Cooking for my dog

happle · #1 10-19-2009, 09:08 PM

This is the deal, we rescued our boxer a couple years ago. When we got him he was tiny, 40-42lbs. We had a rough battle with allergies and never have gotten it diagnosed. We tried Science Diet venison, lamb, rabbit, and any thing else you could think of. The dermatologist that we took him to found some bacteria on his skin and in his ears. Gave us a laundry list of meds for him (like 10 or 11) and said if this didn't work, we could do an allergy test. Long story short, the meds worked while he was on them and then the scratching started back up after he finished the meds. That first visit had a $500 price tag and the allergy testing (extensive I was told) was to be another $500. Don't have the money. He was eating the Hills Z/D Ultra-Allergy formula for quite a while, but at $90 bucks a bag every 2-3 weeks, that wasn't helping my bank account.

Since I have been cooking for him the allergies have virtually disappeared. Now I am struggling keeping weight on him. I give him a chicken breast in the AM and one in the PM cut up with love and mixed in with some rice and carrots. We add some canned pumpkin for fiber and cottage cheese (which my wife read somewhere would help add weight). He is just so tiny and I can see his hip bones. He has definitely lost weight. I want him to be healthy. Any ideas on what else I can feed him? I gave him some left over skirt steak the other night cause I didn't have any chicken prepared and he didn't break out. What else can I do...?

bhrgvr · #2 10-20-2009, 12:27 PM

I think one can increase the frequency of diet from AM and PM to AM-afternoon and PM. A bit of quantity can be increased...

BxrMommieNAZ · #3 10-20-2009, 10:18 PM

You'll simply need to add more calories. But you also need to add organs and bone otherwise he's missing our on much needed calcium and phosphorus, iron, and other nutrients. I would highly encourage you to speak to a canine nutritionist (not a vet they are not schooled in nutrition) or look into adding a high quality single protein and single carb kibble to the home cooked. The foods you were feeding unfortunately many times trigger allergies due to the fact that they are grain heavy, contain corn and wheat (huge allergens) and Science Diet is one of the worst foods on the market despite the hefty price tag. Something like Natural Balance Limited ingredient diet or California Natural may be a better choice. Your diet being fed the same protein, grain, and veggie without any organs, bones, vitamins, minerals, or anything else is VERY unbalanced which may be a large reason for the weight loss.

Good luck.

kayboxer · #4 10-21-2009, 08:22 AM

I used to homecook whole meals for my boxers. At that time, my girl Roxy, was grain intolerant. You can cook whole chicken thighs, add liver and heart,(beef if you want) sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, apples, blueberries, broccoli, spinach, etc. The veggies can be the frozen kind. Put in a large pressure cooker and cook for approx. 2 1/2 hours or so. Let the pressure go down on it's own. Then, just mash together. The bones will mash right up and they get the calcium from the bones. You can buy digestive enzymes at the healthfood store for babies and add. That's what I did. Make a big batch and freeze. Less cooking and for one boxer it will last a long time. On a side note, if you add the blueberries, I think it turns out better if you put them in after the cooking while it is still hot and mash them in (just my own opinion).

bhrgvr · #5 10-22-2009, 09:04 AM

very interesting diet... I will give it a shot and make a whole lot of it. Dont want to be going to the butchers every second day for the chicken and all...

Right now I am giving her carrots and peas along with sweet potatoes (All cooked) and plenty of Chicken (RAW). I will add brocolli and apples to the diet... and once in a while... banana...

BxrMommieNAZ · #6 10-22-2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhrgvr

very interesting diet... I will give it a shot and make a whole lot of it. Dont want to be going to the butchers every second day for the chicken and all...

Right now I am giving her carrots and peas along with sweet potatoes (All cooked) and plenty of Chicken (RAW). I will add brocolli and apples to the diet... and once in a while... banana...

Careful on broccoli. Too much isn't good and many times causes HORRIBLE gas.

happle · #7 10-22-2009, 11:11 AM

I've heard and read the broccoli isn't good for dogs, isn't good like chocolate isn't good, but if your dog ate it I guess it can't be too bad. I will add that in small quantities. I'm now doing chicken (boiling or grilling; can they handle raw chicken?), rice, carrots, corn, peas, canned pumpkin. Then I give them an apple and added banana this morning. The shih tzu we have goes crazy if she even sees a banana. LOVES them.

So on the bone thing, pressure cook them for a couple hours and they'll moosh up? Interesting. Always wanted a pressure cooker for stew, guess that's on the shopping list this weekend! Thank you for all the advise. I'll continue to check back for more!

kayboxer · #8 10-22-2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happle

I've heard and read the broccoli isn't good for dogs, isn't good like chocolate isn't good, but if your dog ate it I guess it can't be too bad. I will add that in small quantities. I'm now doing chicken (boiling or grilling; can they handle raw chicken?), rice, carrots, corn, peas, canned pumpkin. Then I give them an apple and added banana this morning. The shih tzu we have goes crazy if she even sees a banana. LOVES them.

So on the bone thing, pressure cook them for a couple hours and they'll moosh up? Interesting. Always wanted a pressure cooker for stew, guess that's on the shopping list this weekend! Thank you for all the advise. I'll continue to check back for more!

I didn't always add broccoli, just sometimes and not a huge amount, but it can be added (totally up to you). Yes, if you pressure cook the bones for approximately 2 1/2 hours or maybe a bit more they will mash right up. I found out that usually they aren't cooked enough if it is under 2 1/2 hours. I bought the big bag of chicken thighs at Walmart and cooked. Now, that is just chicken. Turkey bones are larger and I don't know if they will do that, I never cooked them. I would just buy turkey meat and throw in or beef. Don't forget the offal (heart, liver) to add. You will just have to do a hit and miss on the amount to feed. It will probably be more than kibble. Example, if you feed 1 1/2 c. kibble at a meal, you might try 2 cups of homecooked. It is just a trial and error. If they gain weight, decrease, if they lose weight, increase. I use my pressure cooker a lot to cook our food too! It was a great purchase.
About the raw chicken, yes, you can feed raw with veggies too. Just don't mix with kibble. Raw is digested at a different rate than kibble and it is not recommended to feed them together. Many people don't feed veggies at all if they feed raw. If you search the forums on feeding raw, you will see tons of questions and recommendations on raw feeding. It's all a matter of choice.

BxrMommieNAZ · #9 10-22-2009, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happle

I've heard and read the broccoli isn't good for dogs, isn't good like chocolate isn't good, but if your dog ate it I guess it can't be too bad. I will add that in small quantities. I'm now doing chicken (boiling or grilling; can they handle raw chicken?), rice, carrots, corn, peas, canned pumpkin. Then I give them an apple and added banana this morning. The shih tzu we have goes crazy if she even sees a banana. LOVES them.

So on the bone thing, pressure cook them for a couple hours and they'll moosh up? Interesting. Always wanted a pressure cooker for stew, guess that's on the shopping list this weekend! Thank you for all the advise. I'll continue to check back for more!

Just an FYI, corn is not very good for dogs, it's non digestible and is a HUGE allergen culprit for them. That's why the commercial foods that contain corn score very low (among other things but that's a big one). I'd skip the corn and go for healthy, non allergen triggering things instead. JMO.