Dear DU pet owners, why buy pet food?

[cali]

It's incredibly easy to make. It takes minutes and you can freeze it in baggies or containers. I've been doing it for years, and hey, my dog will be 19 in May- though honestly I don't think I can credit homemade dogfood for her longevity.

[uppityperson]

1. 95 LB dog with special needs diet.

Many many allergies. 95#. Farts. EOM.

[Hotler]

7. Boil up a pound or two of...

rice and just before you're done boiling the rice throw in a pund or two of cheap ground beef. maybe add a dab of butter or canola oil, a short shake of salt. Cool and serve, give the dog one Pet Tab vitamin each day.

[uppityperson]

9. No rice, soy, corn. We do make up spud or sweet spud mizxtures sometimes.

It would cost too much, even though we already have him on a decent (human grade meat product) pet food ($45 for a bag). Too much trouble, time, money and the gas gets overwhelming with much dietary changes.

[svpadgham]

14. Man,

With food, gas, and everything else getting so damned expensive, that's what I'm making for my own meals. I usually just add carrots and stuff to replace the pet vitamin though.

[whistle]

2. what is in homemade dogfood ?

[DemoTex]

3. Got recipes, cali?

I've got plenty of room in my freezer.


Nick-Nick

[TahitiNut]

33. Great looking puuhppy, Mac.

Looks like a Lab mix ... I'll bet he's fun.

[cali]

34. I usually

take three pounds ground beef and brown it, add a cup and a half of rice, water, a couple of bouillion cubes, cover and cook on low until the rice is almost absorbed, then dump in a half bag of frozen mixed veggies, and cook another five minutes or so. I bag it in 2 cup servings and freeze. I thaw a bag a day, and sprinkle it with a teaspoon of brewers yeast. My dog is small- smaller than your adorable Nick-Nick, I think- she weighs 27 pounds. You could freeze it in larger portions, and you can also mix it with a high quality dried dogfood product.

[Maine-ah]

54. check that salt content

boullion cubes are mostly salt.

[cali]

63. Yeah, but one or two per the amount

of other ingredients is negligable. And as I said my dog will be nineteen in May and is still active.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

66. Hi. What kind of dog is that? I have a mix - wire hair terrier

that looks a little like Nick-Nick

[GregD]

4. Anything for our amazingly finicky kitties?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

56. My kitty is finicky too. She's down to 4 types of wet and 2 types of dry food. Luckily PetSmart

takes back food.

She also likes chicken, ham, and I will not give her tuna--since I've heard that it isn't good for pussycats.

It's her birthday today!!!!

[Poiuyt]

59. Happy Birthday from Carl!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

60. Amy says "Thank You!"!!!! Carl is Gorgeous!!!!! eom

[toadzilla]

5. i buy a fresh organic by-product free frozen food for my animals.

its not much more expensive than the canned believe it or not. my cats auto immune disease has almost completely disappeared since i took her off the commercial food. i prefer buying that to making my own because i don't care to handle the raw meat. (I'm a very strict veggie myself) and also i feel its very important to include organs in the food if your trying to provide all the necessary vitamins. you can buy organs from the organic butcher in my town for i think like 60 cents a pound, but i don't know that i could stomach going to the butcher for a big bag of organs.

[and-justice-for-all]

36. I would love to get my Cats off the commercial junk....

...I was feeding them all Blue Buffelo, I still fed it to 2 of the 3. But the Male just had to have an allergic reaction to it. So now he is back on the Purina Junk..

[woodsprite]

6. Our dog is on WD high fiber dog food from the vet.

We cut the price a bit by finding that she can tolerate a split 50/50. She's 7 yrs old and the last 2-3 weeks she's been increasing her water intake and starting to pee all over the den. She's being checked now for diabetes, kidney function, liver panels, urine cultures, thyroid, etc. If it comes back as diabetes, do you know if treatment is the same as a human? Lay off the carbs and regulate insulin. I figure carbs are alot of what's in the dry foods?

Right now she's on a strong antibiotic, which causes her to go off her food and she's down from 77 lbs to 71 in 2 wks. :(

Do you know of a good site someplace that talks about putting together dog food from people food?

[sinkingfeeling]

46. I have a diabetic and Cushings' dog. If your dog does have diabetes, you will

have to inject insulin twice a day, 12 hours apart and feed at the same time. Diabetic dogs should have 'good' carbs, high fiber, protein, and are sometimes put on special diets. My girl is about 65 pounds and eats Science Diet Light dry and canned mixed with lean (99% fat free) turkey or beef, one large tablespoon of 100% canned pumpkin, green beans or other green vegetable, and yellow squash. She takes 16 units of Humulin N insulin twice a day.

An excellent source of help and information is on this forum: http://p090.ezboard.com/fpetswithdiabetescaninediabetes

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

8. Cause I'm Fucking Lazy. Seriously. I Wish I Had A Better Answer For Ya.

:)

[Stuckinthebush]

10. BWAAHAA! Best answer!

Me too OMC!

:D

[Ilsa]

22. Same reason I sometimes take shortcuts with our people food! nt

[Violet_Crumble]

11. Laziness, mainly...

My dog is a tiny foxy cross, so a $1.50 can of dogfood lasts her about three days anyway. And being a bit of a primadonna pooch, she's very fussy about what she will and won't eat, and I found a brand of dogfood that she doesn't turn her nose up at and I tend to stick with it...

but I'd be interested in any recipes you've got coz I might give them a try and see how they go...

[TheConstantGardener]

12. Cook it for me and you have a deal

[Pavulon]

13. Time

I have mad animals. I have lots of time in travel and my wife has an insane schedule.

[toadzilla]

15. Here is a link for natural pet food for lazy owners, like me.

http://www.primalpetfoods.com

or

http://www.wildkittycatfood.com/

i feed both my cat and my dog mostly primal nuggets, they are wonderful. though my dog is very small which makes it affordable for me. im not sure what the cost would add up to for a larger dog. i really liked the wild kitty for my cat, but it was more expensive, and due to my cats specific health condition my vet wanted her to be on a red meat based diet.

[AZBlue]

30. Thanks for the links - I'll check them out!

eom

[Kber]

44. You can also check out

flintriverranch.com

It's natural, human grade baked kibble.

More expensive than the best stuff you can buy at PetSmart, but the dogs eat less (after they get used to it - when we started on it, my puppy couldn't get enough 'cause of the taste, I think), so I don't think it's really that much more in the end.

They deliver and will put you on a delivery schedule if you want.

But the very best thing about it is they digest more, and therefore poop less!

I have also cooked food upon occasion

1/2 lb ground beef, chicken, turkey, or pork
2 eggs
1/4 cup fresh mixed veggies (or flash frozen)
1 cup whole milk
2 - 3 cups brown rice, crumbled whole grain bread or whole wheat pasta (cooked)
2 crushed vitamin supplements (enough for a 40 - 50 lb dog)
2 crushed calcium supplements (or you can crush up the egg shells - a coffee bean grinder works well for this

Bake at 375 for 20 - 30 minutes. This should be OK for a 50 lb dog for 1 day.

Obviously, increase the serving size for larger dogs, decrease for smaller.

I make pretty large batches, break it into smaller servings and freeze.

[bentley]

53. Thanks for the link to flintriverranch.com and your recipe.

I ordered the sample package for dogs today and plan on trying your recipe. Thanks again.

[karlrschneider]

16. I might try it if I knew how...but with 3 large doggies and 1 large cat

I'm afraid it would be a little too taxing.

[Morgana LaFey]

17. Because I have 3 50+lb dogs for whom I tried to make food

and I was going thru 7 lbs. of meaty chicken (thighs, primarily) and a LOT of veggies and a pretty good amount of barley every 4-5 days and still had to supplement with a lot of kibble. I couldn't afford either the food or the time.

And my cat flat out refused to eat it. :shrug:

[Straight Shooter]

18. For those who want to create meals for their pets, including special needs:

Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. It's a great book, I've had it several years, and it covers all kinds of topics. Friends of mine borrowed it for their Golden Lab, and absolutely turned that dog's health around when they began making the meals for her.

I'm a bit lazy, and usually don't do much cooking for myself, either.

For my sweetie-pie, I buy Abady, or Solid Gold. Then I add salmon and rice, or maybe raw or slightly cooked hamburger to bring out the juices. My furry friend is 15 and hikes with me every day for at least an hour and a half. She has the energy of a 5-year-old, but she's a mixed breed and they tend to be a little luckier in the longevity department, as far as I know. People are always commenting on how great her coat is and the vet last week said she is in remarkable shape.

I recommend Abady 100 percent. You'll need to search the Internet to find a distributor near where you live; it can be hard to find if you're in a remote area. I buy Solid Gold for their canned food, and sweetie-pie loves it.

[zalinda]

19. I've heard of one that seems easy

You put chicken in a crock pot and cook it for 24 hours. Apparently the bones even soften up enough to mash up with rice, potato or anything else you want to add to it.

I'm saving up all the necks and stuff that they put back into the chickens, in a big bag in the freezer. When I have enough, I'll get some cheap legs and thighs to add to it and try it for my cat.

zalinda

[toadzilla]

24. ive been told to never never ever feed cooked bones

raw bones are ok! cooked bones are never ok to feed to your pets, they splinter. give your cats all the raw necks they want though, its great for their teeth.

if your worried about bacteria on the meat you can pour some scalding how water quickly over the outside of the however cats and dogs have a much much higher resistance to bacteria in their food than people do so its really not necessary.

[karlrschneider]

25. I believe that too, just because, I guess, I've always been told so.

I think it just applies to fowl and fish, though (at least that's how I approach it)

We have 3 doggies and a cat. The kitty and one dog both love raw fish that we catch in the lake we live by and it doesn't seem to bother them but I -never- give cooked chicken bones to any of them. Maybe I've gotten bad information but I'd rather be safe with my anna-mules than sorry. :D

[toadzilla]

26. im pretty sure it applies to all kinds of bones

according to my vet anyways, and all of the reading ive done. i only tend to give my dog and cat chicken bones because i dont eat meat, so i buy bags of organic wings from the store. i dont really know enough about meat to know which cuts of red meat are appropriate for my little animals. but i do know that when you cook any kind of bone it becomes brittle and has the potential to splinter and harm your pets if eaten.

[karlrschneider]

27. Well, a bone that's obviously too big for a pet to swallow is probably okay.

Cooked beef and pork bones don't really splinter and the doggies (and some cats) will gnaw on them like raw ones but the problem is with the small ones (like chicken and fish)...they can manage the raw ones which are soft but you're right, when THOSE are cooked they get brittle. We forget sometimes that canines and felines have been eating them for millions of years. :D

[zalinda]

31. From what I understand

the bones turn to mush, that's why you cook the chicken so long. I wouldn't feed any kind of bones to my animals, if there were any chance that it could hurt them. I'm guessing it would be kind of like the bones that are in canned salmon.

zalinda

[seemunkee]

64. We feed our dogs Merrick which has bones in it

A couple of their canned foods have whole chunks of chicken and/or wings with the bones. You can crush them with your fingers they are so soft.

[Edweird]

20. B.A.R.F.

Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. Works for me. Same or equal cost as bag food, but no nasty surprises.

[toadzilla]

23. YAY BARF!

everyone should jump on the barfwagon.

:thumbsup:

[Kingshakabobo]

51. I thought you were talking about this guy...

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. Birds are easy

we just feed them what we cook... they are fine by the way, and boy oh boy they LOVE pancakes, oatmeal, one goes nuts whenever I make steak, no kidding here

On a far more seroous note, by Poodle that I grew up with, ate table scraps for all but six months of his life (when my brother the student of veterany medicine tried to convince my mom it was better, dog would not have it period!) and he lived to a grand ripe age of 17

[femmedem]

28. I made my own cat food for a while.

One cat did really well (Little Bit, you were such a good kitty.) But the finicky Basho, despite my best efforts, just got skinnier and skinnier. I got really scared that he was going to damage his liver with too much weight loss, and I went back to commercial food. :(

[Vinca]

38. Cats require something called turine. I think it aids in food

digestion. If you feed them homemade chow, you probably should check with the vet about giving them a supplement.

[femmedem]

40. Yes, lack of taurine causes heart disease in cats.

I did add a taurine supplement. Also, cooking destroys the natural taurine in meat. It's important to really research a cat's nutritional needs if you're thinking of making their food.

[Vinca]

49. Oops - I spelled it wrong. I hate when that happens. nt

[femmedem]

50. I've done plenty worse.

My favorite way to mess up a post is to quote a news article, comment, then go back and edit my comments. Half the time, I put my edited comments in the text box, as if they were part of the article. :blush:

:hi:

[susanna]

29. Actually, I wonder if you can...

credit her longevity with your diet, that is.

I had a 100-lb. Akita Golden mix. The vets I took her to as a puppy told me I'd be lucky to have 8 years with her; her size was going to dictate her life span; she was far too large for a female dog of either of her ancestral breeds. She got the Incredible Hulk gene of both, in other words.

So, I went on in complete ignorance - just loving her and feeding her good food scraps. We don't do much processed food in our house, and with just us two humans, some leftovers will eventually go to waste, and we know that. So we figured out a way to feed us all - she got our extras. It's cheaper to cook real food than buy packaged food, so we kept on with it. Anyway, my girl lived 'til just shy of her 12th birthday. Her vets were amazed. And she was 100+ pounds until the day she died. She never lost, never gained, just maintained.

So I say there is something to the science of giving them real food. The bad news is that dogs still die too young, but the good news is (I believe) their quality of life is different when you feed them well. So I will do it again, when I find the worthy successor to my girl's title ("Queen of the Universe To You - Got a Problem With That?").

on edit: spelling

[LeftyMom]

32. Because I would vomit if I had to handle meat.

We have a routine:

The cat meows at me, I open a can of cat food, get it on a plate without getting any of it on me, then go someplace that doesn't smell like cat food before I yack. I love her, but I'm not touching meat, no way, no how. :puke:

[REP]

35. Yay for You!

You deserve a big :thumbsup: for putting aside your yack for the cat in your care! Some "people" have dumped cats for a lot less.

A couple of options in the dry food line that might be easier on you (and good for your kitty): Castor and Pollux's Organix or their Natural UltraMix. They have high meat content, which is good for your cat, but are low odor, which is good for you, plus they don't use artificial colors or preservatives.

[LeftyMom]

52. Most dry food isn't a big issue

It's only the canned wet that's a problem, smell-wise.

PS She's part of the family for life. No worry about that. :)

[toadzilla]

45. i cant stand handling meat either however,

ive found the frozen fresh stuff to be a lot easier to deal with, canned cat food has a really strong disgusting odor.

[Greyhound]

37. Because Canidae can make 40 lbs. of high quality, healthy food far cheaper

than I can. Once I got them off the Pro-Plan the adoption agency had them on, it was like night and day.

Thanks for the suggestion though.
:kick:

[H2O Man]

39. Pet food .....

At 118 lbs, Mugsey eats a heck of a lot. I end up buying, and making, a lot of food for him.

[KG]

41. my little guy only eats about a 5lbs bag per month, so i just buy him the best stuff.

it's still less than 10 bucks a month. he's happy, springy, lean and well, not mean.

[Lobster Martini]

42. I've been cooking for my dog for about 13 years

My veterinarian gave me a suggestion 13 years ago. I use a combination of ground beef, ground chicken or turkey, pasta (I use alphabets because my dog is learning to read) and vegetables. My dog happens to like carrots. I mix that with Iams mini-bits because you need something hard to keep the teeth clean.

When I don't have time to cook for the dog, I use Newman's Own organic pet food. (http://www.newmansownorganics.com/pet/home/)

[Maine-ah]

57. don't use Iams!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=231&topic_id=2886

[DemReadingDU]

43. bookmarking

interesting thread!

[aikoaiko]

47. I barely have time to cook for myself. Its too easy to buy purina,

[Mugu]

48. A friend of mine owns a restaurant,

so my buddy gets all kinds of people food.





I must admit that when I read the title of this thread my first thought was something more like this little guy. I guessing that if my doggie had to catch his dinner that he would be forced to become a vegetarian.

Regards, Mugu

[Poiuyt]

58. That has to be the cutest dog ever!

[Mugu]

62. He’s a cutie.

My girlfriend’s doggie is also a cutie but has more of the hunter instinct.

Regards, Mugu

[Maine-ah]

55. we use

California Natural. Awsome dog food. It's a time/money issue. With 2 large dogs I'd spend almost as much per week for food on them, as I do for us. I also don't have the time.

[zalinda]

61. One of the best foods on the market is

Back to Basics http://beowulfs.com/ A little background on the company, they breed mastiffs and developed the food for their animals. It was such a hit that they continued making it for not only their adopted puppies, but for other dogs. Then the cat owners asked for cat food and so they made some.

I am now going through a gastro thing with my elderly cat. He lost a lot of weight, we took him to the vet, he gave him anti-biotic and iron supplements. Sam started to have liquid come out of both ends, and when I called the vet, he said we'll try him on a different anti-biotic, no big deal. I found a different vet, a cats only vet, and he was remarkable. He gave him a thorough exam, and put him on an anti-biotic, gave him a cortisone shot, and hydrated him. He gave us some special food and to try. Sam stopped throwing up, but the back end was still the problem. The vet gave us some new special food and that helped with the back end. Since he could only have so much of the special food, the vet said we could try to supplement his diet with other cat food. We gave him some of the first food the vet gave us and well the results weren't pretty. Then we started supplementing with Back to Basics, success!!! Sam's feeling so much better, he's actually beginning to play again.

We switched our ferrets over to Back to Basics too, as they kept stealing it from Sam's bowl. Such a difference in litter box clean up. Where with regular ferret food, we had to clean the litter box twice a day, it was so full, now once a day is sufficient. And our little boys are bright and active.

And the best part, they'll send you a sample if you ask at their web site.

zalinda

[otohara]

65. Try

Emu Oil for Kitty. Not only will he feel like he just ate a big Emu bird and will soon be feeling just fine with that back end problem and his coat will get softer and shiny. There are several places to get it on the net....about 1/4 tsp twice per day. My kitty comes running when it's time for her emu.

[zalinda]

67. Thanks n/t

[Annces]

68. Just get one of these guys - food is no problem

[kestrel91316]

69. Homemade cat food is a good way to hurt or kill a cat. They have

rather persnickity nutritional requirements.

Given how most pet owners are unable to comply with medication instructions, I sure wouldn't want to trust them to comply with food-making instructions for the pet's lifetime.

Dogs are omnivores, so they are easier. Cats are obligate carnivores.

[Madspirit]

71. Not an indictment of the food but of the person

If an owner is too stupid to do it right, I guess you're right but my 20 year old cat thinks we make it just fine.
Lee

[spinbaby]

73. Cats are picky, too

I do cook for the kitties from time to time when I'm cooking for myself, but they more often than not turn up their little noses at it. For instance, I make chicken livers for myself regularly, but if I make plain livers just for them, they won't touch them. The sum total of people food they're willing to eat is plain roasted chicken, chicken baby food (a supplement for an old cat with dental issues), steamed shrimp, and poached eggs. If they're in the mood, they'll have a bit of our fried fish.

Everything the cats won't touch goes to the neighbor's dog who will eat anything.

[Madspirit]

70. Right On Cali!!

Animals on home-made food are a lot healthier and IF you do have to supplement with bought food buy something natural. Go to a natural pet site where they list recipes and stuff and they will usually have a list of the FEW bought foods that are at least decent, well-rounded and organic...California Natural, Wellness, etc. THE best however is home made. Also, the natural pet store I go to in Austin has "home-made" raw foods for dogs...made locally and fresh.
Mostly, NEVER think things like Purina, Iams, Science Diet...any of those foods are really good for your animal....cat or dog. They aren't. They are better than generics but not by much. These bad foods contain diseased, non-organic meats, indigestibles and carcinogens, etc.
Lastly, as Cali says, home-made is easy to make and you can freeze it...for both cats and dogs...in portion-size containers.
I have two dogs, three cats and one of my quite healthy cats...is 20.
Lee

[cgrindley]

72. Hell, I barely make my own food

I love my cat. He's a nice animal and he eats cat food from an orange bag. At least I think the bag is orange.

[cali]

75. LOL

I guess I wasn't thinking when I wrote the OP. Plenty of folks certainly have given good reasons for not making their own pet food, and lord knows, my dog is a shrimp, so it's not like I have two hundred pound big guys to feed or a finicky cat. And truth be told, though I do supplement my chickens feed, I buy big sacks of mash at Agway for their main staple.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

74. I've made my own before

It would appear it's time for me dig up those old recipes again. I know one of them was for baked kitty treats which contained tuna oil and scottish oats, among other forgotten ingredients. Mr. Ziggy used to love those.

[Retrograde]

76. I keep encouraging

the lazy furball to go out and hunt the gophers that eat my garden and leave holes for me to step in and rip my knee apart, but that would require him to get out of bed. For a formerly feral cat, he doesn't care much for the outdoors.

Why do I use commercial cat food? Convenience for me, mostly, and the cat's nutritional needs. They've evolved to eat whole birds and rodents, and the organs they consume that way give them the essential amino acids like taurine that they can't make for themselves.