Home Cookers can you please post what you feed

[Nikki's Mom]

I haven't found anything negative about Hemp Oil, so if you have any articles, please PM me. Nikki has done well on it. I also get my herbs/spices from Mountain Rose Herbs. I also put a few shakes of Turmeric in Nikki's food.

Glad to see that others here use grass fed beef and supplements.

[Dixie's Mama]

Deb, thanks for starting this thread. I'm investigating the ins and outs of home feeding myself. I already supplement Dixie's food with veggies, fruit & chicken along with NB dry food. She gets organic, low fat yogurt once a day too and salmon oil or a 3V cap. She also eats 1 Zukes Hip Action a day for a treat. I guess I should stop the chicken per what I am reading here. She just loves it but she loves everything. I just ordered the Dr. Pitcairn book.

[Hunter's Mom]

I no longer feed hunter homecooked meals for a number of reasons but when we did home cook here is what we did

1 scoop of healthy motion each day
1/2 pump of salmon oil each day
1 Tablespoon yogurt each day
1/2 Tums two times a day

1/4 cup mashed potatoes
1/4 cooked protein (fish, lamb, veal, or grain fed ground sirloin)
1/8 cup steamed veggies (usually either green beans, peas, carrots, cauliflour, or a mixture of all of these).

The meal was fed twice a day and usually I would put the healthy motion and the salmon in with his morning meal and offer the yogurt at night after dinner. The tums I would give ten minutes after he ate each meal.

As treats we did natural balance venison and sweet potato, fresh melon and strawberries, and fresh greenbeans and carrots. He also drinks bottled or filtered water.



This recipe was approved by my vet and their nutritional staff for Hunter's needs based on a variety of information that we researched online. He has a heart murmor, slight LPs, and is allergic to most grains/glutens and poultries.

[PreciousPrince]

QUOTE (Dixie's Mama @ Jun 15 2009, 05:37 PM)

I guess I should stop the chicken per what I am reading here. She just loves it but she loves everything.[/B]

If she does fine on it there shouldn't be a need to stop. Not all dogs are allergic to the same thing.

[PreciousPrince]

I started Perri on the Dr. Harvey's a year ago. He wasn't happy eating kibble, so I wanted to try a semi home-cooked. He loves it and eats with enthusiam now. To make sure he would be getting everything he needed, I had a nutritional blood test (nbt) done with Dr. Goldstein, the creator of the test and a respected holistic vet. nutritonist. He comes up with a customized nutraceutical powder based on the results. I had a follow up nbt done again 9 mos. later to make sure Perri was on the right track, which he was, but he made a few adjustments to his blend. I will do a follow up nbt at least yearly just to stay on top of things.
I rotate between ground lamb, ground turkey, and chicken every few months, and Perri lets me know when he's ready for a switch anyway. Of course I use quality antibiotic free/free range meats. I rotate organic flax and hemp oils daily, and occasionally use an odor free icelandic salmon oil I found recently too. Before it, Perri wouldn't eat fish oil. Then a probiotic/digestive enzyme supp (last year was Dr. Goodpet brand, now doing Animal Essential brand just to switch it up) and a pinch of chia seeds for the extra omegas.
It's incredibly easy. I just buy several servings of the meat and freeze in individual bags. Then I thaw and cook the meat fresh and also the mix every few days. I keep them seperate and put them together just before serving so it's more exact, and add his oil and supps. If you have any questions about the Dr. Harvey's or the nbt test pm me and I'd be glad to give you more info.

[bellapuppy]

This is a great thread. Can we "pin" it somewhere?

[bellapuppy]

I have been feeding Natures balance dry and adding Spot's stew or Nature's balance canned food, supplemented with an essential fatty acid oil I got from my vet. I also cook and feed, on occasion, broiled skinless chicken shredded, with baked and mashed carrots and mashed potatoes and mashed peas. They also like baked sweet potato. I also made a pasta dish with whole wheat shells, with the sauce made from mashed sweet potato and strained green beans (a natural baby food). To that I added some tiny meatballs I made when I made some for us. Theirs have no bread crumbs in it though. I had intended on experimenting with more recipes but you all seem to have it down pat so I will try some of yours.

[Ladysmom]

QUOTE (Bellapuppy @ Jun 15 2009, 09:36 PM)

I have been feeding Natures balance dry and adding Spot's stew or Nature's balance canned food, supplemented with an essential fatty acid oil I got from my vet. I also cook and feed, on occasion, broiled skinless chicken shredded, with baked and mashed carrots and mashed potatoes and mashed peas. They also like baked sweet potato. I also made a pasta dish with whole wheat shells, with the sauce made from mashed sweet potato and strained green beans (a natural baby food). To that I added some tiny meatballs I made when I made some for us. Theirs have no bread crumbs in it though. I had intended on experimenting with more recipes but you all seem to have it down pat so I will try some of yours.[/B]

Just remember, if homecooking makes up 20% of her total diet, you will have to supplement.

[dwerten]

i agree if healthy no need to stop the chicken


QUOTE (PreciousPrince @ Jun 15 2009, 07:10 PM)

QUOTE (Dixie's Mama @ Jun 15 2009, 05:37 PM)

I guess I should stop the chicken per what I am reading here. She just loves it but she loves everything.[/B]

If she does fine on it there shouldn't be a need to stop. Not all dogs are allergic to the same thing.
[/B][/QUOTE]

[dwerten]

I would recommend not using cod liver oil as too high in vitamin A for liver babies but the fish oil is ok

The coq10 is suppose to be excellent for gum support so that is great you are using that as maltese tend to get gum disease


QUOTE (Susie and Sadie @ Jun 15 2009, 12:09 PM)

Susie & Sadie both have asymptomatic MVD, but no other health issues. I've been feeding them a home cooked diet for about 5 years now.

I follow the recipes in Dr. Richard Pitcairn's book. But I cook the meat rather than giving it raw. I make a weeks worth at a time, and each time I make a new batch, I rotate the meat and grains being used.

For the protein, I rotate between organic chicken, fish (from VitalChoice.com ), eggs and cottage cheese, and occasionally organic, grass-fed beef (they don't do well with turkey).

Not all dogs do, but Susie & Sadie have always done really well with whole grains. I use gluten-free oats, millet, quinoa, brown rice, and sometimes crumbled, whole grain sprouted Ezekiel bread (I've tried spelt, but they didn't seem to digest it well).

I make a batch of pureed organic veggies - equal mix of root vegetables and leafy greens, plus some fruit such as apples, blueberries, etc., and add a spoonful to their food once a day.

I use ground eggshell powder for the calcium added to each batch of food.

For the oil in the recipes I use coconut oil (this is my favorite: Tropical Traditions ) or extra virgin olive oil.

Dr. Pitcairn's recipes call for a mix of supplements he calls Healthy Powder. Which is lecithin (non-GMO), kelp, nutritional yeast and calcium to balance it. I give the lecithin and kelp with the appropriate amount of calcium, but I omit the nutritional yeast. He says if it's omitted, to give a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement once a day, which I do.

Here's a list of the supplements they get each day, all with the OK of my holistic vet:

Milk thistle and Sam-e - for liver support

Vitamin C (not everyone agrees whether or not it's necessary for dogs, but my vet recommends it)

A muti-vitamin made from organic seed sprouts

Liquid mineral complex in solution (the C, multi-vitamin, and mineral complex I give them is from MaximumLiving.com It's what I take myself, and it was given the OK by my vet)

Glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM supplement for joints (my vet recommended they start on it at the age of 5 as a preventive measure)

Coenzyme Q10

Probiotics

Fish oil or cod liver oil, or 1/2 tsp. of ground flax seeds

Vitamin E

1/4 tsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar

I can't say enough good things about feeding a home cooked diet. Susie & Sadie have done wonderfully with it. Their bloodwork is always excellent, and their teeth and gums are in great condition.[/B]