variety?

I am currently doing homecooked foods. I am using the strombeck recipes and also recently added the sojo's premix to my rotation.

I just mixed up a strombeck batch of beef seasoned with thyme and parsley, rice, carrots, blueberries (and supplements).
Last week's mix was sojo's (oat mix) with salmon and greenbeans and banana and yogurt.

Another example would be turkey, potato, squash, peaches.  They get quite a variety and I rotate through meats:  turkey, beef, fish, eggs, chicken.  Carbs: sweet and white potato, rice, millet, oats(sojos).  Veggies- well could be anything. I usually get fresh or frozen bags.  Fruits: apple, banana, melon, blueberries, cranberries, pears, etc.  Also they get occasionals like carrot sticks, yogurt, herbs in the meat. 

I've been cooking since one month before the recall.  I had the odd bag of nutro natural choice in there that I was giving a bowl full now and again bu thave cut that out since Darby got an ear infection.

I quadruple the recipe so I can have enough for about 4 days for my 3 little dogs.

Ella got a great variety when she was fed raw.
She gets variety now on kibble and canned diet.
I feed her a kibble for a couple-few bags and then I switch her. I add canned to her kibble twice or so a day to add variety.

I thought I read somewhere that the longer a dog was exposed to a certain food, the better the chance of them becoming allergic to it? Is this so?

I thought I read somewhere that the longer a dog was exposed to a certain food, the better the chance of them becoming allergic to it? Is this so?

 
Thats what I read also.   Prancer's diet consists of 1/2 can of soft food and 1/4 cup of kibble per day.  The kibble is rotated  to a new flavor of NB every 3 months when I have to replace the bag.  She gets 7 different types of canned food (3 flavors of Blue Buffalo, 2 flavors of NB, Canidae, and Solid Gold).   I do this to ensure that she has a variety in ingredients (diff proteins, diff carbs) as well as different supplements (since everyone has their own opinions on what should be added to a "complete" meal).

I rotate kibble every bag or two.  I use Ca Natural Lamb/Rice puppy then I'll switch to Chicken.   After we rotate thru the California Natural we then do the Eagle Pack Lamb then Chicken.  I also chage his mix-in daily.  I use crockpot chicken, canned food (Evangers/Merrick), yogurt, sardines and a few others.

the more variety the better. I use the same kibble, but vary the brand and flavor of cans, and make different home-cooked and raw meals. Don't like them to eat the same thing two days in a row. Too risky-- micronutrients might not be supplied if they eat the same stuff all the time, and toxins might build up and cause problems if they eat the same stuff all the time.

I do not change food very often, maybe once every year or two. My husky has a very sensitive stomach and doesn't handle changes in her diet well - even when I gradually mix them in. I do feed what I consider good quality food though.

We feed kibble as a basic diet with the addition of fresh uncooked fruit or veggies as treats.  We do rotate every 4 months...for variety and also to help them from developing a sensitivity by being fed the same food...sometimes different formulas within the same manufacturer and sometimes different.
 
Someday we may do home-cooked for them but currently we can't even feed ourselves properly.  Kibble is really a matter of convenience for us.  I think there is probably more variety in home-cooked, if done correctly.

I have been doing homecooked for only a few weeks now, so I'm still learning the ropes. I used the recipe on doggiebag.com as a starter, but I do vary it quite a bit. I have 5 dogs so I don't really have the space to store more than a few days worth of food at a time, so right now I'm making a batch of food every 3-4 days. I vary it alot, but here are some sample recipes that I use:
 
 
Base: Sweet potatoes, boiled until soft
Meat: Chicken quarters, boiled with parsley, deboned and shredded, canned Salmon
Fruit and Veggies: Yellow Squash, Broccoli, Peas, Carrots, Apples, pureed
Extras/Supplements: Fish Oil, Calcium, Yogurt, Olive Oil, Glucosamine, Multi Vitamin, Liver (once a week), Salt Substitute, Cottage Cheese, Raw recreational bones
 
Base: White Potatoes
Meat: Turkey, Canned Mackeral
Fruit and Veggies: Carrots, Peaches, Blueberries, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Kale, Melon
Extras/Supplements: Same as above
 
Base: Brown Rice
Meat: Beef (whatever is on sale, usually a roast of some kind since I have several dogs to cook for), Salmon
Fruit and Veggies: Cranberries, Celery, Broccoli, Pumpkin, Banana, Peas, Carrots, Squash
Extras/Supplements: Same as above
 
Those are just examples; I use various other meats and grains and really any fruit or veggie is fair game depending on what I find.
 
I also usually make about twice as much as I need for our (human) dinner, and divide the extra up among the dogs and rats. So, they get maybe 1/3 of a cup of table scraps most nights too, which adds alot of variety.
 
 

I have one super sensitive dog so I can't/won't switch kibbles. Fortunately he's improved to the point that I can vary canned and raw add-ins without much problem. About once a week I make a 'slop' in the food processor out of a can of food and whatever else is in the fridge or cabinet that would be good for them. The batch I made last night was a can of EVO Rabbit, some leftover quinoa from dinner, about a cup of frozen Bil-Jac that needed to be used up, and half a bag of frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, peas, green beans). Other batches could be like, a can of food, a sweet potato, a can of salmon or mackeral, and a different mix of frozen veggies. Since it's just a kibble topper I don't worry too much about balance, and since it varys widely week to week, I think things work out over time.

I used to feed a lot of different kibbles but now I'm sticking with just a couple that I trust for various results (individual dogs' needs), and feeding my usual variety of raw meaty bones and other home prepared goodies - meatball cupcakes, satin balls, fish patties, etc.

One really good way to offer some variety is to find a local provider of things like rabbit, fowl, and for people with larger dogs, goat and sheep (and even pork and beef, though unless you have a kennel you'll want to get several people together to split!). Or buy from farms like Blue Ridge and Hare Today where they guarantee grass fed, humanely raised product. The nutrients provided in grass fed, free range meat is totally different from the grain fed meat you get from the grocery stores and most butchers.

You know me, always gotta stick a word in for the local family farmer. []

I do not switch kibble, I feed Trudy Nat. Balance Fish. She is very sensitive. I do know that she can have many other good fresh foods. I cook fresh, wild salmon, beef, sweet potato/veggie mash that she and my parrot both get, fruits, and a muffin recipe with oats and apples I give to her. She gets lots of good foods and she LOVES her mealtimes!!!

Kibble stays the same.  homecooking has some variation.  i always use the 5 pounds of chicken thighs, but other meat changes week to week--chicken liver, calf liver, chicken gizzards, ground turkey.  Also use the pound of frozen green beans, apples and sweet potatoes, but sometimes cut back on them and add something like carrots or squash instead.

Hi

I feed my dog a homecooked diet (3 yrs now). The recipes I use include a lot of variety. 1 recipe lasts 4-5 days. After she's finished one batch, I rotate the food ingredients for the next batch. I do try to keep a few novel proteins (duck, buffalo), just in case we ever need one. I rotate proteins mainly between chicken, beef, lamb, and egg. I also incorporate cottage cheese or yogurt in the recipes. I also include organ meats, which I rotate in the recipes (liver, gizzard, kidney). And I try to include some beef or chicken heart, when I can find it. I sometimes will use some oatmeal or brown rice (though not much of the diet). And I rotate veggies: broccoli, brusselsprouts, cabbage, asparagus, greenbeans, cauliflower, sweet potato, carrots, peas, lima beans, etc.  I mainly boil and drain them, but I'll sometimes puree a few RAW veggies and add a bit as a "topper" to her meals, so she can get some live enzymes, and denser nutrients. I'll puree RAW carrots, peas, parsley, celery, cucumber, and romaine lettuce for use as a topper, now and then.  I even rotate her calcium sources (month to month), switching between eggshell powder and calcium citrate (the amts needed to balance the recipe, differ for each type of calcium).  I also will rotate supplement brands (when one finishes).  I don't feed a lot of fruits, but I will give her small pieces, now and then. I vary those too (banana, blueberry, watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, apple, etc).
 
I like to keep her diet as varied as I can. 

thanks for everyone's opinions.

we have a dog that has a sensitive stomach too. we have found a couple of different kibbles that she can eat, but we have been sticking with just one of them. she will tolerate different canned foods so long as they are only a portion of her meal.

our dogs also get yogurt some, salmon oil on their kibble in the mornings, and a few different vegetables on occassion.

with all the recent food recalls, i am getting paranoid about what we have been feeding our dogs. their kibble manufacturer has not been listed in any of the recalls thank goodness! however, the canned food we have been feeding lately is innova. i realize that the ceo stated their canned foods are safe even though they are made in a menu foods plant, but i guess i am still a little paranoid.