DIY Dog food

Sonny Disposition · 03-25-2009, 12:08 PM

Way off topic, I know. I took a cue from Kurt and made some DIY dogfood. Awhile back, my oldest son decided that it was more healthful for the dog--and cheaper--to make homemade dogfood. So of course, he went off to a semester abroad in London, and left behind a pack each of frozen chicken gizzards and a sheep heart and kidney in the freezer. I was shuffling stuff around in the freezer last weekend and got tired of the packages of frozen organs sliding around, so I decided I'd mix up a batch of dog food and get rid of them.

When I talked to him on one of his periodic calls home, my son explained to me that the basic idea was one third cup meat, one third cup brown rice, and one third cup of vegetables.

The Web sites I googled explained that although dogs are carnivores, they've been domesticated for so long that they need more vegetables in their diets than wolves do. But wolves, too, aren't entirely carnivores, and pick off fruits and berries when they can get them. And get a lot of greens from eating the intestines of large herbivores.

So I spread the gizzards and what not on a cookie sheet and baked them for a half hour, then put them in the food processor and blended them with some steamed brown rice and steamed carrots and green beans.

The last time we gave her DIY dogfood, she seemed to get hungry a lot sooner than she did on the prepared dog food.

So I've been mixing the homemade about 50/50 with the store bought stuff. She seems to do better on the mixture than she does on either alone. She eats, and then settles down, rather than pestering us and trying to look cute so we'll break down and give her something, like she usually does after we feed her.

She's been fussy about the store bought stuff lately, too. After reading the label, I see that they put some unusual stuff in it, actually. Bone meal I can understand; but why they put corn syrup and sugar in dog food, I'll never know.

Anybody else do DIY dog food?

F8LBITE · 03-25-2009, 1:02 PM

We just got the store bought stuff but after having to put our boxer down due to liver cancer its something Id definitely consider the next time around. Good post Bob.

Sonny Disposition · 03-25-2009, 1:36 PM

When we got our dog 9 or 10 years ago from the shelter, the lady told us to feed exclusively store bought stuff. I never gave it much thought til Saturday. But after reading the labels, I'm not so sure, now.

Again, I'm sorry about your boxer.

Jumbie · 03-25-2009, 2:07 PM

I agree it is a lot cheaper to do a DIY dog food/diet. I feed my dog raw meat with a vegetable/fruit mix for the most part. I sometimes feed him a no grain kibble that I get form a holistic dog food store, just to keep his digestive system accustom to it in case I am lazy. I was spending about $85 on a 27 or 30lbs bag, and I have a 126lbs bullmastiff, so 30lbs of food went quick. Now I spend $65-$75 at he grocery store on meat, fruit and veggies, and that would last me just about two months.

mscichlid · 03-25-2009, 2:12 PM

At times I feed my dogs raw. They absolutely love it. The prepared dog food is crap, but cheaper. My 125 GSD eats too much. Good post Bob.

Sonny Disposition · 03-25-2009, 4:07 PM

Thanks guys. I'm glad you liked the post.

What's a GSD?

Dakota is only about 50 pounds, so she doesn't eat more than a couple of cups or so at a time.

I wasn't sure about feeding raw, given the pathogens in commercially produced meat and the fact that my dog hasn't eaten raw stuff in a long time. (When we first got her, she ate bugs and we would have to stop her from eating carrion.)

I've heard that a lot of dogs won't eat raw, because they're used to storebought. Like Richard's aulonocaras turning down raw shrimp but devouring the cooked stuff.

Given what I've read lately about the imbalance of Omega 3s vs. Omega 6s, I was thinking it would probably be a good idea to add a teaspoon of canola oil and/or a fish oil capsule a couple times a week.

kaj41354 · 03-25-2009, 4:37 PM

Bob,

Back when I had a Great Dane (rescued in Montgomery County), I discovered that one of the best diets for them was the BARF diet. Here is a good llink for that

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm#plans

SubMariner · 03-25-2009, 5:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonny Disposition

Way off topic, I know. I took a cue from Kurt and made some DIY dogfood. Awhile back, my oldest son decided that it was more healthful for the dog--and cheaper--to make homemade dogfood. So of course, he went off to a semester abroad in London, and left behind a pack each of frozen chicken gizzards and a sheep heart and kidney in the freezer. I was shuffling stuff around in the freezer last weekend and got tired of the packages of frozen organs sliding around, so I decided I'd mix up a batch of dog food and get rid of them.

When I talked to him on one of his periodic calls home, my son explained to me that the basic idea was one third cup meat, one third cup brown rice, and one third cup of vegetables.

The Web sites I googled explained that although dogs are carnivores, they've been domesticated for so long that they need more vegetables in their diets than wolves do. But wolves, too, aren't entirely carnivores, and pick off fruits and berries when they can get them. And get a lot of greens from eating the intestines of large herbivores.

So I spread the gizzards and what not on a cookie sheet and baked them for a half hour, then put them in the food processor and blended them with some steamed brown rice and steamed carrots and green beans.

The last time we gave her DIY dogfood, she seemed to get hungry a lot sooner than she did on the prepared dog food.

So I've been mixing the homemade about 50/50 with the store bought stuff. She seems to do better on the mixture than she does on either alone. She eats, and then settles down, rather than pestering us and trying to look cute so we'll break down and give her something, like she usually does after we feed her.

She's been fussy about the store bought stuff lately, too. After reading the label, I see that they put some unusual stuff in it, actually. Bone meal I can understand; but why they put corn syrup and sugar in dog food, I'll never know.

Anybody else do DIY dog food?

Great thread Bob! As a matter of fact, I was thinking the same thing today. I wanted to make my own food for my dog. I truly believe they actually live longer because of it.

Back in the day, I had a mixed German Shepherd/Husky who lived to be 19 years old. The reason why he lived so long was because he would only eat what our family would have for dinner. That's right, good old arroz y pollo! Old fashioned rice and chicken with of course some veggies. It was my mom's ancient Latino Secret.

Occasionally we would mix in the dry dog food, but never just plain old fake manufactured dog food made from who knows what. Nevertheless, everyone is different and I'm sure opinions vary on this subject.

RM

Sonny Disposition · 03-26-2009, 10:52 AM

My dog was always trying to bum people food off us, even after she ate her own food. I don't know why I got the best results when I mixed DIY 50/50 with store bought She ate it, then left us alone. That's never happened before.

I'm thinking that the DIY alone, since it doesn't have bone meal and soy meal in it, just won't stick with her long enough to keep her from getting hungry again. (I'm planning to experiment by adding a little tofu, to see if that helps.)

But if you're going to give your perrito some arroz con pollo, it should probably be with brown rice (arroz moreno?)

Heck, I get hungry faster on white rice. It's less dense--missing the fiber and vitamins. And for about 50 percent of the population, white rice, like other starches, causes insulin to rise really fast and drop really fast, which can really make you hungry a short time after you eat. (Probably a good part of that old bromide that you'll be hungry an hour after eating Chinese food.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SubMariner

Great thread Bob! As a matter of fact, I was thinking the same thing today. I wanted to make my own food for my dog. I truly believe they actually live longer because of it.

Back in the day, I had a mixed German Shepherd/Husky who lived to be 19 years old. The reason why he lived so long was because he would only eat what our family would have for dinner. That's right, good old arroz y pollo! Old fashioned rice and chicken with of course some veggies. It was my mom's ancient Latino Secret.

Occasionally we would mix in the dry dog food, but never just plain old fake manufactured dog food made from who knows what. Nevertheless, everyone is different and I'm sure opinions vary on this subject.

RM

mscichlid · 03-26-2009, 12:24 PM

Bob, GSD stands for German Shepherd Dog.