Does anyone make their own dog/cat food for your pet?

[Michelle420]

I used to. At the time, I had chickens and would cook veggies, legumes, etc for the dogs and would add an egg. Dogs are omnivores so its easy to keep them very healthy on a homemade diet. I had a dog with really severe skin issues and I was able to get it under control with a high quality, vegetarian diet. You might also look in to a (fad?) of making and feeding only raw food.

I also made their treats. They loved them but I finally got to the point where I didn't have the time to devote to it.

Cats are true carnivores so cannot be fed a vegan diet. Even vegetarian can be hard to get right. They require taurine, which is available only from animal sources. Taurine is available in eggs so I did think about it but I just didn't like the science behind it. There are also supplements available.

Most commercial dog and cat food really isn't all that healthy. I'm not crazy about any commercial dog and cat foods but we buy Blue Buffalo and Science Diet.

I'm always open to other ideas ...

Thanks. I have taurine as a supplement I take myself. When you used to make your dog homemade food, did you prepare it for weekly meals or have to make it every day fresh? Also, my understanding is dogs can have sweet potato, rice, carrot and peas, eggs and process it with no problems. I can get chicken rotisseries from Wal-mart after 8 pm for like $2.00.

I'd make a fairly large amount for the coming week and store it in the refrigerator.

If you're going to feed chicken, I wouldn't get the rotisserie chicken for anything. Seriously, it's old, yuk. And the meat in the grocery case for human consumption is already very old.You'll save a bunch by making your own food (even if you get only organic) so go for better quality on the meat.

I have used beef tongue when I've run low on mice. No fat, very dense protein and other nutrients. Its fresher because who the heck would eat beef tongue? You may have to ask your butcher to save it for you.

If someone says organic meat, don't "bite". There's no such thing because there's no such thing as organic feed. Its loaded with antibiotics, growth hormones and now the regulations for inspections of meat have ended or will shortly. Not a good time to be a meat eater. Or, for that matter, an air breather or water drinker!

Have you checked web sites about home made critter food?

I heard if you boil raw store bought chicken it gets out the antibiotics and crap put in it. There's a foam that rises to the top of the water.

Yes, I've read some websites looking for recipes for homemade dog food. That's where I learned they can have sweet potato. But I wasn;t sure how much amount to do for my dogs great dane/newfoundland mix.

I wouldn't give them more than a third of the total make up of the dog food. (1/3 meat, 1/3 fruit/veggie, 1/3 starch/grain) and that is just to illustrate my comment and is NOT an actual breakdown amount on what foods would make up their total daily diet.
Dogs 'food pyramid' is completely different than humans, and I'm sure you can find actual amounts of types of food to include for their nutritional needs . Your dogs are puppies??? Their needs are even more different, but HOLY COW they are or will be HUGE dogs and will need lots of food

Yes they are big dogs and sadly one of them wants to sit on my lap and he's too big.

 

[AquaAthena]

Those are some very interesting posts.

I have owned cats, dogs, and horses all my life and fed them commercial food and they have all been very healthy and have lived 15 to 16 years. No illnesses what-so-ever until the end of life. Kidney failure usually. There was a time when, as a treat, I would buy my kitties spleen. They LOVED that.

 

[strollingbones]

i did the 'raw' diet for a while...pricey and not for the faint of heart....raw tripe is pretty disgusting....now i do a mix of kibble and eggs and leftovers...i make my own dog biscuits....i only use human ingredients...if you didnt know you would think they were cookies...as far as making my own kibble...never did that....sometimes i feed one of them loaves....or rolls not often

 

[Lulllaboo]

My friends asked me to look after their dog. So we took the poodle Charlie to our house for a month. This is an amazing dog, but he has an allergy, so he doesn't eat a shop meal. I found a good article with recipes for what you can cook a poodle at home. Charlie loves soup with pork tins or chicken with carrots shredded in a blender. For me, it was more difficult to add vitamins to homemade food. But if your dog has no problems with digestion of vitamins from the pet store, everything is much easier and more convenient.

 

[RodISHI]

My friends asked me to look after their dog. So we took the poodle Charlie to our house for a month. This is an amazing dog, but he has an allergy, so he doesn't eat a shop meal. I found a good article with recipes for what you can cook a poodle at home. Charlie loves soup with pork tins or chicken with carrots shredded in a blender. For me, it was more difficult to add vitamins to homemade food. But if your dog has no problems with digestion of vitamins from the pet store, everything is much easier and more convenient.

You can cook a mess of chicken livers or gizzards and add a little bit of cooked cereal grains of most any kind or even a cup of dried quick oats oatmeal will work, put in a can of drained carrots, peas or green beans. Poodles generally like soft food better than hard food (you'll have to see which it likes best). Make up a mess add it all together, use a little flour to blend it to a consistency of cookie dough for you can roll it out and cut it small pieces. If it likes the food dried you'll need to cook it like you would cookies to dry it. Store it in the fridge or freezer in small ziplock bags until ready to use. Treat it like you would your own meals three days in the fridge is as long as you would want to keep it and then toss it. I used to give my big dog my vitamins when I take them. I would just add one or two to his cookie mix.Pork isn't really that good for the dogs.

 

[strollingbones]

prior to 1950s or so ....no kibble....all table scraps for dogs....we now buy into the kibble being better for no real reason...vets have very little education about dog food....science diet gives vets dog food and that is why they are all about that brand...which sucks mostly btw

 

[Likkmee]

I haven't fed commercial food in over 25 years. Heres what the Mack had tonight. Brown rice 20% with menudos..... mix of chicken liver heart, neck,gizzards, chayote squash, some carrot, a lil smashed potato and a chunk of tilapia. In the AM he'll probably have some snook and a couple of runny scrambled eggs..and maybe some avocado( not poisonous as the quacks think)
This gurl made 14 years on that type of regimen.

 

[Likkmee]

Always remember tho. Safety first !

 

[Natural Citizen]

I feed my boy Honest Kitchen

 

[strollingbones]

she looks like she loves the dog...the dog has a more....well i let her live look

 

[RodISHI]

View attachment 161916 Always remember tho. Safety first !

Reminds me of my Chow in his sunglasses in the Gulf while we were out in the boat. He ate whatever I ate through the years as he was my constant companion.

He lived to be seventeen.

 

[strollingbones]

define your boy?

i have mine i straight kibble right now...why ..cause fat ass semba gained 12 lbs in one yr

 

[Likkmee]

He really wears those. See the red strap ? With sparks flinging in the shop all day it's imperative.
I can't get any ear protection on him tho so he'll prolly be deaf from the grinders and saws in a few more years(like me).

 

[strollingbones]

put cotton balls in his ears but you needed to start when he was a puppy or simply buy headphones for a small child and use them

 

[strollingbones]

i hope you trained him to hand signals....before he goes deaf

 

[Likkmee]

define your boy?

i have mine i straight kibble right now...why ..cause fat ass semba gained 12 lbs in one yr

Mine Mz. Bones ?Mack is a Scott American bulldog(Owl hollow kennels) The female was a Johnson from Absolute kennels in Florida. Much heavier compact version. Mack is 70-80 lbs at best but can run like a deer.

 

[RodISHI]

He really wears those. See the red strap ? With sparks flinging in the shop all day it's imperative.
I can't get any ear protection on him tho so he'll prolly be deaf from the grinders and saws in a few more years(like me).

My Chow went deaf his last few years. Thankfully he had always gone by hand signals so it wasn't a huge issue.

 

[strollingbones]

i have an aussie....mixed from humane....then a jack russel and satan mix...again from humane

if semba wasnt a fat ass....they could have more but noo he eats cat food ..that is his addiction....

 

[Likkmee]

He really wears those. See the red strap ? With sparks flinging in the shop all day it's imperative.
I can't get any ear protection on him tho so he'll prolly be deaf from the grinders and saws in a few more years(like me).

My Chow went deaf his last few years. Thankfully he had always gone by hand signals so it wasn't a huge issue.

I always train the hand signal route too. That way a dirtbag( or a fucking pizote in the trash) doesn't hear a word before he gets shredded . See the bark collar ?
No barking. Just shred. I'll clean up afterwards

 

[RodISHI]

We have the pup from the female Pyre that was dumped off and his mama plus two cats now and that's it. I still miss my Chows.