# Home Cooking for a Standard



## BellaSpoo (May 20, 2018)

My sister in law has gotten me very interested with home cooking and I have tried it a couple times Bella seems to love it! She’s always been more on the picky side and we struggle with finding kibble she’ll actually eat. 
I’m not really sure about what all I need to include in the home cooked meals, especially if I go to strictly home cooking. 
The way I’m currently doing it is about 1/2 meat (ground chicken, ground turkey, or salmon and scrambled eggs) mixed with 2/3 veggies (shredded carrots, spinach, peas, green beans, and blueberries) and 1/3 rice.
I know it needs a lot of work which is why I only do it about once a week. I would like to eventually home cook completely but I will need to do a lot of work to my “recipe” before then.
Advice please!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

My first rule is to include sufficient calcium - for cooked food that means either a calcium supplement or ground eggshell (1/2 teaspoonful per pound of meat). The second is to include offal (organs), especially liver. The third is to mix things up - use a range of different meats, eggs, fish, etc, etc to ensure all the nutritional bases are covered. Vegetables and carbohydrates are optional - I give my tinies some veg as I find it helps to avoid constipation, but their meals are so tiny I don't add carbohydrate. 

I found Mary Strauss' website very helpful: DogAware.com: Homemade Diets for Dogs The information is comprehensive and well researched. My four animals have all thrived on a raw/home cooked diet for many years now, and the small amount of effort is well worth it. Rather more work for a standard, of course!


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## BellaSpoo (May 20, 2018)

fjm said:


> My first rule is to include sufficient calcium - for cooked food that means either a calcium supplement or ground eggshell (1/2 teaspoonful per pound of meat). The second is to include offal (organs), especially liver. The third is to mix things up - use a range of different meats, eggs, fish, etc, etc to ensure all the nutritional bases are covered. Vegetables and carbohydrates are optional - I give my tinies some veg as I find it helps to avoid constipation, but their meals are so tiny I don't add carbohydrate.
> 
> I found Mary Strauss' website very helpful: DogAware.com: Homemade Diets for Dogs The information is comprehensive and well researched. My four animals have all thrived on a raw/home cooked diet for many years now, and the small amount of effort is well worth it. Rather more work for a standard, of course!




Thank you! 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

That is not a nutritionally complete diet. You are missing calcium and other micronutrients in all likelihood. I do home cook for our three dogs (two spoos and a GSD). I know my recipe is nutritionally complete and calorically adequate. the recipe is on page 5 in this thread. http://www.poodleforum.com/29-poodle-health/220722-nutriscan-summary-interpretation.html


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## BellaSpoo (May 20, 2018)

lily cd re said:


> That is not a nutritionally complete diet. You are missing calcium and other micronutrients in all likelihood. I do home cook for our three dogs (two spoos and a GSD). I know my recipe is nutritionally complete and calorically adequate. the recipe is on page 5 in this thread. http://www.poodleforum.com/29-poodle-health/220722-nutriscan-summary-interpretation.html




I know I’m missing things, that’s why I’m trying to get more information before I start to feed it to her more. Thank you so much! 


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I knew you recognized that there were things that were missing. I am sorry if my way of wording my reply left you thinking I was critical in any way. Our dogs are doing fabulously on this diet. The one thing I will say is that I have to feed Javelin more than the recommended portion based on his weight. He is very active, young and seems to have a very fast metabolism. Make sure that you either weigh your dog or do a visual assessment of body condition/weight regularly, especially when you first switch.


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## BellaSpoo (May 20, 2018)

lily cd re said:


> I knew you recognized that there were things that were missing. I am sorry if my way of wording my reply left you thinking I was critical in any way. Our dogs are doing fabulously on this diet. The one thing I will say is that I have to feed Javelin more than the recommended portion based on his weight. He is very active, young and seems to have a very fast metabolism. Make sure that you either weigh your dog or do a visual assessment of body condition/weight regularly, especially when you first switch.




It’s okay! My sister in law home cooks for her chihuahua which is what got me interested. We have a bull terrier also and he goes crazy for the food when I cook for them! I appreciate all of the advice, I need it lol!


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## Muggles (Mar 14, 2015)

I use a program called Pet Diet Designer for my boy - it’s only $20. It can be a bit of a pain getting started but once you figure it out it’s pretty easy to adjust your recipes for variety.

It made me a lot more confident to home cook because it gives you all the required nutrients as well as the correct calcium/phosphorus ratios and omega 3s/6s. You input all the info on your dog - age, breed, activity level, weight etc so you get a pretty great idea of where to start! I now have about 6 recipes I make in bulk and rotate between.


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## BellaSpoo (May 20, 2018)

Muggles said:


> I use a program called Pet Diet Designer for my boy - it’s only $20. It can be a bit of a pain getting started but once you figure it out it’s pretty easy to adjust your recipes for variety.
> 
> It made me a lot more confident to home cook because it gives you all the required nutrients as well as the correct calcium/phosphorus ratios and omega 3s/6s. You input all the info on your dog - age, breed, activity level, weight etc so you get a pretty great idea of where to start! I now have about 6 recipes I make in bulk and rotate between.




Thank you!! I’ve been doing so much research all day today! 


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