home made dog food..

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Don't thank me... I still haven't got a straight answer on this one.

But they do say that garlic (in humans and canines) helps repel fleas.

So... I suppose you could eat a bucket of shrimp scampi and stay close to your dogs and it might have the same effect! :rofl2:

[4mickey2 41]

SWAI with couscous

1 pound of swai or any white fish

1 cup whole wheat couscous cooked with 1 T EVOO

2 yellow squash

2 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cups frozen peas/carrots

rub the fish with some EVOO and bake until done. Cook the couscous with some EVOO and flake the fish into the couscous. Sautee the squash with the coconut oil and 2 cloves of garlic and thyme. In a food processor mix the peas and carrots that have been microwaved with the cooked squash. Mix the veggies with the fish mixture

trying this one today. i put it all in the food processor again. i just think it is mixed a lot better this way. funny, the dogs haven't figured out that when the food processor comes out-i'm making their food. lol i'm sure it will happen sooner or later.

i went back to the store bought food for about 2 weeks and they have started itching again. so, i guess i have to try to return the unused cans. home-made from here on out!!

[4mickey2 41]

today's lunch is......

cooked ground turkey, coconut oil, evoo, parsley, little bit of garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes and some cottage cheese. all mixed up in the food processor (like always). :)

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Sounds terrific - yummy even! :)

[freshlybarked 4]

Just found this thread and I'm very interested in dog nutrition. While I don't feed "raw" I do feed a freeze dried "raw" called Grandma Lucy's to Tayla, our 14 month old Golden. I have also been dehydrating raw chicken, beef liver, hearts and kiidneys as well as sweet potatoes and hot dogs for both of them. They get a little of the raw meet as I'm chopping it up for dehydration and they love it. Dehydrated it lasts for about 10 days and I use it not only for training (hot dogs), but as really good girl treats. Tayla and sometimes Jesse also get a raw knuckle bone just about every night to chew on for 30 to 40 minutes.

[charitycase20....Charity 10]

I've been contemplating going raw or at least homemade with George. We can't seem to find a food that doesn't bother his skin (horribly dry). Not to mention he must be allergic to flea bites, I have to be super digilent with the flea meds every month.

My only problem is actually $$$. We are spending roughly $50 a month on kibble/wet food. Can we do raw/homemade for that amount?

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Charity is he on a grain free diet? We've had quite a few dogs in rescue with skin issues and a lot of them have grain allergies. My in-laws BC came into rescue with scabby, oily skin an super sparse hair, and was getting periodic shots from the vet when it got really bad. His old owner was feeding him Pedigree. We fostered him and switched him to grain free kibble and within a couple of weeks you could see the difference. These days his coat is thick and shiny and beautiful.

There are lots of good grain free kibbles out there that run the gamut for cost, but not all are outrageously expensive. They're also becoming easier to find at places like Petco/Petsmart. Adding fish oil caps can help a lot with skin/coat issues too.

If you decide to take the leap to raw...

We feed 3 dogs raw. I spend about $300-$400 every 3-4 months - so roughly $100 a month for *3* dogs. They get a variety of proteins - chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, duck, rabbit, fish, eggs... (variety is key to a raw diet) plus a small amount of organs. I generally buy bulk or wholesale and pay on the low end from about $0.45/lb for chicken up to about $1.50 for beef. Rabbit is more, but I don't buy it often.

Not sure what George weighs. Mine are 35/40/45 lbs, although they all eat roughly a pound of food a day (different activity levels/metabolism)

Prior to switching to raw we feed good kibble (Timberwolf, Taste of the Wild). We had only 2 dogs then and switched right about the time we added the third. We're spending less now feeding 3 dogs raw than we were feeding 2 dogs quality kibble.

[Tnvolcamper 0]

THANK-YOU for sharing this....I cannot wait to try it! One of my grandpups is a little yorkie and she is the pickiest thing...this may do the trick!!!

i have been threatening to do this for a long time. i started to make my dogs food. it's going to be a lot of work but, it is time. i am tired of all the recalls and the recalls have gotten to the better foods lately. so, i made a recipe yesterday and another today. with 4 dogs getting about 1 cup each the food doesn't go far.

but, if i can do 2 recipes per week i might be able to keep up. this round i am trying to use up their dry food. so, i am giving a half cup of dry food and half cup of home made food. boy, do they gobble it up.

the first recipe---not written by me. i do measure the food to freeze. :)



Zuchini casserole (makes 12 cups)
1/2 pound ground beef (only 7% fat) hard to find 1/2 pound so buy the 1 pound and freeze half of it for another time!
2 teaspoons of thyme
1 tablespoon each of extra virgin coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil
2 green zucchinis
1 bag frozen carrots cooked in microwave
1 cut quinoa (rinse well before cooking)
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 egg
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 tablespoon flax seed
1/3 cup low sodium beef broth

Rinse the one cup of Quinoa very well to get all the bitter taste out of it and cook it in 3 cups of water for 30 minutes. This is NOT the recommended cooking time on the box but the recommended cooking time for this particular grain for dogs. I am seeing this grain in my local Safeway now so it should be easy to find though you can substitute couscous if you can't find.
Shred the two washed zucchinis with a box shredder. You can use a food processor.

Sautee the zucchini in the oils for five minutes and then add the diced garlic and cook until all in tender on medium heat. Be careful, garlic can burn if cooked too high and it taste nasty then and even a dog won't eat it then!

Now cook the meat in the same pan that you cooked the zucchini and add the thyme.
Add the cooked quinoa to the cooked zucchini and then add the cooked beef breaking up all the clumps of beef to evenly distribute the beef.

Put the cooked carrots, garlic and parsley in the food processor (you can even put the beef in here)
Now mix everything up including the egg and cottage cheese and beef broth.
place it all in a well oiled pan and bake for 20 minutes in a 375 over

With my dinner casseroles, I measure out servings and freeze each serving.

the dogs love this and it smelled really good, too. i know monique--raw would probably be easier but, i just can't go there.