# would love your feedback about meals/veges/proteins



## BennieJets (Oct 10, 2021)

I don’t feed home cooked because I’m overwhelmed by the idea of meeting nutritional requirements and it’s my sense that there’s some more science and nuances to it than a plug and play portion of each thing. I’m hesitant to generalize. That, and I’m not a meat eater... but, if I did want to feed home cooked I would look for some literature by professionals. Maybe there’s such a thing as cookbooks for dogs? I believe there are some home cookers here on the forum who can chime in with their experience.

Edited to add: For what it is worth, I feed prepackaged raw. We use proteins like chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, salmon, and duck. It’s 70% muscle meat, 10% ground bone, 10% organ meat, and 10% fruit and veg. I add supplements for omegas— herring oil or hemp oil and occasionally probiotic.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

limonia said:


> 1. What protein do you feed
> 2. What veges that can make in bulk (eg for spinach would have to use wayyyyy to much because they cook down)
> 3. do you provide any calcium supplements?


 I used to home cook but we had to switch to a prescription diet called biome. My minipoo is allergic to legumes and she has ulcerative colitis; I have a limited choice in food.

I mainly used turkey because it was cheap and easily obtained with frozen spinach and microwaved carrots along with a variety of sweet or white potatoes. Pasta and squash are good too. I’ve used rice in the past but found my dog didn’t digest it well. I’ve thrown in other veggies or fruit such a zucchini, parsley, bananas etc. occasionally. I never feed onions, salt or spices: nothing that is not safe for pets to eat. 

Years ago my tpoo has pancreatitis and I home cooked for her too using peas and green beans. 

You definitely need a calcium supplement as there’s no calcium or phosphorus in muscle. Your vet should tell you exactly what to get to supplement the home-cooked food.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

I think I remember that fjm home cooks and often shares a helpful link. If I find it, I'll add it in, unless she sees this first and beats me to it .



fjm said:


> I have found www.dogaware.com very helpful. I like home-cooking for its adaptability - easy to adjust fat levels, protein sources, calorific values, etc - and because I have greater control.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I have home cooked for years, using the principles at www.dogaware.com. I use more protein and less veg/carbohydrate than your vet suggests - mostly meat, with around 10-20% mixed vegetables, and carbs like flour and rice used in treat recipes (my dogs get about 15% of their daily calories from treats). Mostly I base the food on complete minces designed for pet feeding - 80% muscle meat, 10% offal (organ), half of which should be liver, 10% ground bone. If I use a boneless meat I add a little liver etc and 1tsp ground eggshell per kilo meat/.5tsp per lb. Meat is mostly chicken and beef or lamb, as Sophy can't tolerate turkey - I skim off some of the fat as the lamb in particular has rather too much. Vegetables are what I have, aiming for green beans because they like them, something orange (carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato), something green and leafy (kale, cabbage, spinach - not too much). When fresh veg is in short supply I use a bag of mixed frozen - sweetcorn can be helpful when searching for poops amidst Autumn leaves! If Sophy gets a little constipated I add a small amount of canned pumpkin.

Treats are chicken, chicken stock, egg and flour. For hard biscuits I often leave out the egg. 

I did a lot of research in the early days, and compared recipes with AAFCO and European guidelines (a level of care I have never taken for my own diet!). Ideally there would be oily fish once a week or so, and for many years I fed them canned sardines regularly, but Sophy is not keen and does very well on the meat mix. Poppy is now on a prescription diet for her liver failure (cause unknown but unlikely to be diet related), so apart from cooking plain chicken breast for her I am mostly cooking for Sophy and Freddy. Sophy is 13, spot on perfect weight, and very healthy.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

I feed half home cooked, half kibble.

The home cooked is based on a recipe formulated from the Raw Fed and Nerdy spread sheet. Calcium is essential, and bone meal is better than calcium carbonate or eggshell, as it provides phosphorous, too.

I was surprised at just how much I needed to supplement to meet NRC or AAFCO nutritional requirements, even with providing organ meats (which are essential). For organs, I mostly feed beef liver and pork liver, occasionally beef kidney. 

For supplements, I often need salt, iodine, fish oil, zinc, and a few others. Dogs are designed to eat more blood/organs/meat/bone than humans, and have very different nutritional requirements than us.

I make a new recipe every time I batch prepare meat, based on what is on sale. Often a mix of lean pork, beef, eggs, or turkey since my dog can't handle chicken, or most fish. Variety prevents deficiencies too. 

Because of my dogs health issues, her food is about 50-70% starches/veggies and very low fat. My vet says for most dogs you want more than 50% meat. I feed a variety of those as well (rice, oats, potato, squash) to meet amino acid targets. For my dog, she does better with high amounts of oats and potatoes and less rice.

For veggies, in the summer I feed random extra from the garden. In winter I feed frozen mixed veggies (no onions). Plus lots of squash. I feed about 300-500 g of veggies, plus 1 kg of squash for two weeks worth of food for a Standard poodle. If I fed her 100% home cooked, those veggies would be for 1 week.


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## limonia (Oct 16, 2011)

Skylar said:


> I used to home cook but we had to switch to a prescription diet called biome. My minipoo is allergic to legumes and she has ulcerative colitis; I have a limited choice in food.
> 
> I mainly used turkey because it was cheap and easily obtained with frozen spinach and microwaved carrots along with a variety of sweet or white potatoes. Pasta and squash are good too. I’ve used rice in the past but found my dog didn’t digest it well. I’ve thrown in other veggies or fruit such a zucchini, parsley, bananas etc. occasionally. I never feed onions, salt or spices: nothing that is not safe for pets to eat.
> 
> ...



thank you!


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## limonia (Oct 16, 2011)

Rose n Poos said:


> I think I remember that fjm home cooks and often shares a helpful link. If I find it, I'll add it in, unless she sees this first and beats me to it .



thanks!


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I’ve been seeing a vet dermatologist for Beckie’s food allergies and the home made recipe involved horse meat and potatoes. I never got the complete recipe since I feed a special kibble but I might get it next time. You need vitamins as well so I would not improvise this. I would see a vet.


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