Just started homecooking

[Tiga]

Hi, I'm hopping on this board, because we just started homecooking this week. After a couple weeks of researching, and some reference material from a holistic vet I got started. I'm still a little nervous about underfeeding and making sure I'm giving a balance diet, but I think I'll get more confident with time.

In four days it already seems like her coat is shinier (or is that just wishful thinking?).
Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. I'm hoping to swap recipies and tips.

Just out of curiousity, how did you all find the right amount of food to give at each meal? I'm just going off of recommended amounts right now, but it seems like she is still hungry a lot of the time (I also give small snacks).

[bayleighmom]

I started out feeding 2% of her body weight twice a day. This was 2 cups of stew in the morning and 2 cups at night. But she gained weight(could be all the snacks!) I now feed her 1 cup in the morning and 2 cups at night.

What are you cooking? I feed chicken, pork, beef and canned mackeral.

[Tiga]

Hi!
I started with a recipe for ground turkey and sardines, sweet potatoes, green beens and carrots, pureed spinach, bonemeal, dried kelp powder, salmon oil, vitamin E, vitamin C, a multi vitamin, and a probiotic.

I'm feeding her a cup and a half at each meal right now (So three cups a day).


I'm also having trouble finding somewhere near me to buy organ meat. Is organ meat that important on a regular basis? Or can I stick with a variety of other proteins? I'm thinking of trying out chicken/lamb/beef along with the turkey and fish. Part of me wants to leave out the beef, as a back up protein in case she ends up with allergies.

[kayboxer]

Is there a SuperWalmart near you? The one in my small town carries organ meat. Most grocery stores carry livers and gizzards. You might ask your meat department person about it. You can also just cook chicken quarters and leave the bone in it, you wouldn't have to add bone meal that way. If you pressure cook it for 2-2 1/2 hours they will mash right up. Just throw all your ingredients, veggies and all (you can even add apples and blueberries) into a large pressure cooker and let it cook! It works great, I went out and bought a large pressure cooker/canner just for that purpose. One note, I've never tried it with turkey so I don't know if the bones will mash up or not with that. All my friends say when they die they want to come back as one of my dogs. Not many people around my area cook for their dogs.

[Tiga]

No, no Walmart near me. I checked with three grocery stores and none of the butchers had any organ meat! I thought that was unusual. I may try and go to one of the smaller meat markets and see what they have. I'm learning as I go, and I have read about pressure cooking, I just don't own one yet
I'm guessing I'll probably want to invest in one fairly soon, I just want to see how she does on homecooking first.

[ELubas]

My girl actually lost weight when I first went homecooked (she did not need to!) so I increased the amounts until she got to her ideal weight. She is VERY active so she is getting 4 cups a day, which is a little more than the recommended 2%, so I say look at your pup and feed accordingly. Also you might ask your local butcher to save the organs for you. I could not find them regularly either so I asked them if they would save them and they said sure-it is so good for the dogs that if you can get it it is a great addition to thier diet. Good luck!

[entelekia]

Hey Tiga's mom,

Did you look into raw as well? I know in our neck of the woods it's REALLY expensive, but I've been feeding Laika raw for the past year or so and have been able to keep it to $70 - $100 per month. I buy bulk meat at Costco and at a small market in Emeryville. With raw you don't need to worry (usually) about supplementing and boxers do really, really well on it. Besides, just about every pet store in the Bay Area sells premade raw (it's more $$, but it'll do in a pinch). There is also a co-op in SF. Let me know if you want to exchange #'s or emails (we can do it through daycare) and I'll be happy to share my Raw experience in N. Cali.

If you want to stick with homecooked, check your local safeway or Lucky, the Lucky by my house (El Cerrito Plaza) always has chicken livers/gizzards. They are usually in the poultry section, packaged in plastic tubs. If not, hit one of the MANY ethnic markets (Mi Tierra Foods in Berkeley, or Ranch 99 in Richmond) they usually have not only offal meats, but also exotics for variety.

Does Tiga suffer from colitis also? Why are you switching? I'm sure you know but, we are lucky to have easy access to ALL the premium kibbles around.

[kathysboxer]

Another option if you don't have a pressure cooker is a slow cooker/crock pot. You can cook it all night and chicken bones mash right up. I know a pressure cooker is faster, but until you get one, you could do that.
I will also swear by raw. If you don't mind it, IMO that is the best way. You would be surprised at how well they do on it.
Also, if you happen to have a slaughter house nearby, ask them to save you portions. Just a thought.

[Tiga]

Thanks for all the info!

Wendy- we primarily switched to homecooking because of colitis, but there was also the papillomas, and an eye infection, and some skin issues. It just seems like an overall health issue. We wanted to try to boost her immune system and I've been fortunate to try many of the high quality kibbles in the area, but none of them have fixed our problems. She hasn't even been able to go to daycare because she kept getting sick when she went. She just had a papilloma removed from her foot (which I didn't know was something possible to get) and then now she has another outbreak of papillomas on her mouth.

Basically, we want to get her healthy! So far the first week has been great. Her energy level is up and she hasn't had ANY loose stools. It's a HUGE improvement.

I'm not quite ready for a full-raw diet, although I have been giving her a raw buffalo marrow bone once or twice a week, and the occasional small raw snack when I have scraps from a chicken or something I'm cooking.

I've been driving all over the bay trying to find supplies. The Holistic Hound was extremely helpful, but I'd love your advice/input!

[entelekia]

You know, the papillomas are rather harmless, and I would be inclined to think that her immune system is suffering more from the stress of all the surgical interventions than from the papillomas themselves. Also, she never had the chance to fight the papillomas on her own and develop the antibodies for them, hence the second round. Like I said before, Lego had an outbreak (about 6 or 7 of them in his mouth plus a couple of small ones on his foot) they fell off on their own in about a month, and we haven't seen them again since. I'd give her a chance to fight the papillomas, stress from so many vet visits and surgical procedures might very well be what's causing her immune system to be down. Just out of curiosity, why is your vet recommending removing them surgically?

Have you been taking her to Pt. Isabel or any other dog parks? If so, I'd stop for the time being. Make playdates with healthy and stable dogs instead. Extremely high rates of excitement and exhaustion will lower her immune system's response also (it does for our female).

Y'know, we did homecooking for a little while, and I gotta tell ya, raw is so much easier. No need to cook anything (obviously) just buy and package, but then again, I'm not much of a cook and that might have something to do with it. You also feed no carbohydrates with raw (which can cause skin/tummy issues). And no supplements either.

Next time you get a chance to bring Tiga in to daycare, go ahead and ask the staff for my email address (or you can call and ask too). We could get together for a dog walk and I can give you addresses of places to find stuff (Mi Tierra, Ranch 99, the little place in Emeryville, etc).