I, too, used to cook for our Sadie. Needless to say she was much happier and healthier.
Sadie has been gone a while now, but I still have the recipe I developed. I also used a crock pot (a big one) and made enough so that I only had to cook once a week.
Also, rice is much cheaper to buy at Sam’s and probably Costco and BJs but I have no experience with the latter 2.
Finally, please—no hot dogs! They are full of preservatives as you probably know.
To those asking about what kind of vegetables, I used frozen peas and carrots; frozen ‘California mix’ of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower; frozen creamed corn, string beans to name a few. Nothing with salt or seasoning, no garlic, onion, ginger, cinnamon,etc. Always check the package to make sure a dog can safely eat the veggies.
Please consider adding a product called Meat Mixer. It has simplified my home cooked meals for my dog and is an important step in providing a balanced diet. I may spend more for a meat based diet for my dog, but I believe I save a ton of money avoiding the vet.
AKC says no to garlic.I was unhappy to find this out as I used to give my dog very basic garlic bread to fight fleas and she loved it. anyway, more to it, here's the article about it:
I used to make my dog’s food, very similar to that described here. I also added eggs, yogurt, blueberries, and pumpkin. One note about the bones. I would cook the chicken in a crock pot for about 24 hours. The bones would be completely mush, no need to separate them out and the dog got all the benefits of a bone broth.
I took make my own dog food. I cook chicken and rice. Sometimes I get the roasted chicken already cooked at the grocery. They mark them down to 2.00 at night.
One of my dogs is definitely allergic to chicken. This has put me off trying this, because the alternatives to chicken are $$$$$$! My friend does it, but she uses chicken. Mine are both eating a weird protein limited ingredient diet. The protein isn’t that weird, it’s venison, but definitely not what I can easily purchase.
THAT would definitely make things difficult, Shelly! I'm honestly not sure what I would do if one of my dogs developed an allergy to chicken. I hadn't thought of venison, though...wonder if I could connect with a local deer farm? Or maybe I'd have to take up hunting lol...might be a good way to deal with the deer in my garden lmao!
Shelly, I totally understand because mine can't have chicken either. It does not bode well in the butt department 😂 💩 I think chicken might be a common allergy for dogs.
Thank you Sam. I’m saving this on my phone, do much good info! I’ve been dogless for several years now and have longed for another but was daunted by the feeding cost. This is inspiring.
I love to see that I’m not alone in home cooking for my pup. My neighbors are nutritional biologists and gave me a recipe they make for their pups. They did all the research of what nutrients dogs need and even got the food tested at General Mills to see if it had the nutritional values they wanted. I call it “muttloaf” as it is a mixture of ground beef, pork, chicken, bison (whatever is on sale) with rye flakes and oats, pumpkin, veggies, chia seeds, and parsley. I have a friend who used to own a deli and has all the commercial equipment so I go to her place once a season and make a big batch I bag up in the deep freeze. I do supplement with some
Kibble just to keep my pups tummy okay with kibble for the random times I’m on a road trip and can’t have access to a fridge.
My parents had a pup when I was a kid who was 15 and sickly. The vet put her on a homemade diet very similar to this chicken rice stew and she perked right up and lived to 20.
Wow Teri! This is fascinating! I don't think I ever knew this about you and your dog. You all are inspiring me to want to make some changes. Is it expensive the way you do it?
In one of the comments you mentioned transitioning by mixing with commercial food. We used to always do this, making rice and chicken and mixing in about 20% store bought for our dogs. Plus any leftovers from the fridge.
I think that's what vets recommend as well...gradually introducing any new diet. I'll let Sam answer the specifics but I think this article was FULL of awesome info.
Great post. I home cooked for my 10 pound dog: chicken or turkey, potato or yam, green beans, no supplements. She lived to 22. I’m now home cooking for my 7 pound dog. Same routine but have added dog supplements. They both had digestive issues that were resolved with home cooking. I wish I had done this for my golden but was daunted by the volume. The stew was what I needed to do.
Mighty persuasive -- with Nora's seemingly endless digestive issues we're now feeding her a prescription diet of hydrolyzed protein kibble, which looks sort of like oyster crackers and costs a bloody fortune. I've thought about making her food at home, but it'd take a whole lotta research to figure out what won't trigger her gut issues. Not eating dead voles she finds in the field would help, but good luck explaining that to Nora.
Sep 2·edited Sep 2Liked by Sam(antha) M. Burns, Kristi Keller
Thanks so much, I have been wondering about this since we got our dog 3 years ago, was daunted by figuring out the nutrition. Sam, do you have any experience with the transition from commercial kibbles to homemade food?
Well both my dogs went through that transition when I made the leap 4yrs ago. I believe I mixed the kibble with the rice/stew until we'd used up what we had on hand of the commercial stuff. No significant signs of bodily distress, but I would just go gradually and watch your dog for cues. A lot of this is just about being more observant of your pet. All good stuff!
Thank you, Sheryl!🙏 I have a few strategies when it comes to how much I feed them. I started with a calculator I found online, a recommendation of how much each dog should be eating according to their size and weight. But I also watch their size...Murphy’s will eat everything I put in front of him, as labs are known to do lol, so when his waist starts losing it's definition and gets wider, I know I'm giving him too much. Beebe will only eat what she needs, so if she's leaving food in her dish she's just not needing those extra calories. And again, I'm just always conscious of the size of their waist. An overweight dog is more at risk for health issues--same as people.
Thank you. I will find the online calculator. My dog tends to graze and only eat what he needs but, I didn’t notice when I make his food he eats it all everytime!
And I thought I lived in a ‘retail desert’!🤣
I, too, used to cook for our Sadie. Needless to say she was much happier and healthier.
Sadie has been gone a while now, but I still have the recipe I developed. I also used a crock pot (a big one) and made enough so that I only had to cook once a week.
Also, rice is much cheaper to buy at Sam’s and probably Costco and BJs but I have no experience with the latter 2.
Finally, please—no hot dogs! They are full of preservatives as you probably know.
To those asking about what kind of vegetables, I used frozen peas and carrots; frozen ‘California mix’ of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower; frozen creamed corn, string beans to name a few. Nothing with salt or seasoning, no garlic, onion, ginger, cinnamon,etc. Always check the package to make sure a dog can safely eat the veggies.
A good mix for sure! Garlic is okay though, and can even help deter fleas!
Please consider adding a product called Meat Mixer. It has simplified my home cooked meals for my dog and is an important step in providing a balanced diet. I may spend more for a meat based diet for my dog, but I believe I save a ton of money avoiding the vet.
AKC says no to garlic.I was unhappy to find this out as I used to give my dog very basic garlic bread to fight fleas and she loved it. anyway, more to it, here's the article about it:
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-garlic/
(my own dog was allergic to chicken and beef.)
I get my rice at Walmart. The nearest Sam’s Club is almost an hour and a half away! Not even sure where to find a Costco in Maine lol.
Great read, Sam! We have three terriers with delicate tummies, and I've considered making their fiddles, but I doubt I will 😜
If I do, I will follow your advice.
It was a great reminder to take better care of myself, BTW. Thanks a bunch!
I used to make my dog’s food, very similar to that described here. I also added eggs, yogurt, blueberries, and pumpkin. One note about the bones. I would cook the chicken in a crock pot for about 24 hours. The bones would be completely mush, no need to separate them out and the dog got all the benefits of a bone broth.
Wow, I didn't even know that was a thing (mushy chicken bones).
I took make my own dog food. I cook chicken and rice. Sometimes I get the roasted chicken already cooked at the grocery. They mark them down to 2.00 at night.
Yes! That's not bad if you have a small dog.🙌
I make. I hate the word corrector. Lol
I make chicken mince with ham and peas or carrots for Tod. I blend it up and freeze it in ration sizes. He loves it🐾💖
One of my dogs is definitely allergic to chicken. This has put me off trying this, because the alternatives to chicken are $$$$$$! My friend does it, but she uses chicken. Mine are both eating a weird protein limited ingredient diet. The protein isn’t that weird, it’s venison, but definitely not what I can easily purchase.
THAT would definitely make things difficult, Shelly! I'm honestly not sure what I would do if one of my dogs developed an allergy to chicken. I hadn't thought of venison, though...wonder if I could connect with a local deer farm? Or maybe I'd have to take up hunting lol...might be a good way to deal with the deer in my garden lmao!
Shelly, I totally understand because mine can't have chicken either. It does not bode well in the butt department 😂 💩 I think chicken might be a common allergy for dogs.
I was very impressed with this article, Sam!
Thank you Sam. I’m saving this on my phone, do much good info! I’ve been dogless for several years now and have longed for another but was daunted by the feeding cost. This is inspiring.
What vegetables do you put into the stew?
My vet recommended peas and carrots specifically, but I've since added canned diced potatoes to the mix as well.
Peas and carrots sounds good.
Oh man, peas and carrots is such a simple, cheap option! Those big frozen bags!
I love to see that I’m not alone in home cooking for my pup. My neighbors are nutritional biologists and gave me a recipe they make for their pups. They did all the research of what nutrients dogs need and even got the food tested at General Mills to see if it had the nutritional values they wanted. I call it “muttloaf” as it is a mixture of ground beef, pork, chicken, bison (whatever is on sale) with rye flakes and oats, pumpkin, veggies, chia seeds, and parsley. I have a friend who used to own a deli and has all the commercial equipment so I go to her place once a season and make a big batch I bag up in the deep freeze. I do supplement with some
Kibble just to keep my pups tummy okay with kibble for the random times I’m on a road trip and can’t have access to a fridge.
My parents had a pup when I was a kid who was 15 and sickly. The vet put her on a homemade diet very similar to this chicken rice stew and she perked right up and lived to 20.
I do believe homemade is best.
Teri, please DM me the recipe. We have four containers of organic chai seeds, and I don't want them to go to waste 🙏
Will do. Setting a reminder to do this when I get home.
That's fantastic! What great neighbors to have. I'm hoping Murphy has another 8 years in him...
Wow Teri! This is fascinating! I don't think I ever knew this about you and your dog. You all are inspiring me to want to make some changes. Is it expensive the way you do it?
It’s cheaper than kibble. I’ll send you the recipe on DM.
I don't even own a dog, and I still found the article interesting. So many things would never have occurred to me.
I honestly hope, I'll have one day such a comment on my posts. Best comment ever. Thanks for the laugh. 🤣😎
Best comment ever! Sometimes we don't even know what we want to know 😁
That's awesome, Bill! Thank you!🙏
Great article!
In one of the comments you mentioned transitioning by mixing with commercial food. We used to always do this, making rice and chicken and mixing in about 20% store bought for our dogs. Plus any leftovers from the fridge.
Exactly! Dogs *love* leftovers!🙌
I think that's what vets recommend as well...gradually introducing any new diet. I'll let Sam answer the specifics but I think this article was FULL of awesome info.
Great post. I home cooked for my 10 pound dog: chicken or turkey, potato or yam, green beans, no supplements. She lived to 22. I’m now home cooking for my 7 pound dog. Same routine but have added dog supplements. They both had digestive issues that were resolved with home cooking. I wish I had done this for my golden but was daunted by the volume. The stew was what I needed to do.
That is amazing commitment! 22 years is such a great payoff too.
Mighty persuasive -- with Nora's seemingly endless digestive issues we're now feeding her a prescription diet of hydrolyzed protein kibble, which looks sort of like oyster crackers and costs a bloody fortune. I've thought about making her food at home, but it'd take a whole lotta research to figure out what won't trigger her gut issues. Not eating dead voles she finds in the field would help, but good luck explaining that to Nora.
Lol Jan, I had to laugh about the voles...not funny, I know.
I wonder if your vet could recommend home cooking that would be okay for her issues?
We can ask . . . but forgive me if I sound cynical; the vet, I'm pretty sure, gets some baksheesh from selling/prescribing the fancy kibble.
Thanks so much, I have been wondering about this since we got our dog 3 years ago, was daunted by figuring out the nutrition. Sam, do you have any experience with the transition from commercial kibbles to homemade food?
Well both my dogs went through that transition when I made the leap 4yrs ago. I believe I mixed the kibble with the rice/stew until we'd used up what we had on hand of the commercial stuff. No significant signs of bodily distress, but I would just go gradually and watch your dog for cues. A lot of this is just about being more observant of your pet. All good stuff!
Thank you, Sheryl!🙏 I have a few strategies when it comes to how much I feed them. I started with a calculator I found online, a recommendation of how much each dog should be eating according to their size and weight. But I also watch their size...Murphy’s will eat everything I put in front of him, as labs are known to do lol, so when his waist starts losing it's definition and gets wider, I know I'm giving him too much. Beebe will only eat what she needs, so if she's leaving food in her dish she's just not needing those extra calories. And again, I'm just always conscious of the size of their waist. An overweight dog is more at risk for health issues--same as people.
Thank you. I will find the online calculator. My dog tends to graze and only eat what he needs but, I didn’t notice when I make his food he eats it all everytime!