switching to homemade diet
 

So i am switching my little Gracie Lou to a homemade diet mainly because she is such a picky eater and I realized after feeding her chicken and rice during a bad stomach spell that her RANK breath went away with the homemade food. So while i am fairly well versed in what meat and veggies to include in her diet i'm wondering if there are any sort of supplements that i should also be thinking of adding? for instance should i get some raw bones from my butcher and give her those every now and then? or will the grains, protein, and veggie be enough? any thoughts or suggestions would be great!

I recommend that you purchase a home made diet from a veterinary nutritionist made specifically for your dog which will include the proper amounts of macronutrients and supplements based on your dog's weight. The place to do this is Welcome to Pet Diets and the owner of that website is a well respected vet nutritionist. I have personally done many consultations with her and also use the standard diets on her site.

The cost is $25 for the first diet and $12 for each additional diet if you purchase more than one. Teddy has three of her diets and he likes the "chicken and peas" diet the best.

No you should not do raw bones from the butcher unless you know what kind of bone to buy or you will end up with broken teeth. And no, grains, protein and veggies are not enough, the diet has to be appropriately balanced to avoid long term problems.

Good luck!

I am using this same diet and vet nutritionist that 107Barney recommends. I highly recommend this as well. You will also need to have a good scale to make sure your weights are precise. We use one that uses grams.

thank you 107barney for the info on welcome to pet diets.
i have always been interested in cooking for my dogs
but afraid of not giving them the proper nutrients.
i am going to check out this site....

If you are going to switch your dog to a home-made diet, its great that you are looking into how to best balance it...and recognize that its not as easy as throwing down some food. However; it doesn't necessarily need to include costly supplements that only the "vet nutritionist" can prescribe. i.e. "Balanceit. Now, recognizing that I'm going to sound a little bitter...here is my story.

My dog has some health concerns, and it was a mutual decision by my vet and myself that she should move to a home-made diet. She recommended getting a special diet from the Vet Nutritionist associated with Balanceit, and assured me of her experience/background. I ordered the diet ($600.00 Canadian) to get a one of a kind diet based on my dogs special needs and medical records. I was happy to do it...nothing is too good for my girl, and if this was going to help her then I was all for it. My diet when it came back contained four ingredients...meat, potato, Balance it supplement, and an oil supplement. That's all. I think the part that makes me the most bitter, is that there was no recognition for the fact that I had to order Balanceit from California (I live in Ontario) so the cost was extensive, and that when I was able to sit back and think, I was now feeding my dog, meat potato and powder...how can that be healthy? And how can Balanceit be the only supplement that I could use? I started to do my own research, and with the help of my Holistic Vet (which I started seeing after this experience) have created a home-made diet that is working for my dog, and the results are obvious in her blood work.

I'm sharing my story not to "dis" balanceit...but to remind everyone, that there are many paths to the same place...what works for one dog, may not for another, and there is no need to buy expensive "pre-made" supplements and use a diet that is computer generated. However; if that is a step you choose to take, then it will at least be better than most commercial dog kibble. There are lots of great books out there to help you create a diet that will work with your dog and your lifestyle. Definitely do your research, but don't be taken in by anyone who is out to make a profit on your insecurity.

Good luck on your journey (because it is definitely that)

My favourite book is: Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide To Natural Health For Dogs and Cats
although I have read many, many more.

Are you following a certain recipe? Just wondering if the amounts may be off. Rosie has no problems at all with the homecooking. My recipe gives specific amounts for the chicken, rice, and veggies as well as the supplements.

Sugar has very small solid poos with her homecooked diet. Non smelly too :thumbup::thumbup:

( :D)

Ever wonder what people fed their dogs when there was no dog food or "nutritionist" around. :D Real food is definitely "the" best way to go and the healthiest for sure. I've been home cooking for my dogs for over 50 years, and I'm proud to say I have NEVER had all the health problems I keep reading and hearing about. Makes you wonder huh!! Anyway, I do put a teaspoon of Dr. Pitcairn's home made vitamins over my girls food twice daily and have been doing that for 8 years. I also buy beef femur bones for them to chew on, but I take out the marrow first as it causes very watery stools. It's too fatty.

Yep - so does Harry (except his poos aren't that small....but then neither is he.....and his home-cooked dinners aren't very small either...!!! :D)

Apart from that, I entirely agree! :thumbup: :)

I have to smile at this. Most people feed their dogs kibble that is grain based. It is usually pumped full of grain with a little bit of three times baked meat with added synthetic vitamins and minerals and people are happy with it. But all of a sudden when people want to make their own food it becomes a complicated issue.

I cooked for my Gracie for the first year of her life because she refused all kibble. It is difficult to find accurate information about what correct dog nutrition actually is since dog food companies have muddied the waters on this issue, but once you find what a dog's body was actually intended to digest it gets easier.

I don't cook her food any more but I do feed a good grain free raw food that she loves and has done very well on. I would recommend The Missing Link food supplement. It has many of the nutrients and enzymes that cooking destroys plus vitamins and minerals.

:thumbup: :thumbup: Gracielove - I agree with you completely :)