Homemade dog food

So, anyone who has known me long enough or read my Facebook statuses over the years knows that my dog, Lucky, has a sensitive stomach and is a very picky eater. Since I got him in 2004, I have switched foods pretty much on an annual basis. That was always frustrating, but it worked and life went on. This year, however, I spent A LOT of money on what I was told was high-end, "better" ingredient commercial food. He either hated it, wouldn't eat it, he got sick, or it zapped his energy level. I'll resist the urge to list some of the more expensive foods I tried so as to not sway anyone purchasing dog food; I do actually think it has more to do with him than with the food itself. However, I would keep your dog away from anything with turkey in it, but that's a whole other story!

He got sick right before Memorial Day, and I had some time off work, so I took him in. All the tests came back fine, and the vet put him on a prescription antacid and prescription food. I had been thinking of making my own food for awhile now, so I asked the vet if he could refer me to any good resources for figuring out how to do this. (Trying to find and trust information on the web when it comes to a living creature's health frightens the hell out of me.) Ironically, the vet didn't know anything. He advised me to call the local humane society, and he personally advised me against the raw diet. That was cool...the thought of handling raw meat and feeding it to the dog sounds gross to me anyway.

So, I emailed my good ole college buddy, Sue, to see if she knew anything or could help me. (She is my go-to person for all things canine.) She passed me over to her friend Ginny, who has been doing this for her dog(s) for years. Ginny and I exchanged a few emails, and it was very helpful. Turns out, what I was finding online coincided with what she was telling me. However, a lot of what she was telling me was that it's a trial and error process. And so I tried.

I ordered a book that I had seen referenced many times during my online search: "Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food" by Ann N. Martin. Now, this book appears to be loaded with info that I haven't even taken the time to read. It also looks like it would scare and gross you out immensely to know what is in commercial dog food (not all, of course). I just stuck to the chapter on homemade dog food ingredients, how to manage all the nutritional aspects of your choices, and the few recipes in the book.

And off I went.

I made a week's worth of food the first weekend. Let me tell you...I was in the kitchen for about 6 hours that Sunday. I did dishes probably 3 or 4 times. Granted...I'm not good in the kitchen (period), and I really had no idea what I was doing. My kitchen is small, I have no dishwasher, and I really only have one of any size pan. So, there was a lot of doing dishes in the middle of food prep just because I needed to use a pan again. (I did also make a batch of dog biscuits this day.) The meals are packaged in 1-cup plastic containers that I freeze.

The first weekend, his containers consisted of boiled burger, brown rice, parsley, carrots, and either sweet potato or applesauce. I threw 14 of those containers in the freezer, making sure there were 4 in the refrigerator (thawing) at all times.

Here are some pics from that long day in the kitchen and Lucky's first homemade meal:

While feeding him that first week, I realized it should be so simple to just dump out the container in the bowl and be done, but I was also adding his chewy joint care supplement to each feeding. So, when I started making up the containers for the second week, I decided to mush those supplements up into the containers. So now all of that is together, and I don't really have to think about it.

The 2nd week's menu consisted of boiled burger (we seem to enjoy that for a meaty protein, so I am sticking with it), oatmeal, parsley, either carrots or green beans, and either applesauce or pumpkin. Before I put the pumpkin in all the containers, I had him taste some. I swear that dog would have eaten all of it straight out of the can. Good to know!

I just finished the full 2nd week, and the only thing I did different was I bought some sunflower oil to mix in for each feeding. The book I referenced earlier says that certain kinds of oils can be good for their coat and digestive system. Since I use a spoon to pour out and mix up the contents of the containers in his bowl each time, I just pour about a teaspoon of the oil in. I can't really tell that it has a smell (so maybe no real taste), and he doesn't seem to be phased by it. So, we continue on with that plan.

I just finished making another week's worth, and they all contain some menu combination from Week 1 or 2.

That first week, I also made three different kinds of treats: a crunchy kind, a softer kind, and a chewy kind. All of those recipes came from "MacPherson's K-9 Cookbook" by Mary MacPherson. I shared a smattering of those with my fellow dog owners, and those seemed to go over well with the audience. I have those either in the fridge or the freezer where I'm told they should last at least 3 weeks. So far so good!

I checked out a few more books from the library that I haven't really had a chance to go through yet. Once I do, and if I find any good info, I'll post those titles for all.

Hello 2012!

Woah! It's been a long time since I've posted to the blog. I was really excited to have this last year when I started, and then I just abandoned it. Not really sure why. I see Google changed the look and feel of this since I was last here, so we'll see if I can remember how to do this. Originally I didn't want there to be any way for people to comment on my posts. No offense...I sometimes like to speak from my heart and don't really want a response of any kind. I'm hopeful that that functionality carries through with the Google upgrade.

That said...

I'm back, and there is a lot going on! I started making my own dog food, so I want to be sure to blog about that. Other people might find it informative. Since a friend of a friend helped me get started, maybe I can help someone else who is in the same boat as I was. Also, the basement is almost done. I put up the finishing trim today but undercut one of my pieces. So, I have to buy another piece, paint it, cut it, blah blah blah. I'm excited for that to be finished (for obvious reasons). That has been a 4-year work in progress. I'm excited to go back through ALL my pictures of the basement over the years and post pictures that will create a timeline.

Now...let's see when I'll have time to write that first post of 2012.