Home Cooked Diet

[calebmyboy]

I am seeing tons of stuff on the barf diet, but I am possibly considering the home cooked diet. Can anyone tell me where I may find this information, or can anyone give me any information on this? What types of meats are allowed & generally what does the dog need to have to make it complete. Thanks http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif

[Melina]

There is alot of information on the ineternet and this forum in particular, but I would definitely read a few books before starting. Dr Pitcairn (raw and cooked diets), Dr Heinerman (raw and cooked), Dr Billinghurst (raw), and Pat McKay (raw) all have excellent books on pet nutrition. These books will tell you which foods and supplements are necessary and which are not so great. Some meats are more digestible than others and some veggies should only be fed in once in a while, fruits should be fed on their own (aside from apples). Pat McKay's book is certainly not the best, but she does have a handy list of foods and their pros and cons.
Good luck!

[Indra]

I'm feeding Maggie a home cooked diet based on Ann N. Martin's book "Food Pets Die For". She was overweight but is gradually losing, LOVES her food and I'm comfortable with it. I'm researching the BARF diet but haven't decided to go in that direction yet. The cost of home cooking for her isn't any worse that some of the premium foods, Innova, for example. And the best part, thank God, her gas has improved. She was killing us!

[hazelj3]

I've been feeding my Baloo (8mths), cooked kidneys, ground beef, liver, chicken, I always take the broth and puree it with raw veggies like carrots, turnips, a little spinach, anything really. No ONIONS! I've had to switch to a kibble for convenience sake since sometimes I'm rushed getting ready for work. I will still feed him cooked foods but I bought Solid Gold kibble too. I also feed him supplements, Vit c. Brewers Yeast tablets, Cod liver oil gel caps. He also loves nuts and raisins, plain yogurt, cottage cheese.

------------------

[Nancy Estes]

Even though these two threads are about Inflammatory Bowel Disease, they might help you: http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/Arc...-5-000214.html http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/For...ML/000750.html

The second has information on a book on home-prepared (cooked) diets that you might want to consider buying.

Nancy



------------------
von Dorow Rottweilers

[Monika Malow]

I cook brown rice for my dogs then mix it with chicken livers, garlic,pureed veggies. They also get cottage cheese or yogurt(they like the fruit yogurts) Sometimes I cook up macaroni and add a tin of tuna and pureed veggies or spagetti and tomato sauce. They also like oatmeal and sunny boy. I usually cook up enough for about 4 days. I give them a bit of kibble mixed with supper (about 1/2 cup) I don't know if I'm doing this right but they enjoy it and their fur is nice and shiny.

[Barbara Surplus]

Brandy, here's my favourite BARF site. http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm

Very interesting articles. Hope you enjoy the reading.

Barbara

[CarolineS]

The threads written about IBD that Nancy recommended were probably written by me. I'm a big proponent of home-cooking since I've seen it virtually cure my dog's inflammatory bowel disease! Some other nice side effects are the total absence of gas, no more throwing up and drooling in the car and the shedding has slowed so dramatically it's almost disappeared. You can read the threads for more info on the reference book I use.

One thing to keep in mind, that is absolutely imperative if you're feeding strictly home-cooked and not a raw diet with bones, is that dogs have a need for a very high level of calcium/phosphorus and just adding vitamins is not enough. You must add extra, usually in the form of bone meal (from the health food store, not the one for your garden http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/smile.gif), to meet this requirement.