I started out baking two sweet potatoes and two white potatoes. Then I took off the skin and mashed them all up.
Next, I boiled four cups of water and then added two cups of rice. I cooked the rice until it was really mushy and not rice like. Dogs can't break down the rice unless it is mushy. I think it is because they don't have the enzyme to break down the rice.
Both kind of potatoes mashed up.
Then I added about one cup of shredded carrots. Bo LOVES carrots. I'm not kidding when I say he eats about a bag a week.
Alright this picture looks nasty as all get out, but I then boiled four small chicken breasts. Ugh...the picture really makes me want to gag. After I boiled it, I cut it up into little cubes.
Bo tasting it to make sure it was just right.
Oh yeah...he likes it!
The finished product. Does it look yummy to you? Well, Bo LOVES it, he thinks it is Thanksgiving two times a day, without the cranberries.It only took me about 45 minutes to make all of this. I made enough to feed Bo for a week and he gets one cup of food two times a day. If you have a bigger dog you may need to make more, and if your dog is small then less. I have still been mixing Bo's dog food into this home-made stuff, just because I'm not sure how long I will keep making it. I mainly decided to give this a try to see if it would help with his allergies. I think it is helping, but then again it is really hard to tell because he got that last steroid shot right before he started eating this.
However since I made this food I have also started doing some research on dog food, what it is made out of and dog allergies. Uhm...I will tell you that there are some scary things in dog food. I was shocked to find out some of the ingredients. I'm not going to name the brand of food I give Bo. I will say that it is a very popular, well known brand and it is on the more expensive side of things. Well, the second ingredient listed is Chicken by product. I thought chicken by product was more chicken meat, just not from the breast. I was so wrong! Instead it is the part of the chicken that is thrown out. I'm talking the beak, feet, claws, and tips of the feathers. GROSS!!! I was not happy when I found that out. After reading tons of dog food labels the last few weeks I have come to realize that many dog food brands use this in their food. So after we get Bo's allergies under control and figure out exactly what he is allergic to I will be switching dog food brands, if not still making my own.
Oh and just to note, if any of you do want to start making your own dog food that is fine and fine by most all vets. However, if it becomes a long term thing then you will need to add a vitamin and mineral supplement into your dogs food.
So there you have it...home-made dog food. Back to regular 'exciting' posting tomorrow.
12 comments:
Ha, ha! You can blog about anything if you can blog about making homemade dog food! You rock! I hate to admit it, but that did look pretty good:)
This would probably cost you about $5 a week to make for him, right? That seems much better than the expense of the other stuff, and the vitamin supplement shouldn't be that much more. If this helps him, I'd keep doing it. Now you've got me curious as to what's in my cat's food. . . .
Pamela
Our doggie obedience instructor just told us about the scary stuff in dog food a few weeks ago. We have done a bunch of research and switched from a popular name brand with the initials S.D. We actually found that Kirkland brand that is carried at Costco is a pretty decent one, and its fairly affordable too.
I've always wondered what "by product" meant, gross.
My mom recently got a book about home made cat treats. We're looking forward to figuring out what doesn't get snubbed. (dogs are SOOO much easier to please!)
I hope it helps with Bo's allergies. Is that breed prone to sinus problems?
Very interesting.....Thanks for sharing!!
I'm impressed and will be curious to see if it takes care of his allergies.
Yea, 'by product' is not a good term...most dog foods have it in some capacity, but if you look, you can find dog foods that have just chicken, as opposed to chicken by product.
Someone else commented about the food with the initials S.D....which is Science Diet..not a great food at all. The vets sell this as specialty foods or prescription foods, but if you look on the back of the bag, it is really not that good...and it's expensive. Unfortunately they push it because many vets have a contract with Science Diet and they make quite a bit of profit off of it.
Wellness and Natural Balance are definitely two of the better foods I have come across, but I think if you're willing to keep making his food for him, that's probably the best bet. And you can always throw things in there, like vitamins or minerals, and he'll never know they're there! =)
Good luck!
Sweet!! That's one lucky puppy :-)
Thanks for sharing this. Stop by today. I did a post you could use if you want it...
WOW! You are one great doggy mommy! Bo is so stinking cute! Poor thing I hope they figure out what is wrong w/him!
Aw! The things we do for our pups!
I have given Chase rice many a time (usually with some scrambled egg & leftover cooked chicken) and it's never super mushy- he doesn't seem to have any problems. Only saying because I saw the rice enzyme comment- it could be that Chase has an iron stomach- he really ~can~ eat anything!
I hope it works out for Bo- he's lucky to have such a good mama!
I will probably go look at our dog food bag now to see what is in it.
Love the picture of Bo tasting off the spoon! Too cute!
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