Homemade Dog Food for 3 different dogs

[uromac]

Hi!

Long story short - we have 3 dogs (2 yo Chocolate Lab 75lb, 8 yo Chihuahua 7lb, and 13 1/2 yo - 25lb-ish Welsh Terrier w/cancer who used to love food). Our terrier has had his share of '9 lives' - however we just found a new lump on our terrier (lymph node probably) and have elected not to do anything this time. He is now losing his faculties - not always all there, walking/getting up difficulties, has had daily accidents, etc... but we would like to make his last days better and are thinking of making our own food as he is not eating that well. I would also like to be 'fair' to our other dogs, and so I'm thinking about switching over making our own dog food for all of them! Are there any 'one size fits all' recommended recipes you may have and the different food measurements/amounts you would give each. I like to cook, so difficulty not a problem, just don't want to 'spoil' my other dogs forever so if they have to eat kibble they can adjust !!

Thanks !!

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

I don't know anything about making homemade dog food, but I do think what wouldn't be fair is if you start feeding all the dogs homemade good ppl type food for a certain period of time while your sick does passes and then once the dog passes you make the other 2 go back to eating crappy dry dog food. I probably wouldn't do that if it were me. I would just feed the sick dog his homemade food separately away from the other 2 dogs.

I would think making homemade dog food, especially enough to feed 3 dogs would be very expensive because the main ingredient in most good dog foods is MEAT. Maybe someone else will have a recipe for you.

 

[dpswift]

I do not have any recipes just a suggestion for the other dogs. Put your homemade food on top of their kibble. As you know dogs get into habits quickly.

I put the dogs food in bowls while they are outside in the morning. When they come in the run to their bowls. The puppy(a stray) starts eating immediately, the other dog sits until I put his meat on top.

I am sorry about your terrier and I wish you well.

 

[sibesx2]

Years ago I cooked for 2 of my Siberians. I made my own recipes using a nutrition calculator to balance it. Watch calories! One of mine gained a lot of weight at first. It is a lot of work and is more expensive then kibble but worth it. You can find recipes by doing a search and there are groups (I used some found on Yahoo) you can join to help. There are also some great groups for cancer. CanineCancer on yahoo is very helpful. I lost 2 of mine to cancer within 4 months of each other. I think adding some cooked food to the others kibble is a good idea to keep them from becoming "spoiled".

When my 16 year old Siberian became picky she got whatever she wanted to eat. She loved eggs, baked chicken, baby food meat and peanut butter sandwiches. At that point in her life nutrition wasn't important. My other dogs did not get the special treatment - they got their kibble and canned food with maybe some chicken or eggs once in a while. I lost Tovee about 6 months ago and the time I spent cooking for her and making sure she ate are special memories.

I'll keep you and your little guy in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[bakerworld]

We had a 16 yo Bichon, blind and diapered, who didn't want anything to change. I tried a softer food because his teeth began to rot and the vet wouldn't clean them because he developed a heart murmur. He just sat whining at his food. He wanted what he was used to and I was starving him so I went back to the old food which he gobbled down, threw up because he ate fast and then re-ate.

Just be careful your dog really wants the change.

 

[Happyjen27]

Love the idea of making entire meals for your Welshie, and then just putting a little of that on top of the kibble for the other 2 dogs. It will make the adjustment back to kibble easier for sure.

Sorry for your Welshie I hope he continues to live a comfortable, beautiful life and has a peaceful crossing over when it's his time.

 

[jakoky]

Hi there, I have sometimes made homemade dog food for my two dogs, a 44 lb eng shep/border collie and a 64 lb husky/?

I think the rule is something like 1/3 meat, 1/3 grain, 1/3 veggies. The trick is learning the things they cannot eat, some things are actually poisonous to them. Onions, garlic, mushrooms are 3 VERY bad things for them..

Here are some of the things I used to put in

Meat...ground chicken, turkey or beef, or just chicken (used to buy what was on sale or clearance). I would just cook up really good, do not add any spices

Grains...rice, quinoa, oatmeal, sweet potatoes ( Thought this fell under veggies but think it was actually under the grain for the dogs)

Veggies...green beans (my dogs love these), small amounts of broccoli, spinach, zucchini

Fruits- apples, blueberries

I also also added coconut oil to their food which is very good for them and they love it too

I would just cook everything up and throw it all together. My dogs loved it, but never had an issue when I would give them dry food, and I actually haven't cooked for them in over a month.

I am so sorry about your dog. They truly become such a huge part of the family and seeing them sick is so hard

 

[clh2]

When our dog has an upset digestive thing going on, per the vet's recommendation - our dog goes on a bland diet, i.e. cooked meat and rice. We use whatever meat is a. readily available in our freezer or b. whatever is cheapest (between ground beef, ground turkey or chicken).

I'm surprised our dog doesn't "fake" being sick to get this!

We make a big batch of this - when the "poo" gets more normal, we start to mix it with dry food, and gradually get back to 100% dry food.

I agree with the other posters that say to not entirely change the other dog's food, although adding a little of the "good" stuff on top might be a nice treat. Remember - if you do this - decrease their dry food by approximately the same amount of good stuff you are giving the, or you may end up with dogs that weigh more than you want them too. (Our vet is particular about weight, especially as the dogs age.)

 

[Pakey]

To do homemade diet long term is a bit of work. I fed my Chinese cresteds homemade food for 6 years because of grain and potato allergies. I'm grateful now that there's Nature's Variety Instinct raw boost which doesn't have either and I no longer have to make food.

50% should be protein. It should be lean protein, no more than 10% fat. If doing poultry, remove the skin. Dark meat is better than breast meat but I used to do whole chicken so they had a combination of dark/white meat. Do not add any salt or seasonings when cooking. Organs (heart, liver) are good. Eggs are another good source. If you do beef, it should be lean beef with the fat removed. I processed the cooked meat and eggs in food processor to get small bites.

The other 50% should be vegetables/fruit. You can add grain if they can tolerate it-a lot of dogs are allergic. I always bought dehydrated organic vegetable mix made specifically for homemade dog food. I purchased online and had it shipped to me.

You need to add vitamins and oils. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, fish oil, cod liver oil, walnut oil, etc. It doesn't need to be added daily but they need to have it at least weekly. The amount added depends on the weight of the dog. I never added it into the food mixture but added it to the bowls when I prepared them. I used an eye dropper to make sure I didn't add too much (my dogs only weigh 10 lbs).

You can feed a dog a bland diet on a short term basis but for long term, you need to research to make sure your dogs are getting the necessary nutrients.

My dogs had raw pumpkin or a spoon of cottage cheese as a snack. They can't have any already prepared dog treats because of the junk that's in them.

Another option would be to check raw diets at the pet food store. I know that Nature's Variety has a raw diet in the freezer section--then you wouldn't have to make it yourself.

Good luck to you and your poor little puppy.

 

[bedogged]

Hi!

Long story short - we have 3 dogs (2 yo Chocolate Lab 75lb, 8 yo Chihuahua 7lb, and 13 1/2 yo - 25lb-ish Welsh Terrier w/cancer who used to love food). Our terrier has had his share of '9 lives' - however we just found a new lump on our terrier (lymph node probably) and have elected not to do anything this time. He is now losing his faculties - not always all there, walking/getting up difficulties, has had daily accidents, etc... but we would like to make his last days better and are thinking of making our own food as he is not eating that well. I would also like to be 'fair' to our other dogs, and so I'm thinking about switching over making our own dog food for all of them! Are there any 'one size fits all' recommended recipes you may have and the different food measurements/amounts you would give each. I like to cook, so difficulty not a problem, just don't want to 'spoil' my other dogs forever so if they have to eat kibble they can adjust !!

Thanks !!

I would not change the other dogs as that could cause dietary upset. The Welsh should have whatever he wants and he should be fed separately several small meals a day. He will not suffer from malnutrition during the time he has left. I would boil chicken for him and rice if he will eat it. Science has a palliative diet for cats and dogs called AD. You can get it from the vet. A lot of dogs really like that and it is very concentrated so they don't need a lot of it. Consult your vet for more detailed advice about how to keep him comfortable for the time he has left.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Please talk to your vet before and make sure you are giving them a balanced diet.

 

[uromac]

I appreciate everyone's responses - I think we will make our own for our Welsh Terrier, and the other two will get kibble 'flavored' on top with his food. They are all fed in separate areas to prevent any dog food 'fights' , so that should not be a problem!

I'll let you know how things go - It's just hard right now because he just seems so out of it

Thanks again!