crock pot dog food

[werecatrising]

I'm new here, but I thought I'd share the "recipe" I use for my dogs. I got it from a book by Dr Martinez, a vet that is close friends with the vet I work for.

You get a whole chicken(sometimes I use leg quarters instead) and put it in a crock pot. You then add whatever vegetables your dog does well on as well as a few chopped up potatoes. He recommends 70% chicken to 30% veggies. You add a little bit of water and cook on low for about 12 hours or however long it takes for the bones to get nice and soft. I always add about a dozen eggs which makes it a bit thicker.

I hope to switch to raw someday, but this has been a nice alternative to commercial foods.

[sassymaxmom]

That sounds terrific, love the way all the bird gets used. Do all the bones soften up? Have you had failures where the bones didn't soften up? If so do you know what went wrong?

A whole chicken is about 30% bone which is 3x the amount needed for calcium. If I was forced, kicking and screaming, to abandon raw food for Max I would love try this out but add in an equal weight of beef/pork/lamb to the chicken to balance the calcium better, add a whole lot of minerals and vitamins chicken lacks and some beef liver at about 2 ounces per pound of meat.

[Cruiser]

Well i have never used the crock pot,good idea tho.Where does the dozen eggs come in,for thickening?

[RachelsaurusRexU]

Sounds like a good, easy alternative for somebody who doesn't want to feed commercial pet food, but isn't ready to or doesn't want to feed raw. I think the fact that you can plop everything in there in the morning and leave it while you're at work would be very appealing to people. I definitely agree with Sassymaxmom about the extra meat and organs. Are all those eggs necessary? How long does a batch last you and do you freeze meal sized portions? I may tell my friend about this, as she's feeding a low quality kibble and is willing to switch to something better but isn't quite ready for raw.

[werecatrising]

I have never had problems with the bones not becoming soft. The extra meat/organ is a good idea. I just add the eggs because I have 30 hens- so lots of eggs. Plus it makes it more the consistency off canned food. I divide it into a few days worth at a time and freeze it.

[kvoccola]

Hi,
I was wondering about the bones you mentioned. I thought the only way the dogs could eat the bones is if they were raw? Isnt cooking them in the crock pot making them cooked, therefore not good for dogs to eat. I boil chicken thighs, does that mean that my dogs could eat the bones?
thanks for you time.
kara

[RachelsaurusRexU]

The main problem with cooked bones is that they splinter when chewed. If a dog ingested a big shard of bone it could get stuck in the trachea, perforate the stomach or intestines, etc. I've never cooked bones in a crock pot, but apparently when they're slow cooked over a very long period of time they basically turn to mush. In that form, they wouldn't be a hazard. But no, you should not give your dog boiled bones.

[Ania's Mommy]

This might need to be in a tread all it's own. If so, mods, please feel free to move it.

My friend has considered slow-cooking meat and bones until the bones become mush and feeding the cooking water as well. I told her that she would be cooking away many of the vitamins. She said, "well that's why I would feed the cooking water."

My question is, don't many of the nutrients evaporate? Or at the very least, the cooking process changes them? Everything that starts off in the crock pot can't still be present in it's original form after cooking for hours, right? Raw chicken quarter ≠ cooked chicken quarter and cooking water, right? Isn't that why many home cookers need to supplement?

[sassymaxmom]

The water soluble vitamins might be destroyed but minerals are fine. Protein is fine. Any Omega 3 would be destroyed I would think. Some fragile amino acids would be destroyed, like taurine. I would love to try this but might just cook the chicken by itself and add in the veggies, grains and boneless meats and organ later.

[Woofers]

Great recipe followed by great input! I am currently feeding a very picky pregnant poodle. She had been eating Orijen until she just quit. It seems if I totally change up every meal, she will eat a little.
Then, yesterday my husband boiled pheasant..........BINGO! Shredded the meat and poured the liquid over the kibble and she ate! Had not thought of the crock pot, it's perfect, since it looks like I will now be cooking for the picky poodle momma.
I welcome any advice and input.