Make your own dog food?

[Mommy2ZaGirls]

I know I can make doggy biscuits but does anyone make their own high-quality dog food? We just got a 7 mo. puppy from the pound and I really want him to be healthy, especially since he's already received a lot of the vaccines but the good stuff is expensive.

[leafylady]

Do a search for homemade dog food on the internet and in your local library. I had some landlords 5 years ago in Alberta, Canada who fed homemade dog food to their Newfoundland pup. They based it on a book that I read, but have long since forgotten. They felt that it was better suited to their large breed pup and helped to avoid problems such as hip dysplasia.

[bigcats]

homemade dog food

Read Dr Pitcairn's Natural Health for Dogs and Cats.

I have cats, so I don't have experience using the dog food recipes, but they look good. My cats usually enjoy the cat food recipes.

Every pet owner should read this book for all of the info it has!

[Elphaba]

i used to make healthy dog food, but my dogs are buttheads and they enjoy eating crap. it made me so angry that they did not appreciate my efforts to give them nutritious non-disgusting food.
if you want to get grossed out about pet food, read "food pets die for." horrifying.

[Abigailey]

You could also try doing a search for the BARF (bones and raw foods) diet. I know some people who swear by it.

[owensmom]

I use Dr PItcairns book and usually make the oats and meat recipe. I have switched to millet instead of oats per vets request, because my spaz dog is "hot" (some sort of holistic thing...). I buy a lb of organic beef and use a dozen eggs (I have chickens and more eggs than I can handle!). They get a cup of that in the morning and at night, with a cup of Hund-n-Flocken dry dog food (don't have time to make the 'wet' food more than once a week, so we supplement with dry to stretch it out).

I have a lab and a rottweiler, both ~90 lbs, and that seems to fill them. I followed the amounts in the book, and my lab got too fat, busted a ligament in his hind leg and had to have $1000 worth of surgery! If you have a holistic vet around, they can help you tailor it to your dog.

[LaLa]

I used to feed my dogs the following (both large Greyhounds)

1 Cup of Nature's Recipe Dry Dog Food
1 to 1.5 Cups of the following homemade mixture:

Hamburger Cooked (2lbs)
Large Can of Broth (beef/chicken or veggie broth) (30 oz aprox)
Large Container of Cottage Cheese
Rice (I cooked 2 Cups worth)
1 Can of Spinach (don't want to give doggies too much spinach)
1 Can of cArrots

They loved it!

I don't know if that is what you had in mind, but I felt better about feeding it to them, especially when they were fresh off the track and in need of nourishment!

I haven't made it in a while, though. Kind of fell out of the cycle.

I would make one BIG batch and it would last a week with the two dogs.

[snailmama]

i have a great book

i have a great book i can send you of pet reciepies....
email me at [e-mail]

[Mommy2ZaGirls]

Thank you all for your recipes and ideas! I will have to look into this more! I don't think he DESERVES it right now as he has been getting into a lot of "TROUBLE" but he deserves to be healthy and I deserve fewer vet bills!

[Mommy2ZaGirls]

Ok now I am really confused

I haven't had a chance to look at any of the references but we have been feeding him Eukanuba puppy food (7 mos. old) . Now, the vet says it is too much protein for most dogs (he only recommends it for hunting dogs during hunting season) and to use ADULT Iams or Hills (which he sells by the way). Still other articles we have received from the shelter say puppies need a lot more protein than an adult and I am confused. Our puppy was/is on the light side of weight although still within healthy range but he has filled out a bit since he has been with us.

Any thoughts on the vet's comment or the pet store guy's assertion that if you give Iams or other cereal-based foods it just "goes right through them" and you have to feed them twice as much?

He isn't living in the wild so do I feed him like that even though that isn't his activity level?

[rainsmom]

I used to use Dr pitcairns recipes because one of my dog has allergies. I stopped while preg because of handling raw meat. Now I use Natures Recipe dry dog food. Tho not perfect, it is one of the best commercial foods on the market, outside of Wysongs.

[snailmama]

eagle pack

We use Eagle Pack Cat food,
I know they have a dog food.
It is the best kind I have found yet.
Do a search on yahoo for them.

[moonshadow]

Wellness Organic Dog Food

To anyone out there who has a dog food question, I've researched it TONS, and Wellness Brand is the best. They use human-grade (fit for human consumption) meat, and organic grains and fruits plus high amounts of essential fatty acids, blueberries, garlic, and all kinds of good stuff. It was recomended by my holistic vet.

If you can't get it in the pet store, you can order it: check out their website, under "Wellness" at www.oldmotherhubbard.com

There's also an excellent book on natural dog care, including feeding your dog a raw foods diet. It's called: Natural Dog Care, a complete guide to holistically caring for your pets, by Celeste Yarnell.

And, for training, there is an excelent natural (gentle) method by the monks of New Skete. They have two books: The Art of Raising a Puppy, and How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend. They also have a video. It's surprising how many people live a natural lifestyle, but then don't have that extend down to their animals.

[moonshadow]

Pat Mckay's Raw Foods for dogs

Pat McKay has a wonderful site that tells all about a raw foods diet for your dog or cat www.patmckay.com She also has many articles on the site about the horrors of commercial dog food.

Iams, by the way, and Eukanueba contain etheoxquin (a preservative, made from rubber! that's been proven to cause cancer).

P.S. If you don't vacinnate your children, think twice about vacinating your pets...for the same reasons. The traditional vet community has brainwashed America in regard to pet vaccines and commercial brand "nurtrition."

There's an excellent book called "What Vets Don't Tell You About Vaccines," by Catherine O'Driscoll. I had to order the book from amazon.com/uk, because it is not even AVAILABLE in the U.S.! Check it out on Amazon UK's website, though.

Moonshadow

[snailmama]

Eagle Pack uses organic chicken from the Amish and organic grains and blueberries, cranberrries, brewer's yeast, ect...
We use the holistic blend for our cat...
we used to use the regular and the kitten food for our other cats in AZ.

It is so dark. It is definately edibile for human consumption...for those who have pet food fetishes.
here is the link...

http://www.eaglepack.com/

[snailmama]

wellness

I checked out the wellness site.
Looks good!
I will try that with my kitten the next time he needs food.
Too bad we just bought a 16.5 pound bag of Eagle Pack.

[bigcats]

My cats eat canned Wellness (when not eating homemade stuff - I've got to get back on the wagon but this is so not a good time!) It's the only commercial food that doesn't give my kitten diarrhea, other than one prescription food with disgusting ingredients (by-products, namely). I was so happy to find it, and I highly recommend it. Even all the stuff especially for cats with sensitivities didn't work with my Anya.

They don't make a formula specifically for kittens, but that prescription stuff wasn't made for kittens either. My kit has done fine on it, though she is a bit runty. She always has been though, ever since her rescue.

Oh, a note - she did get diarrhea when she had the dry Wellness. : But since you're not looking at it for allergy reasons, I wouldn't worry about that.