# Home cooking for Gustave



## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

As some of you might know, I started home cooking for Gustave after his tummy upset episode about a month ago. I wanted to try Balance It but our current vet doesn't approve of home cooked diets, so I found a nutritionist. This was great because she accounted for things like Gustave's eating habits, his favorites, my comfort level with certain things (raw beef) etc. before formulating a meal plan for him. 

How it works is she tells me the amount of different things he needs to consume in a week. There's turkey, chicken, rice, sweet potatoes but also his absolute favorites like egg, yogurt, carrots, green beans etc. All I need to do is cook the stuff that needs cooking, and randomly mix things into 14 containers (2 meals/day). This keeps it interesting for him, because it's not the same recipe in each container. For example, he ate potato, chicken, egg, and veggies for breakfast and he will eat turkey, chicken and rice for dinner. 

The only downside for me was the multiple supplements. There are 12 different things I need to mix together. But our nutritionist says that's because he's a puppy and this will change once he is 15 months old. And to be fair some of those supplements are things like salt, coconut oil etc.

Definitely consult a nutritionist if you are thinking of home cooking(and can't do something like Balance It). It wasn't even as expensive as I thought it was going to be. And for the price we get extended support to tweak the formulation if needed (weightloss/weight gain) etc.

We consulted Sabine Contreras at betterdogcare.com and found her on the sticky post here at SM. 


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

That sounds like a really good way of going about it


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Sabine Contreras is supposed to be excellent. I'm so glad you found something that will work for Gustave!


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Ladysmom said:


> Sabine Contreras is supposed to be excellent. I'm so glad you found something that will work for Gustave!


She has been great so far. I just randomly picked her from the list you guys posted here but it worked out.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Aastha - is she in your area or did you do it over the internet or on the phone?


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Snowbody said:


> Aastha - is she in your area or did you do it over the internet or on the phone?


It's funny because I chose her seeing how she lives in the same area as us. But then I went to her website and saw she mostly does email consultations so I ended up doing that. You can add-on visits for an additional price, but I don't think we'll be needing that. The email consultation was very helpful (maybe better since you get time to think about all her questions) and she is very responsive.


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## babycake7 (Jan 30, 2012)

It sounds very interesting...and tasty! I bet Gustave will enjoy it quite a bit. Keep us posted as to how it goes.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

What are the benefits of home cooking vs a good quality dog food? I wouldn't mind home cooking, but it worries me that it wouldn't be as balanced as a packaged food.


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

Furbabies mom said:


> What are the benefits of home cooking vs a good quality dog food? I wouldn't mind home cooking, but it worries me that it wouldn't be as balanced as a packaged food.


I have many reasons for switching. First, Gustave kept getting bored of food and I didn't know what to feed him anymore. Right now I have two packs of Addiction, one box of THK, three bags of Fromm, a couple of cans of Fromm beef, Stella & Chewey's dehydrated patties and Sojos (all opened except for the cans). The stuff he likes is all high protein so I was worried about that. 

Second, I am not a big meat eater or a big processed food eater myself, so the smells were turning me off. Plus the recalls were making me nervous.

And third, and this was the deciding factor, when Gustave had a bad day and was at the vet, I promised myself I will start home cooking for him as soon as he got better. Who knows if food caused it, my guess is it was a cleaning substance but it was just the last straw.

I don't think a home cooked meal is any more balanced than a commercial diet (but others might disagree). I definitely think one should either consult a nutritionist or go the Balance It route before switching to home cooking. You are right, it is not as good as a commercial food diet till you add those supplements (or supplement with natural things like raw bone etc.)


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

eiksaa said:


> She has been great so far. I just randomly picked her from the list you guys posted here but it worked out.


I got that list from Yorkie Talk. The moderator gave me permission to post it here. It's a great resource, isn't it?



Furbabies mom said:


> What are the benefits of home cooking vs a good quality dog food? I wouldn't mind home cooking, but it worries me that it wouldn't be as balanced as a packaged food.





eiksaa said:


> .
> I don't think a home cooked meal is any more balanced than a commercial diet (but others might disagree). I definitely think one should either consult a nutritionist or go the Balance It route before switching to home cooking. You are right, it is not as good as a commercial food diet till you add those supplements (or supplement with natural things like raw bone etc.)


:thumbsup: So true. You absolutely have to either consult a nutritionist or use generic recipes prepared by a nutritionist (like Balance IT and Pet Diets) and add the supplements specified for that particular recipe. If you just wing it and don't add supplements or don't add the correct ones, you can actually harm your dog. In that case you are better off feeding a commercial diet.

Like Eiksaa, I started homecooking for Bailey after he got sick (two bouts of colitis). It's not for everyone and there is nothing wrong with feeding a high quality commercial diet.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

I know that probably all dogs would love home cooking, and the recalls do bother me. Maybe after my mother gets better, I'll look into it. I bet that once they taste home cooking they wouldn't want to go back to packaged food. Mine will eat anything and never seem to tire of their food.


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