# Homemade dog food?



## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

Does anyone here make their own dogs food? I recently bought an online book about dog foods. I think I really can do this for my dog and save a bunch of money and be healthier for my dog also. I suppose the contents of dry dog food just really grosses me out when I found out what goes into it.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I don't do it myself but know someone who cans her own dog and cat food. Uses up all the organ meat and lesser quality cuts of meat when she butchers her animals.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

We did for several months. To be honest, really didnt see any difference in their coats or anything.
It cost slightly more than their kibble + time & labor.
But give it a go, your dogs just might do better on raw, especially if you're doing your own butchering.


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## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

I'm going to give it a try. It can't hurt.


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## 8566 (Jul 18, 2012)

I do --
We make about 3 days worth at a time and feed 4 dogs.
I mix up meat (cow, elk, deer, buffalo, ..... - hubby is a hunter) and add cooked rice, carrots, and peas. During the summer if I have stuff in the garden I will add that. I use the water I boil the meat with in their mixture. Sometimes I will add leftovers before they spoil that no one will eat.

Then I add anything special like DE.

I started doing this because my soon to be 15YO Brittney can't crunch on anything because of her bad teeth. She's pretty much on mush food. I make sure I cut the meat into small pieces.

Labor intensive but you get use to it.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I hate cooking for people- I could just see my family if I started cooking for the dog! :shocked: 
We do have a bunch of old venison in the feezer- I hate to toss it, but it is starting to 
get freezer burn and dry out- maybe I will "cook" for the dogs! :laugh:


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

I am planning on feeding my future dogs a raw diet. I have read SO MUCH about it and feel comfortable that if the meat is coming from a good place (with humanely raised animals) I feel it will greatly benefit them. Look up "Rita the Naked Pit Bull" on facebook -- she had a horrible case of mange and neglect (thus the hairlessness) but she has great info on her facebook about raw diets. You could message her and ask for recipes.


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## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

Our first task is to get them off of store feed. So I cooked chicken and rice to add to their dry feed for a week. We will gradually decrease the store feed daily. They just ate it up!!!


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## ThreeHavens (Oct 20, 2011)

Make sure they are getting the right bone to organ to meat ratio or they will not thrive. Good for you for tackling this task! :thumb:


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

A friend of mine makes her own animal food. She got tired of always having to take her dogs to the vet and then she read a book written by a vet that taught her how to properly feed her animals. Most dry pet food is not that healthy for the animals. With my friend's dog she discovered every time she fed the dog any corn products the dog had diarrhea. Corn is a filler used in almost all dry dog food. Since making her own pet food she rarely, if ever, has to take a pet to the vet anymore. They are just healthier. 

One tip. This friend spent a month visiting me. During her stay we juiced a lot. Her dog loved yogurt but would pick the vegetables out and not eat them. So my friend would mix the vegetable pulp in the yogurt and the dog ate all of it.


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## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

Good idea about the vegetable pulp. I also juice and feed the pulp to the chickens. I guess the chickens will have to share.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Gosh I could get in over my head with this thread , lolol
I am a huge believer in the raw food diets.
But you do have to make sure you meet their nutritional requirements at all times. If those needs arent met , you will slowly kill your dog.
Please look into what your dogs requirements are and incorporate them into their diet. 

Extra long story short , a woman I knew actually killed her dog because she never looked into giving the dog vitamins and other items they are missing in the raw food she was feeding. 
The poor dog died a miserable death , it took a couple of years , but the dog just wasted away. He was a working dog who sadly needed much more then what she was giving him.
Just like we try our best to provide our goats with the best , we need to study labels and ask a nutritionist for that specific animal what is needed in their daily diet to sustain optimum health.

I had used many prepared diets , Bravo Blends , BARF , Dr.Harveys products , Morigins , Aunt Jeni's , The Honest Kitchen , Vital Essentials.

I have used all these and have had awesome results !!!
From skin and ear allergies in a Standard Poodle , to sensitive stomachs to food allergies , these are the best foods for dogs that have these issues and so many others I havent listed.

I recommended these diets to numerous people who I knew were willing to think out of the box so to speak for their dogs and cats.
All have found amazing results and never went back to processed dog foods again. 

The only think you need to do is use common sense when handling raw foods . And of course follow the directions on how to prepare the foods.

Dogs can get sick eating all types of foods . There are more recalls on processed foods then the actual raw foods nowadays.

I just ask people to please look into one of these diets rather then preparing their own or consult a nutritionist so you can cover all your pets requirements and include them in every meal.

I can list the many things to avoid in dog foods like gluten , corn in all forms , wheat , grains ( depending on what is used ) but Im sure we are all well aware of them. 

Learn how to read a label , whats listed first is whats mostly in the food. But there are so many traps to fall into .
Chicken meal is much better then whole chicken , believe it or not.

Please do the research before making your own foods .

Thanks , Im done , my head hurts , lolol
Its a H U G E subject !!!!!


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I agree Laura, you need to know what the animal requires for proper health. I have heard of vegetarians deciding to put all their pets on a vegetarian diet, including cats. Cats are not vegetarian's. They must have meat or they will go blind. No matter what your view point on food is, we need to feed our animals what they need to be healthy.


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## gafarmgirl (Jan 2, 2013)

We do! It is so healthy for them and they love it and it is cheaper . Good luck we do the rice and chicken. And to my grandma dose it for her poodle because it has Pancreatitis and that's all it can eat with out dying. Good luck !


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## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

I have the information for the main dishes, treats and supplements I have to give them. I hope they like all of this.


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## DaisyMayFarm (Jan 19, 2013)

I do (home cooked, that is). My Dachshund, Nola, has extreme allergies to corn and soy, and the foods without it were eating a hole in my wallet. I've seen SO many incredible benefits since switching over more than a year ago, including:

gorgeous coat with no oder
bright eyes
clean teeth
small poop with next to no smell
stronger immune system
she handles stress better
ears stay cleaner than on kibble
less shedding
better energy and stamina

Since switching to grain free I've also noticed less fat and a lot more muscle.

The food:









The result :


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## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

She looks awesome. I have them on chicken and rice this week and decreasing the dry food. I am supposed to add peas next week and then the other stuff the next week. They almost knock me down trying to get their food now. Its crazy!


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## mjgh06 (Sep 4, 2012)

Has anyone calculated how much it costs on a monthly basis to do this? I think the beginning thread said it was cheaper than buying dog food. But I find that hard to believe with the price of groceries. It's something I would look into if it did though. I only have two dogs and buy in bulk so right now I spend about $10 a month.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

Well, I know for me it would be expensive since we raise all our own chicken meat and it costs more.We raise all heritage breeds.


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## Texas.girl (Dec 20, 2011)

I just purchased some DVD's on growing all your own groceries. The woman who made the videos raises rabbits for food. She feeds her 2 working dogs the entrails from the rabbits. She gives them other food too and then they also eat whatever the kill themselves. These dogs have been taught to guard the chickens, so they know not to eat them. She spends nothing on dog food. The dogs eat the parts of the rabbits that the family doesn't eat. So I am sure with a little planning feeding dogs can cost nothing. i currently do not have dogs so it is not an issue for me. I do feed my 2 cats Meow Mix but they have a steady diet of mouse, rat, etc. too.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

A good rule of thumb is to do bloodwork on your pet to make sure 
all their levels are where they supposed to be and theyre not lacking 
in anything. This is so important. Just feeding a homemade diet isn't enough , they need certain nutrients that aren't in these diets.
I agree dogs do amazingly well on raw diets when balanced to their own specific needs.


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## Trickyroo (Sep 26, 2012)

Please check out Volhard Dog Nutrition , this will help you balance your dogs diet to their own specific needs .
Awesome reading if your into this stuff


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## DaisyMayFarm (Jan 19, 2013)

I don't buy anything specFic for the dogs, I buy stuff for myself and what I don't eat/like they get. Ie they get all the dark meat off a chicken, ect. So I don't know how much it costs, maybe $20-$30 a month?


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

It was me who said for us kibble was cheaper than feeding raw. The kibble contains no wheat corn or soy products. 
One dog has hot spots I was hoping feeding raw would clear it up but apparently something else is going on. He is always drinking from manure puddles & fresh clean water is always available.
The raw we fed went like this; 

10# ground beef
1 large box total cereal
1 large box oatmeal
jar wheat germ
1 c oil (I used flaxseed oil)
1 c unsulphured molasses
10 eggs with shells
10 envelopes unflavored gelatin
sea salt, maybe a half T.

It could be that the Total was not necessary except to help bind everything together. that be expensive stuff.
We fed 1 lb to ea dog (Anatolians)


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## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

The main reason is I have been reading about the quality of products in the commercial dog foods and the chemicals they use that they don't even have to put in the label. The organic dog foods are so expensive that it costs less for me to feed them than buy the food from the store. I could buy really cheap dog food but the quality is questionable.


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## nursehelg (Jul 5, 2012)

Cost depends on type of dog. My shih tzu would get about a cup per day of homemade food and my Pitt could have as much as 6 cups per day. So cost is dependent on breed. We also hunt so venison will eventually be a big part of their diet. I order my rice and veggies in bulk so cost is lower there also.


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