Does anybody have some basic guidelines for all-around nutritious homemade diet?

[tblake]

My little puppy (4 months old) hates her kibble! I've tried a few different types (all super premium ones)...but she loves raw hamburger (I give her some with her kibble after awhile). I also tried Nature's Variety raw beef which she just stares at.. it doesn't make any sense!

So I'm totally fine (and would actually prefer) just feeding her "real" food like meats/veggies/fruits/cheese/etc...She likes real raw beef, she will nibble on carrots... I am just at a loss as to what sort of nutrition she needs at such a young age so that she stays healthy/grows up to be a decent size haha.

Can anybody lay down the basics here for me? Any advice?

ALSO if I give her a vitamin supplement, is it possible that she can be getting too much of any vitamins, are are all of them just water soluble??

Thanks!!

[Marilize]

I raised my second yorkie completely on homemade food and she is very, very healthy with the best appetite I have ever seen in a yorkie. Well, what I do is this: Once every two weeks, I boil up three cup of rice (no salt) and drain. Then I add a cup of pureed veggies and fruits, about 3lbs of raw meat, a little bit of chopped garlic, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, parsley, a little bit of olive oil, a vitamin E supplement (I don't supplement Vitamin A since I make sure that I puree carrots and add it to the mixture). I also get a great organic powder supplement from a local vet shop which includes kelp, bone meal, etc. Lastly I add a calcium supplement.

So, I mix all of these together and then divide it up for fourteen days' worth of meals, ziplocking and freezing it afterwards. I simply defrost a bag per day and voila: They love it! One batch lasts both of mine for two weeks, more or less.

I got this recipe from Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Dog Nutrition. What's nice about it is that you can change it up, adding different kinds of meat and veggies. I would recommend that you get this book. I constantly use it as a reference.
Hope this helped!

[lisa_j]

I have a diabetic boy I home cook for. He gets = amounts of organic cooked, pureed,chicken breast, mixed viggies and brown rice. 1 centrum vitamin ground into each "batch" ( a weeks worth of food) and 2 ground egg shells for calcium, fish oil, vit e oil, probiotics. For snacks he gets steamed green beans, home made organic chicken jerky, home made sweet potato chips, organic yogurt, blueberries, pumpkin and sometimes a bit of beef baby food. He does very well on this diet. He loves it so much he licks the bowl for several minutes after he had eaten everything.

[tblake]

Is that just a normal human centrum vitamin?

[lisa_j]

Originally Posted by tblake

Is that just a normal human centrum vitamin?

Yes, ground in a coffee grinder.

[BonBon]

Please, consult with a pet nutritionist before starting any home-cooked diet. Home cooking is a wonderful way to feed, but it's very important to get just the right balance of nutrients or you and your pup may have problems down the road. There was a thread going around in the Health/Diet forum about recommended nutritionists. If you don't see it there, check the YT library. The thread was started by member Ellie May who is very knowledgeable about home cooking. You may want to send her a message - she's very nice and always willing to help where she can. I think the nutritionist's consultation fee is pretty reasonable and you may be able to do with you one consultation.

Also, if you're going to feed hamburger meat make sure it's the leanest you can find. Yorkies cannot tolerate a lot of fat in their diets and they're prone to pancreatitis, among other things.

[lisa_j]

Originally Posted by bonbon

Please, consult with a pet nutritionist before starting any home-cooked diet. Home cooking is a wonderful way to feed, but it's very important to get just the right balance of nutrients or you and your pup may have problems down the road. There was a thread going around in the Health/Diet forum about recommended nutritionists. If you don't see it there, check the YT library. The thread was started by member Ellie May who is very knowledgeable about home cooking. You may want to send her a message - she's very nice and always willing to help where she can. I think the nutritionist's consultation fee is pretty reasonable and you may be able to do with you one consultation.

Also, if you're going to feed hamburger meat make sure it's the leanest you can find. Yorkies cannot tolerate a lot of fat in their diets and they're prone to pancreatitis, among other things.

Very good point. I should have mentioned, the diet I feed Jax is specific for HIS diabetic/nurtitional needs.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by lisa_j

Very good point. I should have mentioned, the diet I feed Jax is specific for HIS diabetic/nurtitional needs.

And you also make a good point. Many pups do require diets tailored to their individual health needs. It's such a complicated issue, and so important to their long-term health that it's always best to talk with the experts first.

[107barney]

You can get a dog diet by visiting balanceit.com -- they charge you for it but you can get a diet by a vet nutritionist and choose to add their supplements or your own. I have pulled a few recipes from there.

If your dog is only 4 months old, you probably will be told that your dog should be raised on commercial food for the first year.

I raised my dogs on home cooked. It requires a big commitment and is generally more expensive. I have always used some commercial food in conjunction with home cooked.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by lisa_j

I have a diabetic boy I home cook for. He gets = amounts of organic cooked, pureed,chicken breast, mixed viggies and brown rice. 1 centrum vitamin ground into each "batch" ( a weeks worth of food) and 2 ground egg shells for calcium, fish oil, vit e oil, probiotics. For snacks he gets steamed green beans, home made organic chicken jerky, home made sweet potato chips, organic yogurt, blueberries, pumpkin and sometimes a bit of beef baby food. He does very well on this diet. He loves it so much he licks the bowl for several minutes after he had eaten everything.

Only one centrum vitamin in each batch for a week? My dogs are on diets formulated by a veterinary nutritionist and they need 1/3 of a centrum daily.

[marcerella02]

You need to know you are getting some false information here. you CANNOT give a dog a human vitamin and assume you are covering your basis. Dog nutrition is COMPLETELY different from human and your dog will be lacking many many things which will not cause any issues right away but in the long run you will have some MAJOR issues.

Layla's diet was created by a nutritionist as she has pancreas issues. If you dog is completely healthy you COULD do as the second poster mentioned- use Dr Pitcairn's book to create your meals. He has MANY diets already created and you make up your own supplement. I would just make sure that his diets are in accordance with the AAFCO.

Home cooking is GREAT but not something that can be taken lightly or done without thought. Dog nutrition is much more complicated than human nutrition and you really really need to do your research.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by marcerella02

You need to know you are getting some false information here. you CANNOT give a dog a human vitamin and assume you are covering your basis.

It really depends on the rest of the diet. I have two diets from a very well respected and experienced board certified veterinary nutritionist that call for a human vitamin daily (along with other additions).

I do agree you can't just throw a vitamin into a mix and assume you are getting the nutrition correct. This is even more true with pet vitamins - those are formulated to supplement a commercial diet, not a home cooked diet.

to the OP - I agree with others that home cooking, so long as the diet is properly balanced, is a great option but it's not as easy as people think. I wish you good luck with your pup.

[beader]

I to use a homemade diet for my dogs 2 borders and 1 morkie.
The new diet has made my dogs coats become wonderful and the itchy skin on one of the borders has almost stopped. I also use Dr Pitcairn's book to create my meals. I find the supplements at the health food store and I bake the chicken for them, pick it and then I bake the rice in the juice ( I add lots of water when baking) they love it
It looks so good that one day my DH came in for lunch and had it on his plate I had to tell him it was for the dogs but I did get a good laugh out of it for some time

[lisa_j]

Here are some additionl resources
Website www.balanceit. com. FOr a fee of about $40 you can have a custom made diet tailored just for your pet's needs (diabetes, pancreatitis, whatever) by a vet nutritionist. ....OR you can call one of these resources for questions about home cooked diets.
Michigan State University for a telephone consultation at 517-432-7782 or University of California for a telephone consult at 530-752-1393.

AND, you CAN safely add human grade vitamins as recommended by a nutritionist.

[Suzy]

I homecook, and have for about 3 years. I use Dr. Pitcairn's book, along with some modifications that I've made to tailor it for my dogs' needs, as well as modifications made by our vet, who is experienced in animal nutrition.

You should look around & do your own research about different approaches to yorkie diets, and find the ones that seem like they would fit within your lifestyle, budget, and will satisfy your dog's needs. Once you find a couple of things that you think might work for you, you should consult with a vet, and/or a nutritionist to determine the best possible diet for you and your pet, and go from there.