# Cooked Diet & Raw Diet



## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

I have been doing a lot of research and reading about raw dog nutrition. I came across a book called, "The Whole Pet Diet, Eight Weeks to Great Health for Dogs and Cats" by Andi Brown. She is a proponent of feeding human food - cooked meat and veggies with natural supplements. She tells several stories/gives examples of how the health of different animals who had major problems was transformed after being on her diet. 

Being new to dog nutrition, I am wondering, can dogs thrive on a diet of cooked, human meat and veggies w/ supplements? Her examples are pretty compelling. I am just curious what you all think. I know you all think raw is best, but could this be a good alternative?


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## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

IMO

Cooked diets are overkill, a lot of work and include a lot of unessecary components. i.e. fruits, veggies, supplements. 

There is no need to cook anything for your dog, and by cooking..its destroying a lot of key nutritional values in which case you need to replace those with supplementing and careful measuring of certain ingredients. 

My thought on it is why bother? Why bother when you can provide a simple, species appropriate diet with raw whole foods? 

Thats my thought.

ETA: Unless there is some sort of medical reason you feel the need to feed a cooked diet...I don't see a lot of point to it.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Feeding a dog a human diet would be great if they were humans. They aren't. Why don't feed them a cow diet? Oh!!! They aren't cows either. :biggrin: It might be possible that feeding a dog a human diet would be superior to feeding kibble but not close to feeding PMR for obvious reasons.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

A lot of people write a lot of things, that doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. Like bill said they aren't human, you don't take your dog to your family doctor when they are sick because their bodies are different, which means their nutritional needs are different. Dogs don't do well with complex carbs because it falls down to their pancreas to create the necessary enzymes (amylase) to break them down. Unlike humans they simply need fat, and meats to create energy. she may have some compelling stories about dogs transforming by eating a cooked diet etc, but hell lets face it, anything other than kibble is going to be better, of course there are going to be transformations. Can they thrive no, can they survive sure. 

only 3 things that a dog needs.
Raw uncooked meat. 
Raw uncooked Bones.
Raw uncooked organs.

just my 2c


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

Ok I'm going to get in trouble for this but, yes I would think it would be a good alternative. I haven't read the book but if you are getting so freaked out you think you can't handle the raw I think a home cooked diet would be the next best thing. It will not be cheaper and you will have to make sure your dog gets the proper supplements.

I know raw is better but there are reasons why some don't do raw and I am one right now for 2 of my dogs. I hope to change that. They get raw sometimes how ever.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Home cooked is the next best thing to a raw diet. I don't recommend it and know absolutely nothing about how they work, far too complicated for my taste. 

But if you feel you'll be more comfortable feeding homecooked you should, because it's best for you to do what makes you feel comfortable. Your dog will still be healthy on a diet like this as long as you are diligent to make sure all your nutritional bases are covered, whatever they may be with a homecooked diet.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Yes. A dog can thrive on a home cooked diet. Duncan could have ended up in a life threatening situation if it hadn't been for the change to a barf/home cooked diet. While it is what is best for Duncan, I would much prefer to feed a PMR diet which is ideal. So much easier and less hassle. Way less complicated. I would never go back to feeding kibble to Duncan, no matter what. So a barf/home cooked diet is what I do for him and what is best for his health. Period.


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## Lisa_j (Apr 7, 2011)

I homecooked for my diabetic dog for over a year. It worked for us and I was able to maintain reasonable glucose #'s. I did switch him to raw, against the advise of many that suggested I would never get him re-regulated and that becase his system was compromised I would cause him more harm than good feeding raw meat. I really feel that for him, raw is the best I can nutritionally offer him and the hassle of re-regulation was worth it. Had I not been successful with raw and Jax, I would have gone back to homecooked, however, raw is so much easier and less time consuming than cooking.


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## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

tobi said:


> a lot of people write a lot of things, that doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. Like bill said they aren't human, you don't take your dog to your family doctor when they are sick because their bodies are different, which means their nutritional needs are different. Dogs don't do well with complex carbs because it falls down to their pancreas to create the necessary enzymes (amylase) to break them down. Unlike humans they simply need fat, and meats to create energy. She may have some compelling stories about dogs transforming by eating a cooked diet etc, but hell lets face it, anything other than kibble is going to be better, of course there are going to be transformations. Can they thrive no, can they survive sure.
> 
> Only 3 things that a dog needs.
> Raw uncooked meat.
> ...



a men!!!........


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Lisa_j said:


> Had I not been successful with raw and Jax, I would have gone back to homecooked, however, raw is so much easier and less time consuming than cooking.


Are you feeding PMR and is he easier or more diffucult to regulate him on raw?


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

_


Northwoods10 said:



There is no need to cook anything for your dog, and by cooking..its destroying a lot of key nutritional values in which case you need to replace those with supplementing and careful measuring of certain ingredients.

Click to expand...

_


Northwoods10 said:


> *
> Does cooking meat destroy a lot of key nutritional value for humans also?* I've been wondering this but forgot to ask until your statement reminded me


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## tem_sat (Jun 20, 2010)

Well, some foods, such as chicken and pork, are only safe to eat cooked to certain minimum temperatures. I think a better question would be, "Does OVER cooking meat destroy alot of key nutritional value for humans?" Further, "Does searing meat retain more key nutritional value for humans?"

I would believe over cooking most anything would indeed tend to lower nutritional value and searing should tend to retain more nutritional value.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Chelsy gets a combination of cooked and raw. She gets her chicken quarters ground up with the bones raw. She gets her livers and her boneless meats just seared enough to make them a bit firmer so she can pick them up easier with her jaw problem. She has a lot of trouble picking up and swallowing anything that is too squishy. It also makes it a little bit more enticing to her if I sear it a little bit. I don't feel like I am destroying too many nutrients by searing the meat and liver (it's still blood red inside) and she is doing really well now on this diet. I also scramble her eggs so she can pick them up and eat them herself. Maybe this doesn't really count as homecooked since I don't add any vegies, fruits, grains or anything except meat.


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## Lisa_j (Apr 7, 2011)

RawFedDogs said:


> Are you feeding PMR and is he easier or more diffucult to regulate him on raw?


PMR and he currently is pretty regulated. Am sugar today was 117, pm was 105. Pretty darn good!


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

chowder said:


> Chelsy gets a combination of cooked and raw. She gets her chicken quarters ground up with the bones raw. She gets her livers and her boneless meats just seared enough to make them a bit firmer so she can pick them up easier with her jaw problem. She has a lot of trouble picking up and swallowing anything that is too squishy. It also makes it a little bit more enticing to her if I sear it a little bit. I don't feel like I am destroying too many nutrients by searing the meat and liver (it's still blood red inside) and she is doing really well now on this diet. I also scramble her eggs so she can pick them up and eat them herself. Maybe this doesn't really count as homecooked since I don't add any vegies, fruits, grains or anything except meat.


It sounds like what you are doing for Chelsy is perfectly adapted for her needs; thanks for sharing! :smile:


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Lisa_j said:


> PMR and he currently is pretty regulated. Am sugar today was 117, pm was 105. Pretty darn good!


Those are great numbers! I wish my son had blood sugar readings that good.......if I could get the carbs out of his diet like the dogs, he'd be doing a lot better. Can you put people on PMR!!


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

Lisa_j said:


> I homecooked for my diabetic dog for over a year. It worked for us and I was able to maintain reasonable glucose #'s. I did switch him to raw, against the advise of many that suggested I would never get him re-regulated and that becase his system was compromised I would cause him more harm than good feeding raw meat. I really feel that for him, raw is the best I can nutritionally offer him and the hassle of re-regulation was worth it. Had I not been successful with raw and Jax, I would have gone back to homecooked, however, raw is so much easier and less time consuming than cooking.


That makes a lot of sense, and I'm so glad you have been able to regulate his blood sugar on raw! :smile:


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

Northwoods10 said:


> IMO
> 
> Cooked diets are overkill, a lot of work and include a lot of unessecary components. i.e. fruits, veggies, supplements.
> 
> ...


Very good points; thank you.


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

Tobi said:


> A lot of people write a lot of things, that doesn't mean they know what they are talking about. Like bill said they aren't human, you don't take your dog to your family doctor when they are sick because their bodies are different, which means their nutritional needs are different. Dogs don't do well with complex carbs because it falls down to their pancreas to create the necessary enzymes (amylase) to break them down. Unlike humans they simply need fat, and meats to create energy. she may have some compelling stories about dogs transforming by eating a cooked diet etc, but hell lets face it, anything other than kibble is going to be better, of course there are going to be transformations. Can they thrive no, can they survive sure.
> 
> only 3 things that a dog needs.
> Raw uncooked meat.
> ...


Thank you! Yes, I totally agree about the grains (and tend to agree with everything else you said as well). I will never feed Mr. T grains OR kibble again...those, I am totally convinced about.


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

Herzo said:


> Ok I'm going to get in trouble for this but, yes I would think it would be a good alternative. I haven't read the book but if you are getting so freaked out you think you can't handle the raw I think a home cooked diet would be the next best thing. It will not be cheaper and you will have to make sure your dog gets the proper supplements.
> 
> I know raw is better but there are reasons why some don't do raw and I am one right now for 2 of my dogs. I hope to change that. They get raw sometimes how ever.


Thank you for sharing, I really appreciate it! :smile:


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> Home cooked is the next best thing to a raw diet. I don't recommend it and know absolutely nothing about how they work, far too complicated for my taste.
> 
> But if you feel you'll be more comfortable feeding homecooked you should, because it's best for you to do what makes you feel comfortable. Your dog will still be healthy on a diet like this as long as you are diligent to make sure all your nutritional bases are covered, whatever they may be with a homecooked diet.


Thank you DaneMama, I appreciate what you shared. I have a lot of stress in my life right now, and this "swallowing bones" issue isn't helping. I just don't know what I want to do; don't know if it's the right time for me to do raw 100%. I'm glad to hear you say that home cooked is the next best thing to raw, so if i do some home cooked, I won't feel like I'm doing something terrible to my dog. I may do a combo, I'm just not sure.....


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## TuckersMom (Apr 27, 2011)

luvMyBRT said:


> Yes. A dog can thrive on a home cooked diet. Duncan could have ended up in a life threatening situation if it hadn't been for the change to a barf/home cooked diet. While it is what is best for Duncan, I would much prefer to feed a PMR diet which is ideal. So much easier and less hassle. Way less complicated. I would never go back to feeding kibble to Duncan, no matter what. So a barf/home cooked diet is what I do for him and what is best for his health. Period.


 Are you comfortable telling what the life-threatening situation was? I'm kind of curious.
I am so glad you found the diet that is best for Duncan and that he is thriving! :smile:


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Hi Tucker's Mom
I cooked for my dogs for a short time. They did better than on kibble but most all the recipes I found have 50% or more grains (carbs)potatoes, or other veggies. Plus the supplements such as bone meal and vitamins, and oils were very expensive and time consuming. I was terrified of feeding bones and though most of my dogs are larger I do have a sheltie who is only twenty pounds. She has done her share of bringing back up things she swallowed without much chewing but is now a pro. I would cook for my dog if the had an immune system problem or some such issue but after you relax about the bones raw is so easy and satisifying. I love knowing my dogs are getting the best I can give. If you are really nervouse you might want to grind chicken, turkey or duck for your dog until such a time as you can manage adapting to the bone thing. I personally would rather grind food than cook. Anyway that's just my opinion. I hope you find something manageable for you and good for your dog. Good luck.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

TuckersMom said:


> Are you comfortable telling what the life-threatening situation was? I'm kind of curious.
> I am so glad you found the diet that is best for Duncan and that he is thriving! :smile:


Thanks! :smile:

Duncan has Canine Hyperuricosuria. He is a confirmed urate bladder stone former. Dogs that have this condition can not eat foods that are high in purines. Foods that are high in purines are meats (mainly red meats) and organ meat. Duncan was eating a PMR diet before he was diagnosed. After he got his test results back and I found out he was affected with this condition I took him in to have a urinalysis. At 6 months old his urine was *full* of urate crystals (in the thousands) just waiting to form into stones. If I had kept him on a PMR diet those crystals would have formed into stones and he could have ended up with a blockage not being able to urinate. This is a life threatening condition and requires emergency surgery so the bladder doesn't burst. 

That's the short version....so I'll stop there. :tongue:


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

I started feeding fresh foods when Sassy developed kidney disease in spring of 2007. It is a lot more trouble making cooked food but very rewarding. I would much rather feed raw though. Easy and fun to watch the dog eat.

Not a fan of the Andi Brown book or recipes. I did like the playing with the dog and feeding really wet food though. See DogAware.com: Homemade Diets for Dogs for better ways of doing cooked. Or check out this recipe Low-Glycemic | B-Naturals.Com Newsletter 

Chicken is low in several B vitamins and many minerals, use more pork, beef, lamb and other red meats than chicken when you cook. Use variety and offer up a bit of beef liver for vitamin A, B12 and copper.


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## SharonG (Jul 13, 2011)

Hi Tuckersmom,
I just joined this forum..And the reason is that I am unsure about raw. I am cooking for my dogs for about 4 years now, they are very happy and healthy. I am cooking meat just for few minutes, livers not at all, I just drop them in the mix once everything else is cooked. I do give them rise and barely, but I think I will drop it from now on. I give them also raw vegies (recently found out that I should ground them), yogurt or raw milk (very little every day), raw grounded pumpkin seeds as natural dewormer and raw eggs with grounded shells. I see you interested in the same research, please tell me what did you find so far about this.


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