Homecooking question

Calcium is needed to balance out the phosphorus, so the calcium in the dairy doesn't really count (since its balancing out the phosphorus in the dairy itself).

Do you or Willow eat eggs ?  You can use the eggshell for calcium;  just dry them (I put them in a 150 degree oven for 5 minutes) and then grind them in a coffee bean grinder (use a new one and don't use it for anything else - they're cheap, I think I paid $8 for mine).

If you'd rather use a supplement you can use calcium carbonate or calcium citrate.   you need 250 mg of calcium for each 3.5oz of meat.  If you're using eggshell its 1/2 teaspoon per pound of meat.

Without organs she's going to be low on her minerals (copper especially) so if you plan on doing this for awhile you might want to look into getting a more balanced recipe so that you can add the other supplements needed.

Hope she's feeling better soon

If I were in your shoes (oh, wait, I am!), I'd consult with one of the diet specialists out there.  It sounds like she'll have a pretty narrow range of what she can tolerate and from them you can get some variety in while achieving a balance between proper nutrition and her sensitivities.

You'll have to use, most likely, some kind of purchased calcium supplement since you can't do eggshell (I feel your pain!).  But no, dairy products don't provide enough Calcium since most of them are also high in phosphorus.

You can continue to homecook as you've been doing for quite a while, but you need to work on a plan to resolve the nutritional deficiencies meanwhile.  I always think of the time I fed a dog nothing but cheap white bread for four to six weeks (can't remember how long it was now, over a month), with the vet's blessing.  So, you have some time to work on this! 

Congratulations on your arrival on the "Dark Side"!  Lol!  I'm taking Ben over to all home cooked/fresh/raw too, starting today.

Thanks!  I think her Christmas present from us is going to be a consult with a doggie nutritionist.  Anyone have any suggestions for that?  Is Monica still the one to go to??

I vote for Monica.    (www.monicasegal.com)

You can also join her yahoo group:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Kitchen/

willowchow

Thanks!  I think her Christmas present from us is going to be a consult with a doggie nutritionist.  Anyone have any suggestions for that?  Is Monica still the one to go to??

 

Ben too!   I've put in a request with Mordanna.

Oh, she might be good too.  She already knows Willow.

I use calcium citrate – 1 rounded teas. for every 8 oz of meat. It's not so chalky and powdery and at least *I* am happier with it – I usually stir it into the veggies (cos they're wetter) and figure it by the weight of the meat before I cook it (if that helps).

It's a health store item (altho my holistic vet carries it). The brand I get is "NOW" and it's just a powder. (Someone had to lead ME down the garden path with this one, too, and man, I hated bone meal – gunky yucky stuff.)

I use Monica simply cos I've known her for years (we both used to post on AllPets and then on The Poop so I've literally known her for years).  She's good but she's also practical.  She may also be telling you what it is with the things she's reacting to that are being a problem.  Once upon a time she told me for a dog I was fostering that some dog's digestive systems just plain can't handle rice as it's usually used.  So she instructed me to literally cook the rice to death -- so it turned to mush -- almost pre-digesting it, and with that dog she told me to avoid brown rice (because it's so much hardier that you literally can't cook it *enough* for some dogs). 

I'm not saying that's what it is with Willow at all -- but just giving you an example of how she can help sometimes.  Her knowledge is astounding.

Thanks!!

I searched here and found a recipe that circulated online from Monica--sort of a starter thing so I might try to follow that as closely as I can--at least for the next time I cook. 

I've also got a cookbook that I really love called Better Food for Dogs so I might take some stuff from there too.  It's got all the vitamin charts in it too. 

I will probably gradually add dog food back in because all this is just too much for me between the actual cooking and the worrying.  And, she can't get much variety. 

I use NOW Calcium Citrate, too. Bonemeal has lots of phosphorus, and I don't want to add extra phosphorus for their little kidneys to process. I also use egg shells, if I have some (which means whenever the dogs eat eggs, since I don't eat them).

I also LOVE Better Food For Dogs. It's very practical. I love how they divide it by weights, and give substitutions. I also like the vitamin charts. You could probably get away with using that and NRC requirements, and figuring it on your own (which is what I did, because I didn't have the money to pay for a consult, when I started doing this). Cat Lane is another option. I'm a member of her Yahoo Group, and she seems to know her stuff. I like that she offers a puppy program. I hope to do something like that, next time I'm raising a puppy. 

Do you guys think that 3-6 months of homecooking following the recipes from the book and also modifying Monica's diets that she posted during the recall would be OK?  Or will she have problems?

What I'm really trying to do is give her a rest from commercial foods.  And, then gradually phase them back in. 

One thing though, I already notice a difference in just the days she was on i/d and now my cooking that her eyes are tearing less. 

 I really don't think it will hurt her, as long as you think about it and supplement with a good multi. I'm fortunate that Em is able to eat all that she is (she tolerates offal quite well). She *doesn't* tolerate a multi, and has been living on my concoctions for... years, LOL. She's doing fantastic.

Just curious--she really loves the combo I mentioned in my first post.  If I added the calcium to that would she be good for awhile on that??

You can sign up for an account on nutritiondata.com and make a pantry. Put in the whole amount of food you cook up, and the number of servings. It'll give you the nutrition info per serving. You can look at that next to Willow's requirements and get a REALLY good idea of what is lacking. It's pretty easy. Since she does well on simple stuff, it shouldn't be terribly hard to supplement to get her close. 

 Just a quick question on bonemeal.I get a big bag of 'bone shavings' from my butcher every now and then,the dogs love it. He gets it off the bandsaw from the shavings of marrow bones etc when he cuts them.Is this bone meal?