cooked group I joined when I started out, had I not known that...I probably would've thought she was allergic to everything I was feeding her.

I do not mind cooking for my dog, I cook for my DH, my kids, everyone else..I just do her cooking the same time I do the family cooking, since she flips her nose up on food that is frozen, I usually make it to last 2-3 days.

Kara

Can you point me toward the "home cooked group"??? Is it a yahoo group?

[davetgabby]

I would not go by what other people feed their dogs. Ask Tammy what she recommends.

[TilliesMom]

Originally Posted by davetgabby

I would not go by what other people feed their dogs. Ask Tammy what she recommends.

uhhhhhh... what DO I recommend?

I think every person needs to make the desicion on how and what to feed thier pet based on thier own feelings, education, time and desire.

[davetgabby]

Originally Posted by TilliesMom

uhhhhhh... what DO I recommend?

I think every person needs to make the desicion on how and what to feed thier pet based on thier own feelings, education, time and desire.

right on, but we're talking about what to do once you decide to do home cooking.

[TilliesMom]

oooooooohhhhh.... talk to Sabine.

[mswhav]

My havanese is almost 3 years old, so he's not a puppy anymore. I don't think he is playing me. He just really hates kibbles. I bought another bag of high quality kibbles 2 weeks ago and he ate it once, but by the second dinner, he was over it and wouldn't eat anymore. By contrast, when I put down the homecooked food, he is all over it and licked the bowl clean. I know that some people say to starve the dog until he eats ("dogs will eat when they are hungry" etc.), but it really makes me sad watching him - like I wrote in my original post, he once went 5 days without eating anything because we didn't give him anything but kibble. I don't think that is any way to feed my dog. I mean, sure, he will eat it when he is starving, but I really don't like the sound of that - he hates kibble so much that he would rather starve himself before eating it, that bums me out.

Anyway, I have been pureeing his veggies with a blender and mixing it with cooked meat. So far, it's working really well and he likes his food. Also, it doesn't take me that long to make the food since I puree the veggies with a blender and I usually do a large amount and do one preparation for a few days. Freeze whatever I can't use within 3-4 days. My question now is: since many of you mentioned that different dogs need different things (which I totally agree), how do you know that you are feeding a complete and balanced diet then? is there some kind of test I can ask my vet to do? I read someone did blood tests...will that show me if he is getting all his nutrients?

I don't have any issue so far with what I am feeding my dog - no diarrhea or runny stool like some of you have mentioned - his fur/hair looks really healthy and very soft. He doesn't seem any less energetic. So, I'm not sure what else to be wary of. The only issue that I have now is that my little boy always asks for seconds. ;-)

[davetgabby]

Originally Posted by mswhav

My havanese is almost 3 years old, so he's not a puppy anymore. I don't think he is playing me. He just really hates kibbles. I bought another bag of high quality kibbles 2 weeks ago and he ate it once, but by the second dinner, he was over it and wouldn't eat anymore. By contrast, when I put down the homecooked food, he is all over it and licked the bowl clean. I know that some people say to starve the dog until he eats ("dogs will eat when they are hungry" etc.), but it really makes me sad watching him - like I wrote in my original post, he once went 5 days without eating anything because we didn't give him anything but kibble. I don't think that is any way to feed my dog. I mean, sure, he will eat it when he is starving, but I really don't like the sound of that - he hates kibble so much that he would rather starve himself before eating it, that bums me out.

Anyway, I have been pureeing his veggies with a blender and mixing it with cooked meat. So far, it's working really well and he likes his food. Also, it doesn't take me that long to make the food since I puree the veggies with a blender and I usually do a large amount and do one preparation for a few days. Freeze whatever I can't use within 3-4 days. My question now is: since many of you mentioned that different dogs need different things (which I totally agree), how do you know that you are feeding a complete and balanced diet then? is there some kind of test I can ask my vet to do? I read someone did blood tests...will that show me if he is getting all his nutrients?

I don't have any issue so far with what I am feeding my dog - no diarrhea or runny stool like some of you have mentioned - his fur/hair looks really healthy and very soft. He doesn't seem any less energetic. So, I'm not sure what else to be wary of. The only issue that I have now is that my little boy always asks for seconds. ;-)

good question , you don't . I strongly recommed that you get a consultation with a nutritionist. Sabine ,at Better Dog Care does it for a very reasonable fee. You fill out a questionaire online and she will calculate everything right down to the no. of calories. One can do it from certain books but that is not personalized like it would be with her. She has helped dozens of people on here. ,from kibble diets to homecooked and raw. She is very helpful down the road if you have questions. Here is her email ask@betterdogcare.com and feel free to check out her website. She is a certified pet nutritionise website is http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main

[TilliesMom]

ya, it sounds like you are definitly on the right track with your havs diet!!
But there really is no way to KNOW if it is nutritionally balanced, until years down the road they develop some sort of issue or problem because of lack of a certain nutrient or to MUCH of a nutrient... this is where getting a nutrition consult comes in!
Check out Dave's link... if you are going homecooking, you really want to make sure your hav is getting everything she needs!!

[andra]

I have an email submitted to her as we speak. I am moving ahead with a consultation as Dionna, yet again, is rejecting her kibble (which I serve in the morning). This is day five or six of kibble rejection and now I have been giving her a sample kibble that I got from the spa/resort where I got the Santa photo. She is eating those kibbles but I am only giving her a very small amount because I was not really sure if they were ok or not. So I went by the vet today to have them review the kibble package and they said it was fine and also gave me a list of others to try. The problem is, she is picky and even when she does eat kibbles, she eventually will stop as time passes and then I am back to square one. Her current kibbles changed their formula and since that happened, she has not been as keen on them. She is eating her home cooked dinner with gusto. Hence me requesting professional guidance Even if Sabine has a few kibble suggestions, that is fine. I am just at a loss as to how to proceed regarding all of this.

Also, when Dionna gets too hungry, which happens when she does not eat in the morning, she gets a bile/stomach acid build up and she will often end up throwing up by afternoon. So eating in the morning is very important medically for her. So I am hoping that Sabine can come up with some kind of plan for Dionna as she is like my child and I love her dearly!!!!!