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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on January 12, 2010 at 5:28pm

LOL, I barely cook for the family!!

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on January 12, 2010 at 10:02pm

Oh Bev,
I am totally opposite than you on this I LOVE to cook. I actually had my own catering business for 7 years that paid for college extras and weddings! My girlfriend and kids helped and we had so much fun...then costs got too high! On my days off I love to cook and then freeze meals. I also made Italian Wedding soup (minus the onions) and Chicken vegtable soup the other day and froze them in muffin pans then put them into zip locks. Now that Livvy is pregnant and finicky...I just warm one of these up and she is getting healthy veggies over her dry food. I will have to check out the book Joanna suggest more!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Beth on January 12, 2010 at 10:35pm

Yeah, I'm with you on that one!

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Permalink Reply by Rachael & Waffle on January 12, 2010 at 11:19pm

This made me laugh. A lot. xD

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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on January 12, 2010 at 5:44pm

I think the best is probably Pitcairn's Natural Health for Dogs and Cats; he's got lots of cooked recipes in there.

If you feed a raw diet the way to get it balanced is to feed as close to whole animals as possible, which means either actual whole animals or you "frankenstein" an animal together. So if you feed (for example) a chicken back, you should also feed a beef liver and a salmon head (maybe not that day, but the next).

When you're cooking for them, because you are not feeding bone and because the proteins are changed by cooking you have to adhere much more closely to a recipe and add supplements. Pitcairn has lots of good ones.

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Permalink Reply by Nichole and Shelly! on January 13, 2010 at 12:10pm

Thanks : ) I'll definitely check out that book, Im not really that into raw to be honest it wierds me out but I am trying to feed my girls better, we cant really afford to pay for the super good dog food so Im trying to find alternatives to kibble : )

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Permalink Reply by Julia on January 12, 2010 at 8:58pm

Bev, I think cooking for my dogs would be a major symptom of my empty-nest syndrome gone horribly wrong. I did, however, recently see that Fiesta Ware makes a dog bowl that matches my dishes! If I got those, the dogs could sit at the table with me and....uh oh.

Julia

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on January 13, 2010 at 8:07am

LOL

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Permalink Reply by Beauty and the Beast on January 13, 2010 at 12:40pm

I cook ground turkey or beef until done (about 1 lb) then add 2 cloves of garlic (minced), 1 medium carrot, 1/2 zuchini or some broccoli or green peas or green peppers. I try to mince the vegetables but it's better to use a blender if you have one.
So it comes out that the vegetables are almost raw - more vitamins and nutrients. Sometimes I chop green peppers or zuchini and keep them separately from the meat, then add a bit to the food.
I also feed meaty leftovers. Shiro's been getting steak for the past 2 days (I had some leftovers from dinner at in laws. They like their steak to say moo when they cut in so I just took most of my meal home).
He still gets his kibble on most days though. I know how hard it is to make sure all the nutrients are in the cooked food so high quality kibble takes care of it.

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