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07-01-2007, 06:14 AM | #1 |
2 Pups=Double Trouble! Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Iowa
Posts: 6,581
| Raw and/or home cooked? There's lots of info on here about the raw diets and home cooking for your yorkies...I'm curious as to how many of you follow these diets for your yorkies? I know there are many books you can buy with recipes and reasons why to feed these types of diets, but I wanted to see some of your own ideas/answers on this. Also: Why did you choose to feed raw or home cook for your dogs? How much time per week to you spend cooking/preparing food for them? How do you know how much food to feed them? Do you make large batches of things for them to eat, and then freeze it for later? Do you find that it's more expensive, or about the same cost as a premium dog food? Are there lots of supplements that you have to add to their food to make this as nutritionally balanced as possible? Have there been significant improvements in your yorkie since you started this new diet? I'm considering going to home cooking for my dogs, but haven't yet decided if I'm going to do this...or, I might just do this for one meal per day, and feed dog food for the other. Is there anything right or wrong about that? Thanks in advance!
__________________ Suzy Emma & Milli What's better than loving a yorkie? Loving two yorkies! Milli 's Remi! |
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07-01-2007, 07:31 AM | #2 |
And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI
Posts: 17,928
| We decided to homecook for Ellie after the recalls. It was going to be a short term thing until they got the recalls under control but we won't be going back to boughten. Ellie does way to good on homecooked. She used to throw up once in a while for no reason which has stopped, her nose is a lot colder most of the time and she had some rough fur on her lower back that is so soft now. Yes, they should have supplements with homecooked but I haven't found one that I am comfortable with yet. She does get cottage cheese a lot of days for calcium though. She gets 3/4 cup of food a day (she is fed three times a day). Her food gets frozen up ahead (about 2 weeks worth) so it probably takes 2 hours every 2 weeks. I hope this helps get you started.
__________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶 |
07-01-2007, 08:17 AM | #3 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Tennessee
Posts: 214
| LillyBelle had gotten sick on the recalled food (a couple weeks before the recall) I was actually feeding her broth with a syringe over a weekend, didnt know it was her food. Anyway she was tested, etc and came out ok. I have been cooking ever since...its been quite easy. I found the recipes here on yt. I cook about a weeks worth and keep it in the fridge. I feed her a couple tablespoons in the morning and in the evening. I still leave her dry food out during the day. One lucky benefit I didnt expect is that the tsp of chopped garlic that I add to the food is also a flea repellant so I have not use advantix one time this summer. (I have now researched this and the garlic is fine for her). She has been recently retested and is in perfect health. You can look at my previous posts for the recipe I use its quite simple. I use the small canned vegetables (rinse thoroughly to get the salt out) and chop and the jar of chopped garlic found in the produce dept-takes about 30min to cook a batch. |
07-02-2007, 04:17 PM | #4 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: May 2007 Location: In the Real World
Posts: 47
| Cooked or raw? I switched from bad kibble, to good kibble, to home cooked and now raw. No preparing anything, no supplements, no veggies or dairy products. Just raw meat, raw organs and raw meaty bones. They stop eating when they're full and based on their current weight are self regulating and doing well! The reason why I chose raw is that I did my research (many, I repeat MANY nights spent online reading) and found that it's species appropriate as dogs (even tiny yorkie babies) are carnivores not omnivores and cooking the meat destroys the nutrients we're then putting back in. Sounded counter productive to me. Many people are against raw, based on unfounded fears and false data. Because of those people, I'm currently looking for a "raw and anti-vaccines-friendly kennel" so I'm not always forced to feed kibble to my babies when I travel. Granted it's Orijen kibble, but still.... My puppy is thriving on raw and my senior is healthier than he has ever been his entire life! His teeth resemble those of a younger dog now and still getting better! I also met a lady at my meat supplier who's been feeding her dogs raw for 10 years now and they've never been sick a day in their lives. I personally saw her dogs and I never even knew that a 9 year old wasn't supposed to have bad teeth and be overweight! Feeding our canine friends is not science, just common sense.... |
07-04-2007, 07:48 AM | #5 | |
Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: California
Posts: 829
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__________________ Bella Izzie Julie | |
07-04-2007, 09:32 AM | #6 | |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: May 2007 Location: In the Real World
Posts: 47
| Quote:
Thanks for the tip! Normally I oppose premade raw, but what's a mom to do in a pinch, right?! For those times when my babies are not able to come with me, I need to board them but I pretty much resigned to the fact that there are no kennels willing to oblige me with raw and no vaccinations, so I guess I better find a good petsitter! Another thing I wanted to add; once they've had raw, it's really hard to get them to eat commercial or cooked again! The first post asked about cost; it's not more expensive to feed raw, but actually cheaper than cooked (expensive supplements), premium kibble isn't exactly cheap either! I found that with small dogs your meat money will stretch far and the longer I've been doing this the craftier I get! Searching for meat sales has become my new hobby, lol. | |
07-04-2007, 09:38 AM | #7 | |
Loved by Layla Donating Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Canada
Posts: 11,257
| Quote:
i make a batch every month.. which lasts usually over a month... i freeze it and bring a baggie out every 2 or 3 days Dr. Pitcairn's book indicates how much a dog for her weight should eat.. i think it is between 1/2-1 cup but if i can get her to eat 1/4 a day i'm happy... she is still a very picky, bird eater! she also gets yogurt during the day too i find homecooking MUCH cheaper... i buy her meat at the butcher or on sale at the grocery store and it lasts me a VERY long time, plus even if it WERE More expensive i woudlnt care... i LOVE knowing exactly what she is eating Dr. Pitcairn's book gives you a receipe for the suppliement that you should add to the food. Layla also gets 4 other vitamins on a rotating basis. YOu can PM if you want more info Laylas coat has come leaps and bounds since her new diet.. Also you can expect a week or so of a very slow and tired dog. This is their body getting rid of all the bad stuff... Layla expeirinced this... but maybe for two days.. not a week. i HIGHLY recommend the book i've been talking about.. i'd say i pull it out about once a week just to look something up. He talks about a lot of other things besides food... but again if yo uwant more info feel free to PM ME!!!! | |
07-04-2007, 03:40 PM | #8 |
Luv my Angel, too! Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: USA
Posts: 9,333
| I had been homecooking for over a year. I used to cook once a month and freeze in containers that would feed for about 4 days at a time. I fed about the same as premium kibble (about 1/4 cup/pup for dinner - my girls are both 4 lbs). I didn't alter my recipe at all during this time and the only supplement I use is Missing Link. My girls get Stoneyfield Organic yogurt each morning with the ML. I just switched them to The Honest Kitchen freeze-dried raw. It is so incredibly easy to use (you simply re-hydrate with warm water when ready to feed). I use both the Embark and Force as they are grain-free. I figured this was a good time to go grain-free as well. What I like about The Honest Kitchen raw as opposed to Nature's Variety and Raw Meat and Bones is that the protein levels are consistent with typical premium dog foods (between 25 & 30%) as opposed to the really high protein levels of the other raw diets. I have been told that super high protein levels can cause other health issues such as pancreatitis and liver problems. Neither of my girls has those problem and I want to keep it that way!! My vet is a huge proponent of raw diets and was especially impressed with The Honest Kitchen products. The raw diets give you recommended feeding quantities.
__________________ Sissy & Angel |
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