Help....

 You can put entire recipes into nutritiondata.com, if you make an account, and see the nutrient content of the entire thing. 

100 g of baked white potato has 544 mg of potassium. 100 g of baked sweet potato has 475 mg. It's a pretty sizable difference. 100 g of raw banana has 358 mg. 

I never cook meal by meal for **many** reasons -- first, it's too hard.  But mostly you tend to over-feed or under-feed that way and it's MUCH harder to balance everything.  I cook by the week -- and then dole it out in portions.  So everything -- altho I may cook it separately -- gets all mixed together in one big container and then refrigerated and portioned out per meal.  If a dog needs it room temp you can let it sit out for a bit -- my current bunch don't mind at all if it's cold (better than warm as far as they are concerned). 

 EACH veg has it's ups and downs ... too much white potato can worsen arthritis.  It's a balance you arrive at.  No one gets it perfect right off the bat.  You can go to Monica Segal's K-9 Kitchen Yahoo Group and I think Mordana has a site out there. 

 You can supplement if you want to start with. 

You may want to grind the meat up so it mixes in easier.  If I recall you're using venison - wild meat, right??  That would scare me more probably -- I'd want to cook it more to make sure you aren't getting parasites or salmonella type stuff.  But then, I'm a confirmed coward about raw anyway (and I live in the bacteria capital of the known universe anyway -- heat + humidity = bacteria heaven)

I'd recommend you use someone else's recipe to start -- rather than just going it on your own. 

BUT if you are trying to do some kind of elmination diet then you'll have to add things in slowly. 

If it's 'regular' white potato -- DO NOT USE GREEN ONES.  The greenish tinge in the skin of some potato is poison (both for humans and dogs actually) -- and it can be tough to see it under fluorescent lights at the store.

 Callie, I'm using ground beef for Maze since it seems to be her favorite.  I'm also using Pitcarin's Guide to Nutrition as a guide.  I'm also doing a form of an elimination diet just to make sure there are no more allergies.

Jennie, I think I have that site bookmarked but I'll go back and check.  

I brought Maze to the vet for a weigh in (she gained a pound ) and the vet techs said she looks amazing.

  I use No Salt to add potassium to Jessie's diet; she's allergic to potatoes. Isn't Maze around 55 pounds ? According to NRC guidelines, she should have about 1.65 grams or 1,650 milligrams of potassium each day. Diets for heart disease are usually low in sodium, and if you're not adding any salt to Maze's diet, it's probably very low in sodium. According to " Optimal Nutrition", that can cause the body to try to conserve it using a hormone called aldosterone. Aldosterone also triggers the kidneys to excrete potassium, thus causing a deficiency. According to Monica, Pitcairn's diets weren't balanced. I don't remember her reasons, but you can ask about him on K9-Kitchen.

 She should be about 50 pounds but right now she's 45lbs since she lost some weight.  I'm not adding any salt to Maze's diet.

The only thing I'm using Pitcairn's book is for the foods recommended. I didn't like his actual recipes for some reason. I will be posting on K9- Kitchen shortly.

oranges81

The only thing I'm using Pitcairn's book is for the foods recommended. I didn't like his actual recipes for some reason.

  I thought they were too carb heavy. You can get balanced diets at Petdiets.com and balanceit, bu  both websites have diets heavy in carbs too. Monica's diets average about 35% protein, sometimes higher, unless the dog has a health condition, such as kidney disease, where a lower protein diet is better. I hope you can get some weight on Maze soon; good luck.

Is it possible for a dog to get too much calcium???

YES it is possible for them to get too much calcium but it needs to be in ratio with the calcium/phosphorous ratio. 

When you say "mushed up bones"??  Not sure what you mean.  I generally use ground beef, lamb, turkey, etc. -- or I use whitefish or sardines as well (natural fish oil).  But I add 1 teas calcium (I use a natural calcium from seashells that I get from my vet) per 16 oz. meat.  Some folks use pulverized egg shells but I don't buy eggs so that doesn't work for me.

See there is different amounts of phosphorous in various veggies -- like acorn squash is better than butternut squash.  Kale has an awesome cal/phos ratio.  It's one of the reasons I always tell people to use a HUGE variety of veggies -- absolutely as much as possible.  veg grown above ground and below ground -- leafy greens vs. root veggies. veggies that are the "fruit of the vine" vs. leaves.  All different colors and varieties.  They are all different.

  Dogs actually need some sodium in their diet, which is why you'll salt as an ingredient on bags of kibble. Dogs with heart or kidney disease need a diet lower in sodium than healthy dogs. If you're not adding iodized salt to your dog's food, what are you adding for iodine? Kelp is a good source. It's very important to add the correct amount of salt or kelp, so they get enough iodine but not too much. As Callie said, you can add too much calcium. You can get close to adding the right amount by adding 250 milligrams for every 3 and a half ounces of meat that they get daily ( that's weight after cooking). NOW brand calcium carbonate or calcium citrate works very well. The label tells how much calcium there is in a teaspoon, so you can use that information to calculate how much you need to add.

4-5 Lg skinless, bone in chicken thigh quarters

2 C. Veggies..... (I try to switch it up each batch) Carrots, green beens, peas, broccoli, turnip greens, sweet potato, baking potato, etc.

2 C. Oatmeal (not quick oats) Poultry Seasoning

Bay Leaves

Garlic Powder

Chicken goes in crock pot, I fill half way with water, add spices, cook on high for several hours, then reduce to low and cook overnight monitoring water level before I go to bed and stirring meat occasionally.

Continue to cook on low throughout the next day. About an hour before completion I add veggies, wait a little and add oatmeal to thicken and let cook another half hour or so.

The bones are very soft. I don't have a food processor so I ladle it out in batches and break it down w/a knife and fork so bones are well broken down and distributed. Then I freeze in batches.

They do get various snacks, but I haven't checked the sodium level..... I don't think any of their treats contain sodium.

**I do also sometimes cook up about 8-10 oz of chicken liver and add to this.

It seems like the amount of bones v. meat is okay, I'm just not positive. What are the potential long-term effects of too much calcium? I really want to continue cooking for them as I feel it's much healthier for them, they prefer the taste and in the long run it's more cost effective.

I just want to be sure their diet is as balanced as possible.

Any thoughts? Thanx!

 Hmmm..... I wouldn't mind eating what you feed your dogs.

Sunshinegirl

. What are the potential long-term effects of too much calcium?

  According to Monica's book "Optimal Nutrition", the side effects are skeletal abnormalities (which may not be a problem in an adult dog), zinc, copper, and iron deficiencies (calcium binds zinc).

Sunshinegirl

I really want to continue cooking for them as I feel it's much healthier for them, they prefer the taste and in the long run it's more cost effective.

I just want to be sure their diet is as balanced as possible.

Any thoughts? Thanx!

  For a fee, Monica will analyze your diet and tell you how each nutrient, including calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals,  compare to the standards set by the National Research Council. If you'd like, she can modify the diet for you;

http://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/consultations.php

  You can also save money and analyze the diet yourself using the information provided by her book, "Optimal Nutrition";

http://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/product.php?cPath=25&products_id=101

  The book includes a table with the National Research Council's nutrient requirements for adult dogs and instructions on how to calculate your dog's requirements using the table.

I will check out Monica's info - thank you!