What supplements do dogs on home cooked diets require?
 

I know they require Calcium, Omega 3 and Vitamin C but anything else?

check this out, it is made by know better foods.
it is called u stew for dogs.
it is a powder which contains all the supplements
for a balanced diet.
you add meat of your choice & veggies optional..

U-Stew - Cooked Homemade Dog Food | Know Better Pet Food

I use www.balanceit.com as called for at Welcome to Pet Diets, which is where I purchased my recipe for $25 for the first recipe and $12 for subsequent recipes.

:thumbup::thumbup: This is what I do as well.

I use Balance It as well...the vet nutritionist who made up my Cookie's diet recommends it. That diet is saving her life....she has lymphangectasia.

I like to use "Solid Gold Seameal Mineral and Vitamin Supplement."

Also, it depends on your yorkie, too. My yorkie Tatiana can get dry, itchy, sensitive skin, so I also add coconut oil for skin and coat health. It's done wonders for her.

I cant buy it, I live in UK not US :(

I think theres a few different brands of supplements you can choose. I'm not sure if they ship to the UK but you could check out Wholistic Canine Complete. If you're not able to find a supplement online or in your area you can work with your vet in putting together your own with the individual components, calcium,vitamins and minerals etc.

You can order Balance IT online. www.balanceit.com

From the site:

How are the Balance IT® supplements shipped?
All of the Balance IT® supplements are sent via Federal Express Ground or the United States Postal Service in environmentally friendly packaging. Orders are typically shipped within 48 business hours after your order is placed, and orders are usually received within six to eight business days unless being shipped internationally.

Dogs make their own Vit C and it's not required for addition to a diet. However it is sometimes added to home cooked diets. Dogs do not require Omega 3 as opposed to another fat source but many find it beneficial to choose an omega 3 source or to use it in tandem with another fat (for example safflower or corn oil). Calcium is needed, and dogs need more calcium than humans. For example, my 8 lb dog requires 60% of the amount I need on a daily basis.

The reason I like BalanceIt is because I would not purchase any other product on the market targeted for animals for a variety of reasons. Thus I would only use human supplements if not for the BalanceIt product and they are a pain to deal with twice a day IMO.

Good luck!

I too use BalanceIt and Petdiets.com. Rosie has IBS and it has been great for her. Not near as serious as LJ's situation but has been controlled by using home cooking. I am really glad that I ended up changing to homecooking.

hi , i was looking at the petdiet website.
i don't quite get how it works.
i did a sample diet.
balance it carnivore
gr.turkey for the meat
the sample recipe was
meat
oil
balance it
is that the recipe ?

how do i know what balance supplement to order?
i am looking into this possibly for my airedale.
thanks

How much does your Airedale weigh? I have a couple of links that might help. The balance it canine is probably the version you'd buy. The actual diet will have all the amounts you need and will be indicated in the diet after purchase

hey thanks..
My airedale is 80 lbs...

Ok, the diets I have only go to 60 lbs. So those won't work. I think I know what you did on the site. The Balance It Carnivore Blend is diff from the balance it product a bunch of us use. If your diet calls for the Balance It Carnivore, then that is the product you purchase. That is the one you mix with meat and oil. Here is the info sheet on it. https://secure.balanceit.com/vis/car..._infosheet.pdf

If you wanted to do the regular balance it, or another one of their supplements and need a free diet, here is the link for that. https://secure.balanceit.com/tools/r...cipegenerator/

I have not used the BI blends so can't offer any first hand experience with it, but it looks like a nice option for those who want grain free. I think this option would be way too high in fat for a yorkie, but might be ok for an airedale. You could email BalanceIt and ask Dr. Delaney about which one might be best. He's emailed me before and is pretty helpful.

Good luck!

Here is an example of what a FREE generated diet from BI looks like -- I plugged in Winston's stats for the recipe, choosing sweet potatoes and chicken as my carbohydrate and protein sources. You could plug it and play with items for your airdale and see what you like.


CHICKEN & SWEET POTATO WITH VEGGIES FOR DOGS
generated by guest at BalanceIT.com

The following homemade recipe was specially created for Winny, a 1 yr old neutered male dog. This recipe has been formulated for a healthy pet. Winny currently weighs 6 lb with a body condition score of 5/9. Based on his weight, his calculated energy requirement is around 207.65 Calories daily. The following recipe provides 217 Calories, enough for 1 day.

WINNY'S HOMEMADE FOOD RECIPE
Ingredients Grams Amount
(1) Peas and carrots, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 30.0 g (1/4 of a cup)
(2) Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, without salt 124.0 g (4 3/8 oz)
(3) Oil, canola 3.4 g 3/4 of a tsp
(4) Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted 35.4 g (1 1/4 oz)
PLUS
7 white scoops (3.08 gram) of Balance IT® Canine once a day
Per Above Recipe: 217 Calories; 27% protein calories (58 Calories); 21% fat calories (45 Calories); 53% carbohydrate calories (115 Calories); 72.9% moisture. Notes: These percentages do not correspond to the percentages listed on commercially made food.

Preparation Instructions:
Roast the chicken and bake sweet potato in the oven without any added salt. Boil or steam the peas and carrots in water without any added salt. Once cooked, measure out the chicken, sweet potato, and peas and carrots to the amounts above. Cut the chicken and sweet potato into bite size pieces. Place the sweet potato in a serving bowl and add the veggies, oil, and the necessary supplement. Mix well. Place the cut chicken onto the sweet potato and veggies and serve.*

*If your dog chooses to eat only the chicken when served on top of the sweet potato and veggies, please mix all the ingredients together to ensure that all essential nutrients are eaten.

The recipe must be followed exactly. Any alteration in amount or substitution of ingredients may cause adverse health consequences.
Substitutions:
Ingredients should not be substituted. Ingredients that may seem similar can vary greatly in the amounts and types of nutrients they provide. This is especially true of any vegetable oils used as they have very specific fatty acid profiles and changing from, say, corn oil to olive oil can make the diet potentially deficient in linoleic acid, while using walnut oil instead of corn oil would be okay. Please make additional recipes using the desired ingredient(s) or purchase and request a custom recipe setting if none exists with the desired ingredient(s).
Measuring Ingredients:
The fastest and most accurate way to measure the major ingredients in the recipe is to use a gram scale. These scales can be inexpensively purchased at office supply stores as well as at stores that sell kitchen supplies.

If a gram scale is not available, the common measure can be used. Some helpful common measure conversions: 1/16 cup = 1 tbsp, 1 tbsp = 3 tsp, 1 oz = 28.35 grams.
Multiple Pets:
Recipes are created for specific pets so it is usually best to have recipes created for each individual pet in a household. If you have other pets, please make a specific recipe(s) for them.
Storage:
Prepared food can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 weeks. Do not reheat any food that already contains vitamin containing supplement(s) as heating vitamins can degrade them.
Purchasing Supplements:
Please use only the supplement type(s) that are called for in the above recipe. Substitutions should not be made, and could potentially lead to harmful effects or an improperly balanced recipe. Needed Balance IT® products can be purchased from BalanceIT.com or from veterinary clinics.


Needed human supplements can be purchased at most drugstores, some supermarkets, and online.
Monitoring:
Please monitor Winny's weight and make sure he achieves/maintains a healthy weight. If he unintentionally begins to gain or lose weight, please contact his veterinarian.

Winny should have regular visits with a veterinarian to check that his homemade diet is meeting his needs.

thank you so much , i appreciate your help..