# Home Cooked Dog Food?



## JenTheGSMama (Nov 14, 2016)

Hello,
I'm new to this site, but I have raised German Shepherds, Huskies, along with many other family dogs throughout my life. Our last GS, Roxy, was a beautiful sable, my best friend and the most loyal and well behaved dog ever. Roxy, although loved, trained, exercised and fed, did not live past 9.5 years old. The last year of her life, she was sluggish, overweight and battling other health issues that we weren't aware of. I feel like nutrition played a major role in her health and the length of her lifespan. We know our German Shepherds only live between 10-14 years, but I just feel like we were robbed of a little more time with her. Roxy passed in 2014, and ever since then I have been majorly obsessed with what I feed my dogs. When Roxy was a pup and throughout her adult life, I didn't feed her quality dog food. I was naive and just didn't know about nutrition or reading labels until I got into fitness about 5 years ago.

Fast forward to today, I have a 14 year old Vizsla named Angel, a 5 year old Husky named Koda, a 4 year old Husky named Ranger, and A 4 MONTH OLD GERMAN SHEPHERD NAMED BELLA. I have recently been experimenting with homemade dog food. I was on the fence between feeding raw, cooked or finding the best kibble out there. That dang kibble was just so questionable for me. There was so much of it on the shelf and I didn't trust any of it. I started by replacing 2 cups of kibble with 2 cups of home cooked food a day. Each of my dogs have different nutritional needs. My 14 year old has also put on weight these last few years and she was becoming sluggish and not getting around so easily. The Husky Boys, are both so different. Koda was a runt and has always been underweight. He has always snubbed his food and refused to eat. I have tried every single bag of kibble on the market with every kind of enticement added to get him to eat, but he wouldn't eat. Ranger, he turned out to be a full-size, huge husky who is nearly twice the size as Koda. The pup, she will eat anything that I put in her face, but I have to be careful that she doesn't eat too much and also that eats enough. Every dog is different. One needs to gain weight, one needs to lose weight, one needs to maintain weight and the pup needs to grow up healthy and strong.

I have my hands full, but I love these guys more than most of the people in my life so I will do anything to make sure they grow up happy and healthy. So I started really researching raw diets, real diets and I armed myself with an abundance of information. I talked to my vet, and although they couldn't endorse or not endorse anything I was doing, they said that it sounded like I was doing everything right because all four dogs were doing great. 

Until now, I have been mixing their home made food into their kibble. I started out at 80% kibble and 20% whole food. Then I changed to 50/50 and then 30/70. Today, I decided to fix them a whole meal WITHOUT THE KIBBLE. I know about nutrition and calories, fats, proteins and such. I know that I need to supplement each meal with the proper vitamins and minerals. All of my dogs are large breeds, so every meal is based on high proteins and healthy fats. Here is a few examples of what they had today:

Meal One:
Ground Turkey
Mozzarella cheese
Black beans
Brussel sprouts
Carrots
Coconut Oil
Fish Oil (capsule supplement opened and mixed with food)
1 tbsp Crushed/Powdered Egg Shells (for calcium)
This meal was 511 calories, 22gm fat, 23gm carbs, 50gm protein, 13gm fiber/ per dog

One- raw beef marrow bone in between meals, with a few homemade treats

Meal Two:
Ground Pork (I normally do chicken and turkey, but for the weekends they get porks and beefs)
Brussel Sprouts
Black rice
Canned pumpkin
(This meal had a larger fat content and calorie content, so I left out any additional oils, etc.)
This meal was 579calories, 28gm fat, 48gm carbs, 25gm protein, 12gm fiber - per dog.

Snack: Low-fat Yogurt and blueberries and apples, homemade dog treats. The pup may eat again before the night is over, depending on her activity levels. She is eating between 2-3x a day and she is 4 months old. Roughly 1000-1200 calories a day for the puppy!

I have each dog at about 30cals a day/per pound of body weight. I guess I am a nervous wreck because I don't want to deprive pup of the nutrients and vitamins she needs to grow up smart and healthy. I don't want to do anything wrong, so getting rid of the kibble for good is making me a little anxious. Do you recommend any changes to this diet, and what about supplements? I found a product online called "Dog Greens" which is a powdered substance that you mix with their food to add vitamins and minerals. I will tell you this, ever since I introduced these whole, healthy foods, their shedding has decreased by 80%. Their coats are thick, rich, supple and shiny!! Their fur is beautiful, when before it felt a little dry and dull. The 14 year old has had more energy than I've seen in the last year. She has been jumping on and off the couch again, jumping on the bed and jumping on the fence outside to bark at the neighbors. I haven't seen that in a long time!! The Husky who wouldn't eat, has been eating 2/3x a day, and has been filling out in his chest and putting on weight. I have noticed more energy in him as well. The pup has been growing and gaining weight at a steady and healthy rate. Her ribs can be felt, yet not seen. You can see the cuts in her waist, along side her backside and while looking down over her. 

Does anyone else home cook their dog's food? If so, any tips or help to help me would be great. Anything that you read that I am doing wrong? I have this beautiful puppy, and I don't want to deprive her of anything in that nasty kibble and not let her brain or body develop properly. Please help!!


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

I've been feeding mostly raw and home cooked for nearly 20 years. My last two dogs that passed, crossed the bridge at the ripe old ages of 14 1/2 and 17. Both large breeds at that. Diet is so very very important! 

It's really really hard to speak to the nutritional balance of your homemade diet without knowing the measurements of your ingredients. 

You need to be looking at a lot more than the Protein, fat, fiber, carbs and kcals. Especially for that pup! It's important you are tracking your calcium phosphorus ratio, as well as total calcium intake as well. Personally I like to use recipe analyzers like the one at nutriondata.self.com and check it against dog's daily recommended intakes (Here's an easy to read cheat sheet - this is for an 33lb adult dog but it is a good starting place http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/banr/miscellaneous/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf )

The diet you fed today is deficient in choline, vitamin E and iron. It may be deficient in others as well, but those are the ones I double checked the values for. Potential issues with the calcium and phosphorus ratio and total values. Couldn't tell for sure without ingredient amounts though.

Rotating your veggie choices is important. I personally wouldn't feed cruciferous vegetables daily. The glucosinolates in them can effect thyroid function. Spinach is very high in oxolates. And all sorts of stuff like that. My rule of thumb with feeding my dogs is the same as for feeding myself: Variety is key. I try to "feed the rainbow" over the course of the week as far as the intake of fruits and veggies are concerned. I want him to have a full range of antioxidants and the like. Recently my guy has eaten tomatos, garlic, algae, kale, watercress, broccoli, pineapple, blue berries, black berries, pumpkin, sweet potato, papaya, orange juice, nori, wheat grass, micro greens, raspberries, mango, beets, yellow bell pepper, purple carrots and spinach. Plus various herbs and spices (Turmeric, oregano, ginger, etc)

I personally, prefer to feed a much lower carb diet than what you have gone with. Carb = sugar. And sugar leads to obesity, yeast issues, cancer, and a whole host of other issues. It's a personal call, but I'd be on the look out for any potential issues there.

Organ meat or a commercial vitamin and mineral premix will make up for the deficiencies in your diet. I personally have gone with a premix as my current dog will not consistently eat enough organ meat for him to have a balanced diet. Never had that problem with my past dogs. This boy is just picky.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Hi Jen and Welcome! :welcome:

I agree with voodoo.

I'd consult with someone like Monica Segal who can analyis the diet and make corrections: Diet Analysis With Corrections 

Or

You could try Dr. Karen Becker's book "Real Food For Healthy Cats & Dogs". Her recipes are a combination of meat, organs, vegetables/fruit, eggs, and sardines. There is a recipe to make homemade vitamins and lists other supplements to give. 4th Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Beckers-Real...&keywords=real+food+for+healthy+cats+and+dogs


Moms


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I had some questions and I was advised to get Monica Segals book. I was all excited when it came and then I opened it up. I was looking mostly for home cooked meal diets because I was switching for the winter. Her diets required added vitamins, which I won't do because vitamins are the main reason I don't feed kibble. I want nothing from China and most vitamins come from there. None of the diets that were included can be used by me, because not one but several ingredients can't be used, due to allergies. I am not thrilled with the book thus far. If you call for a consultation, make sure that you are somewhat educated and have questions ready, so that isn't a waste of money. This is just my opinion because I asked the same question within the last month.

Even the raw diets required added vitamins and veggies. From just looking at it, it would seem that the liver ratios and the vitamins/minerals that come from that source look to be either to high or to low. It doesn't seem to balance for certain size dogs. It really threw off everything I have researched and came up with. I know that what I do now works, so I'm VERY hesitant to change it.


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

Chinese sourced vitamins and minerals are also a concern for me. I did find an affordable mix that does not use chinese sourced ingredients. Fresh Pet Oasis Canine. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good. It does contain skim milk, whey and yeast (As a source of mannanoligosaccharides! So yay to that!!!) but those shouldn't be a problem unless a dog is specifically allergic to those. I've been using it for several months myself, and my partner has been using it for for 9 months. Both dogs are doing well with no issues on it. It completely balances out pure muscle meat, which is kinda nice on those rare occasions when I don't have time to prepare a good meal for him. Just mix the powder with a little yogurt or goats milk and toss the dog a big hunk of meat. 

Here's a snip-it from an email exchange I had with the company earlier this year:

"We do not source any of our ingredients from China. With regards to
testing of heavy metals, each ingredient we receive has a CoA that is
verified before being used in our products.

Please note that our Fresh+Oasis is never advertised and has become the
most trusted vitamin mineral supplement for raw diets through word of
mouth. The performance and track record of the Fresh+Oasis has been tested
and proven for over 20 years."

I would prefer for my dog to get all of his nutrients from whole foods - that is certainly the ideal. Unfortunately he just will not cooperate with me on that one  It got to the point where I practically had to force organ meat down his throat for his diet to remain balanced. So this is my compromise. He gets lots of whole fresh foods, a mix of raw and cooked meat and a scoop of powder. Also I do frequently feed spirulina and chlorella for their amazing detoxing capabilities, especially now that I am using a commercial product - just in case. 

I'm going to continue to watch how my guy does on this stuff, as my pack expands I may do it with all of them. It certainly is far more affordable.


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## JenTheGSMama (Nov 14, 2016)

Thank you so much. So where do I start - is there are list of recipes out there without purchasing the book? Would you recommend that I continue to mix real food with the kibble until I can figure this out? I feel like I am almost there, I am just not confident enough to remove the kibble all together which sounds like I am still making some mistakes. They LOVE my home cooking. This might sound weird but it's almost like their feelings get hurt when I don't cook for them. I am a stay at home "dog mom" so these pups and I are literally together 24-7. I can tell you everyone's emotional state at any given time. Maybe I need a life, who knows. Also - where the heck do you get your meat without spending a small fortune at the butcher shop? Can you please share with me a typical feeding week, voodoo?


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

You might do some reading online to kinda get yourself prepared. A good site for reading to start would be: Welcome to the Raw Dog Ranch


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

JenTheGSMama said:


> Thank you so much. So where do I start - is there are list of recipes out there without purchasing the book? Would you recommend that I continue to mix real food with the kibble until I can figure this out? I feel like I am almost there, I am just not confident enough to remove the kibble all together which sounds like I am still making some mistakes. They LOVE my home cooking. This might sound weird but it's almost like their feelings get hurt when I don't cook for them. I am a stay at home "dog mom" so these pups and I are literally together 24-7. I can tell you everyone's emotional state at any given time. Maybe I need a life, who knows. Also - where the heck do you get your meat without spending a small fortune at the butcher shop? Can you please share with me a typical feeding week, voodoo?


Oh i totally get you! My guy prefers cooked food for sure. And they can be so expressive about their wants lol. I work from home and live by myself. I enjoy preparing food for the pup. 

I've actually got some recipes I have saved and analysed on my other computer. I can post some for you later tonight. 

Here's what a typical week for Mako looks like: 

Mon 
AM - green smoothie and kefir + supplements
PM - big bowl of homemade beef stew 
Tues
AM - small scoop of beef stew + supplements
PM - whole raw lamb heart
Wed
AM - Fasting day
PM - recreational bone
Thur 
AM - green smoothie and kefir 
Afternoon - scoop of beef stew (I feed extra after fasting days)
PM - raw meaty bones.
Fri
AM - bowl of ziwipeak commercial air dried food with a bit of beef stew
PM - recreational bone
Sat
AM - bowl of ziwipeak
PM - slice of pizza 
Sun
AM - green smoothie, a few raw eggs + supplements
PM - big bowl of Turkey soup (or whatever I made in the crock pot to replace the "beef stew" for the following week)

Yep. He gets a little commercial food and junk food too. Sometimes I'm busy and like just scooping and dropping into a bowl. And life just isn't worth living without the occasional slice of pizza  I'm not saying he gets it EVERY week - just that I'm not totally rigid about his diet. Sometimes I use him as my garbage disposal when cleaning leftovers out of the fridge. Last week we were both RAVENOUS after our training club meet which is a bit of a drive from home, So we stopped by chipotle since their patio is dog friendly. The dog got his own burrito bowl for dinner. Double meat, brown cilantro and lime rice, black beans and grilled veggies.


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## JenTheGSMama (Nov 14, 2016)

voodoolamb said:


> Oh i totally get you! My guy prefers cooked food for sure. And they can be so expressive about their wants lol. I work from home and live by myself. I enjoy preparing food for the pup.
> 
> I've actually got some recipes I have saved and analysed on my other computer. I can post some for you later tonight.
> 
> ...


OMG I love the slice of pizza. That is classic! Thank you, I needed that. I'm over here biting my nails, stressing out over every macro of food that goes in their bowl. Everyone gets a small bite of something here and there too. I think it makes them feel special. Haha! Ok - so you only feed 2x a day. I do that for the older dogs, but the pup needs 3-4x still. Do you know if the 30 calories per pound of body weight is good? I feed them all about 3-5 cups a food a day. That is a mix of everything from kibble to homecooking. What is in your stew? How old is your dog? Do you know how much more the pup should be eating than the other dogs? Do you know how much the adults dogs should be eating? Remember, I have one that needs to trim down and one that needs to beef up too!


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## Rob William (12 mo ago)

JenTheGSMama said:


> Hello,
> I'm new to this site, but I have raised German Shepherds, Huskies, along with many other family dogs throughout my life. Our last GS, Roxy, was a beautiful sable, my best friend and the most loyal and well behaved dog ever. Roxy, although loved, trained, exercised and fed, did not live past 9.5 years old. The last year of her life, she was sluggish, overweight and battling other health issues that we weren't aware of. I feel like nutrition played a major role in her health and the length of her lifespan. We know our German Shepherds only live between 10-14 years, but I just feel like we were robbed of a little more time with her. Roxy passed in 2014, and ever since then I have been majorly obsessed with what I feed my dogs. When Roxy was a pup and throughout her adult life, I didn't feed her quality dog food. I was naive and just didn't know about nutrition or reading labels until I got into fitness about 5 years ago.
> 
> Fast forward to today, I have a 14 year old Vizsla named Angel, a 5 year old Husky named Koda, a 4 year old Husky named Ranger, and A 4 MONTH OLD GERMAN SHEPHERD NAMED BELLA. I have recently been experimenting with homemade dog food. I was on the fence between feeding raw, cooked or finding the best kibble out there. That dang kibble was just so questionable for me. There was so much of it on the shelf and I didn't trust any of it. I started by replacing 2 cups of kibble with 2 cups of home cooked food a day. Each of my dogs have different nutritional needs. My 14 year old has also put on weight these last few years and she was becoming sluggish and not getting around so easily. The Husky Boys, are both so different. Koda was a runt and has always been underweight. He has always snubbed his food and refused to eat. I have tried every single bag of kibble on the market with every kind of enticement added to get him to eat, but he wouldn't eat. Ranger, he turned out to be a full-size, huge husky who is nearly twice the size as Koda. The pup, she will eat anything that I put in her face, but I have to be careful that she doesn't eat too much and also that eats enough. Every dog is different. One needs to gain weight, one needs to lose weight, one needs to maintain weight and the pup needs to grow up healthy and strong.
> ...


There are a lot of well researched stuff these days on internet about dog food & dog health. So my suggestion is to do some deep research in this regard.


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