Homemade or Kibble?

Basically, I pay attention to body condition, teeth, gum color, energy and agility(not really the word I want...basically I don't want to see any stiffness when getting up or laying down) and poops. If everything looks good, I'm pretty sure things are going well and I'm feeding what they need. I don't go overboard with caution like I did in the beginning.

 You can have a diet based on commercial food with homemade supplements, that is balanced, for $49 at Better Dog Care. That is the route I have chosen. My dogs look amazing. I don't have the time and energy to do their whole diet, but part of it makes an incredible difference.

Just cooking random things ends up with a shortage, usually in copper and zinc, and an imbalance between the nutrients. Short term, they look great. Years down the road, you start to have issues like muscle loss, poor haircoat, low endurance, and you can't figure out WHY. At least, that was my experience. Had the diet balanced by a nutritionist, and BAM. Almost insta-better. 

No calcium supplement?  You need to balance the calcium/phosperous ratio .  The general rule of thumb is 1/2 tsp of eggshell powder per pound of boneless meat.  And yes, I did a huge variety not just of meats, but also veggies when I was homecooking.

 No calcium supplement?

Ah, see these are the things I'm a bit concerned about.  I was thinking that the bone would fulfill the calcium needs, but maybe not.  The recipe for the stew is supposed to be a complete diet (with the occasional variety and a few recommended supplements).  I found it in a recently published, respectable looking book .  It was never my intention to take over their whole diet, but . . .  making the stew was so convenient and simple that I started thinking that maybe it was something I could do long term.

I have been reading everything I can get my hands on.  But this is information that I am so unfamiliar with that it is really difficult for me to figure out how to apply it. 

M

 Monica Segal wrote a fairly inexpensive, VERY informational book called Optimum Nutrition. It contains the NRC guidelines for what a dog should have, balanced and unbalanced recipes, etc. I highly recommend it.

Thanks for your response!  It is actually the Halo diet "spot's stew" that I have been making.  It is inexpensive to make, simple and the dogs are so happy with it.  I have really enjoyed making their food.  I just don't want to do any harm.  Your vote of confidence in this diet helps .

M

I don't believe that anyone said that kibble was BETTER, but at least with kibble, it IS balanced.  I am not a huge fan of kibble, but if you use one of the excellent brands, you're coming closer to meeting their needs.

I agree that Monica's recipes are great.  The calcium in the bones only works when feeding raw meaty bones.  Again, this is why its so important to research and to have some realiable help.

You can NOT see with your eye little things inside the dog like weakening bones because of an imbalance in calcium/phosperous, a zinc deficiancy, that sort of thing.  The ONLY reason I stopped homecooking for my crew is because once we moved South, homecooking suddenly created screaming diaherra.  I would LOVE to be able to homecook for them again, and will try again when we are in a more reasonable climate.  As it stands now, they get Blue Buffalo and raw.  They LOOK awesome, but I still have a blood panal done every year.

Add more red meat if you can ... and one thing that may help is beef heart.  It's CHEAP, almost fat free and super good for them.  It's considered muscle meat not organ meat.  It's honestly good for the humans as well!

Avoid giving the same thing over and over -- it's too easy to get stuck on the same veggies.  Kale is awesome and cheap.  Balance with "color" and with how things are grown.  Things grown "in the ground" have different nutrition than stuff that's above ground or 'fruit of the vine'.  Orange veg has different nutition than green, red or white.

Do you find yourself using carrots a lot?  Remember squash.  And not just butternut -- but acorn, pumpkin, and all the rest. 

I'll pick on acorn squash. for the longest time I thot I had to steam it, scoop out the flesh and toss the skin.

 NOPE -- cut it in half and ditch the seeds (but not the fiber).  Then just cut it in small pieces (or roughly process it) and toss it into your 'stew'.  The skin cooks and becomes digestible.  Same with sweet potato -- I never peel it nor bake it -- I just hack in pieces and boil with other veggies. 

I had a mental hurdle to cross -- I avoided something if I had no knowledge of it -- I'd never tasted kale til I cooked it for the dogs!!  It's good stuff!

The calcium in the bones only works when feeding raw meaty bones. 

Phew ... So the raw meaty bones that I am feeding in the pm should cover this need.  Now I just need to make sure I'm feeding them in the right proportions.

Love the ideas about more variety, I definitely can include more beef and fish etc.  I will be scouting for some beef heart as well (though DH may have to handle that one )

I will talk to my vet about a blood panel.  Will this be a reliable indicator of any significant deficiencies?

Thank you all,

M

 A blood panel is not a reliable sign of deficiency. The body does something called homeostasis. If the blood is short on calcium, it will leach it from the bones. Your dog will be running across the yard one day, and his leg will break. That is how you know.

The RMBs may or may not be covering the calcium. Depends on what you're feeding for morning and evening meals. You can look at nutritiondata.com to see what's in all sorts of foods. 

Gee, Jen.  That's encouraging!

But it makes an excellent point.  WE CAN'T SEE what they are missing.

 LOL, it's not the ONLY thing that can happen, which is what's really scary. Emma's epilepsy got really intense, and her skin went to utter crap, and her spinal issues became quite pronounced, when I decided something had to change. Had her diet evaluated, and she was lacking in a few spots. It wasn't severe, but it was *enough* to cause her serious issues.

A leg breaking is just the most vivid thing my mind conjured, at the moment. It's BEST to ensure that your diet is balanced by either hiring a nutritionist, educating yourself severely (LOL I *had* but still missed the mark!), or BOTH.