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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Marie O'Bryan on March 23, 2011 at 3:52pm

i cant say for sure if she is getting all the nutrients she needs. try googling it as just like us, dogs need a certain amounts of vitamins to be healthy. but i really hope you are cooking the pork for her as pork has a lot of nasty worms that us, let alone dogs can ingest. pork needs to be cooked all the way to kill the nasty things in pork

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Permalink Reply by Lynne Cerny on March 23, 2011 at 6:15pm

I think that this book might be helpful!  I love the website so check it out.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/real-food-for-heal...

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Permalink Reply by Jane on March 23, 2011 at 7:34pm

I'm not that familiar with cooked diets for dogs, but personally it would make me very nervous to feed that to a growing puppy without a serious analysis of the nutritional content. What is the protein, fat, carb percentages? How about calcium, Vitamin A, D, Omega 3s, etc etc?

 

I did find this article which seemed to be somewhat informative.

http://www.dogaware.com/articles/wdjhomemade3.html

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Permalink Reply by LaRissa L. Head on March 23, 2011 at 8:32pm

I also make homemade food for my two dogs (as well as my cats). There are plenty of multivitamins that you can get from either petstores, online, or your vet (I go with on from my vet) that you can add to your food to make sure they are getting a healthy balance of nutrition.

I know i try to mix up what sort of meat they are getting as well, just because in nature they would not be eating the same foods day in and day out. I like to add salmon for omega oils.

I also don't cook my veggies because i want them to have the whole nutrition from them, and not have it cooked out. Broccoli, green beans, pumpkin, sprouts, carrots are all great things that you could use to mix up the meal every once in a while.

I like to add greek yogurt or goat cheese as well. Puppies need lots of calcium to grow all those teeth them are biting you with!

 

Your recipe sounds great though, and I am sure your vet would be able to tell you if your little pup is not getting enough nutrition. Good luck and have fun!

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Permalink Reply by Beth on March 23, 2011 at 10:07pm

I think it's very nice you cook for your dog, and everything in there sounds healthy.   However, I would be concerned it's not nutritionally complete.   With no organ meats it's doubtful there is enough iron, or enough B vitamins or trace minerals.  I see no obvious source of calcium either.  Not sure how much dogs need, but I know they need some.  

 

I get routine bloodwork done for medication I take, and despite eating a fairly healthy diet and taking supplements I am usually anemic and short on D.  Grains and cereals for humans are supplemented with B vitamins.  Iodine is added to salt.  In other words, it's really hard to meet all nutritional needs just from eating food, especially with a modern diet that lacks the nutritious parts of animals that we now consider waste.   

 

Personally I would feed a growing pup a high-quality large breed puppy food or all-stages food.  If you would like to cook for your dog, you can either make it about 25% of her daily ration, OR get a dog cookbook written by an animal nutritionist to help ensure you're meeting all her dietary needs.   Shortages of certain key nutrients can weaken the immune system, lead to increased risk of joint or soft-tissue injury, prevent proper hardening of bones and all sorts of things that would not be obvious in an exam. 

 

Cooking for pets is enjoyable and an act of love, and with all the petfood scares I can certainly understand the impulse.  What you have sounds like a healthy meal but not a complete diet, if you see what I mean.  Just like if I had fish and veggies for supper, it would be a nice balanced single meal but not something that should be eaten all the time.  

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Permalink Reply by Beth on March 23, 2011 at 10:09pm

Just did some googling on line, for instance, and while a serving of beef (something we think of as high in iron) has only 10% of the RDA of iron for people, a serving of liver has around 30%, plus over 400% of the recommended daily allowance of copper.  

 

Those minerals don't show up in large amounts in most non-organ foods and most women in this country are iron-deficient without supplementation, and that's just one example of many.

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Permalink Reply by joshua fyksen on March 28, 2011 at 11:10am

Thanks everyone.  I made this months batch adding broccoli, chicken liver and ground egg shells.  Also, the pork and oats were cooked in milk. I left the veggies raw.

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Permalink Reply by Nelly on April 8, 2011 at 3:39pm

Good for you.  I have been cooking for my 3 corgi's ever since I got my first one who will be 12 years old this August.

I cook them turkey meat, brown rice, beans, mixed vegetables and for treats they get frozen broccoli, cauilflower, green beans and any other vege's I have on hand.  The only dog treats I give them are these holistic dog treats I buy from Amazon.  They contain only 4 ingredients. How healthier can that be????

Now about a year and 1/2 ago I got myself a new corgi puppy and not feed her home cooked  food until she turned about 9 months. I did give her good puppy food which she was not too happy with .  She is now eating my cooked food and loves it.  They are all extremely healthy and happy dogs.  My soon to be 12 year old does not look anywhere near that age.  He still runs and plays and catches his toys and acts like he was still a young dog. 

So I would keep cooking for your dog and you can always look on line to make sure about all the vitamins our much loved furry friends require and give it them. Also they love fruits. 

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on April 8, 2011 at 5:17pm

They have many books out there that you can look for recipes for home cooked meals. It is definitely much harder than it seems to make a balanced diet for your dog. I've included the link to the one my vet uses

 

http://www.amazon.com/Home-Prepared-Dog-Cat-Diets-Alternative/dp/08...

 

another option is to go to your local veterinary teaching hospital and they usually will have a nutritionist on staff that can put together a menu for you. I'd steer clear of reading stuff online and would suggest getting a book written by a vet or a nutritionist. Online anybody can write up a menu and call it balanced, even a 10 year old kid, so just make sure to do your homework. Your vet should be able to point you in the right direction for sources even if she/he doesn't feed a home cooked meal, if they have nowhere to point you, I might consider seeing another vet

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