Does anyone make their own dog food?

mprop

Hey

I have a siberian huskey who has had diarrhoea for months now. I've tried everything with the vet, all tests normal, have tried various foods (dry, wet, sensitive foods etc) to no avail.

I have been looking up online ways to make your own food and the most basic of which is to boil chicken and rice - which is supposed to be a good cure for upset stomachs too. I have had him on that for the last three days but no cure yet, still quite runny albeit not as bad.

Does anyone make their own food? I have three large breed dogs and I am cosidering starting to make all their food from scratch - cheaper (I think) and I would feel better knowing what they are eating!

So far the best recipe I have found is to put a whole chicken into a pressure cooker with veg and potatoes - the pressure cooker softens the bones so its safe for dogs to eat.

Would anyone have any advice on what to feed the husky and secondly, if you make your own dog food - do you have any recipies?

andreac

Have you tried the RAW/BARF diet? It might suit your dog by sounds of it.

You should NEVER EVER feed cooked chicken bones, when they are soft its actually really dangerous for them as they splinter, so please do not do this!! If you want to feed chciken bones they must be raw.


I would def research the BARF/RAW diet as it could suit your dog.

mprop

andreac wrote: »

Have you tried the RAW/BARF diet? It might suit your dog by sounds of it.

You should NEVER EVER feed cooked chicken bones, when they are soft its actually really dangerous for them as they splinter, so please do not do this!! If you want to feed chciken bones they must be raw.


I would def research the BARF/RAW diet as it could suit your dog.

Never heard of it - will google now. This is one of the videos I had found on the chicken bones

http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-make-your-own-dog-food

sligopark

mprop wrote: »

Never heard of it - will google now. This is one of the videos I had found on the chicken bones

http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-make-your-own-dog-food

a link from the page linked above


http://www.barfworld.com/

mprop

sligopark wrote: »

a link from the page linked above


http://www.barfworld.com/

I am dubious of that - sounds a bit like magic beans no? Do you give your dogs this diet?

ISDW

Please don't give your dog cooked chicken bones.

Sibes can have notoriously difficult stomachs, my first girl had diarrheoa until she was 7 months old, no matter what we tried her on.

Have you tried Best For My Dog? A lot of sibe owners are feeding it, and getting great results from it, nice solid poos, you buy it off the internet, company is based in Meath and deliver. I ordered some puppy food at 3.21pm one day this week, I had the food by 11.30 the next morning. I had one rescue boy here that had the runs with everything (except raw), he thrived on the BFMD, was nice and solid and put weight on.

When you try the different foods, how have you been introducing them, and how long have you fed them for?

Raw is great for sibes, but it is raw food, not cooked, it takes a bit of effort, and with 3 dogs, quite a large freezer, but if I had less dogs and more space, its what I would feed.

ppink

can I ask about raw food. are you not worried with raw chicken and the dog licking you after eating it?
I admit I suffer from paranoia with chicken:rolleyes:. not worried about the dogs as they can deal with the bacteria but worried about getting it from them.

i know this is odd but we all have out little oddities:p

can I also ask when changing food(kibble) roughly how much do you introduce at a time? I know it is phased in but rough quantities?

ISDW

ppink wrote: »

can I ask about raw food. are you not worried with raw chicken and the dog licking you after eating it?
I admit I suffer from paranoia with chicken:rolleyes:. not worried about the dogs as they can deal with the bacteria but worried about getting it from them.

i know this is odd but we all have out little oddities:p

can I also ask when changing food(kibble) roughly how much do you introduce at a time? I know it is phased in but rough quantities?

With raw food you should freeze it first, to kill any bacteria, or pop it into boiling water for a few seconds to do the same.

I know what you mean about the chicken though, I'm paranoid about that when I cook it for us, so I always feed my lot outside if they get raw, and then they wait in their kennels for a while anyway, to let it settle, as I'm also paranoid about bloat:rolleyes:

Changing over, I just go by eye really, I guess 1/4 of the new food at first for a day or two, then 1/2, then 3/4 then all new.

andreac

mprop wrote: »

I am dubious of that - sounds a bit like magic beans no? Do you give your dogs this diet?

How is it like magic beans?? Its feeding normal food, meat, offal, bones etc, its not made up food or potions so how would it be like magic beans, i dont get it?

Dogs were designed to eat meat so this is just feeding them a diet that comes natural to them.
I know plenty of people who feed a raw diet and their dogs are thriving. The only reason i dont feed raw is because i cant source enough of it at a good price, but i often feed my dogs raw, like chicken wings, legs etc.
The different in the amount of waste they produce is so much less when they are on a raw diet as they digest so much more so less to come out the other end.

Cherry Blossom

mprop wrote: »

Hey

I have a siberian huskey who has had diarrhoea for months now. I've tried everything with the vet, all tests normal, have tried various foods (dry, wet, sensitive foods etc) to no avail.

How many months has your dog had diahorrea? It can takes 6 weeks for a dog to get fully used to a new food so you wouldn't really know if it suited untill after the 6 weeks. Are you changing over between foods properly? Constantly changing it's food could be as much the cause as anything. What brands of food have you tried and are you trying foods with different sources of protein and carbohydrate? You haven't really given enough information that people can see where it is going wrong.

ISDW

Also, the biggest cause of diarrheoa in siberian huskies is overfeeding, they don't need that much, less than you'd think.

boomerang

I recently started homecooking for my dog. It actually works out slightly cheaper than feeding a high-end commercial food. But, it's something you need to research very thoroughly before you get stuck in. It is so important to feed a variety of foods and in the right amounts. Most importantly if you are not feeding raw bones, is to add calcium to the diet. You also need to know which foods are not suitable for feeding to dogs, such as onions, raisins, garlic etc. Also how much offal to feed in combination with chicken, beef, lamb, pork etc. You combine the meat with starchy veg, some green veg and carbs like rice, pasta, couscous.

By far the best book on the subject is Dr Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, which is available on Amazon.

ppink

ISDW wrote: »

With raw food you should freeze it first, to kill any bacteria, or pop it into boiling water for a few seconds to do the same.

I know what you mean about the chicken though, I'm paranoid about that when I cook it for us, so I always feed my lot outside if they get raw, and then they wait in their kennels for a while anyway, to let it settle, as I'm also paranoid about bloat:rolleyes:

Changing over, I just go by eye really, I guess 1/4 of the new food at first for a day or two, then 1/2, then 3/4 then all new.

Glad I am not the only one, my own small chicken is usually done at 200deg for 3 hours:o.


What food was your dog on OP?

no1girliegirl

Hi my pup was the same, i fed him boiled chicken and rice and it was only slighty better, I then changed the food to royal canin puppy and got a thing called pro-kolin from the vet and with in a day his poo was back to normal.

Ask your vet for the pro kolin, i think thats what helped it's basically pectin and kaolin, it comes in a little syringe and you just put it on the bowl and the dog will lick it up.

It worked for me, jope you get sorted out.

no1girliegirl

Also make sure your not giving your dog milk or food with milk, milk products in it.

The Sweeper

I feed raw and alternate some days with a grain-free kibble called Canidae.

Raw includes chicken wings, chicken legs, chicken carcasses (chicken frames with the breast meat taken off usually), chicken necks, stewing beef, beef shin, lamb shanks, lamb flaps (rib pieces and belly), hearts (beef and lamb) liver (beef, lamb and chicken) and anything else raw I can get my paws on.

My guy does extremely well on raw - good weight, solid build, good energy without bouncing off the walls, no itching or nibbling (lots of that on certain dry foods with food colourings added), and minimal amounts of solid poo.

The kibble on alternate days is either because I'm flat out and havne't had time to bag up raw at the weekend, or because - more often - it's going to be an extremely hot day here. Gus does not eat quickly (which is not a bad thing with a raw-fed dog) but on a 30+ degrees day his food will be rank in quite a short time.

I don't have chicken paranoia so it doesn't bother me.

Bog Bunny

When a dog had the runs and you suspect it's a dietary reason, it's important to fast the dog for at least 24 hours. The bad bacteria in his guts thrive on what he is eating, fasting helps starve them too. Especially when you feed kibble with a high cereal / grain content. After 24 hrs you can offer bland food (cooked chicken is good, or minced tripe is better) and I always add Slippery Elm and activated (medicinal) charcoal - both can be got in a health food shop. slippery elm helps to soothe the sore lining of the guts, charcoal helps to filter out toxins produced by the bad bacteria. You can also add probiotics or natural, organic yoghurt.
Never fast a dog for more than 48 hours though as this can lead to 'leaky guts' - the cells of the gut wall atrophy and food particles can enter the blood stream, causing allergies and all sorts of other problems.

OP, if your dog does not run a temperature and shows no other signs of infection, have you ever considered that your dog may have something stuck in his guts or stomach? I had a pup who had these symptoms for months, despite veterinary investigations and even a barium x-ray we could find nothing. Pup survived on six small meals of just a few hand ful of bland bits and pieces, but did not thrive. One day he got into a bag with kibble and ate so much that he got violently sick. To our horror and suprise a huge mass of foam rubber chippings came out as well! It was his and our luck that this overlaod of food finally flushed out this gunk that had been blocking his stomach so only a fraction of his food (basically the liquids was digested. The pup had shredded a pillow when he was ten weeks old. From that moment on all his digestive problems and the intermittent throwing up stopped and he was healthy again.
An incomplete blockage is hard to detect because there may be still enough nutrients passing through, keeping the animal alive, but just so.

RoastBeefDinner

I dunno what they make kibble from but I can tell you this; there is no way my dog is going to eat that garbage again. I'd prefer if she ate the rubbish on the streets than feed her kibble.

I've tried 3 Leading Brands (even the stuff they claim humans can eat) and all I got from my dog was excessive scratching, diarrhoea,unusual/erratic behaviour,poops for which you'd need to use a pressure hose to clean off the ground, and an odour from her sleeping area that was awful.

And I would go as far to say that it would not surprise me that the above pet owner experience's is a big contributor to pet abandonment.

If you cook at home a lot then finding/making meals for the dog is easy. But if your a socialite and/or prefer domino's pizza and take aways a lot then you have no option but to live with the kibble.

ISDW

RoastBeefDinner wrote: »

I dunno what they make kibble from but I can tell you this; there is no way my dog is going to eat that garbage again. I'd prefer if she ate the rubbish on the streets than feed her kibble.

I've tried 3 Leading Brands (even the stuff they claim humans can eat) and all I got from my dog was excessive scratching, diarrhoea,unusual/erratic behaviour,poops for which you'd need to use a pressure hose to clean off the ground, and an odour from her sleeping area that was awful.

And I would go as far to say that it would not surprise me that the above pet owner experience's is a big contributor to pet abandonment.

If you cook at home a lot then finding/making meals for the dog is easy. But if your a socialite and/or prefer domino's pizza and take aways a lot then you have no option but to live with the kibble.

Thats very unfair, I have 11 dogs of my own, most of my day is spent with them, looking after them, but no, I don't have the time to cook for them. Also, you need to do it properly, they need the right nutrition, you can't just give them what you are cooking for the family.

What brand is it that is good enough for humans please, I don't think I've seen that one, would be interested to know which one is it.

RoastBeefDinner

It's very much based from my own experience of the past 3 months of dog ownership. Believe me I have tried to feed kibble for it's convenience but it is a nightmare. I live in the city and cleaning up after your dog is as important as walking it. With raw food this dog for me is just easier to live with.
The brand which claims is good enough for human consumption is called Real Nature.

ISDW

RoastBeefDinner wrote: »

It's very much based from my own experience of the past 3 months of dog ownership. Believe me I have tried to feed kibble for it's convenience but it is a nightmare. I live in the city and cleaning up after your dog is as important as walking it. With raw food this dog for me is just easier to live with.
The brand which claims is good enough for human consumption is called Real Nature.

Is that Maxi Zoo's own brand? I actually thought that was a raw food as well though? Just kinda packaged up to make it easier for people

Sorry, I obviously misunderstood, I thought you were cooking the food for the dog, not giving raw.

I totally agree, raw is the best, but as I say, with the amount of dogs I have, storage is an issue:D

jap gt

i have just start feeding my setter raw food as its hard to put weight on her as she gets a lot walks, what do people feeding it usually give a dog per day

i understand that ye give meat bone etc but do ye give veg fruit etc and how much, if anyone would be good enough just to give me a rough idea of what ye feed everyday in a typical week

Graces7

We feed mostly raw, with some "stew" for the vegetables etc, with rice and chicken in it.

Both dogs are healthy and never any runs etc.

As collie gets old now, this is the best for her. And easy. NB storage can be a worry; our freezer rarely has any of our food in it as it is always full of raw chicken.

It is cheaper as we get necks for E3 per 9 kg and legs for E6 per 9 kg.

Shanao

ISDW wrote: »

Is that Maxi Zoo's own brand? I actually thought that was a raw food as well though? Just kinda packaged up to make it easier for people

Sorry, I obviously misunderstood, I thought you were cooking the food for the dog, not giving raw.

I totally agree, raw is the best, but as I say, with the amount of dogs I have, storage is an issue:D

That's the one i feed, Real Nature. It's a kibble alright, but its not highly processed like the rest of the stuff. Honestly, I would feed it over raw food any day. I've three dogs at the moment and all of them have solid poos, which makes picking them up so much easier. I had considered going with raw food but I think i'll just stick with the kibble. This one has no preservatives in it so I'm fairly happy with it.

RoastBeefDinner

Graces7 wrote: »

We feed mostly raw, with some "stew" for the vegetables etc, with rice and chicken in it.

Both dogs are healthy and never any runs etc.

As collie gets old now, this is the best for her. And easy. NB storage can be a worry; our freezer rarely has any of our food in it as it is always full of raw chicken.

It is cheaper as we get necks for E3 per 9 kg and legs for E6 per 9 kg.

Yep thats what my collie is on at the moment. Takes 5 minutes to prepare and chicken these days is very cheap.

I should say that of the 3 brands of Kibble I tried with the dog the Real Nature was the easiest on the little un:D If I had more than 3 dogs though it would be kibble day and night regardless.

boomerang

RoastBeefDinner wrote: »

Yep thats what my collie is on at the moment. Takes 5 minutes to prepare and chicken these days is very cheap.

I should say that of the 3 brands of Kibble I tried with the dog the Real Nature was the easiest on the little un:D If I had more than 3 dogs though it would be kibble day and night regardless.

One important thing - if you are not including raw meaty bones in the diet then you need to supplement the diet with calcium carbonate.

I've only just started homecooking for my dog. It's not as much trouble as I thought it would be, you get into a routine. But it's so important to read up first. The important thing is balance - eg how often to feed offal, how often to feed bones, and giving a variety of meats and fresh foods. My dog loves it!

For older dogs you need to be very careful with the amount of bone you feed, either in the form of raw meaty bones, or the bone minerals that leech from the bones into the stock/stew while cooking. Senior dogs are very prone to kidney disease. The most important goal in slowing down the disease is to significantly reduce the amount of phosphorus in the diet. And bones have the highest phos. content of all foods!

mprop

Hey

Sorry I was not by the computer until now. The Husky is on BETA by Purina at present. When I was given him he was on BETA Sensitive (he got 4 weeks of it) which seems to have had no difference.

The rice and chicken has made a difference, poo is somewhat solid and he is in great form. Have given him a few pieces of apple too which he has eaten and seems to be digesting.

I had thought that maybe he had eaten something he shouldnt but the previous owner had asked the vet about this, the vet tested and said he doesnt show any symptoms. Speaking from experience (I have a retreiver that ate half a garden bin resulting in €2,000+ surgery!) he seems ok.

The thing that concerns me most about him apart from the obvious dangers of constant scutts is some lesions he had. The vet said it was an allergic reaction and in the 3 weeks I have had him, by putting the ointment on them they have healed and the hair is growing back.

The vet said this could be a dietry imbalance that is the cause of the scutts too. I would go raw or cooked, whatever cures it - has anyone had an experience like this?

RoastBeefDinner

Yep I try mix it up as much as possible.
At the moment she is putting out her adult teeth so a little yogurt/cheese is being added.
Mostly raw chicken,mince,liver,hearts,ox-tail are a favourite,tuna,fish skin and fish heads,carrots (ground on occasion), potatoes, rice, egg's on occasion.

As a guide she is 4 months and very active so she is fed twice a day plus some snacks.
In the morning she may get a handful of rice (boiled) with a slice of liver and carrots or 250grammes of mince mixed with veg.
If you want to put weight on the dog you could boil any left over chicken bones you have from your own dinner for 20mins. Then DISCARD the bones. They will love the stock that comes from this.
Afternoon she may get a leg+thigh of chicken raw. Just bung it in the pen and it's eaten like there were piranha in there!
Evenings then she may get a biscuit or carrot to clean the teeth.

There is so much we would find in our fridge/cupboard that really it aint that difficult to prepare for one more;)

daenerysstormborn3

I have fed my pup raw since i got him. He is now 16 months and thriving on it. Raw was recommended by his breeder who has been breeding great danes for 35 years and her parents before her. She has had numerous champions come from her danes every year since she started out. All fed raw.

If I make a change to his diet, big or small, I always starve him for 24 hours beforehand as this clears out his system and it helps that he is hungry enough to get him to eat whatever i am changing him onto. I have never had problems with runny poos etc apart from the first couple of weeks when I got him and he was getting used to his surroundings.

To try to keep weight on him I feed tripe as often as possible and I also feed cheese, eggs (shell included), peanut butter on toast, sausage rolls. I also feed him these meaty ball things called satin balls (google to find the proper recipe), I make them with treacle, eggs (shell included), mincemeat, a little flour and cheese. I make them about the size of a golf ball and he gets 2-3 a day. I make them every couple of weeks and freeze them in small freezer bags and take out one every night along with the rest of the following day's meat.

One thing to remember when defrosting meat of any sort is to defrost it in the fridge and not out on a counter top or in the sink. Defrosting in the fridge prevents the growth of bacteria and keeps the meat safe. I keep my dog's meat completely separate to the meat that I cook for myself. He has his own freezer. In fairness it makes more sense because he consumes a lot more meat weekly than I do so I need more room to store his meat anyway.

My dog gets about 300grams of meat in each of his 4 meals everyday, the rest of his bowl is made up of pasta/rice and vegetables (which I use purely as a filler - to keep him full - as these have little or no nutritional value for dogs) and then cheese or eggs mixed in. When I'm feeding bones I usually put a little olive oil on the bones to keep his coat shiny. I also feed 2-3 tins of sardines or other oily fish on top of his meals every couple of days to keep his coat shiny.

Every day my dog gets his breakfast at around 7am followed by some toast with peanut butter or 2-3 medium sized sausage rolls, then his lunch at around 11am, then his dinner at around 3pm and his supper at around 7pm. The reason why I feed him his last meal quite early is because I keep an eye on his stool (disgusting I know, the joys of dog ownership!) and if he is hungry later on I give him fish or some toast or sausage rolls.

This may seem like a lot of food to some people but it is so difficult to keep weight on my dog. Only in the past 2-3 months has he started to put on weight. It is quite common for young great danes to have difficulty keeping weight on and my vet has checked him and he has no health problem and his breeder has said it's nothing to worry about.

andreac

With growing puppies you have to make sure they are being fed enough with the raw diet. Adults usually get around 2% of their bodyweight in meat per day but puppies need around 4 % as they need a higher amount as they are growing.

ISDW

mprop wrote: »

Hey

Sorry I was not by the computer until now. The Husky is on BETA by Purina at present. When I was given him he was on BETA Sensitive (he got 4 weeks of it) which seems to have had no difference.

The rice and chicken has made a difference, poo is somewhat solid and he is in great form. Have given him a few pieces of apple too which he has eaten and seems to be digesting.

I had thought that maybe he had eaten something he shouldnt but the previous owner had asked the vet about this, the vet tested and said he doesnt show any symptoms. Speaking from experience (I have a retreiver that ate half a garden bin resulting in €2,000+ surgery!) he seems ok.

The thing that concerns me most about him apart from the obvious dangers of constant scutts is some lesions he had. The vet said it was an allergic reaction and in the 3 weeks I have had him, by putting the ointment on them they have healed and the hair is growing back.

The vet said this could be a dietry imbalance that is the cause of the scutts too. I would go raw or cooked, whatever cures it - has anyone had an experience like this?

Beta isn't a particular good food in my opinion. If you want to go the raw route, thats great, he will thrive on it, but just remember not to overfeed him, as I say, sibes are incredibly efficient eaters and don't need as much food as you may think. If you want to try a different kibble, give Best for my Dog a try, I think they may send out sample bags.

Regarding the lesions, he could actually have ZRD, again, very common in siberian huskies, but very easily fixed, its the inability to absorb zinc, which leads to a deficiency and if you give the dog a little bit of liver every day, the lesions will disappear. Ox liver apparently is the one that gives the best results, but any liver will do the trick. You can get zinc tablets from health shops as well. If you google ZRD and siberian husky, you'll see some photos, they will probably look like your dog's lesions. A lot of vets miss it, so don't worry, but as I say, it is very well known among husky owners.