home cooking for your baby!

[babybalouga]

Hi everyone!

Well since Charley still won't eat I have decided to do the home cooking thing and will try to slide some dry food with it!

I was looking for some tips to start!

I was planing to cook...

1 pound of lean ground beef / or turkey
1 cup of rice / or pasta
carrots
peas
other veggies I have at the time

Is this meal above ok?? Or is that a crappy one??? LOL.. Sorry I am new at this!

How much do I give a 2 year old yorkie? She weights 8 lbs?

What type of vitamine does she need?

Lots of questions!

Thanks
Michelle

[ch774]

I cook for my babies. Tonight they got chicken liver,brown rice, veggies. Mine are all 1-2-yrs of age. Both weigh 8-10-lbs.


I also feed them dry kibbles(looking to switch) but they get "chicken soup for the soul"adult. Other nights they get

turkey
bison (grounded up)
lamb(ground up)
steak
chicken

I steam veggies for them. Oh and they get 8-grain spagiette(sp) the vet says they look good.

Hope this helps

Cheryl

[ch774]

oops, forgot they get a multi vitamin. (I'm looking for a different one.)

[babybalouga]

ch774 - How much do you give them per meal? And how many meals / times per day?

Thanks

Michelle

[Ellie May]

The ingredients are okay but watch the fat content in the meat. You might want to stick with lean boneless skinless chicken breast or turkey breast for now. You need to add a source of linoleic to the diet (olive or canola oil is fine). It is best to have a recipe formulated by a nutritionist so that you aren't giving too much fat, etc. A multi regular multi vitamin is nowhere near enough and does not balance the diet. If you are feeding more than 10% homecooked, a nutritionist really should be consulted about supplementation. You can also use Balance It (balanceit.com) but the regular product for dogs does contain menadione which is controversial. You could talk to them about using Balance IT K which seems to be better.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

The ingredients are okay but watch the fat content in the meat. You might want to stick with lean boneless skinless chicken breast or turkey breast for now. You need to add a source of linoleic to the diet (olive or canola oil is fine). It is best to have a recipe formulated by a nutritionist so that you aren't giving too much fat, etc. A multi regular multi vitamin is nowhere near enough and does not balance the diet. If you are feeding more than 10% homecooked, a nutritionist really should be consulted about supplementation. You can also use Balance It (balanceit.com) but the regular product for dogs does contain menadione which is controversial. You could talk to them about using Balance IT K which seems to be better.

You also have to make sure Charley is getting enough calcium. Dogs have a much higher calcium requirement than we do. The proper calcium to phosphorus ratio is very important (1.2:1). If it isn't right, dogs can have skeletal, cardiac and neurological problems.

Calcium & Phosphorous in Dogs* - Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia -

As Ellie May said, it's best to either consult a nutritionist or follow a recipe prepared by one that contains all the supplementation.

[ch774]

Well, I feed 5-dogs at one time or at least try. I have 3-schnauzers and the yorkies. So Everyone gets a cup each of everything. I am seriously looking maybe to buy freeze dried dog food. I have been reading and Its the same as to what I feed them. On the calcium(sp). I must confess I'm having so many different answers about it. I had the babies on supplements but the vet,other yorkies mommy's and they say you only feed them supplements when they are pg. It might cause stones.

So maybe someone could help me on this. Oh last night every one had chicken livers. I have to cook alot for them but I measure it out in there bowl.

Hope this does not confuse you.

Cheryl

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by ch774

Well, I feed 5-dogs at one time or at least try. I have 3-schnauzers and the yorkies. So Everyone gets a cup each of everything. I am seriously looking maybe to buy freeze dried dog food. I have been reading and Its the same as to what I feed them. On the calcium(sp). I must confess I'm having so many different answers about it. I had the babies on supplements but the vet,other yorkies mommy's and they say you only feed them supplements when they are pg. It might cause stones.

So maybe someone could help me on this. Oh last night every one had chicken livers. I have to cook alot for them but I measure it out in there bowl.

Hope this does not confuse you.

Cheryl

I think you may have misunderstood. If they are getting a commercial diet you don't want to add supplements unless they are pregnant because it is already balanced. Too much calcium isn't good either.

You must supplement if you are feeding a homecooked diet. The proper calcium to phosphorus ratio is very important. At the very least dogs on a homecooked diet need a high quality multivitamin and a Tums everyday.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

I think you may have misunderstood. If they are getting a commercial diet you don't want to add supplements unless they are pregnant because it is already balanced. Too much calcium isn't good either.

You must supplement if you are feeding a homecooked diet. The proper calcium to phosphorus ratio is very important. At the very least dogs on a homecooked diet need a high quality multivitamin and a Tums everyday.

Over supplementing when using commercial food isn't a good idea.
It is not an option when you homecook and just a multi-vitamin does not provide enough calcium and the cal/phos ratio is not balanced. So many vitamins and minerals are already added to dog food that you don't need to add anymore.

[ch774]

Sorry for the mix-up. Thanks for letting me know. Now you have raised another question I was talking to my vet and told her that I give them tums. And she says that is too much calcium also. Jack would eat them and he acted better but now I don't know what to do I gave Bella pepsid and she acted strange so No More For Her...


Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks
Cheryl

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by ch774

Sorry for the mix-up. Thanks for letting me know. Now you have raised another question I was talking to my vet and told her that I give them tums. And she says that is too much calcium also. Jack would eat them and he acted better but now I don't know what to do I gave Bella pepsid and she acted strange so No More For Her...


Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks
Cheryl

I would suggest talking to a nutritionist if you want to homecook.
Most regular vets know very little about this. Some admit it and some don't.

Maybe look into using Balance IT. Balance IT L is somewhat controversial because they added menadione. Balance IT K seems better but is for dogs with liver and kidneys issues. You may be able to use it for a healthy dog though. You could email them and ask. I use Balance IT K. It is all-in-one. You just give so much per day in their food.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by ch774

Sorry for the mix-up. Thanks for letting me know. Now you have raised another question I was talking to my vet and told her that I give them tums. And she says that is too much calcium also. Jack would eat them and he acted better but now I don't know what to do I gave Bella pepsid and she acted strange so No More For Her...


Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks
Cheryl

I would either consult a nutritionist or follow a recipe prepared by one to the letter as the calcium to phosphorus ratio has to be correct. Vets only get about four credit hours on nutrition when they are in vet school, so they are by no means experts.

[ch774]

Yes you are right. When I talk to my vet who I trust very much. She does not really know about home cooking but she does not say anything against it. She says the dogs look good and see's nothing wrong with them.



Have you heard anything about freeze dried dog food,?

Cheryl

[107barney]

Hello. My babies (except for my baby that has MVD and who must be on a prescription diet) eat home cooking and they love it! One is a puppy almost 31 weeks old and the other is almost 9 years. They do eat some dog food (Merrick canned) but it is not the staple of their diet. It is done simply for convenience for those times where bringing their natural food is inconvenient or impossible.

There are a few things you can do to make home cooking for your yorkies easier. I make very large batches of food -- about 50 cups worth and freeze the food into ice cube trays. When they are frozen, I pop them out and store in air tight freezer bags. Then, I just grab a few cubes at meal time and defrost them in the microwave. The dogs circle and go nuts when they smell the food. I now use bones to avoid the whole calcium / phosphorous balancing thing and add a few other things like a multivitamin, fish oils, and vitamin E. (In prior years I have used egg shells to add calcium). My dogs eat fruits and vegetables daily as treats as well so variety is never an issue. My diet is pretty simple -- whole cuts of organic chicken, whole grain brown rice, raw spinach and carrots, and plain yogurt.

As for your start with the diet, it is not bad, but needs improvement. You should avoid ground meats unless you grind the whole cuts yourself. The rice should be whole grain brown rice or you can do Oats (Quaker regular oats) or you can do potatoes (sweet or idahos are fine). Those natural carbohydrate choices are far superior to pasta. I'd avoid peas because they are too starchy and your yorkie may put on some fat.

For my 9.5 lb yorkie, I feed about 1/2 cup per meal (which is two ice cubes worth. For the 5 lb puppy, I feed the same since he needs a little more.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info - of course you should always get the "A OK" from your veterinarian My vets were always supportive of my home cooking -- my dogs appearances' always spoke for themselves - bright eyes, clean teeth, shiny coats and overall great health so there was not much to argue about.

Good luck and happy cooking!

[RemydeHaviland]

Remy eats a combo of Before Grain - Buffalo (only kibble he likes) and home cooked each day. He gets approx 1/8 cup of kibble in the AM and gets the total of 3/4 cup (sometimes less depending on his activity) of home cooked food spread over a "Lunch" and "dinner" meal. He usually only eats until full and I do not leave food out for him.

One thing I have found that is easy is a "meatloaf" preparation. His meal this week is 97% lean ground turkey mixed with 2 eggs, 1 cup of dry oats, carrots, green beans and potatoes (the latter three are pre-cooked then chopped small and mixed into the meatloaf mixture). Form it into a loaf, toss it in the oven for about 40 minutes - don't dry it out. When its done I slice into meal-sized servings and freeze in individual snack size bags. When its time to eat, its out of the freezer, warmed a bit, mashed with a fork to break it up and on the plate.

I vary things each week, his other protein options include salmon (broiled) and red snapper. I also will use ground veal, beef and pork in a meatloaf-like preparation described above. I vary because he gets bored. He also likes chicken, and beef (not ground) but I try to minimize his beef. His veggie options: brussels sprouts (steamed and chopped), cauliflower (steamed and mashed), broccoli, asparagus (tips only), carrots, green beans. Occassionally he gets fresh lettuce from the garden - spinach, green leafy lettuce.

He gets a 1/2 Pet Tab and 3 tablespoons of greek yogurt mixed with a glucosamine supplement every day