[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

"A rotating protein"...

Shawarma? I was thinking Whirling Dervish, but decided it would be expensive, and possibly illegal.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Stella and Chewy's makes a pretty good freeze-dried complete food. It's for people whose pets are on raw diets. Add warm water and stir it into a puree (or less water if your dog drinks a lot from the water bowl).

[Glowing Horizon]

Originally Posted by kcrazorbackfan

We did, we now use Farmer’s Dog and our pups love it.

I hope your pup doesn’t encounter any problems. I called Farmer’s dog twice to try to get the analysis of their food for my insulin dependent (diabetic) dog. They refused to state what’s in it. I understand they don't want to give me the recipe but the content analysis shouldn't be a secret. So next I asked my favorite vet about it. She said she’s seen several dogs who have been ill on it. We both suspect that may be bc the contents may vary a lot. Just FYI in case your pup suddenly has issues.

[Glowing Horizon]

Sad story: my beloved little dog was on Hills CHICKEN STEW abdominal care canned dog food. We went to visit my daughter whose Manx cat was on Hills CHICKEN STEW cat food. My little dog developed a strong preference for her cat’s food & her cat didn't seem to care & he eventually ate my dog’s food. I didn’t think it made much difference—in part because they were both CHICKEN STEW &
the photo of the food on the two labels was identical too. Boy was I wrong! After about a week, my dog developed severe acute pancreatitis & nearly died. It resulted in permanent injury to her pancreas & lifelong insulin dependent diabetes & impaired fat tolerance. I still feel horrible bc I allowed her to eat the cat’s food since she LOVED it. Now I know that the cats food contains a gigantic amount of fat (like 40+%) compared to their dogs chicken stew food is low-fat and the cat Hills chicken stew contains taurine (which cats need but dogs do not). Wish I hadn't learned this the hard way!

[Glowing Horizon]

Originally Posted by CFrance

We don't have the storage space to cook for 95 pounds of dog, but our neighbors have a four-year-old Sheltie who competes in agility trials. They have always made her food and will top it with Farmer's Dog, or use that when traveling.

The most valuable thing I’ve learned from having a dog with complex health issues is that canned plain pumpkin is digestive magic—for both dogs & cats. I call it magic because it normalizes both loose & hard poop. How? I have no idea but it works every time!

Pure pumpkin can even help eliminate dog scooting & cats hair balls. Just make sure you buy a can of pure pumpkin puree—NOT pumpkin pie filling which contains a lot of added ingredients & spices.

I put the contents of the can in a gallon ziploc bag then spread it out flat in the freezer so i can break off little bits for her. She loves it frozen.She never refuses to eat frozen foods (plain with no sauces & no preservatives) Most frozen bags of plain berries & veggies don't have anything added but check.

My dog likes frozen carrots, blueberries, broccoli, green beans, peas & spinach. . {Not corn—it always causes loose poo} Dogs cant eat plants from the nightshade family (tomato, eggplant…) and no onions or grapes.

When I want to know if my dog can eat something I search “(the food) AKC” AKC is American Kennel Club & our vet said their info can be trusted.

I enjoy feeding her real food snacks but she’s a little dog so frozen foods make it very cheap & convenient. Since pure veggies have almost no fat she can have them without concern. Her other indulgence is a cooked plain egg. They are also low fat, high protein. I either zap it or cook it in a fry pan until firm then cool it with an ice cube.
Her coat & eyes are much better since shes been eating real foods in addition to her prescription canned food.

Try pumpkin. You'll be glad you did.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Glowing Horizon

The most valuable thing I’ve learned from having a dog with complex health issues is that canned plain pumpkin is digestive magic—for both dogs & cats.

Pure pumpkin can even help eliminate dog scooting & cats hair balls. Just make sure you buy a can of pure pumpkin puree—NOT pumpkin pie filling which contains a lot of added ingredients & spices.

I put the contents of the can in a gallon ziploc bag then spread it out flat in the freezer so i can break off little bits for her. She loves it frozen.She never refuses to eat frozen foods (plain with no sauces & no preservatives) Most frozen bags of plain berries & veggies don't have anything added but check.

My dog likes frozen carrots, blueberries, broccoli, green beans, peas & spinach. . {Not corn—it always causes loose poo} Dogs cant eat plants from the nightshade family (tomato, eggplant…) and no onions or grapes.

When I want to know if my dog can eat something I search “(the food) AKC” AKC is American Kennel Club & our vet said their info can be trusted.

I enjoy feeding her real food snacks but she’s a little dog so frozen foods make it very cheap & convenient. Since pure veggies have almost no fat she can have them without concern. Her other indulgence is a cooked plain egg. They are also low fat, high protein. I either zap it or cook it in a fry pan until firm then cool it with an ice cube.
Her coat & eyes are much better since shes been eating real foods in addition to her prescription canned food.

Try pumpkin. You'll be glad you did.

I've used pumpkin for the last 27 years on two Goldens. Not quite magic, but darn close. I've just resumed using it on our beagle/hound mix who has a sensitive stomach. Too early to tell if it will make a difference, but I'm pretty desperate at this point to "firm her up" without resorting to high-priced doggie pro-biotics. So I appreciate the freeze-flat tip, as a can will go bad by the time I use it on a 49-lb dog as opposed to our 85-lb Goldens.

I'm also searching around for the correct amount to give her. Giving too much will have the opposite effect.

In France we can't get canned pumpkin, so I have to Instant Pot fresh it and freeze it. Doesn't work as well as the canned in the US, but I think it's a different kind of squash. Gets very watery. But the freezing flat in my small freezer will be very helpful. Duh. Why didn't I think of that.

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by Glowing Horizon

Sad story: my beloved little dog was on Hills CHICKEN STEW abdominal care canned dog food. We went to visit my daughter whose Manx cat was on Hills CHICKEN STEW cat food. My little dog developed a strong preference for her cat’s food & her cat didn't seem to care & he eventually ate my dog’s food. I didn’t think it made much difference—in part because they were both CHICKEN STEW &
the photo of the food on the two labels was identical too. Boy was I wrong! After about a week, my dog developed severe acute pancreatitis & nearly died. It resulted in permanent injury to her pancreas & lifelong insulin dependent diabetes & impaired fat tolerance. I still feel horrible bc I allowed her to eat the cat’s food since she LOVED it. Now I know that the cats food contains a gigantic amount of fat (like 40+%) compared to their dogs chicken stew food is low-fat and the cat Hills chicken stew contains taurine (which cats need but dogs do not). Wish I hadn't learned this the hard way!

wow, my heart goes out to you. am so sorry you had to go through that

[Glowing Horizon]

Glad to help. I like to cook ahead for myself too so that's where i learned that freezing food in flat ziploc bags takes up much less room in small freezers. The added benefit of being able to break off smaller portions is so convenient!

Amounts of frozen pumpkin: I give my 12 pound dog about 1 tablespoon morning & again at night. She acts like it’s the best treat ever! i’m glad your pups have had good results with pumpkin too. One side note: it does seem to make her poo more smelly but at least thats not as bad as too loose or too hard. I guess its all a trade off but I like that its just natural food & does not require a vet bill nor pharma.

[Glowing Horizon]

Originally Posted by dtennent

For the past several years for a variety reasons, we have been cooking our dog’s food in a crockpot. Recipe is 1.5 lbs ground turkey, 162 g brown rice, 36 g frozen peas, 276 g frozen butternut squash, 120 g carrots, 125 g frozen spinach, and 2 cups water. Put it on high for four hours , stirring every hour so things don’t stick. For our Shih Tzu (20 lbs), we feed him 150 g twice a day. We freeze it so that we can take out 4 to 5 days food at a time. It also allows us to put it in a cooler when we take multiple day trips.

I know that I have mixed the English and metric systems. However when we buy meat, it comes in pounds. Also, as cooks we have gone to weighing most major ingredients.

Thanks for your recipe! Do you give him any added vitamins or supplements? How do you know if this recipe is nutritionally complete to meet all of his needs? Thats what has stopped me from completely switching to homemade dog food. I fear omitting a key component or overdoing one.

[fdpaq0580]

As a former dog owner for many years whose dogs never had the myriad of issues I have read about here, I can't help but wonder if these issues are a result of poor breeding practices. The wolves, coyotes, and other canines that our dogs came from seem to survive pretty well on what they can catch and kill, or occasionally scavenge. No cooked carrots, rice, etc. Food sensitivities, allergies.
I applaud the efforts and love that you all give your pets. They reward you with pure love and unflinching devotion. Still, I wonder at so many, seemingly, possibly, genetic weaknesses. Could it be poor breeding?

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by hmbfoxtail

I would love to see some recipes you are using. I have 2 border collies and one has skin allergies, so making their food may be the best way to go. Feel free to email me if you are willing to share your recipes. Thank you, Maria hmbfoxtail@gmail.com

Fellow border collie owner, here is Zack and Sallie on my little bass fishing boat. They eat a high quality kibble, but if an upset stomach arises we boil up a mixture of boneless chicken and rice.

[asianthree]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

As a former dog owner for many years whose dogs never had the myriad of issues I have read about here, I can't help but wonder if these issues are a result of poor breeding practices. The wolves, coyotes, and other canines that our dogs came from seem to survive pretty well on what they can catch and kill, or occasionally scavenge. No cooked carrots, rice, etc. Food sensitivities, allergies.
I applaud the efforts and love that you all give your pets. They reward you with pure love and unflinching devotion. Still, I wonder at so many, seemingly, possibly, genetic weaknesses. Could it be poor breeding?

All of our pets are rescued, I hope a very good amount in TV share the same views and adopt. So answers to poor breeding would be hard

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by asianthree

All of our pets are rescued, I hope a very good amount in TV share the same views and adopt. So answers to poor breeding would be hard

Love to hear when pets are rescued and adopted. Still, many puppies purchased from breeders may find themselves lost or unwanted for some reason and end up in a shelter somewhere.
Remember, no matter how much you love your pet, they love you more.
Oh, and before I forget, "keep off my lawn"! 😉🤭

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by fdpaq0580

Love to hear when pets are rescued and adopted. Still, many puppies purchased from breeders may find themselves lost or unwanted for some reason and end up in a shelter somewhere.
Remember, no matter how much you love your pet, they love you more.
Oh, and before I forget, "keep off my lawn"! ������������

I can attest to that. In the last couple years we have had two Rotties, three bulldogs, two goldendoodles, a few pure beagles, a basset hound--there's more, I just can't remember--in the few years I have been walking dogs at the Sumter Humane Society.

After our two Goldens, the last of which had many breed-specific problems, we turned to rescues. Get a mixed breed, they said! They'll be healthier, they said! Not so fast. So far the first one (lab+++ mix) died of cancer, the second (beagle mix) one has gird and a very sensitive stomach that's difficult to pin down, and the third one (Eskimo mix) has a neurological problem we're working on. The last two have 13 and 18 breeds mixed in.

[Gpsma]

Ive always fed my pets horsemeat…its good for them, lean nutritious meat