Homecookers, how much meat?

[marcerella02]

Originally Posted by Lexi Rae

ok, ive been giving her regular oatmeal , i though that was it,, ooops
i have to look for the steel oats.. you think its in the same section at
the grocery stores??

there is nothing wrong with regular oats... that is all Layla gets (this is when she decides she likes oatmeal) but yes it should be right next to the regular oats, although i'm sure you'll pay more for it

are you using the oatmeal on its own or in a mixture with meat and veggies?? I find the oatmeal very difficult to work with when dealing with a mixture.. it clumps together and is just not easy to mix together... you should try brown rice... it my favorite when making up a large batch of food and Layla loves it!

[Wylie's Mom]

You actually don't have to use grains AT ALL if you prefer not to - they're really just a filler, cause allergies, and aren't all that easy for dogs to digest.

I've read Pitcairn - and I'm not all that impressed. The fact that he actually recommends grains made me question his expertise immediately. I homecook, but only take bits and pieces from Pitcairn.

After a ton of research, I found the MOST informative piece on dog nutrition is Orijen's White Paper - I use their dry food for day grazing (btwn cooked meals). This paper is truly AWESOME.....and, it's not so darn overwhelming bc it's simple to understand. After reading this, I finally, finally felt confident in what I was feeding/cooking/doing bc it made me understand canine nutrition.

http://www.championpetfoods.com/orij...hite_paper.pdf

[Suzy]

I've just started doing the Dr. P recipes, and I made one with oatmeal. The trick is to put the oatmeal in the boiling water, and NOT stir it until done cooking. I didn't have any problem with it clumping, and I mixed it with raw ground turkey to make a little "casserole" of oatmeal, turkey, and veggies. My furgirls LOVE this. They also really like brown rice. I haven't tried other grains yet, but plan to once we get through the first few recipes I made and froze for later!

[marcerella02]

Originally Posted by Suzy

I've just started doing the Dr. P recipes, and I made one with oatmeal. The trick is to put the oatmeal in the boiling water, and NOT stir it until done cooking. I didn't have any problem with it clumping, and I mixed it with raw ground turkey to make a little "casserole" of oatmeal, turkey, and veggies. My furgirls LOVE this. They also really like brown rice. I haven't tried other grains yet, but plan to once we get through the first few recipes I made and froze for later!

hmm.. maybe we willl have to give the oatmeal another go... cause it was nothing but problems for me... i'll be PMing you in about a month when i have to make another batch

and in regards to Dr. Pitcairn, after reading the book and learning of his 25+ years of experience and research, it is hard not to believe he knows what he is talking about.... Layla has been on this diet for about 3 motnhs and has never been healthier

[Suzy]

DO give the oatmeal another run...and I know you're not huge on raw, but try it, maybe just this once with ground turkey!? See how she does- or just make a tiny batch of it and see how she does. I put fresh chopped carrots & a handful of frozen peas in mine. My dogs LOVED it, and I can already tell a difference in them. They were tired for a couple days, just like you said they would be, and I'm sure there may be a few more tired days

I have already noticed that they get FULL eating the same amount of this type of food. They stop/slow down eating sooner. They also take TIME to eat their food-probably about 5-10 minutes, when Emma used to gobble up her food in less than one minute. They don't BEG like they used to-because they're satisfied after a meal, and it holds them until their next!

[marcerella02]

Originally Posted by Suzy

DO give the oatmeal another run...and I know you're not huge on raw, but try it, maybe just this once with ground turkey!? See how she does- or just make a tiny batch of it and see how she does. I put fresh chopped carrots & a handful of frozen peas in mine. My dogs LOVED it, and I can already tell a difference in them. They were tired for a couple days, just like you said they would be, and I'm sure there may be a few more tired days

I have already noticed that they get FULL eating the same amount of this type of food. They stop/slow down eating sooner. They also take TIME to eat their food-probably about 5-10 minutes, when Emma used to gobble up her food in less than one minute. They don't BEG like they used to-because they're satisfied after a meal, and it holds them until their next!

Layla is the same way, she gets about 2-2.5 tsps of her mixture 3 times a day as well as snacks during the day and she has no need for her kibble anymore!!

[Yorkiedaze]

I don't use Dr. Pitcairn's recipes as yet, but I will if one of my dogs get sick or otherwise compromised with any ailment. He has some recipes to help get them back to health. I do however use his book as a guidline on neutrition and do my own recipes, and his book is an excellent book to refrence how to take care of any problems, health or otherwise that may come up. I'm not big on medication if there is a safe alternative that has no other side affect.
As for the steel cut oats, here is a site that may be of interest.

http://www.bobsredmill.com