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Homemade dog food

S

smokemaster

Does anyone make their own dog food?
I see TONS of recipes out there.
A lot are about the same cost as even the cheap stuff at the big box stores but claim to be better for your pooper snooper.
Most are pretty much the same ingredients-rice,chicken and or beef,hard boiled eggs(shell and all,no raw eggs)frozen or fresh veggies and stuff like fish oil and a few vitamins.
Seems like it might be only a little labor intensive ,you have to cook it,portion it out and freeze it in 3 or so day portions.
But I can see my dog liking it more because it would be more like giving her a treat than her regular dry food would be.
Also,dry food for a day is a couple scoops.The homemade stuff is bulkier and would be 2X the bulk of dry food.
Fill the tummy more than dry stuff.
My dog would feel fuller after eating the homemade stuff than the dry food...
I tried 1 recipe the Vet recamended and to my supprise Heidi couldn't eat the whole portion all at once.
Had to go back an hour latter to finnish it off,unheard of for her.She is a Chow Hound.
She downs the recomended amount of dry food and looks for more.
I see making homemade stuff as a possible better food for my pooch.
The dayly amount is physically bigger,is more like what I eat etc.

IF it is in fact as good as dry stuff,I might check out feeding Heidi it rather than a dry food.
I cook a lot and cooking a weeks worth of dog food wouldn't be a problem.
Plus I'd feel like I'm giving her better food and positively better tasting stuff every day.
Hell,if I was broke we could share it. LOL

Wondering if anyone has made their own dog food and used it LONG term.
What recipe do you use etc.
 
Got a 13 year old and a 2 year old the, only time I make food for them is when they have stomach problems which is rare,  I make a Rice, chicken, mackerel, mixed veggies(carrots, peas etc.) mixed with some moistened dry food.  They also get meat trimmings and some of our leftovers as well.
 
Maybe ya didn't put enough Chocolate or sugar on the leftovers etc. LOL

I'm just curious about homemade food for dogs.LONG TERM.

Heidi has a stomache infetion and for a short time is supposed to eat a certain diet.
The food the Vet sold me sucks.She won't eat it.
I made a recipe the Vet recomended as a substitute and she loves it.
I am wondering if anyone has had good or bad things happen with homemade stuff.
Recipes etc.
Most of the stuff on the net is pretty much the same recipes.
Comments are 50/50 pro and con.
A lot ,like here, about what is or isn't cool to use for your peppers.
Stuff is IN today but considered bad tomorrow.

that is why I'm interested in long term use.

I worked at resorts cooking in prep kitchens,I can't cook small portions as well as large batches of stuff at a time.
I can smoke a dozen whole chickens or 50lbs of beef better than I can a single chicken or a roast or whatever.
I freeze everything I cook in usable portions.
Cooking a big batch of dog food wouldn't bother me,IF it is as good as dry food for my pooch and didn't cost any more than a good dry dog food.
 
Every recipe that I saw would become very expensive in the longer run. A decent food can be gussied up for your pooper snooper by adding rice or tomato juice etc for a lot less money. Recipes I saw of course are all cooked beef chicken or fish with added Dinovite or Omega3's. I would be interested in seeing a good dry recipe. 
 
I was thinking rice or pasta for sure, maybe some cheap veggies if you're worried about money, chicken or beef, maybe just a little cheese, and some oil, all in a processor with a broth to make it like the canned kind. 
 
No onions or garlic, bad for pups.
 
 
Sounds good to me!
 
(...but I should mention I am always tempted to try the canned dog food...and have been known to do so in the past...)
 
I have 5 dogs, all rescues. I have been making my dog stew for about 15 years. I have found that feeding them 50/50 mix of good quality dog food ( taste of the wild ) and stew with fish oil and bio greens ( vitamin shoppe )means less vet bills and healthier dogs when they are older.
Here is my basic recipe.
Dog stew
NO mushrooms garlic onions or grapes. 
Carrots, celery, lot of tomatoes ( if I  use cans the only other ingredient is basil), broccoli, kale, spinach, green beans, beets with tops, radish, squash yellow/green, zucchini, pumpkin, apples, pears, blueberry and strawberries. Basically anything in my fridge. I make 5 gallons at a time. I chop everything, fill my brew pot and add broth ( chicken or beef) LOW sodium.  Cook until tender then add turmeric ( cancer fighter).  Then freeze in small soup containers. 
I also cook chicken liver (organic- mini mac farm) and dehydrate sweet potatoes for treats.
Dog treats
Do NOT add hops to the grain as hops have been shown to be toxic for many breeds of dogs!
Save the spent grains in a large bowl/pot after mashing.
If you are not using the grains within 24 hours of mashing, refrigerate them to avoid spoilage or feed them to your chickens. 


Dog Biscuit Recipe
(yields 40 medium-sized biscuits)

Ingredients
4 cups spent grain
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups flour
2 eggs

Step by step
1. Mix the ingredients together and press the dough onto parchment or wax paper, about 1⁄4 thick. 
2. Cut the pressed dough into shapes with a cookie cutter or using a knife.
3. Place the treats onto parchment paper on cookie sheet and place in a 350 °F (177 °C) oven.
4. Bake at 350 °F (177 °C) for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, drop the oven heat to 225 °F (107 °C) and bake for two hours. When the treats come out they should be dry and crunchy so they do not spoil/mold. If they are not dry after two hours, increase time at 225 °F (107 °C). You want to dry them, but not 
cook them to the point where they are hard to break.
Good luck
 
Never used my spent grain for anything but compost or bird food.

Might have to give it a try whenever I brew again.Haven't in a few years.

Peanut butter dog cookies are her favorite training treat.
 
I have never made any for my dogs, but afterreading your post, I did a quick search and picked a few that might be worthwhile.  The last link also had plenty of recipes for dog snacks, and we all know our dogs love the snacks.
 
No personal opinions on the quality of these sites, just infomation to share.
 
http://homemadedogfood.com/cooked-dog-food-recipes/
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Homemade-640/dog-food-recipes.aspx
http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/homemade-dog-food
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Homemade-Dog-Food/
http://www.organic-pet-digest.com/homemade-dog-food-recipes.html
 
:drooling:
 
I think the important thing to consider is your store bought dog food. 
 You do get " WHAT YOU PAY FOR "    Cheap = cheap ingredients,   lots of fillers= mostly corn cause its cheap and scraps that the big companies cant sell.  They package up the pretty bags to make you think its " The Best Stuff on Earth " Yea right!  
 
I mix store food with what we as a family eat all the time.  
Nothing harsh or out of the ordinary just cooked veggies or small pieces of meat.
 
Give your pooches some veggies, they'll love it.    I've cooked some fresh eggs for mine when running low on food, he cant get enough.   I've used Deer meat from hunting season, Fish from the store or caught fresh, all cooked of coarse. A little rice and oatmeal never hurt either.
 
I say go for it slowly and see how they adapt.  
 
Scarecrw, I've used  Taste of the Wild for the last 5 years and it has been my go to food.   
 
I've used Kirkland dog food for years with no problems.
A dog food rating site puts it as 3 out of 4 stars-above average.No corn in it...

Last night I was googling recipes for food/treats.
Some seem fairly inexpensive but I wonder if they have everything in it a dog needs.
Probably stick to Kirkland.
I was just interested if anyone used only home made food and possible recipes.

Some recipes have a ton of stuff in them and look pretty expensive to make.

Heidi's favorite treats are peanut butter , chocolate chip and cheese and bacon flavored dog cookies.
Chocolate is carob chocolate.the other kind can hurt some dogs.
I don't know/remember what they use for bacon and cheese since they say FLAVORED,I don't have a pack here now.
These say they are preservative free and natural ingrediants.

I see lots of peanut butter dog cookie recipes on the net.

Once it cools off,I might try a recipe or 2.

They are cheap at the store though,but I'd think fresh home made ones might be better.I could put other stuff in them if I wanted...

I didn't know grapes and raisins were bad for dogs.
Shy Ann loved raisins.They didn't seem to hurt her.

I only eat 1 full meal a day and have peanuts,dried (apricots,apples and raisins or the mix with bananas,pineapple and several other fruits in it along with coconut)or fresh fruit as a snack.

Anything wrong with honey dew or Cantalope.
Googled melons,some sites say it's cool,others say don't feed it to your pooch.

Heidi likes both and in season (like right now) I eat a lot of them as snacks.

I see apples in dog food recipes but some sites say not to feed them to dogs...same with apricots.
 
My dog gets Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.
There are only a handful of good quality kibbles out there and Taste of the Wild is one of the best especially for the cost I get it for at a feed store.

smokemaster said:
I didn't know grapes and raisins were bad for dogs.
Shy Ann loved raisins.They didn't seem to hurt her.

 
Click to expand...
Grapes and raisins can cause renal failure in dogs. Here's a list of some foods that are bad: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets
 
I know some people who feed their dogs and cats raw meat scraps from the butcher, but you have to have a good butcher hook up for that to make sense money wise.  I have to feed my 12-year-old cat 100% protein wet food on vet's orders or he'll get fat as hell.  He wasn't even moving and was about 19 lbs when we fed dry food, also constantly whining for food.  Now that he's on the wet food he weighs 14 lbs and is active as a kitty.  I'm thinking of trying to source some meat scraps because at 55 cents a can it gets expensive.   Since dogs are omnivores I was thinking I could feed them both meat scraps and supplement the dog's diet with some veggies and rice.  He like pretty much anything that falls on the floor, even peppers.  Squash and carrots are his favorites, he doesn't like tomatoes so much.  Sorry, I'm a bit drunk and rambling. 
 
Heidi has 2 more days of not having to eat Kirkland dog food.

Didn't post this on the other thread because it turned into a pissing match between me and whoever,Not important.
Things got out of context I think between both of us.

She,Heidi had an infection.

Anyways here is her last Homemade food.
Kinda a recipe.

99Cent store stuff and some regular grocery store stuff.

24 oz. of assorted chicken meat scraps from Grocery store for Stir fry-no skin,probably meat scraps from boneless this or that-legs breasts...
12 Oz. of frozen peas
13 oz . of frozen carrots.
Was going to add Brocoli and califlower mix but I read brocoli can be bad for some dogs.
6oz. of frozen chopped spinach
5 cups of long grained rice-uncooked.
12 fresh RED tomatoes,partially green or green are supposed to be bad and canned have too much salt.
I was supposed to get eggs to hard boil but didn't get them.

If the stuff didn't have Spinach I'd eat it.I can't eat some stuff,I'm on blood thinners.

Heidi is sitting in the hallway waiting for it to get cooked.
She doesn't know it's for her last 2 days of meds.
Then it's back to her regular food,Kirkland from Costco.
I guess I'l have to do a mix of the dog food with the kirkland at first.
I did make a LOT of the homemade stuff.

She has to be going through treat withdrawals too.

Only gave her what the Vet said to feed her in the amounts recomended.

She is pretty much back to normal,it seems health wise.

Going to make sure my best friend stays that way.

My last pooch was 16+ yrs old and would have lived a few years longer if a drunk wouldn't have spent a year or more trying to mes with her on his way home from the bar at 2am every night.

My dog/dogs have been always trained to be a lap dog off the lot or just during the day-we work nights.
At night they are only supposed to allert to something INSIDE the lot.
Ignore ANYTHING outside the fence.
They ARE NOT ATTACK DOGS.
JUST TRAINED TO ALERT ME INSIDE THE LOT IF SOMETHING ISN"T RIGHT.
Shy Ann would have ripped you up if you even looked like you threatened me.
She was the most loyal/protective dog I've ever had.
Not vicious at all,just that YOU DON"T MESS WITH MY BOSS.
I hope you have treats or pets for me.I got kisses for you...

She saved my life when she was just learning the ropes.
Less than 1 yr. old.
Things were tough back then.
I got shot at etc.
That is why I got Shy Ann.
My intention was a BARKING DOG scares people and that was better than me getting shot at...
A LOUD bark is better than a big dog.Big aggresive dogs get shot.
Loud ones just scare people.The intruder isn't being attacked and only hears the bark.
Runs because there is no target to shoot at or whatever.
I'll never forget that,along with the fact that some a$$hole cut a couple years off her life by hurting her to the extent that I had to put her down due to her injuries.
A drunk was pissed because my dog was WELL trained,for a year or more he tried everything to get her pissed off.BUT he was outside the fence.He kicked at her,threw stuff at her etc. Shy Ann just ignored him or came to me.
SHE DID HER JOB AT WORK AS EXPECTED.

Heidi doesn't have the instincts Shy Ann had,She will alert but I don't think she will attack a person with a gun like Shy Ann would/did.
I hope I never find out.
Heidi has a louder bark and is bigger so she might not have to do more than bark and run to my side for instructions.
Either way.Heidi is my buddy right now,and like Shy Ann,I hope she lives for a long time.
This food recipe might suck nutrient wise for the long run.
All I know is thjat it contains most of what a lot of recipes on the net contain.

She is going to be pissed when this batch of food is gone.
Back to Dog food and training treats...
 
When I was in High School I used to work for one of the major West coast Grocery stores. I worked in the meat department and part of the duties was cleaning up after hours. They had a bandsaw that had a metal tub in the bottom to collect the "meat dust" and they let me have all of it I wanted. It wasn't fit for human consumption, it had everything in it bone meal and all but was great for dogs. I used to take a couple of pounds of it home a week and our dogs thought they were in doggie heaven. If there's a butcher inyour area go talk to then. They might be willing to sell some to you for your pets, if they're smart they will and the price should be pretty cheap since it isn't fit for humans and would just be thrown out otherwise so could be another source of revenue for them. 
 
I used to feed my 3 a prey model raw diet and they did great on it. Well life got busy so now they all eat Orijen dog food.They do very good on this food and they have never had a recall of any kind. Its expensive but my dogs are family to me.
 
rebelgrower3 said:
I used to feed my 3 a prey model raw diet and they did great on it. Well life got busy so now they all eat Orijen dog food.They do very good on this food and they have never had a recall of any kind. Its expensive but my dogs are family to me.
Click to expand...
That's a 6 star (out of six) kibble and one of the absolute best out there. Expensive but very high quality.
 
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