Does anyone feed their dog "homemade" food?

[Mermaid02]

Our dog was sick Monday and threw up 21 times in about 6 hours. The vet gave her a shot of Pepcid and told us to feed her boiled chicken and rice for a few days. We were going to change dog foods anyway as the Fromme she was eating has gone up to $45 a bag, but I think I can feed her chicken and rice cheaper. I'm going to speak with the vet obviously, but I was wondering if anyone made their dog food regularly.

 

[LisaR]

The chicken and rice that the vet suggested is just temporary until her stomach gets back to normal. Many people feed their dog a homemade diet but you really would need to do some research first. Just chicken and rice won't cut it for the long haul. She will need other vitamins and nutrients to make sure she is getting a well balanced diet.

 

[Mermaid02]

The chicken and rice that the vet suggested is just temporary until her stomach gets back to normal. Many people feed their dog a homemade diet but you really would need to do some research first. Just chicken and rice won't cut it for the long haul. She will need other vitamins and nutrients to make sure she is getting a well balanced diet.

I know, that's why I said I was going to speak with the vet and see what I would need to add. I was wondering what kinds of home made foods folks make their dogs. I have talked with a friend who feeds her dog a chicken pasta mixture with a vitamin.

 

[minniebeth]

Don't have a dog, kids wish we did, but just wanted to say that I hope your dog feels better and you can find what works best for you and your dog!

 

[tennisfan]

We fed our Westie homemade food such as chicken, beef etc didn't do him any harm as he lived to 15 & 1/2 years we just added some veggies with the meat sometimes. In the morning he would have dog biscuits

We now have a beagle & are looking at giving him homemade food as everything else seems to upset his stomach after a while

 

[Squirlz]

Here is a link to an exceptional home made meat loaf for dogs.

 

[samshane]

I do - my dogs have been on a homemade diet for a year and a half. I have one dog who had severe digestive issues with everything he ate. For a year we went back and forth to the vet - finally the vet and I came up with a diet that works for him (and I feed it to my other 2 dogs are well).

I make a mixture of brown and white rice with chicken/beef/liver in it. I freeze it is one cup packets (so I can make 3 weeks worth at a time - it is quite a Saturday project!). We feed them 2 smaller meals, one in the morning and one at night. The rice/meat mixture is mixed in with Purina sensitive stomach and skin formula dry food (I have another dog with skin issues so it works well for him too).

We never were able to figure out exactly what he was reacting to in all of the canned foods we tried - and I tried EVERYTHING, from cheap to the most expensive. He also reacted to alot of the dry foods - but this specific Purina formula works great.

It is great - his "issues" have disappeared entirely. As I said, I consulted my vet on this diet and she approved of it. He doesn't get up all night anymore and is alot more relaxed.

 

[RUDisney]

My pug is allergic to everything in commercially available dog foods. For a long while, I made her kibble and fed her raw beef. It was well balanced and she did very well on it. However, it was annoying to have to make kibble once a month, especially in the hot summer months.

If you are planning to do this, go to http://www.drpitcairn.com/ and review what he says. He is a homeopathy vet and wrote Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. This was the first book I read that dealt with dog nutrition. I built my kibble recipe based on this book and about five others that I read.

Unfortunately, most vets don't know much about nutrition, so asking your vet may not be your best source for information. Sort of like your dr recommending that you see a nutritionist for more specific information since that isn't the dr's main focus.

I finally found a food that my dog tolerates and the only allergen in it is fish oil, which tends not to be as aggressive an allergen as other things. The food I found is by Azmira... another holistic approach to food and veterinary care. The food they offer is more expensive than the one you mentioned, though, so this may not be an option for you.

Something you may want to try to keep your dog's digestion working well is a scoop of plain yogurt on its normal food a few times per week, no matter what type of food you're feeding.

One thing to also note is that if you plan to prepare your dog's meals, you should add crunch to it and not keep everything soft. This will help to keep his teeth clean. If you make a kibble and supplement that with raw meat, make sure you feed them at different times of the day because they digest differently and this will give you the most bang for your money in terms of nutrition.

Good luck in your quest!

 

[walden]

Our dog was sick Monday and threw up 21 times in about 6 hours. The vet gave her a shot of Pepcid and told us to feed her boiled chicken and rice for a few days. We were going to change dog foods anyway as the Fromme she was eating has gone up to $45 a bag, but I think I can feed her chicken and rice cheaper. I'm going to speak with the vet obviously, but I was wondering if anyone made their dog food regularly.

OP, I think your question is: "will homecooking for my dog be less expensive than feeding her expensive commercial kibble?"

In my experience, a resounding no! Sorry. I have home-cooked for allergic dogs from necessity, but it is really not cheaper overall. Nor is it necessarily better for the average non-allergic dog. You need to spend time making sure that the dog's dietary needs are met in home cooked food, and that requires a lot more than just chicken and rice. The factor in added vitamins and other supplements, and the time spent shopping for and cooking the food . . . it all adds up.

I usually feed the best "premium" commercial food I can find that suits my dogs. Generally, the better the quality of the food, the smaller the portions you need to feed. Most people find that cheap (non-premium) foods with a lot of corn are a false economy in the long run. You need to feed larger portions, and tummy upsets and allergic reactions are more frequent. I also supplement the premium kibble with raw veggies and eggs, fish oil, yogurt, glucosamine etc., but my pups are very pampered.

You can research the pros and cons of various commercial foods, home-cooking and raw feeding at various sources on the internet. Here is one that links to a lot of resources: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/information.html

Be warned, people in the dog world can get very passionate about feeding. My friends who raw feed (probably the most expensive option they spend $$$$!) think I am quite neglectful for feeding premium kibble.

 

[mhsjax]

OP, I think your question is: "will homecooking for my dog be less expensive than feeding her expensive commercial kibble?"

In my experience, a resounding no! Sorry. I have home-cooked for allergic dogs from necessity, but it is really not cheaper overall. Nor is it necessarily better for the average non-allergic dog. You need to spend time making sure that the dog's dietary needs are met in home cooked food, and that requires a lot more than just chicken and rice. The factor in added vitamins and other supplements, and the time spent shopping for and cooking the food . . . it all adds up.

I usually feed the best "premium" commercial food I can find that suits my dogs. Generally, the better the quality of the food, the smaller the portions you need to feed. Most people find that cheap (non-premium) foods with a lot of corn are a false economy in the long run. You need to feed larger portions, and tummy upsets and allergic reactions are more frequent. I also supplement the premium kibble with raw veggies and eggs, fish oil, yogurt, glucosamine etc., but my pups are very pampered.

You can research the pros and cons of various commericial foods, home-cooking and raw feeding at various sources on the internet. Here is one that links to a lot of resources: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/information.html

Be warned, people in the dog world can get very passionate about feeding. My friends who raw feed, also known as (probably the most expensive option they spend $$$$!) think I am quite neglectful for feeding premium kibble.

My DB and DSIL have a dog that feeding him home made people food almost killed him. He has a reaction to people food, the only thing he is allowed is one finger full of peanut butter at night, he even has his own jar with his name on it. Dogs are funny creatures.

 

[Pakey]

I do homemade dog food too. Mine is a mixture of chicken, rice, raw vegetables, vitamins and fish oil. It's a Sunday afternoon ritual to make everything and then measure and freeze into individual servings; they get fed twice a day. After 3 years I bought a food processor just for their food and it has made my life so much easier.

When one of mine was in the hospital, I had to take his food to him.

I have hairless Cresteds with skin and stomach issues. I had not thought of plain yogurt but I think I'll try putting a bit on their food. They do get a teaspoon of raw pumpkin as a treat on occasion.

 

[Nette]

OP, I think your question is: "will homecooking for my dog be less expensive than feeding her expensive commercial kibble?"

In my experience, a resounding no! Sorry. I have home-cooked for allergic dogs from necessity, but it is really not cheaper overall. Nor is it necessarily better for the average non-allergic dog. You need to spend time making sure that the dog's dietary needs are met in home cooked food, and that requires a lot more than just chicken and rice. The factor in added vitamins and other supplements, and the time spent shopping for and cooking the food . . . it all adds up.

I usually feed the best "premium" commercial food I can find that suits my dogs. Generally, the better the quality of the food, the smaller the portions you need to feed. Most people find that cheap (non-premium) foods with a lot of corn are a false economy in the long run. You need to feed larger portions, and tummy upsets and allergic reactions are more frequent. I also supplement the premium kibble with raw veggies and eggs, fish oil, yogurt, glucosamine etc., but my pups are very pampered.

You can research the pros and cons of various commercial foods, home-cooking and raw feeding at various sources on the internet. Here is one that links to a lot of resources: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/information.html

Be warned, people in the dog world can get very passionate about feeding. My friends who raw feed (probably the most expensive option they spend $$$$!) think I am quite neglectful for feeding premium kibble.

I disagree... We switched to raw meaty bones (keyword there is bones!) at the beginning of the year and it is about 30% cheaper than our "premium" kibble. Not to mention that my overweight dog FINALLY started to lose weight, and BOTH dogs have cleaner teeth and no "doggie smell" (either breath or fur). AND their "deposits in the backyard" turn to white dust in no time.

There is a raw feeders coop in town and they can get a variety of foods for a much lower price (chicken frames for like $.29/lb -- we need about 15lbs of meat per week) We also do feed veggies and giblets once a week or so because I haven't had the stomach to try green tripe yet.

 

[RUDisney]

OP, I think your question is: "will homecooking for my dog be less expensive than feeding her expensive commercial kibble?"

In my experience, a resounding no! Sorry. I have home-cooked for allergic dogs from necessity, but it is really not cheaper overall. Nor is it necessarily better for the average non-allergic dog. You need to spend time making sure that the dog's dietary needs are met in home cooked food, and that requires a lot more than just chicken and rice. The factor in added vitamins and other supplements, and the time spent shopping for and cooking the food . . . it all adds up.

I usually feed the best "premium" commercial food I can find that suits my dogs. Generally, the better the quality of the food, the smaller the portions you need to feed. Most people find that cheap (non-premium) foods with a lot of corn are a false economy in the long run. You need to feed larger portions, and tummy upsets and allergic reactions are more frequent. I also supplement the premium kibble with raw veggies and eggs, fish oil, yogurt, glucosamine etc., but my pups are very pampered.

You can research the pros and cons of various commercial foods, home-cooking and raw feeding at various sources on the internet. Here is one that links to a lot of resources: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/information.html

Be warned, people in the dog world can get very passionate about feeding. My friends who raw feed (probably the most expensive option they spend $$$$!) think I am quite neglectful for feeding premium kibble.

I agree with everything you've said here.

Nette, you are the only person I've ever heard say that raw feeding is cheaper than premium kibble. I'm glad you found a solution that works for you.

 

[walden]

I disagree... We switched to raw meaty bones (keyword there is bones!) at the beginning of the year and it is about 30% cheaper than our "premium" kibble. Not to mention that my overweight dog FINALLY started to lose weight, and BOTH dogs have cleaner teeth and no "doggie smell" (either breath or fur). AND their "deposits in the backyard" turn to white dust in no time.

There is a raw feeders coop in town and they can get a variety of foods for a much lower price (chicken frames for like $.29/lb -- we need about 15lbs of meat per week) We also do feed veggies and giblets once a week or so because I haven't had the stomach to try green tripe yet.

You must be one of my friends -- they could have written this post! flower3: Except they do feed green tripe. That stuff will knock you out at 30 paces -- I've smelled it! :

They belong to a raw co-op and it works for them, but I'd have to drive 60 miles to get to one in my area and it is still expensive. It is just not worth it to me. I don't have a dog in this race (sorry, couldn't resist) and don't like to argue with raw feeders. I do my best. My pups get the occasional RMB or turkey neck, but otherwise seem to thrive on kibble.

 

[HOGFAN]

out dashound has pancreatitis and thus must have a low fat diet. we mostly give him cut up chicken breast(or boiled burger) mixed with rice. sometimes we add in lowfat plain yogurt or low fat cottage cheese(his favorite). we also mix in a little dry food just so he gets a little different nutrition. he doesnt like dry but the other stuff 'masks' it.

 

[eeyoremum]

We do. We lost one dog to a skin condition that turned cancerous our current dog started to have the same symptoms so of course we began to worry. Tried all kind of oils, creams, etc to make him better. He then was diagnosed with a condition called Masticatory muscle myositi which is a facial muscular disorder. The vet put him on very expensive food that did nothing plus he is currently on a 6 month round of pills.

At this point we are transitioning him to an all natural diet of meat, potatoes, rice, veggies. He is doing very well much better than before actually losing a bit of weight (which is a good thing for him). His skin is clearing up and he is on his way to recovery from his disease. Also, he has far less yard waste which means he is digesting and using his new diet to its full advantage. Our vet is awesome and is in full support of what we are doing with him.

The one and only downside....he has more gas. Not pretty.