Nutriton and home cooking for Nina & Zoey.

My question is "What would you cook for your dogs if you decided to cook all their meals? What would give them all the nutrients they need"?

 
   Hey; you can tell me what you feed your dogs; I live in Indiana and couldn't possibly hit you from here (even if I knew how to shoot a gun) []. I know what you mean though; foods like Iams, Purina and Eukanuba get a pretty bad rap on here. I think the only one qualified to answer your question is an animal nutritionist; here's a link to one;  [linkhttp://www.monicasegal.com/]http://www.monicasegal.com/[/link].  She will design a diet for your dogs based on their needs; she even works with vets in designing diets for dogs with special needs. I have some booklets from her including one called "Cooked Diet Recipes"; it cost $5.95 and has recipes for dogs in every weight class from small to large, but you have to follow the recipes very closely to ensure your dog gets the nutrients it needs; only a few substitutions are allowed, and each recipe has several ingredients. You may be interested in her booklet about "Enhancing Commercial Diets"; it tells how to replace as much as one third of your dog's kibble with homecooking but it's very simple and only involves using a few ingredients.
   

Hhheeeyyy! You're right near me[] I'm not much of a sharp shooter, though. I tend to send in the attack Dachshund!

I prepare all of my dogs' food. They get raw meat and veggies, cooked root veggies, and cooked fish (haven't convinced them that raw fish won't kill them, yet, and raw salmon *is* dangerous, for anyone!). They get a wide variety of foods. No grains, no dairy, no soy. One is epileptic, so I adhere to a GARD diet, for both dogs. They're thriving beautifully.

 
After going on the site you provided and others,  I think I'm more equipped to "enhance their commercial diets" than to cook all their food and feel more comfortable about them getting all their nutirents.  Thanks!
 
 

I feed mine Purina One and I haven't been shot yet!  "Yelled" at, but not shot.
 
Anway, I also do some home cooking for my 3 golden retrievers and it makes up about 1/4 to 1/3 of their food.  I make a crock pot "chicken stew' that lasts them 5 days, and they getted canned mackeral or salmon (oir fresh caguth, baked fish if i have luck fishing) along with a can of  unsalted mixed veggies twice a week. The pot i made this week---5 pounds of chicken thights covered with water, brought to boil and cooked on low over night.  next morning i added a little over a pound of calf liver, two chopped golden apples (I core, but no longer peel them) 2 chopped sweet potatoes and a 1 pound bag of frozen green bean, brought to boil, put on low and cooked all day.  The chicken bones crumble like meal after 22-24 hours in crock pot.  Now i had company, we were on the go, and i didn't want to tie up time and space with crocker pot when cooking for company, so I found a pack of sliced beef hearts (1 1/2 pounds) and i chopped them up and boiled them with some sliced carrots and broccoli.  i added this to their kibble two nights.
 
I always use the chicken thighs, but the other meat varies.  Somnetimes i use a pound of ground round turkey, sometimes chicken liver, somtimes chicken gizzards.  And the veggies can vary also, but mine love sweet potatoes and apples, so I usually stick with them and the green beans
 
Mine do get supplements also.  They all get 2 fish oil capsusl (one morning, one night) except the two days they get fish with supper.  Then they only get the one in the morning.  And they each get a Vitamin E capsul every night.  They each get a biotin tablet (just started it), a Brewer's yeast tablet and an EsterC each night. I had been giving them a multi =vitamin, but haven't in a a few weeks.  Then my 7 1/2 year old golden gets two MSM/Glucosamine in the morning, a SynoviG3 at night my oldest golden, who will be 12 next week also gets two of the MSM/Glucosamine in the morning, and two Osteo-bi-blex  at night, plus a B complex on M,W. & F, and a cranberry capsul every night.  He had his first and only kidney infection about 7 months ago and i have had him on the cranberry ever since.  Also, because i fear he will be on NSAIDs one of these day, i give him a milk thistle  cap ech day to keep his liver in the best condition it can be in if he does have to go on NSAIDs.
 
Oh, i sprinkle garlic powder on their food at night.  I had read on other forums that garlic powder 9a little0 on their food along with yeast tables prevent fleas.  Some swore by it, others said it did not work.  I don't know if it is working for mine or not, but i have not seen fleas in over two months and not used any chemicals on them in over 4 months.  Probably is just coincidence, but as long as i don't see fleas, i will keep using that combo and hope that is what is workoing!

I feed a homeprepared diet also. When in a pinch I feed a canned (like Canidae, Natural Balance, etc.)
It's not that difficult but there a few rules to follow but with a little reading up you'll begin to feel comfortable. Add these pages to your library too, one you can even use now (kibble with fresh food):
[linkhttp://b-naturals.com/Jan2005.php]http://b-naturals.com/Jan2005.php[/link]

[linkhttp://b-naturals.com/Apr2006.php]http://b-naturals.com/Apr2006.php[/link]

Adding fresh foods, even if it's only a small percentage of their diet will be helpful, whether it's a boiled egg,  a sweet potato, raw broccoli, or a scoop of cottage cheese.
Do what you feel comfortable with. Later if you wish to add more you can do that down the road or maybe even switch over completely. Stick with your comfort level though and the rest will follow.