# Homemade food suggestions



## vtbouvs (Jan 10, 2010)

I have been feeding all my dogs raw for over 2 years.. I stopped a couple months ago when I found out I was pregnant and my OB voiced concerns about toxoplasmosis.. I am not 100% convinced it is a really a issue with dogs fed raw but I am not willing to compromise my baby just in case... So I stopped feeding raw and started everyone on a grain free kibble.. I am not happy with the results of the switch...
So I am now wanting information on complete cooked diets for dogs well I am pregnant.. Are the basics the same amounts/ratios?.. I understand a calcium supplement needs to be added which appears that ground eggs shells is a good source, how much? We have 4 dogs, 3 Canadian Curs (40lb hunting breed), and 1 Bouvier De Flandres. Thanks
PS I just found a little info on pressure cooking chicken bones would this supple the calcium that is needed?


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

You're going to have to grind up a whole lot of eggshells in order to get those dogs their necessary calcium ratios. I would get a second opinion about raw feeding dogs because that just sounds bogus. My mom used to cook for us and my dad when she was pregnant all the time, every single day, which always included handling raw meat and she never got sick and we were all born super healthy. 

However, it can be spread through infected raw meat so if you really want to go back to feeding raw you could always just wear latex gloves while handling the raw meat and/or make sure you wash your hands really well afterwards. 

If you really don't want to do that though, I would recommend a diet of cooked meat and raw bones to get your dogs their proper calcium levels or else finding a good calcium supplement to give instead. Good luck!


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

vtbouvs said:


> I stopped a couple months ago when I found out I was pregnant and my OB voiced concerns about toxoplasmosis.. I am not 100% convinced it is a really a issue with dogs fed raw but I am not willing to compromise my baby just in case...


I have known many many pregnant women that fed raw with no problem. I never knew a one who had problems with the raw meat or the dogs that ate it.

ETA: Also when their babies were born, they continued to feed raw without problems with the babies.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

I would think it is just a matter of cleanliness...

I would just wash my hands before and after handling the meat...


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## ruckusluvr (Oct 28, 2009)

wear gloves if you are worried.


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## vtbouvs (Jan 10, 2010)

Thank you everyone for your responses. Like I mentioned before I am stopping the raw feeding for now and am looking for more information on cooked diets.. If anyone could help with any suggestions I would really appreciate it... 
I understand that if I continued feeding raw it may not be risky at all to the baby and I have always been very careful when handling raw meat.. I am just not comfortable when my OB is questioning it. thanks


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

You can do home cooked, the only issue would be getting enough bone in the diet, considering bone you cannot cook. 

You would either have to keep up with RMB's, add bone meal instead or would have to add in a filler like rice and supplement with vitamins and minerals to replace the nutrition of the bone and bulk to their stool, last of which would be the least ideal. I personally have no idea where you can get bone meal, but I know that you can. I will research it a bit and get back.

To keep the meat still a bit raw, just sear it so you can keep some of the benefits of raw. 

Make sure that you are giving organs as well, they are an essential part of the diet. Our dogs actually prefer organs cooked LOL.



In the end, you have to do what makes you comfortable and stick to it. Its not like you are doing a horrible thing by not feeding raw for a while. Home cooked still kicks the pants off of kibble, even high quality, grain free kibbles.

Good luck

*ETA: I just did a quick search for bone meal on google and tons of links popped up. Seems like a fairly easy thing to order, but it looks to me like there are two kinds...fertilizer for plants and the nutritional supplement*.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Here's where I got my bone meal when I was making ground raw food for my kitties when I was switching them over to raw: Megs Meats Truckee, California


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## vtbouvs (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanks.. I am curious if anyone has experience with pressure cooking chicken with bones and if it would provide enough calcium???


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Pressure cooking is still cooking and going to make chicken bones dangerous for dogs to eat, at least it seems to be. I have never done it but would never think to give my dogs cooked chicken bones in any way shape or form. Unless pressure cooking chicken bones makes them into mush or something?

I am not sure if pressure cooking the bones would compromise the vitamins in the bones, but my guess would be that not 100% and that cooked bones would still provide enough calcium as well as the other important nutrients. Remember that bones are not fed exclusively for the calcium but for other vitamins and minerals as well, like Phosphorus.


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## vtbouvs (Jan 10, 2010)

From the information I have read that pressure cooking does turn the chicken bones into mush.. I was surprised when I found this info and am going to be talking to a local holistic vet tomorrow to get some more input...


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

yeah I've heard that about pressure cooking bones as well.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

How do you think they are able to put that wing in the "Merrick" canned wing-a-ling dog food, it would have to be pressure cooked, is my guess.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

My biggest question is: if you're still going to cook for your dogs, you'll still be handling the raw meat. How does that reduce the risk of contracting toxoplasmosis?


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

rannmiller said:


> My biggest question is: if you're still going to cook for your dogs, you'll still be handling the raw meat. How does that reduce the risk of contracting toxoplasmosis?


That's what I was wonderin' too. I would think that you would need to handle the raw meat more by preping it first than to just hand it to the dog. 

Do you feed your dogs indoors and are worried about leftover stuff on the floor? You could try to feed them outside. We've always fed Ania outside ('cuz I'm a germ-a-phobe) and I can assure you that even when the weather is crappy, she's still more excited to eat than care about the weather! :biggrin:

I understand your concerns, though. I've never had kids, but I would like to think that when the time comes, I play it safe. Baby trumps dog! :biggrin: The whole "no bleu cheese or sushi" thing may just kill me, though!

Richelle


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Oh! And I meant to put this in my last post, but forgot. 

Though I don't have any recipes to impart to you myself, I remember seeing countless books with homemade dog food recipes at Petco. I was seriously considering doing it until I found out about feeding raw (MUCH less work!). 

If you have a Petco near you (probably even PetSmart would have some), you should check it out. If not, I would imagine that any book store would have some stuff too.

Richelle


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## vtbouvs (Jan 10, 2010)

rannmiller said:


> My biggest question is: if you're still going to cook for your dogs, you'll still be handling the raw meat. How does that reduce the risk of contracting toxoplasmosis?



I will only be handling raw meat once in a while for prep of a few weeks at a time batch and freezing the food.. instead of raw prep plus handling raw daily. Also with raw I have to wash the Bouviers beard.. (will still need to do this but with less possible risk)..
I do also feed inside this time of year I won't feed outside.. We get many below freezing days and 3 of the dogs are very short haired..

I really was hoping to get some good educated information on 
cooked diets.. I thought I posted this in a appropriate place please correct me on that if I am wrong... I could understand all these unhelpful comments if I had posted in the raw forum..
I guess I should have excluded some of the details as to why I made this decision..


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

I'm really sorry. I'm guilty of questioning your motives and moving this thread in a different direction. You're absolutely right. This thread was posted under the recipe section, not the raw section.

I thought that Danemama and Rann had some very good ideas (cooking the meat, including RMB's, adding bone meal). Unfortunately, I lack the nutritional knowledge to adequately design a cooked diet. But it seems to me that since you were already feeding a raw diet, you could move to a cooked diet that includes the same components of raw (SUCH AS the cooked meat, RMB's, and possibly bone meal). That would likely be the easiest, most effective way to go. 

If you're looking to do something a little more involved, I would definitely check into some of the abundant literature there is on the subject. As DaneMama said earlier, ANY homemade diet is better than kibble.

I applaud you for considering a temporary homemade diet instead of just reaching for the bag. Obviously you know of the virtues of feeding raw. And while raw is not an option right now, you are willing to go for the next best thing. It shows that you really care for you dogs. You're gonna be a good mommy! :biggrin:

Richelle


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

i also applaud you for still wanting to prepare the meals for your dogs rather than feeding kibble, but I don't appreciate you saying that we aren't being helpful. We are _trying_ to be helpful but we were just asking a few questions to figure out more of what you're looking for in prep and what you want to get into. Sorry if that offended you. Having said that, Ania makes an excellent point that pet stores and Barnes & Noble both carry books on home-cooked diets. Also, I know that a few posters have posted recipes for home cooked food on here before in this very section no less. 

I think my favorite suggestion of Ania's is just to make a cooked diet that mimics the raw diet you were feeding. You can either pressure cook the bones for calcium, or add some raw bones a few times a week.


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## Rosemary (Jan 23, 2010)

*Pressure cooking*

Hi - I pressure cook my Siberian Husky's food, and have been doing so for two months now. I pressure cook the chicken for about an hour and a half. I transfer the chicken to a bowl to cool and add the vegetables (usually four vegetables) to the pot - skin and all, and cook for about half an hour. I then de-bone the chicken and put the bones into my liquidizer with some of the stock from the pot. The end product is a thick paste type substance with NO pieces of bone floating around. I also add cooked brown rice and soup mix (barley etc) which I cook separately. I cook enough for one week, and freeze his food in tubs. My Siberian has a very sensitive stomach and cannot eat processed food. Since he has been on this diet he has done extremely well. He looks fantastic and loves his food. He also gets meaty bones to chew on to keep his teeth healthy, and loves yogurt and scrambled eggs which he gets as a treat once or twice a week.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Rosemary said:


> Hi - I pressure cook my Siberian Husky's food, and have been doing so for two months now. I pressure cook the chicken for about an hour and a half. I transfer the chicken to a bowl to cool and add the vegetables (usually four vegetables) to the pot - skin and all, and cook for about half an hour. I then de-bone the chicken and put the bones into my liquidizer with some of the stock from the pot. The end product is a thick paste type substance with NO pieces of bone floating around. I also add cooked brown rice and soup mix (barley etc) which I cook separately. I cook enough for one week, and freeze his food in tubs. My Siberian has a very sensitive stomach and cannot eat processed food. Since he has been on this diet he has done extremely well. He looks fantastic and loves his food. He also gets meaty bones to chew on to keep his teeth healthy, and loves yogurt and scrambled eggs which he gets as a treat once or twice a week.


Since you already feed RMB's, have you considered just feeding your meat & bones raw? He'd benefit even more from what you're feeding him and it would take you about 2 minutes to feed vs. a few hours


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## Rosemary (Jan 23, 2010)

Hi - yes, feeding raw is the ultimate goal. The diet he is currently on is working for him, and we have started feeding raw meat for lunch, but we are taking it slowly and hopefully with time, we will phase out the cooked food, but until then he is doing well and enjoying his food.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

I feed cooked to my 3 little guys. I got the recipes from _Home Prepared Dog and Cat Diets_ by Dr Donald Strombeck. 

They just had bloodwork done and everything looks great. Coats are good, digestion good, all good, no complaints.

I feed cooked because of several different reasons. But anyway,
I multiplied the recipe enough to make 2 weeks worth of food at a time for all 3. They seem to do great on potatoes more so than rice or noodles.

So in my giant pot I cook the meat and potatoes together with some water and veggies. Once everything is cooked, I add in the bonemeal, oil and (if poultry) no-salt suppliment. Very easy. Mix and stir and then cool and store in rubbermaid containers. I freeze the extra containers. 

Also then they each get 1 pet tab per day. My guys are much smaller than yours but I watch for sales on ground meat/chicken/turkey. 

Super easy. Then all I do for their meals is- take out the container from the frige, scoop out a serving into their bowl, add vitamin (and if the dog needs meds, this works great to hide the pill in) and feed.

I know that many people feel raw is the best of the best, I do what works for me and them, and they are doing great.

ETA: If you do have a pressure cooker and want to try that- google "dale's boxer stew" and read his page. Scroll down to 'pressure cooker method." He pressure cooks chickens until the bones are soft and then adds potatoes/etc. for his boxers. I am thinking of trying this actually, once my bonemeal supply runs out.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Shamrockmommy said:


> I feed cooked because of several different reasons.


I'm just curious... do you mind sharing those reasons?


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

jdatwood said:


> I'm just curious... do you mind sharing those reasons?


There have come to be a few, actually...

I have an autoimmune disorder and any other immune challenge could make me very sick. I do handle raw meat, for myself and for the dogs, but the food we eat is cooked and I wash hands and sanitize surfaces. 

I also have small children who kiss doggy faces and play in the backyard where the dogs potty (even though I pick up poops when we're outside). The risk to me is just not worth it. 

My minpin also gets explosive diarrhea on raw. Even the smallest raw tidbit or wing tip sends his stomach into exit mode LOL.

The last reason is my bichon girls have furry faces and they can get quite bloody when eating raw. It's not a matter of using a baby wipe to clean their beards, the stuff gets smooshed in them. So then it sours and stinks and I end up washign faces too much. Not very much fun to snuggle close to them when they are gooey and stinky.

I only cook the meat until there are no traces of pink. 

 Works for us.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Thanks for taking the time to reply! :biggrin:


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

You're welcome!
Congrats on your pregnancy


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## CathyHubbard (Sep 19, 2010)

*Bone meal*

I cook the food i feed my Chinese Cresteds and supplement their calcium source with nutritional bone meal that I purchased at my local health food store. You can also purchase it from vet supply stores, online nutritional shops, etc. It was very inexpensive. The brand I use is a NOW product.


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## sapphos (Sep 10, 2010)

I know the original topic is quite old but if anyone ever has concerns about Toxomoplasmosis because of pregnancy it's quite easy to be tested for the antibodies. When I was pregnant the doc had me tested because I have cats and always have since I was a kid and wouldn't ya know it, no problem with cleaning cat poopies since I already had antibodies. It can be a scary thing however if you haven't got the antibodies since you can lose a fetus hence probably why the original poster was worried.


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## Jodysmom (Jan 9, 2010)

this is a spam post


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## Jessvin (May 23, 2011)

Yes Vtbouvs i agree with you.Raw foods are best for a dog.I also give him raw food but he also wants cooked food.Well your post is nice and helpful for everyone in dog's eating matter.Thanks for posting.


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