Another Food Option is Cooking For Your Fur Baby
Homemade Dog Food
The fact that we are humanizing our pets is made clear by the rise in popularity of canine-friendly hotels and doggy day-spas. Dr. Lisa Newman, ND, PhD, and author of Three Simple Steps to Healthy Pets: The Holistic Animal Care LifeStyle, hopes we are pampering our dogs in the food department as well. Dr. Newman believes the lack of quality ingredients in many popular dog food brands is leading to a plethora of health problems in our dogs, including allergies, arthritis, irritable bowel disease, and cancer.
When it comes to making homemade dog food, however, it can be tough to provide all the nutrients your dog needs. It’s important to talk to your veterinarian about using quality dietary supplements. Veterinarian Kathryn E. Michel, DVM, MS, DACVN, Associate Professor of Nutrition at Philadelphia School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania explains “You may produce a good meal for yourself, but not a balanced meal for your pet.” Dr. Michel warns us that “healthy homemade dog food” recipes found on the internet may actually be dangerous. Because commercial dog foods contain ground bones (among other animal parts), they are rich in calcium – it is often difficult to include enough of this important nutrient in homemade dog food, making supplements all the more important.
If you are considering making your dog’s food yourself you must make sure Rover’s diet contains a quality protein source, a carbohydrate source, some fat, and sufficient vitamins and minerals. Protein and carbohydrates can be combined in various combinations, for example lamb and rice, beef and potatoes, or chicken and pasta. A variety of vegetables also provide carbohydrates as well as certain vitamins and minerals. Garlic and onions can be toxic to dogs, so veterinarians caution against including them in homemade dog food. Reputable healthy homemade dog recipes can be found at PetDiets.com.
Making homemade meals for your dog is a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition. Many vets suggest feeding 70% of your dog’s food as a high quality dry dog food, and 30% homemade food. To make the homemade food you may want to lightly cook ground chicken, turkey or beef in a slow cooker, then adding shredded carrots and beats or potatoes which have been lightly steamed to the cooker. You can also add some water to your cooker and add rice, barley or couscous. For a medium size dog (approximately 50 lbs) you would use half a cup of the meat mixture to about two tablespoons of the shredded vegetables per feeding.
A FEW DOG FOOD RECIPES
Turkey & Rice Dog Food
Ingredients:
6 cups water
1 lb ground turkey
2 cups brown rice
1 tsp. dried rosemary
8 oz. frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower combo
Directions:
1. Place everything but the vegetables into a large Dutch oven and stir until the ground turkey is broken up and evenly distributed.
2. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Add frozen vegetables and cook 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and cool completely before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.
Doggy Meatloaf
Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef
2 eggs
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, grated
1 apple, cored and diced
2 slices bread, torn into pieces
1 cup regular rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350̊ F. Lightly grease a large roasting pan, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients. (Using your hands is best.)
3. Divide the meat mixture into four equal parts, shaping into small loaves.
4. Place loaves in the roasting pan, cover pan with lid.
5. Bake 80 min, until meat is cooked through (internal temperature of 175 F.
6. Allow loaves to cool completely, refrigerate.
7. Serve 1/3 of each loaf with each portion of dry dog food.
Chicken Casserole For Dogs
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
½ cup green beans, chopped
½ cup carrots, chopped
½ cup broccoli, chopped
½ cup rolled oats
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Directions:
1. Cut chicken breasts into small (nickel-sized) chunks.
2. Cook chicken over medium heat in small amount of olive or vegetable oil until no longer pink.
3. Put the chicken, vegetables, rolled oats, and chicken broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and cook until carrots are tender (about 15 minutes).
4. Cool completely before serving. Portion leftovers and store in refrigerator up to 5 days.
Doggie Chili
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
1 cup canned black beans, drained
1 cup carrots, diced
½ cup tomato paste
4 cups chicken broth
½ tablespoon fish oil (optional)
Directions:
1. Cut chicken breasts into small (nickel-sized) chunks.
2. Cook chicken over medium heat in small amount of olive or vegetable oil until no longer pink.
3. Put chicken, beans, carrots, tomato paste, chicken broth, and fish oil (if used) into a large pot. Bring to boil, then reduce to medium heat and cook until carrots are tender (about 10 minutes).
4. Cool completely before serving. Portion leftovers and store in refrigerator up to 5 days.
Doggy Beef Stew
Ingredients:
1 lb beef stew meat
1 small sweet potato
½ cup carrots, diced
½ cup green beans, diced
½ cup flour
½ cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
1. Cook sweet potato whole in microwave 5-8 minutes, until firm but tender. Set aside.
2. Slice stew meat into smaller (nickel-sized) chunks.
3. Cook stew meat in vegetable oil over medium heat 10-15 minutes, until well done.
4. Remove meat from pan, reserve drippings.
5. Dice cooked sweet potato.
6. Heat meat drippings over medium heat; slowly add flower into the drippings while whisking; cook a few minutes to create a rue.
7. Add water to rue while whisking; cook over medium heat until gravy thickens.
8. Add meat, sweet potato, carrots, and green beans into the gravy; stir to coat.
9. Cook until carrots are tender (about 10-15 minutes)
10. Cool completely before serving. Portion l