Anyone here make their own dog food?

[ProjectBazza]

I’ve been thinking of signing up for “The Farmers Dog” for our two pooches, but my wife mentioned we could probably make our own. I guess she has an ex-coworker who used to do this, but she’s not sure if she can reach her any more.

We’re going to start digging into this, but I thought I would throw this out here, just in case.

Thanks!

Jim

 

[RustyRatRod]

Kitty supplements our cat food by grinding up left over meat from meals. I don't know how much it would really save to make 100% of your pet's food.....including time and all.

 

[missing linc]

I’ve been thinking of signing up for “The Farmers Dog” for our two pooches, but my wife mentioned we could probably make our own. I guess she has an ex-coworker who used to do this, but she’s not sure if she can reach her any more.

We’re going to start digging into this, but I thought I would throw this out here, just in case.

Thanks!

Jim

My wife used to make all the food for Dunham, our Anatolian Shepherd after he was diagnosed with kidney failure and a few other things that I don't recall now.
I know she spent a lot of time researching what she could make, and it was pretty expensive. I remember that extra lean ground beef, blueberries, and spinach were some of the things that went into it.
My brother always fed his Golden Retriever a raw food diet, he lived to be almost 15 years old.

 

[ESP47]

We did it when our dog got old and was having health problems.

Do it right and it's much healthier than dog kibble and will probably lead to a longer life with less kidney/liver problems.

 

[tinman2]

I've been tempted several times. After researching the topic, it seems compicated enough that I never moved forward with it. I mentioned it to their vet once, and he was like "Oh no. They have to get all their vitamins." like in store bought food. Then he said if I did cook for them, I would have to supplement their vitamins. I bought the vitamins and they would have no part of them. I tried hiding the vitamins in cheese, peanut butter, hamburger, and they would sniff it and walk away.

 

[Calipag]

We started preparing our own dog food about 2 years ago when we started hearing about all the bad things and the recalls with the store bought dog food. We have 2 dogs who get 1 1/2 cups of food twice a day. Our dogs are 12 and 2 and considered mid to small sized dogs. I mention all of that because preparing food is time consuming and takes up freezer space. We noticed right away the difference in their coats and energy level. For me if I can get an addition year or two or more of life from preparing our own food it will be worth it. Everything we prepare, we do in our instapot. This is what we do:

• We buy chicken, always on sale, generally we get it for .99 a pound but have paid up to $1.99 a pound. Drop it in the instapot for about an hour on the pressure cook setting. Afterwards, we take the chicken out of the instapot and place it in our Kitchen Aid stand mixer and with the dough beater blade (not sure if that's what its really called) and mix the chicken until it shreds; all while the chicken is hot. We place that chicken into 1 gallon bags, flattened out and place in the freezer for later use.
• We buy large bags of brown rice, usually from smart and final. Again it's prepared in the instapot. We oil the instapot, then scoop about 5 to 6 cups of brown rice into the oil pot. Add a hand full kidney beans, 2 table spoons of Turmeric, 2 to 3 cups of oatmeal, add enough water to cover everything or use the chicken stock from cooking the chicken (we try to do that every time) and cook on the rice setting. We've learned if you don't oil the pot the beans will sometimes burn to the pot. Once cooked, which is about an hour, we add frozen mixed vegetables to the hot rice. We were adding the vegetables prior to cooking but heard that it would lose nutriants being in the pressure cooker/instapot. So we add it after now. We place this also in 1 gallon bags flattened out and then placed in the freezer for future use.
• Sometimes we add skinned and cleaned sweet potato's to the mix prior to pressure cooking.
• Our dogs like apples so we will add that in the bowl occasionally also (not cooked, just cleaned and diced).

We are happy with the results and with the pressure cooker/instapot it's really not difficult or time consuming since you can walk away while it cooks. And of course you can add or subtract things to your dogs liking. Our older dog is a bit bigger and he gets 1 cup of rice and 1/2 cup of chicken/protein. And or small gets 3/4 and 3/4 of each.

My brother buys Farmer Dog and he is very happy with the results. He has a large breed dog and although it is expensive he doesn't mind paying.

 

[tinman2]

My vet at that time was against anything other than commercial dog food. He said that is what they need for every meal and nothing else... not even treats.
My two Shih Tzu did not agree with him. Lol. They got bored with their food. I would give them a few tiny cubed of steamed carrots or sometimes lima beans and sweet potato. Occasionally my wife would cook chicken breast in the crock pot. They loved that.
I was always told to switch any foods gradually but my two wouldn't do that either. If I tried by adding a little new food with their old, they would eat only the new stuff and leave all the old.
Last January, I noticed my 16 lb. Belle had lost some weight. She was diagnosed with an enlarged heart and grade 4 (out of 6) heart murmur. She kept losing weight, so I was trying anything to get her to eat. Chicken breast, hamburger, bacon, sometimes a pinch of bread, steamed veggies, and she would eat each one time and then she didn't want it again for days. By August, she was 12½ lbs. Her heart was bad and her kidney values weren't good, so I had to let her go.
Looking back, I wish I had given them more good stuff all along. They would eat their kibbles too if I flavored it up a little.

 

[jos51700]

The missus is doing that for her 4 dogs (all small yip dogs). She changes the recipe constantly and they keep getting upset stomachs but they do seem healthier. I can't see how corn-based food would ever be good for a dog. I passed on the tip about using the instant pot.

 

[missing linc]

Sweet potatoes and oatmeal were other ingredients in the food my wife made.
Chicken is something that dogs are commonly allergic to from my wife's research. Turkey is better, the kibble we feed ours is turkey and sweet potato.

 

[Calipag]

Sweet potatoes and oatmeal were other ingredients in the food my wife made.
Chicken is something that dogs are commonly allergic to from my wife's research. Turkey is better, the kibble we feed ours is turkey and sweet potato.

We do switch up the protein to what may be on sale. We've done Turkey in the past also. Chicken, if your dog is able to eat it, is usually the least expensive way to go. Sweet potatoes are a good add in but we were told to always skin them.

 

[missing linc]

We do switch up the protein to what may be on sale. We've done Turkey in the past also. Chicken, if your dog is able to eat it, is usually the least expensive way to go. Sweet potatoes are a good add in but we were told to always skin them.

My wife boiled the sweet potatoes and removed the skin. She also boiled the spinach and probably the blueberries as well.

 

[Calipag]

The missus is doing that for her 4 dogs (all small yip dogs). She changes the recipe constantly and they keep getting upset stomachs but they do seem healthier. I can't see how corn-based food would ever be good for a dog. I passed on the tip about using the instant pot.

The Turmeric is supposed to be real good for them also.

 

[ESP47]

My vet at that time was against anything other than commercial dog food. He said that is what they need for every meal and nothing else... not even treats.

It makes no sense that the vital vitamins and minerals that a dog needs is only in a highly processed, cheap to make, expensive to sell, food that has god knows what other chemicals in it that lead to liver disease.

I wouldn't doubt it if large corporations like Purina pay big bucks to have vet schools teach that their types of foods are the only way to keep your animals healthy.

 

[jos51700]

It makes no sense that the vital vitamins and minerals that a dog needs is only in a highly processed, cheap to make, expensive to sell, food that has god knows what other chemicals in it that lead to liver disease.

I wouldn't doubt it if large corporations like Purina pay big bucks to have vet schools teach that their types of foods are the only way to keep your animals healthy.

And like pharmaceutical companies, if you advertise on every station, then the odds of that station making a report about how bad you, the paying advertiser is, is basically nil.

 

[jos51700]

We do switch up the protein to what may be on sale. We've done Turkey in the past also. Chicken, if your dog is able to eat it, is usually the least expensive way to go. Sweet potatoes are a good add in but we were told to always skin them.

Totally off topic, but can you start a thread and post some pics of that '72 with the very distinctive nose stripe?

 

[Calipag]

Totally off topic, but can you start a thread and post some pics of that '72 with the very distinctive nose stripe?

I'll try to find the link to the thread of our build. It's a 70 with a 72 front clip we bought from a movie lot. It was/is a father son project. We used a 73 donor car to convert from the slant to a 318, big bolt pattern, disc car. It certainly has a bit of an identity crisis but we love it and it's been great for him and I. My son HATES the incorrect stripping.

 

[RustyRatRod]

We've also found that supplementing with canned food once a day keeps their fur looking good and keeps them hydrated. Keeps their kidneys and liver functions good, too. They get a big meal of canned food every night before bed. All the rest of the day their bowls stay full of dry food. It works for us. The biggest thing is make sure their diet has more water in it than just what they drink from their bowls. It's true of both cats and dogs.

 

[Calipag]

I will say from experience to stay away from fatty meats/proteins it can trigger pancreatitis. We were foolish and treated our last dog with some Ribeye left overs and it triggered her to have pancreatitis and it was horrible, she lived through it but it was tough on her and a horrible thing for her to go through. Our Vet told us that it happens sometimes. So we avoid that entirely.

 

[ESP47]

I will say from experience to stay away from fatty meats/proteins it can trigger pancreatitis. We were foolish and treated our last dog with some Ribeye left overs and it triggered her to have pancreatitis and it was horrible, she lived through it but it was tough on her and a horrible thing for her to go through. Our Vet told us that it happens sometimes. So we avoid that entirely.

Agreed. Don't let them get into the cat food for the same reasons.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Agreed. Don't let them get into the cat food for the same reasons.

Right! It's strange, but cats can eat dog food with no ill effects, but not the other way around.

 

[ESP47]

Right! It's strange, but cats can eat dog food with no ill effects, but not the other way around.

Yep found that out the hard way when someone with a cat watched our dog. Cost about $1500 in vet bills and the poor guy was as sick as can be.

Also agree on what you were talking about with water. We add water to our dog's food to make a gross cold soup and he loves it. Seems to drink more out of that than he does his own water dish throughout the day.

 

[WV64Signet]

Just had this conversation with my Vet .. After the pup had a medical crisis.

Dehydrated versus Raw versus frozen versus Kibble...

Then levels around that. Labels are exhausting protein percentages, fat percentages....

She said dry kibble... Because of contamination risk of raw. I'm not a vet, but that dog will eat a half rotted deer carcass it finds on the woods .. ??? But store bought raw food is a risk.

Then wasn't there a big issue with a major dry kibble provider that killed/made sick a bunch of dogs?

Dunno

I changed up to a so-called "higher grade" food... No animal "by products" grain free. Raw food topper... Her shedding has been greatly reduced in 2 weeks.

 

[missing linc]

My wife boiled the sweet potatoes and removed the skin. She also boiled the spinach and probably the blueberries as well.

I stand corrected, she baked the sweet potato, then peeled them.

 

[mopowers]

I'd recommend consulting your vet if that's really something you're considering. It takes more to provide a balanced diet than throwing some chicken and rice in your dog's food bowl.

 

[ProjectBazza]

Wow! Lots of responses, thank you! I got tied up with other things today (it’s my birthday, and my wife had all sorts of surprise plans for me), and I haven’t had a chance to keep up and respond in a timely manner. Sorry about that!

We just got home from dinner out (haven’t done that in a LONG time), and we discussed the “ins and outs” of doing this (time, money, etc), and we agreed that since she does most of the “dog maintenance” (feeding, walks, etc), this is going to fall on me. I mean, it’s only fair, and this was my idea….

Work is really slow this time of year, so I’ll read through the responses with more care tomorrow from the office.

Thanks, all!

Jim