Homemade Dog Food Part 2

I often see well-meaning people publish recipes that are purportedly complete, but they are not.  Accordingly, I encourage anyone who is interested in feeding their cat or dog a homemade diet to engage in the necessary research to ensure that you can evaluate information that you read.

You can do this!

There's alot of "stuff" on the internet.  I consider Donald R. Strombeck's site  http://dogcathomeprepareddiet.com/  the definitive place to start. (I feel like one of his apostles as I evangelize his method).  There are also some good books, and not so good books.  I say save your money and review Dr. Strombecks's work.  There you will find a wealth of background and information on feeding PLUS  there are lots of recipes for dogs and cats.  He's a trusted source as he was chair of the Veterinarian School at UC Davis.

Here are some things that I see consistently that I want to address from my perspective.  I'm not an expert, but my training and experience make me an expert at understanding substantive variances in methodologies and applying critical thinking. Accordingly, I offer "this" from my perspective. Your mileage may vary.  I encourage you to research and develop your own persepctive to include understanding that being misinformed can have consequences for your dog's health.  However, having said that, this is not rocket science.

If you adopt a feeding program (and I hope that you do), recognize that there will be many favorable benefits.  Yes, it is more work, but you will find work methods that you systematize so that you are efficient.  I have a meat grinder and a pressure cooker which I consider essential.  (My meat grinder is a large one (#22) to grind bone).  The pot in pot method for pressure cooking ensures that there is no scorching.  I would not feed my dogs this way without either.  Note, too, that I started out feeding 2 English Setters, 1 American Bulldog and 1 Pit bull.  Accordingly, I'm feeding alot..so I have to have this amount of processing.   (Though my herd is thinning due to age.)

Costs:  I pay no more feeding this way than I would if I were buying specialty dog food.  Plus if you have dogs with skin issues and allergies, you will eliminate/reduce trips to vet.  Because I shop at a restaurant warehouse, I can buy leg quarters (40lbs)  at 35-50 cents per pound.  Boneless skinless thighs (40 ;bs)  are 1.60 per lb.  Prices vary.  I buy 50lbs of rice at about $18 per bag.  

If you do nothing else, make sure that you understand the calcium/phosphorus levels that you dog is getting.  Too much is as bad as not enough.  If you do not plan to grind bone in pieces of meat with non-bone in, then you need to get some bone meal.  KLM makes one and that is what Dr. Strombeck uses.  Also be mindful that too much pumpkin and sweet potatoes (favorite additives by some) can give your dog too much vitamin A.  So keep that additive down.  Also, it's worth looking at your dog's stools to see how they are tolerating your 'recipe'.  They'll need some break-in time if switching over from dry food.


Here are some things to consider:

•  "Dogs have no need for starch; they are carnivores".  I've seen this written many times.  Dogs are omnivores. Making statements such as this show little understanding of dog's eating habits.  I have a garden.  My dogs will eat tomatoes off the vine, cucumbers and blackberries.  If you feed your dog a balanced diet where they get the proper ratio of protein, fats, and vitamins/minerals you have no need to engage in such mythology.  Cats are obligate carnivores (though I see that Fancy Feast puts veggies in some of their stuff).  So recognize this talk as dog feeding fundamentalism. Like most things...use your critical thinking skills.
• Dogs can certainly NOT have starch and do fine with the right balance of meat/bones.  But it is more difficult and expensive to feed.  Dr. Pitcairn recommends starch to cut down on the cancer causing effects in the meat. Dr. Strombeck's recipes also have starch.  I use starches, and my dog's have no ill effects.  Further, adding a starch adds vitamins, is easily digestible and makes feeding this way affordable without compromising your dog's nutritional needs.Get the rest right, and it will not matter what ratios you choose to feed. Read on....
• Balance of protein, fat and starches:  I feed my dogs a ratio of 1:2  or 1:1 meat/veg mixture to starch.  ( 33% meat to 67% starch or 50% meat to 50% starch by weight).  This ratio is governed by your dog's age and activity level.  Some dogs need more protein than others to maintain weight and muscle tone.  Your dog's body condition will help you determine if you need to vary this mixture.
• Ratio of bone-in to boneless protein:  Get one thing right..this one.  My meat veg mixture is 1:1 ratio of bone-in to boneless.  Leg quarters combined with boneless skinless thighs yields a 25% bone ratio which is what dogs require.  Too much or too little is no good. If you are not grinding, get KLM bone meal and follow recipe instructions. No further calcium/phosphorous supolement is needed.  
• Vegetables:  I add 20% by weight  of frozen vegetables which I grind in with the meat. (for every 10lbs of meat, I add 2lbs of frozen vegetables).  (I end up with about 100 lbs of this stuff in one processing). No, you do not need to add vegetables.  My dogs enjoy them.
• Storage:  I freeze this mixture in 1qt and 1/2 gallon freezer containers until ready to use.  Arrow makes the best freezer containers.  They are high quality, inexpensive, and work very well.  They freeze well, and you can defrost in the microwave.  You can find them at a discount if you look.  They last for years.  Remember, I'm feeding raw, and you do NOT want to cook your bone mixture.  Get the bone in/non bone ratios right.  Overall dogs require a 25% ratio of bone in.  So feeding just leg quarters is too much bone. Feeding just ground turkey is no bone..so no good.  You'll need bone meal.  You need to be at the right ratio over time.
• Another thing to watch out for is folks who make "fresh veggies and berries" and then freeze.  Note that the enzymes in fresh foods will degrade foods in the freezer unless they are blanched.  This is basic food preparation/preservation.  Again...evaluate your source and modify, use your critical thinking skills, and apply what you learn as necessary.
• Organ meats:  no more than 10-15% should be organ meats.  I used to grind these in, but I don't anymore.  Too much organ meat can cause toxicity  levels.
• Raw v. cooked:  Raw meat has helpful enzymes.  However if you have a dog that has health issues, cooking the meat may be prudent.  I feed raw, and I've had no problems. Never cook meat that has ground in bone.
• Starches:  I use a variety of starches which I prepare daily for my dogs. It is important that you cook whatever starch you plan to use fully to ensure that it is digestible.  For beans, lentils and rice, I use the pot in pot method in my pressure cooker.  It ensures quick, no maintenance prep.   I buy rice in 50lb bags and beans/lentils in 25lb bags.  If you don't get these in bulk, your food cost goes up.  If you have a small dog, that does not matter.  I'm feeding 3 dogs(40-65 lbs each).  The list of starches that I use are
• rice (brown/white)
• beans (any variety, pinto, navy)
• lentils (red or brown).  Note that the red get mushier, and the brown stay firmer.
• macaroni products 
• Oatmeal (though I don't use this for cost reasons)
• If your dogs have grass or grain allergies, you should modify as necessary.  
• I give my dogs a Vitamin E pill.  
• I use a mortar and pestle and grind up regular adult multi vitamins.  I put in a spice shaker and shake on food.
• Feeding:  I used to feed my dogs 2x a day.  Now, I just do once a day.  This was for my convenience.  I would say that 2x is preferable.  I have a chart for each dog that shows the total weight and the meat v. starch weight.  I weigh out one, tare out the scale and then weigh the other.  That way I know that the ratio and the amount is correct. 
• I feed my 65lb 7 yo pit bull 20-27 oz per day.
• I feed my 40lb 15 yo setter 16oz per day. (active for age)
• I feed my 40 lb 14 yo setter 10 oz per day.  (couch potato)
• Adjustments:   Monitor your dog's stools and body condition and make adjustments as needed.  See more ribs...up protein/fat and/or quantity.  See rolly polly, adjust downward.
• Water intake:  feeding this way has so much more water, you'll find the water demands of your dogs drastically reduced.

 My dogs love dinner time.  They so enjoy their food that even though two of them are very old, they are yipping and wagging their tails EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.  That's proof enough to me that even after feeding for almost 6 years, their food is something that they really enjoy.