home cooked diet for doggies

[Shelteez2]

Originally posted by Twisterdog
Would you please explain what you mean by this?

Dogs lack something that makes it possible to break down the cellulose walls of veggies (I don't know about grains). That's why people who feed a natural diet pulp the veggies in a blender and sometimes slightly cook them, to mimic how they would be if a wild dog got them from the prey animals stomach.

I don't think I explained that well, but I hope you know what I mean....LOL

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by Shelteez2
cellulose walls

That's the word! I kept thinking "It sounds like cellulite..." LOL

Don't worry, you explained it better than I did.

[cali]

lol shelteez2 and wolfsoul about covered it! lol

[binka_nugget]

Originally posted by wolfsoul
That's the word! I kept thinking "It sounds like cellulite..." LOL

Gosh, Veggies with cellulite walls would be horrendous. LOL

[ChrisH]

This site may prove useful?
A step-by-step 'how to' prepare raw food for dogs and cats

I got it from this site. Scroll down to find information and links to other sites with recipes.
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/sampleraw.htm

[guster girl]

Wow, that is a lot of work! Geez, and a lot of money! That equipment (the grinder!) is massive! Is there anyone here that does anything that major for their pets? I'd like to, but, I just don't know.....And, I feed my cat raw beef, but, I've never given him veggies....A juicer might be cool to puree the veggies I do give to my puppy. And, I like the idea of freezing the puree like that....But, I could probably find the time to puree fruits and veggies in the morning before I go to work......I'll ask my vet about the veggies for the cat, too. That site is a little overwhelming, but, informative and interesting. Thanks for posting it!

[cali]

you can puree the veggies in a blender, and grinding the bones dont exactly do the dogs any good, the grinder is only for people who refuse to believe that dogs can chew. and its not a lot of work or a lot of money, our dogs diet is a heck of a lot cheaper then kibble ever was. we dont have any equipment that we bought just for the diet, we get our bones either free from big bobs meats, or really cheap from fellingers and sons. for breakfast we just toss veggied in the blender at the same time that we prepare veggies for the guinea pigs, pulp the veggies, poor in dishes, maybe add and egg or two, toss in some hamburger, or organ meat. and sometimes yogurt. stir, hand out. dinner pull bones from fridge, eye them for size and hand out. breaky only takes 10 minuts of my time for 6 dogs, and supper only takes 5.

[guster girl]

I feed the raw diet, with veggies and meat, I just was referring to that particular person's recipe and everything else. I think I'm going to do the flaxseeds, though. I've heard a lot of good things about the oil, and, it seems like it would be better to use the seeds ground up. I have a small food processer that I use right now, and, it's sufficient, because Finn is so little, but, I know when he's eating more, I'll need to use something a little more size appropriate. A juicer would be something cool to get, though, and, that Juiceman Jr isn't that expensive, from what I remember. Anyway, it sure looked good, though, on the site. Talk about some happy pets. I think it's awesome.

[Shelteez2]

I don't grind bones either, I feed them whole.

For their mush meal... I take a whole bunch of veggies and some organ meats and put it all in the food processor. I make a huge batch at once then I pour it into muffin tins and freeze them. Once frozen I remove them from the tins and put them in a container in the freezer. So when my dogs get fed raw I just defrost a veggie "muffin" and they have that for breakfast, and then they get their bones for supper.

[guster girl]

I've always known about beef bones, or oxtail, or whatever. But, chicken bones are ok to feed whole? I like the idea of the freezer cubes or muffins. They mentioned including the egg shells when you feed eggs, anyone have an opinion on that? I'm just trying to get as many ideas as I can!

[Shelteez2]

Originally posted by guster girl
I've always known about beef bones, or oxtail, or whatever. But, chicken bones are ok to feed whole? I like the idea of the freezer cubes or muffins. They mentioned including the egg shells when you feed eggs, anyone have an opinion on that? I'm just trying to get as many ideas as I can!

Raw chicken bones are okay. Mine have had chicken backs and necks, and they also get turkey necks. I do always supervise them when they get raw bones though.

Here's a pic of them enjoying a turkey neck.







Oops, forgot to comment on the eggshells. Eggshells are a good source of calcium and a lot of people will add them to the dogs food if there is a higher meat to bone ratio. Some people wash and dry them and crush them in something like a coffee bean grinder. My dogs think they are yummy treats and just crunch them down when I offer the halves.

[guster girl]

Thanks for the ideas! Finn will thank you! I've been thinking about most of the things mentioned anyway, but, just wanted to get more opinions than what I had. I need to buy some plain yogurt too. Thanks again....