# Home Cooking



## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Kramer's been very picky about his foods lately. I got him some TOTW and for a couple of days it was finger (toe?) lickin' good. Now it's...eh. And would be much better with sauce!

So I am considering doing a home cooking and hopefully kibble combo as in hopefully he'll eat kibble! When he was on the fish diet he was so excited to get kibble.









http://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/product.php?cPath=25_26&products_id=88

http://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/product.php?cPath=25_26&products_id=77

Those booklets were two things I looked at. $250 for a consultation is a bit too much for me. Particularly because there is a part of me that says if he wants something, give it to him, he's 15 and even Euell Gibbons wouldn't deny him that, right? 

Do you think either of those things will give me the percentages, etc. that I need. I know he'll get meat. After that I am at a loss. 

I liked that liver diet because it was all measured out and took the nervousness out of it for me. I know that even though he's older, I don't want to screw him up. I do want him to enjoy his meals though. 

No raw, no pre-made raw, no raw dehydrated though. 

Oh! What are these?




































Sorry-got distracted!

Thanks!


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Have you tried the Orijen Fresh Fish with him? Chama loves it. To get her started I add in her canned food and then pour on warm water to make a broth and get it all smelling good. 

For home made, I think Monica's books are the way to go. You can also join her email list on yahoo groups. She is on there all of the time and will answer any questions you have for free. There are other helpful people on there too. 

I still need that little snowing and shivering icon. It's flurrying out right now!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Here too!!!! 

I've been feeding that Fresh Fish with the Fromm Salmon. I tried seperating them out but he was still like...I am SO over this (meanwhile everyone else is still hopping up and down for their meals). 

He's even doing this thing where he wants it wet, then he wants it dry, then he wants with canned, without...I read that article in the WDJ about just kind of doing what they want. I do think he read it too.

That's a good idea-the Yahoo group. 

Thanks-I get very nervous-like why isn't he eating? And start with infected teeth and work my way into his stomach tacking coming undone and beyond. Then I bring him a little McDonald's and he's jumping like he's on a trampoline.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Has he always been excited about food or a picky eater? Chama will pick stuff out and throw the rest on the floor sometimes. I used to yell at her to cut it out but now she can't hear me anyway so I just throw a towel down.







Rafi cleans it up later anyway. 

Is anything else different? Maybe he's just become picky with all of the pampering. Cleo is like that. She makes me feed her in different places and she tells me where by leading me there. If I put it down somewhere else she refuses to eat! 

Was it his liver that was a problem before? What is going on there?


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Well, back in the day when it was only Kramer, he would eat half his meal, straight down the middle of the bowl, and then pick at it for the rest of the day until supper. Then supper the same and eat through the night. Obviously, that half would be hoovered down by any of his subjects here! 

He also (time to confess) got a fair amount of whatever I was eating. 

He also tends to like to control things-or get me to do his bidding is more like it. So he waits-and I stupidly comply with him-put a little sauce on. Then he eats a little-and gets some parmesan cheese. So I have contributed to this problem greatly. 

His liver (what's left of it!) levels were good last time-only about 100 points away from normal. 

I think the pampering could have something to do with it. He was eating a LOT after his surgery and I think he may have leveled off a bit. He's gained back the weight he needed to, so maybe he's self regulating and I'm trying to make him eat too much. I started measuring out his daily allotment so that I could see what he was getting. 

Today when I knocked a whole plate of cheese and crackers I had just made for myself off the desk







he did pretty well at inhaling that! Before I could even get to it he had hoovered up all the cheese and was working on the crackers. 

Eat, Kramer, eat...no one likes a skinny Kramer! (from Rudolph I think)


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## Heidigsd (Sep 4, 2004)

> Quote:Those booklets were two things I looked at. $250 for a consultation is a bit too much for me.


Monica's booklets are great, I have a lot of them but I can't get to mine right now because they are all packed up for our move...who knows what box the are in







In her cooked diet booklet she offers balanced recipes for different weights, so if none of them fit Kramers weight I am pretty sure that she would adjust the recipe to match his weight but I don't know how much she charges for it.

If there are diet considerations due to health issues (like his liver) I would recommend her new book which also has recipes in it. http://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/product.php?cPath=25&products_id=101

I would join her group K9 Kitchen that way you can ask questions once you start him on home cooked. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Kitchen/

Michaela


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Pick a box, any box!









This is great information. I am really glad I asked. He didn't want breakfast, even with Brauts n Tots in it-and he used to love that, so after my meeting I hit the grocery store. He just had some yams for lunch and at them all up. Plain old cooked yams. Not exactly a balanced start, but he enjoyed them. 

I got a big fat pork tenderloin and had them grind it up for me. I am making that (4#) with the yams, some carrots (not many) and green beans. 

I know it's not balanced but I want to do is to make sure he is not having any eating issues before Friday-he goes to the vet for his Adequan shot then and I want to be able to have him checked out if there is just total food refusal. I figure this will be a good test drive because he's never really had pork before.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

I'm sure you own it and have already memorized it, but I really like Dr. Pitcairn's book as well. Ok, so I don't feed grains. (Get into the 2000s Dr. Pitcairn!). But his nutritional info is really helpful as well. 

I was feeding my senior half home-cooked (meat and veggies) and half premium kibble. She loved that. A 100% home-cooked diet was too rich. But as she's aged (gracefully, I might add), I've had to phase out more and more of the home-cooked due to her stools getting softer over time. BUT she is just thrilled with boiled meat and some of the broth in her kibble. I usually use boiled ground turkey. She hates when the mixture sits around too long though! Kibble should be crunchy! 

Sure, she'll eat cheese and crackers, steak, pizza (ooh! we love pizza), and all the other stuff I let her get away with. What? did she just eat 1/4th of a Chips Ahoy? But she's willing to eat high protein kibble (high protein = more meaty flavor?) with just a tablespoon or two of meat. 

Oh, but the meat MUST be heated so that it's warmed, and then stirred in, so that the kibble is well coated with meat and juice. 

So, Jean, what the heck am I saying? Try the homecooked if you want. (I like stews and still make them for Camper). Or maybe you just need to spice up his kibble with the RIGHT stuff. Warming food makes a huge difference.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

The kibble should be crunchy!!!

This is good-I may just do that-add a little meat and juice. 

Last night he had 2/3 pork/yam/carrot/bean mix and 1/3 kibble and wanted more. I didn't give him more but it was good to see that. 

I feel more hopeful now-he was making me nervous (who? me? worry?) and I wanted to be able to talk this over with his vet on Friday. Nina though is very pleased this is happening-she gets a little of whatever he gets.


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## Avamom (Sep 28, 2004)

I do a homecooked diet for my kidney failure foster dog...the K9 Kidney group is great....I have a "prescription" diet from the vet about the exact amounts but I tweaked it some due to needing to lower his phosphorus, so I took out the egg and substituted egg whites...same protein much less phosphorus and after 1 month his phophorus levels are back to normal.....I would have never known how to do that without the research, files, and spreadsheets listed on the K9 Kidney Yahoo board. 

He was a very picky eater, but that was because he wasn't feeling good...its like he knew not to eat the stuff that wasn't good for him, LOL. He loves the new homecooked diet. 

So what I'm saying is, try the homecooked. You have such an awesome vet, talk to them about what diet they recommend for his liver issues and go from there. I know you, you will have bloodwork done so you can monitor if you have it balanced. 

I would be careful about the pork products....after having a foster with pancreatitis my vet pretty much freaked me out about the fat content in pork and why lots of dogs have problems with too much pork. Just an fyi from one neurotic pet owner to another!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Ya know....Kramer's eating dog food again...totally plain. 










I think he dislikes the Synovi granules-so I am going to try the chews with him. HRH wants to keep me on my toes. I have to dissolve his vitamins at night and he will drink the water but not on his food, Bruno has gotten some Tramadol (typical younger adult wanting to use painkillers recreationally) because Kramer leaves that in the canned food, and I also know Ava got it one night because she frothed at the mouth (Bruno and Ava will jump the baby gate to finish Kramer's supper if heaven forbid, I use the bathroom-so now-I have to sit and watch Kramer eat). 

Thanks to everyone and I will save this as a reference in case he gets picky again. I appreciate everyone's time and help.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: JeanKBBMMMAAN Bruno has gotten some Tramadol (typical younger adult wanting to use painkillers recreationally)


Glad to hear K is doing better.

Zamboni is willing to meet Bruno on a dark street corner and sell him her Tramadol. They taste awful and she will not take them no matter what food I put them in (projectile spit-up tuna? nice!). So she's willing to sell them to him at street value.

She'll be the little beagle in the trench coat, on the corner, looking a little shifty. Yeah, the big GSD is her back-up. Tell Bruno not to try anything funny.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

I knew there was a reason i came on here late...thats when all the fun happens!! you guys crack me up!

Jean, between Anna sniffing grass (inhaling?), Bruno and his pain killers, and then the acid tripping thread....
















seriously though, glad Kramer is doing well, and hope everyone else is too









sorry i have nothing insightful to add


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: Avamom.....I would be careful about the pork products....after having a foster with pancreatitis my vet pretty much freaked me out about the fat content in pork and why lots of dogs have problems with too much pork. Just an fyi from one neurotic pet owner to another!


I gotta say that this is really a myth, unless you are buying very fatty meat. 

I have a dog with chronic pancreatitis, and I have fed her pork for nearly a decade now because it is the protein that she does best on. It really depends on what cut you are buying. If you belong to a Costco, they have good lean chops at very good prices. The big problem with pork in general is processed pork (ham, etc.).

Now, I have heard from one vet that has treated a large number of GSDs that many GSDs have problems with pork, not because of the fat, but the type of protein. I don't get it, but it's true for Max.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

I have a friend who's a hog farmer and is also a successful breeder of WGSDs. He's been feeding raw for years including raw pork and from what he tells me has never had any problems.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Yeah, I think the whole pork thing is a myth that won't die (unless it's processed pork!).

There were however, a lot of hogs from china that were fed, well, basically sewage, for their meals. I might be afraid to feed that meat though....


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Yup. I buy Costco's pork chops for my GSD who having had SIBO, I have to watch his fat intake (Whew, was that a run-on sentence, or what?)

Anyhow, what Lisa said.


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