Like Us
Follow @dogster
Google +1 Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Contact Us
Forums Home » Home Prepared Food & Recipes
GO!

Considering a home cooked diet for my hounds

This is the place to share your best homemade dog food and treat recipes with each other! Remember to use caution if your pet has allergies and to make any diet changes gradually so that your dog's stomach can adjust to the new foods you are introducing.

  
The Hounds- of- Bassetville- +3

Food? Where?!?		 
 
Barked: Mon May 14, '12 10:10pm PST 
Hi all! I'm considering doing a home prepared diet for the hounds. They were on a raw diet for about 2 years, but we had to stop because it has become impossible to reliably find organ meats. I've got access to liver, but I can't find kidney or anything else, plus meat prices, especially beef has sky rocketed lately. Currently they are eat Blue Buffalo Freedom and Wilderness as the latest recalls scared me away from anything Diamond. I'm really wanting them to come off of the kibble and I'm eyeing a home cooked diet supplemented with some raw. I've looked over Sedona's 21 step thread and that was super helpful. The only thing I'm confused about is supplements. Is calcium the only supplement I need if I provide a variety of foods? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Maxwell

I'm triple- superior MAD- now!		 
 
Barked: Mon May 14, '12 11:38pm PST 
Yup, go through the steps and you just need the calcium.

You could do the same and stay on raw with a supplement though. I don't know what is missing from the diet without it, just don't double up on liver is all I know!
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
The Hounds- of- Bassetville- +3

Food? Where?!?		 
 
Barked: Tue May 15, '12 7:47am PST 
I wish I could do raw again, but the other organ must be important. I tried for about a month to not do the other organ and substituted muscle organs (heart, gizzards, etc) for the kidney, but their coats got terrible pretty quick. I had a nice source of pork kidneys but my supplier has stopped carrying them for some reason.

Can you feed whole eggs (shell and all) for calcium? I read on DogAware that one egg shell contains 2,000 mg of calcium, and, according to the spreadsheet, Scout needs 980 mg of calcium per day. So an egg every other day should be good, correct?

So, at least 50% meat (5% liver), eggs, dairy (I'm going to shoot for higher), 25% vegetables, no more than 25% grain, pasta, etc.

dog walk
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]

Lucille

I am the Sock- Bandit!!!		 
 
Barked: Tue May 15, '12 7:48am PST 
If you're able to give RMBs in addition to homecooked, the kind where your dog can eat and digest some of the bone, then you won't need to supplement as much calcium. Supplementing with dried, crushed eggshells is cheap and easy, too.
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Maxwell

I'm triple- superior MAD- now!		 
 
Barked: Tue May 15, '12 9:22am PST 
If the dogs can handle some raw and some cooked then that is a great idea. Feed a meaty bone as needed for calcium and phosphorus. That is actually a lot better than egg shell. Diets with only egg shell for calcium will likely be low in phosphorus.

If you just offer up the egg you don't know if the dog is absorbing the calcium from it or not. When the dogs were on raw did poop firm up from eating egg shell? Maybe it is being absorbed if so but if you feed cooked with veggies and such it is the fiber from the veggies firming up the stool for sure.

Wow, this is the first report of other organs being so important! MY supplier is hoarding his organ mix so Max has mostly been getting liver and animal heads for organ content. Guess I will go hunt down some kidneys!
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
The Hounds- of- Bassetville- +3

Food? Where?!?		 
 
Barked: Tue May 15, '12 12:17pm PST 
I can definitely do some meaty bones a couple of times per week. Thanks for all of the help! We're going to get started tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have more questions laugh out loud I'm going to play with recipes on Nutriondata and see if everything adds upway to go
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
The Hounds- of- Bassetville- +3

Food? Where?!?		 
 
Barked: Wed May 16, '12 7:02pm PST 
Making the switch tonight! smile They will be having sweet potatoes, tuna, carrots, and peas with a raw egg and a dollop of plain yogurtsmile Tonight's meal is 50% tuna, 25% sweet potatoes, and 25% veggies.

Their main meat source will be chicken until I can find a good, reliable source of pork and beef. They will be getting two raw meals per week as well. I'll be rotating between white potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, and pasta for carbs, and I've got a big variety of fresh and frozen veggies including: peas, carrots, broccoli, kale and cilantro (which will be given raw), summer squash, and green beans. Liver, eggs, and yogurt will be given 3-4 times per week.

I ran it all through Nutriondata and we are looking good... a little low on K, D, and Zinc... but not by much and I'm going to play with it until I get it straightened out. Any tips?
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Lucille

I am the Sock- Bandit!!!		 
 
Barked: Thu May 17, '12 8:27am PST 
Wow, that sounds delicious. I'm gearing up to do hc'd with some RMBs, too. I use my crock pot often. I need to sit down with nutrition data and buy a decent kitchen scale.

I'm currently looking at pressure cookers. This should be an adventure wink

ETA: Sorry I can't help much with the K, D and zinc. Didn't cod liver oil used to be a source for D for people way back? Maybe one of the fish oils can help with that for dogs...

Edited by author Thu May 17, '12 8:30am PST

my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
Maxwell

I'm triple- superior MAD- now!		 
 
Barked: Thu May 17, '12 9:26am PST 
Beef and lamb are the powerhouses for zinc but if you want a natural source then look at oysters. Max would only need a couple oysters a week to make up that imagined deficit in his diet.

Look at your ingredients. I bet many of them don't have K or D listed. That means it wasn't tested for.

Remember tuna is one of the fish that is higher in mercury than others. The cheap stuff is probably lower in mercury though.
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]
The Hounds- of- Bassetville- +3

Food? Where?!?		 
 
Barked: Fri May 18, '12 4:35pm PST 
I'm just doing Tuna about twice per month because of the mercury. Going to try and find a better/fresher fish sourceway to go

I've tried giving oysters before when they were on raw and none of them would touch them. I bet I could sneak them in though smile

I seriously hope to gradually get back to 100% raw... I just have to find some good organ sources. In the mean time... the hounds are loving the food, a little too much I think laugh out loud
my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals
 [notify]