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Ditching the kibble and jumping to homemade/raw

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.

  
Pisces

Where's the- party at?!?!		 
 
Barked: Thu Dec 8, '11 9:02am PST 
Hello there!

I am thinking HARD about ditching the Blue Buffalo Wilderness totally. Currently I am feeding 50% kibble in the AM and 50% raw (bones, organs, muscle meat) at night. What do you all think of this recipe:

Boiled Russet/Yukon potatoes
Fresh carrots/green beans/red and green peppers etc whatever I have on hand.
Canned sardines/salmon
Baked egg shells every so often.

I am not sure about measurements yet but what do you think??

I am running it by my vet next week but she isn't the biggest fan of feeding raw but she doesn't raz me to much lol

Thanks for your advice!
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Adam

Vaccine free- -Disease free- goes pawinpaw		 
 
Barked: Thu Dec 8, '11 9:50am PST 
"Boiled Russet/Yukon potatoes
Fresh carrots/green beans/red and green peppers etc whatever I have on hand.
Canned sardines/salmon
Baked egg shells every so often. "

You mean you would go to feeding only the above? Or would you still feed the 50% raw meat, bones and organs? If you'd still feed the 50% raw then I think it sounds pretty good although canned fish can get high in sodium so you might want to replace it a few times a week with maybe fresh meats if you could. Just imo. Some dogs might not do good with high sugar or starchy vegetables like potatoes, but I think it's better than BB because it's fresh and human grade and no preservativeswave (vegs would need to be cooked and chopped though in case you didn't know)

Oh for the measurements, I've read vegetables should be 25% or less of the total diet. Meat 75% at least. That's following BARF percentages. Prey model is 80% boneless meat, 10% bones and 10% organs.

Edited by author Thu Dec 8, '11 9:55am PST

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Farley

Farlekiin the- Dragonborn		 
 
Barked: Thu Dec 8, '11 12:57pm PST 
Do not bother feeding fresh raw vegetables. (I assume that's what you meant by fresh carrots, etc).
Carnivores cannot digest raw vegetables or fruits at all. If you want your dog to derive nutrition from vegetable sources, they must be cooked and pureed.
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Maxwell

I'm triple- superior MAD- now!		 
 
Barked: Thu Dec 8, '11 2:27pm PST 
I was very pleased with the changes in my dogs' condition when I ditched the kibble for cooked food but even happier with Max's condition now that he eats raw food. Go raw if you are comfortable with it. It is so much easier and cheaper.

If you cook you have to throw away the bones and substitute veggies for the bulk, that costs. It is messy too but of course you have help washing pots - the dog!

If you decide to cook and are already feeding a raw dinner you might not need to add calcium to the diet, that is the reason egg shells are used.

If Max ate cooked food I would offer him mostly meats, egg, fish and a little liver and mix in cooked veggies that are low calorie like celery, zucchini and cabbage and add calcium as needed. I would stay away from grains and starchy veggies like sweet potato, potato and even carrots unless he wasn't getting enough calories from the protein and fat in the meat part of the menu.
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Lobo

"Stubborn" dogs- don't need- corrections		 
 
Barked: Thu Dec 8, '11 6:57pm PST 
"Boiled Russet/Yukon potatoes
Fresh carrots/green beans/red and green peppers etc whatever I have on hand.
Canned sardines/salmon
Baked egg shells every so often"

Ditch the potatoes, and be very careful when feeding canned fish. Even though feeding whole fish can be expensive, it's a better choice. That being said, I have fed the dogs canned sardines and canned mackerel. Just try not to feed that too much, as too much sodium is not good for them.

Any and all veggies you feed MUST be cooked and then pureed. Due to the cell wall, plant matter is near impossible for a dog to digest. I sometimes use greens when I'm running low on chicken as treats, but keep in mind that they are always cut very small. Not even bite-sized pieces, and our training sessions only last 3-5 minutes. That really isn't a lot of veggies when you think about it. He does like broccoli, so every once in a while I'll mush some up for him until it's nice and liquidy, and he gets those as a little treat every once in a blue moon.

Fruit should also be fed as a rare treat, or at the least less than 15% of the diet. That's just my opinion, as I believe dogs are carnivores, but can eat other things and still be just fine.
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Pisces

Where's the- party at?!?!		 
 
Barked: Fri Dec 9, '11 8:19pm PST 
Thanks for the response!

Raw will always be included in my kid's diet. The cat gets 100% raw but feeding a 95 lbs lab mix, 13 lbs poodle, 7 lb cat and myself gets pretty costly. I just want to find something that is healthier but also inexpensive. The raw I feed is Woody's Pet Deli that is here in Minnesota. It is ground up that has the bones, organs and muscle meat in it. Google them! I love supporting local businesses smile Thanks for the comments!
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