dog food recipes

[arielle]

Does anyone know of any recipes for dog food? Im sick of feeding my dogs the canned stuff, and am currently giving them kangaroo mince instead, but I would also rather not feed them the kibble, as you never know whats really in it.

Also, one of my dogs is slightly overweight. I am now exercising him more, but I would like to put him on a lower fat diet as well (is that bad for dogs?) so any good healthy recipes would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[SlothHead]

you can feed them vegetables, just need to have the chopped fine. Peices of fruit even.

We generally blend chicken, broccoli, carrot, rice, pasta, to make like a paste sort of stuff and the dogs love it.

You can ad liver to it and make liver treats with garlic etc.

If you have a look on the net you will find plenty of sites with different concoctions for different size dogs

 

[ally_pup]

My Rotties get Dog mince, with pasta and frozen vegies with gravy

 

[thals]

Also if your gonna go off the dry biscuits, ensure you give your dogs some good raw bones at least twice a week to ensure their teeth are cared for

And yes, generally kangaroo mince is very good for dogs with weight problems as it's virtually fat free and packed with protein, however if your dogs don't have a weight problem, they may start to become malnourished on Kanga mince alone

Try mixing the kanga mince with some wholegrain rice/pasta, and veggies such as broccoli, carrot and peas.

Also if your dogs are adults, try two smaller meals per day rather than one large. This will ensure your dog is less hungry throughout the day and also speed up their metabolism. You can also give fruit as a snack as mentioned above however steer clear of apple seeds and grapes as they have been known to have a toxic effect on dogs. Other additives to food such as garlic and onion should be avoided too as garlic has been linked with anemia and onion destroys certain blood cells in dogs .

And yes, plenty of exercise and fresh water daily is a given!

All the best

thals 8)

 

[Tatelina]

In my opinion dogs should be eating raw bones at bare minimum once a week regardless if they eat kibble or not. I suggest, take the time to find a good butcher that gives you a bag of bones for a few dollars (took me a while).

Research and look up the Bones And Raw Food diet if you're interested....
Good stuff that gives glossy, shiny coat, firmer poops and healthier animals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BARF_Diet

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=108351

 

[Miss_Croft]

Dogs are on the meat eating side of omnivorous (eating both vegetables and meat). We use to feed our dogs on Rice and minced meat. (And the odd bone each week).

Depending on how big they are – for two large dogs it was 500g meat with rice. As the dogs got older they would get less meat (They would get a little fat and started to waddle.) Avoid peas as they go straight though the dog.

As other have pointed out vegetables are great – just mix them with your rice and meat mixture and the will eat them like every thing else (Try and use the uneaten vegetables from your meals)

*Pasta or other high carbohydrate food is great if you do not want to fee them rice.
*Rice will cook in microwave in 13 minutes

 

[tooninoz]

I'm gonna be the bad guy here.
If your dog is overweight, it is probably overfed and under-exercised.
I'll have a stab and say it's a Labrador/Retriever?
My knowledge of snakes isnt crash hot, but I am experienced with dogs of various breeds.
Here ya go;
- Forget all the fancy minces like kangaroo, buffalo and SE Asian antelope/anteater. <insert latest gimmick> All you need is a beef mince (the $6-8kg variety). Dont be too concerned about 'fat' and 'lean'. Dogs need fat especially coming into winter. Thats what they'd eat in the wild and they process fat easily given proper exercise. When was the last time you saw a dog with a fat ass? Thats a human thing.

- Kibble is, as you said, rubbish. Get some quality dried food (available from all pet stores). My advice here would be to avoid brands like Eukanuba, Science Diet etc. We use Supercoat as it has NO corn or corn extract. Corn is a proven allergen in dogs (not all!), but it cant hurt to eliminate a fairly common denominator. Plus most of the dried manufacturers use corn extract to bulk up the dried weight. Like going to a Chinese restaurant and getting a plate of MSG. Funnily enough, Supercoat is also cheaper ($40 for 20 kg??) Give or take.

- Bones are brilliant. Dont get that cheap bag of bones, all butchers have some marrowbones. They are the dinosaur bones youve seen. Ask for them to be cut across ways, not length ways. They have sh+tloads of fatty goodness in them and getting 'em cut the other way is like a fat-injection! Let the dogs chew their way thru over time.

- Get a Kong. You can pack it with treats and dogs love to chase them.

- If your dog is a more than a little overweight, or prone to hip problems (staffies, cattle dogs, shepherds or other breeds that like to jump off utes/stairs etc), Green Muscle extract may assist. Its a cheap powder from health food shops. It seems to help with hip muscle anyway.

Here are my ones. Both Staffy X and happy as the proverbial Larry. (ignore the date stamp?!)

 

[chillsandfevers]

I cook 1kg mince (good quality ) suitable to eat yourself, with 1 kg mixed vegetable to 1.5 cups of rice, put it all in the slow cooker overnight with 2 litres of water.

Makes a great meal, and the left over broth makes a nice drink for him to have extra fluids.

Along with that, his favourite excercise is put some of the broth into an empty plastic bottle, (just a few spoons of it ) and put the lid on extra tight. His trick is to get the lid off, then drink the broth out of the bottle. Also loves his staffy ball, highly recommended and great exercise.

Is he spoilt????????? NO

 

[cougars]

We make up our own food.Fresh Roo meat run through the mincer,cooked then add cooked vegies(the stuff in the frozen packet)pasta and rice.We mix it up in one of those plastic sandpit shells,we normally make 100kg at a time,takes all day but well worth it.

 

[Davo66]

Feed mine raw beef mince mixed with roo meat. I add to that cooked brown rice with a bag of cheapo frozen veggies, and throw in a some oats. let it cool and solidify then mix with meat and Bob's your unkle. Canned animal food is shocking! The expensive kibble isn't bad but you are looking at $80-100 for a 20kg bag of kibble. My Shepherds had skin probs with the normal dried stuff, (Super Coat) they were scratching, the female had continuous ear infections due to allergies.

Roo meat is about the best due to the fact it is natural and full of all the vitamins and minerals which are supposed to be there. Domestic animals are not as lucky due to artificial feeding and hormone additives. Beef is usually the better of domestic animals, then lamb, Pork is not great and chicken is crap! chicken necks are great but to base the majority of the meat intake on chicken isn't good.

Brown rice may cause some constipation for dogs but the roo meat should counter that effect.

The amount of poo my shepherds produced once I had changed their diet was quartered!! goes to show just how much waste there is and how much of the processed food isn't digested by the animal. Their coats have also improved.

Once a week I throw in a whole egg, (shell and all) and a table spoon of olive oil.

Finally I make sure they get a good amount of calcium, (bones) every second day!

Thats just my regime, feel free to pick it apart.

There is a cheap animal meat supplier in Sydney who actually delivers to your door and even to the ACT.

Check out his web site. (www.justfood4dogs.com.au) and NO I am not employed by this company in any way but care about the health of dogs as I know most dogs are below their peak condition due to massive add campaigns by pet food companies through the popular media.

Cheers,

Davo

 

[alex_c]

i used to have a dog whose diet consisted of mostly kibble with table scraps often and meat occasionally including rabbit etc . and he was an extremely healthy and fit dog even at 13 years old. but yeah just a mixture of good quality kibble, roo meat and vegetables will be good. as for the overweight one just a lower fat diet and exercise should help him lose it. their should be tonnes of ideas for low fat meals on the net.

 

[arielle]

Tooninoz,(by the way, your dogs are georgeous) my dogs are actually spoodles, and I know, youre thinking 'how hard is it to exercise a spoodle?' Well, its not, but my dog actually hates exercise - he cries every time I take him to the park and sits down halfway through walks, he also doesnt like to fetch a ball for too long. My other dog is fine, quite hyperactive, for a spoodle, and is healthy.

Anyway, since Im exercising them more now regardless of whether my dog likes it or not, I thought I'd change their diet as well. Im happy to stay with kangaroo meat, and thanks davo66 for the egg suggestion, Ill try that out.

Thanks for the advice everyone, Ill look at the websites

 

[callith]

I feed my dog one cup of Eukanuba dry food a day and the very very rare treat and hes still kicking on strong at 14 and a half.

 

[arielle]

Also does anyone suggest any books I could read on the subject?

 

[jessb]

Yep, just use all your decent vegie offcuts (as mentioned above, not corn!) and mix with oats/cooked rice/pasta and some meat. if you use a lean meat like roo make sure you add some extra fat (olive or sunflower oil gives them a lovely shiny coat)

Our Lab has digestive issues and needs to be on premium food, so we have had her on Science Diet since she was a pup. She just started porking out a bit and so we changed her to the "weight loss" variety. We found it led to skin problems as she had much less fat in her diet suddenly and her skin got really dry and flaky. We have changed her back to the full-strength variety and are giving her a bit less which seems to have solved the problem.

Look for a great book called Healthy Dogs by Barbara Fougere for loads of natural therapy ideas for your dog.

 

[tooninoz]

Thanks Arielle. Actually, the brindle one (Roxy) we got at about 12-months and I think she was abused/neglected. Near impossible to collar, and would wrench my arm outta the socket to walk. She was just so nervous and excited (bad excited). I tried taking her to dog parks during the day, but she'd get narky with other dogs. Got a good friend of mine in who is a professional trainer and compassionate and she used a Harmony Harness. No joy. She slipped out immediately!! So... at wits end (no fun taking one without the other, and having the other hoooowl at the gate), I started to reward Rox everytime i saw 'good' behaviour.
I'd carry some tiny bits of Schmacko or tiny bits of cabanossi (they love it) and every single time good behaviour occurred, a treat. You'll be amazed how easily they respond. Try taking the difficult one for a walk on its own (so you dont have the other one pestering you) and see how it goes. Dont punish if it doesnt do what you want. Simply stop and stay motionless. That dog wants, above all, your acceptance. If you show ANY acknowledgment, it feels kinda vindicated. Even a tap on the bum. It also proves your control.
I'd suggest this at night too. Less distraction and noise which leaves you with a way easier job! Ease him/her into days.

 

[Shannidah]

My horse vet advised not to feed Roo meat as it apparently gives off a toxin, said it was no good for cats either. I make my dog up a mix of pet mince from the butchers, rice, pasta and vegies. Steer clear of onion but garlic is apparently ok, it helps keep the fleas away. Best thing about cooking my own dog food it costs approx $2 to make about 3kg which will last about 2 weeks and the poo isn't smelly when it comes time to pick it up. THrow in some brisket bones and chicken necks or wings to clean their teeth and stop their breath getting stinky and it's a pretty good diet. I also feed my dog according to what exercise she has done in the day. If she hasn't been out for a run due to rain or whatever I give her a small amount compared to what I would give her if she has been out with the horses or at the beach all day, it keeps her weight down. She will also get a few biscuits in the morning if I am taking her out for the day. I like science diet.

 

[Lewy]

BARF - look it up. We base our dogs diet on this diet and they are in great health. It stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food and is based on the foods a dog would consume in the wild. It consists of mostly raw meaty bones, vegetables, organ meats, etc, supplemented with vitamins, essential fatty acids, probiotics, kelp, alfalfa powder and various herbs as necessary and if necessary.

We cheat and feed a diet of mostly raw meaty bones (chicken carcases with organs still in, wings, cheap and marked down meaty bones and dog bones) with some mince, cod liver oil, eggs, vegetables, tins fish, some table scraps and the cheating bit - BARF frozen meat patties with lots of supplements in them.

Some of the important info I got from the book is that the vegetables need to be totally pulverised for the dog to make full use of them. The best way to do this is to put them through a juicer them put the juice and pulp back together again. Most of the vegetable matter a wild animal consumes is via the gut contents of their kill so our veges need to resemble this. Cooking is no good. It destroys the veges value.

Also dogs do not need starch / carbohydrates at all in their diet. It was only since people started force feeding their pets kibble (grain with rancid lard for flavour) that all these commonly accepted dog diseases started to appear. People use it to provide bulk. If we feed quality we dont need bulk.

We dont need to feed a balanced meal every day. The diet recommends providing a range of meals to balance out over a period of a week or two.

I could go on for ages but I reckon everyone should have a look at the website or borrow the book from the library or buy it. Its great and my dogs have never been healthier.

Also look up ethoxyquin. Its a commonly used preservative in dog food which is also a pesticide.
http://www.avianweb.com/ethoxyquin.htm
Just found this site. Its a good read and take note that it lists most of your expensive top shelf dog food brands as well. We tried these expensive foods for a while but glad we stopped.

 

[arielle]

Wow, thanks Lewy, I didnt know that about the vegies and carbs. Ill took a look at BARF, looks good.

I've made my dogs a kibble substitute using brown rice, oats, broccoli and some other vegies, as well as kangaroo meat. Im giving them a small amount (half what they usually get) twice a day. Im also giving them bones regularly. Is that okay?

 

[tooninoz]

Some of what Lewy wrote makes sense. Unfortunately, fad diets for animals usually miss out on a few points.
- Dogs, as we know them, are not wild animals. That is why they are referred to as 'domestic'. Therefore, when we speculate what they may eat "in the wild", we are probably dangerously off the mark. Most dog breeds have had the "in the wild" well and truly bred out of them over the past thousand years.
- Chicken carcasses generally contain high levels of potassium and sulfur, which is consistent with mass, cheap production. Unless you are killing yourself, there is the risk of these contaminants in your animal. Worse still, commercially bred chickens are generally fed a steroid-based diet (both meat birds and layers) which will affect your animal in many ways, mostly unknown ones. Just as genetically modded foods may affect us, the cost is still unknown.

The BARF diet certainly has some good points, but please do your research. Sometimes the obvious solution can be the right one! Sorry to muddy the waters