beginning to think about homecooked

 I love it and I think my dogs are much healthier because of it.  I know Indie certainly is and Woobie is sensitive to so many kibbles, it just was so much easier.  I know how you feel about the vitamin balancing issue, I had a nutritionist do our diet, but you can develop a pretty basic one that is balanced using their supplement at www.BalanceIT.com, which is where the supplement my nutritionist prescribed comes from.  It's convenient and then I won't worry.  They can work up a diet balanced using human vitamins you can get at a drugstore also.  I never have to worry about formula changes (Canidae) or recalls to upset my carefully balanced apple cart and my dogs are thriving.  I want to keep it that way.  Once you build it into your routine, it's really not that troublesome.  I do 1 to 2 week batches at a time in one day and freeze up the ingredients, makes it super easy.  I can't recommend homecooked highly enough!

The only thing that's good about kibble is convenience imho. Proven? Not so much. I had the same exact fears as you and now that I feed raw, kibble had never entered my mind again. This may help with your decision, I've read that raw/homecooked fed puppies has a much more linnear and gradual growth rate while kibble fed pups has random growth spurts which may potentially put extra strain on joints, bones, internal organs, etc. I thank the members of this forum and numerous other resources for persuading to switch to raw, my dog has never looked better! I recommend a book called simply "Raw Dog Food". It's a good beginners book that's easy to read and entertaining just get started.

 

  I had a consultation with Mordanna (Sabine Contreras); Monica Segal also does consultations. They design a balanced diet for your dog based on the 2006 recommendations by the National Research Council. For example, Jessie has many food allergies and gains weight if fed more than about 700 calories. Sabine designed a diet that's about 30% protein (37% dry matter basis) and provides all of Jessie's nutrient requirements without exceeding her daily calories. She provided complete instructions on how to prepare the different foods, and the exact amount of supplements to use. She even provided websites that have the supplements, although I was able to get most of them at a local health food store. She also provided  charts that have a breakdown of the amount of calories from protein, fat, and carbohydrates. I also asked her for a complete analysis of the amount of vitamins and minerals in the diet and she provided that too. The majority of the supplements, like bone meal and minerals, can be combined and kept in a sealed container like a jar and added to the food when the dog is fed. I prepare a week's worth of food at a time, and it only takes about an hour. Kibble is convenient and most dogs seem to do well, but it doesn't seem natural to me to feed them such highly processed food. The only animals that are expected to thrive on food from a bag or can instead of fresh foods are animals under man's care.

  

 Ditto Jessie's mom.  I did a consult with Mordanna for Lynn right at the beginnning and I'm so glad I did now.  The VET said when I first got her and she weighed 19 pounds and stood about 14" tall, that she wouldn't grow any more.  She's now 24" tall and weighed in today at 59 pounds and doesn't show any sign that she's done growing, yet.  Technically she's a large breed, and at least one of her breeds has a problem with hip dysplasia (Golden).  I could have really screwed up there - of course if I'm not sure I tend to put puppies on commercial diets for at least the first six months anyway.

Remember that you CAN supplement with fresh foods up to 25% of the diet (by kcals) - it's best if you balance the phosphorus of any meat in the diet with calcium but that's really easy to do - just a pinch of eggshell per pound of meat, or 1/4 teaspoon of human grade bone meal, or you can use a calcium supplement - I forget what the rate is but it's easy to find the ratio and figure out the phosphorus versus the calcium.

I know this all sounds crazy difficult but it's just sort of getting a new sense of what "common sense" is with regard to feeding another species.  We know sort of instinctively what to feed our kids and we say, well, I don't have to look up numbers and stuff to feed them, why should I when it comes to my dogs?  But we've lost a sense of what's right for a dog to eat.

I was just reading a book before assigning it for my seven year old to read.  In it, four children end up on their own with a dog and it describes their resourcefulness in "making it" with what they have.  It's interesting to read what the dog eats.  Bread, milk or cheese, and a meaty bone.  This was about fifty years ago, when bread was purchased at a bakery, milk came straight out of cows, and bones came from animals that were raised mostly on grass.

We still (sort of) know how to feed ourselves because that knowledge is passed on from generation to generation.  Imagine if fifty years ago the processed/frozen/fast food industry had managed to completely encompass every food product from cradle to grave.  And now we were trying to re-educate ourselves on what was right to feed - adults, children, special needs.  It's bad enough now - imagine if we no frame of reference at all.

But the learning curve is worth it - believe me!  

I feed kibble because it's 1. convenient  2. I feel like it has already been "proven" to be nutritionally complete 

if you go look at the "studies" and requirements for kibble companies to state their food is balanced and complete you would realize that kibble has absolutely NOT been proven to be able to support a dog at optimal health for his entire life.  

It might make your head spin but, really, you're looking for one recipe, the one that fits your dog. For that, you do have the resources mentioned. You can also go to petDIETS.com. They will require from you medical history, breed, age, activity or lifestage, and then design a recipe for your dog. Plus, they are CVNs and there's a few vets in there, including the owner of the website, who has been specializing in small animal nutrition for decades, with a particular focus on pets with ailments and diseases.

Once you have the recipe, which will include supp requirements, it will be as others have described. You'll get in the habit of buying the items you need and having a certain night or two, about an hour of time and you will make meals for days in advance. Then you can freeze most of it and only thaw out what you need. And some owners keep their dogs used to kibble just for the possibility of travel or eating while out at an event. I truly is convenient if at a show or agility trail, you can just feed what you brought in the zip loc bag.

 

truly is convenient if at a show or agility trail, you can just feed what you brought in the zip loc bag.

Heh.  I've been feeding out of ziplocks on the road for years - but not kibble!  If I've just got one or two dogs with me, I just make sure their food freezes nice and flat and take a soft cooler the size you'd take a sixpack in. 

A few dinners for each, frozen solid, means breakfast #1 is crunchy food or use the hotel microwave.  Breakfast #2 is semi-frozen food.  Last morning meal, the food is thawed but still ice cold, especially if you are able to get some ice from the hotel (in a clean ziploc brought for that purpose).  Usually instead of RMBs every night I give a half can of tripe, unless I'm traveling with a pup - then he gets both tripe and a pork neckbone to gnaw.

And I've used zip loc bags to carry meat in my pockets for jackpot days when we were working on obedience and calm behavior in public around other dogs. It keeps the lint off, not that lint would stop Shadow from enjoying my fabulous smoked pork loin. Seriously, it was a magic piece of pork butterfly chop that I jackpotted a heel in Petsmart. From that day on, when we walk into Petsmart, Shadow puts himself in heel. It may loosen up to LLW.

FWIW, I wouldn't see much difference from carrying some homecooked in a zip loc, either, as I have done. Raw would concern me a little because of the danger to humans. I know dogs have fast metabolisms and even though they can suffer from the parasitic infections, it's not as often as we would. But, if one has clean wipes, ala "Adrian Monk", I don't think there would be a problem with raw in a bag, either, as long as it's fed not too long after thawing.

 

ron2

You can also go to petDIETS.com. They will require from you medical history, breed, age, activity or lifestage, and then design a recipe for your dog.

 

  Monica and Mordanna require the same information.

  I belong to the group K9Kitchen and recently someone posted wanting help with a diet for a dog with multiple health problems including cancer, kidney and liver disease, and pancreatitis. Monica suggested petdiets.com, saying that Dr. Remillard was one of the leading veterinary  nutritionists  in the country. Monica designs diets for dogs with health problems but will refer a client elsewhere when needed.
 

Good points. And even though Dr. Remilliard would tell you straight up that the as-fed profile is more important than what you think about the ingredient list, her site has expanded to offer the recipes since that has become such a popular thing now and the one thing she notice about several home recipes was the lack of balance. Point being, if people are going to do this, at least they can provide a balanced recipe.

As well as the sites you mentioned. And I have noticed that Mordanna has increased in wisdom over the years but she has always been a good source of info and a real fine place to start for those who want to learn.

ron2

the one thing she notice about several home recipes was the lack of balance. Point being, if people are going to do this, at least they can provide a balanced recipe.

As well as the sites you mentioned. And I have noticed that Mordanna has increased in wisdom over the years but she has always been a good source of info and a real fine place to start for those who want to learn.

 

  Dogs eating food made from unbalanced recipes, either raw or cooked, may have shinier, healthier loooking coats for a while because of the higher amount of protein and fat but eventually they will develop health problems. For example, most home cooked diets don't have enough potassium.

  I chose Mordanna because she has the same educational background from the same university as Monica and she was recommended to me by someone I trust, not because of her website.

  For the OP wanting to learn more about home cooking or raw feeding, the yahoo group K9 Kitchen is a great place to start;

https://login.yahoo.com/config/login_verify2?.intl=us&.src=ygrp&.done=http%3a//groups.yahoo.com%2Fgroup%2FK9Kitchen%2Fjoin%2F

  I have bought and recommend Monica's booklet Cooked Diet Recipes;

http://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/product.php?cPath=25_26&products_id=87

and her book "Optimal Nutrition" http://www.monicasegal.com/catalog/product.php?cPath=25&products_id=101

  The booklet "Cooked Diet Recipes" has balanced recipes for dogs from about 20 pounds to over 100 but I couldn't use them because of Jessie's food allergies which is why I needed a consultation.
 

You can also look into premixes; i.e. Preference from thehonestkitchen.com website

This is a fantastic freeze-dried formula of vegetables and fruit combined with the correct amount of calcium, all you have to do is add your own meat, and water, let it soak for a few minutes and serve.

My dogs are doing fantastic on this. I rotate their meat source weekly though.

There are also a ton of other premix's out there from different companies. This REALLY helps to lesson the anxiety of making sure the nutrients are there.

 Oh gosh I'm sorry everyone I could have sworn I posted a response to everyone.  Then again lately I've putting my car keys in the refrigerator.  Put the dogs food IN the bowl filled with water, did a whole bunch of laundry and realized the next day I didn't wash any of my pants, so....

Back on topic :) THANK YOU.  A lot of great advice here that's making me feel a tad bit better about researching further and talking with the SO to see if he'd be on board.  I'm still a little wary about my ability to give her a well rounded diet - mostly b/c my OWN diet is atrocious.  But I do feel better that this is not some sort of crazy complicated scientific process that I was thinking it might be.  If I do know how I should be eating to be nutritionally sound - then I should be able to understand what a dog needs. 

I might take a look at the cost of premixes and adding my own meat first - maybe to ease into it :)  

I've been considering switching over to homecooked as well and am so grateful to have found this thread! I too am feeling very overwhelmed by all of the things that need to be considered when preparing homecooked - especially when it comes to ensuring that my dogs will be getting what they need in terms of supplements/nutrients. I really love the idea of pre-made and looked into the Honest Kitchen brand, which feels like the least daunting option because of the vitamin premix . I wanted to try Preference, but the site says that the product is intended for supplemental feeding only, and was not developed to provide a complete and balanced diet. Just wondering if anyone feeds their dog(s) Preference and if so, what else do you feed to ensure that you dog is getting a well-balanced diet? Should also mention that we're considering homecooked because my dog Cooper has gastro-related problems. Although on a good quality food (innova), we're constantly dealing with chronic bouts of diarrhea/gas/gurgling stomach etc. We've dealt with this ever since he was a puppy (he's nearly 5 yrs old). Everytime we take him to a vet we get same diagnosis - gastroenteritis. He gets put on a antibiotic, we're instructed to feed ground beef and rice for a few days, give him Pepcid and Immodium AD (as needed). This helps temporarily, but then its back to square 1 within a couple of weeks. Anyway, I'm really hoping that the homecooked will help his sensitive stomach/bowels. If anyone has a dog with similar problems and can offer further advice regarding diet, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks in advance for suggestions!!