[darvon]

Our dog was a very picky eater. She would also get upset stomachs a lot. We tried all kinds of foods including all the organic brands, most expensive, and ones with and without grains or other ingredients. All were dry foods.

We finally gave up and now we make her food from scratch ourselves. I cook a batch of brown rice, Mixed vegetables(carrots, corn, peas), and bake organic boneless skinless chicken breast.

I then create zip lock bags consisting of about 2 cups rice, 1 cup shredded chicken (food processor, equivalent to about 1/2 a chicken breast) and then 1 cup or so of the mixed vegetables(also ground up in food processor).

I just wanted to get an idea if this is a healthy diet for her or not? She doesn't hardly get any stomach aches anymore and goes for a walk almost every single day of the week and has plenty of energy and her weight seems to be fine.

We have noticed she has been shedding a lot but aren't sure if that is just attributed to the winter and her coat coming in. We dont see any bare spots, it just seems like access fur that falls off(we dont brush her but my brother said he is going to start).

Thank you for any advice and opinions.

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by darvon

Our dog was a very picky eater. She would also get upset stomachs a lot. We tried all kinds of foods including all the organic brands, most expensive, and ones with and without grains or other ingredients. All were dry foods.

We finally gave up and now we make her food from scratch ourselves. I cook a batch of brown rice, Mixed vegetables(carrots, corn, peas), and bake organic boneless skinless chicken breast.

I then create zip lock bags consisting of about 2 cups rice, 1 cup shredded chicken (food processor, equivalent to about 1/2 a chicken breast) and then 1 cup or so of the mixed vegetables(also ground up in food processor).

I just wanted to get an idea if this is a healthy diet for her or not? She doesn't hardly get any stomach aches anymore and goes for a walk almost every single day of the week and has plenty of energy and her weight seems to be fine.

We have noticed she has been shedding a lot but aren't sure if that is just attributed to the winter and her coat coming in. We dont see any bare spots, it just seems like access fur that falls off(we dont brush her but my brother said he is going to start).Yes, if she is 'blowing' her coat--all that soft dead underneath hair needs to be combed out. Lol, I am going through that with one of my dogs right now and you wonder how there can be so much and that you feel like they are going to go bald! I would comb every day until you get it all out. A link on this: http://www.ehow.com/video_2348306_un...ming-tips.html

Thank you for any advice and opinions.

I hope you give more variety and not just keep giving the same thing over and over. This is a big undertaking for me to put all the info I'd like to! I don't know what your dog weighs or what kind it is or how old it is!!?? I feed a lot of raw and will do home-cooking too. It use to be all home-cooking and when I 1st started I now think I fed too much rice and grains. Dogs need some carbs but I feel meat should be the main ingredient--and they need some fat too. I feed a lot of veggies--fresh and frozen--(You must of done some research as you know about grinding the veggies real fine or the dog can't get the nutrients out of them because of not being able to break-up the celulose walls of the veggies!) I garden mainly for my dogs. MY one dog just loves fresh asparagus , green beans and pea pods! Being as veggies are carbs--I tend to lean more toward them then the grains! I supplement with vitamins and minerals and fish oil/Omega 3. You prob. need some calcium added---I use finely ground (coffee grinder) egg shells for calcium. There is just too much for me to explain and one thing leads to another---to get the balance of everything right. Best bet is to put words in your browser and study how it is done. This is one good link--It is on raw feeding but there is much info there that can pertain to home-cooked also--ratios, etc.---Be right back--Have to go find the address!
BARF for Beginners - Most Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a link for a recipe---The 1st recipe i don't agree with--Hate canned veggies--full of salt for one thing and as far as the kidney beans--gassey!
Dale's Recipe
As I said earlier--This is too big a task for me to undertake. Best thing I can tell you: Get some books from the library. Check the net---Put words like--home cooking/dogs in your browser. I know I have written a lot of dif. info in this forum on this subject. It is late--need to go to bed! But maybe tomorrow I will check and see what I can find in here. Do you know how to search in this forum?---Find blue strip near top of page(s) in here ---It goes across the whole page. Find the white word-Search-click it Put appropriate words in the 'box' like home cooking or recipes (1 at a time of course) Also wish you would check this thread out carefully:Foods that are hazardous to a dog

One thing --You said your dog had a 'touchy' stomach---It is hard to know what might bother her--a dif. food, etc. You would have to keep that in mind when trying new foods--start off 'lightly'. Hoping fat is not an issue ---would not give a lot to start with--could cause problems,---But fat is part of the needed nutrients as a rule! STUDY!

[CorkyMax]

Am in the process of searching this forum for some earlier threads/posts I did on feeding. So far I am on page 5 of 20 of all the posts I have made on anything and everything! So have 1 thread right now you might be interested in that I am pasting a link to--Just click on it. Will be back here with more links as I find them so make sure to keep checking back today in this post I am doing right now! Here is the 1st link:Rachael Ray - turkey bad for dogs?
This next link is 2 pages long --Please read all of the posts but esp. ones I did in green. And do not be put off by the main subjects Raw feeding in this one as there is plenty of home-cooking mentioned too (Please keep that in mind in everything I give a link to!)
How good do you think this diet is?

Books to be found:This is a great site for titles and info that is available in book form!--
Welcome to Dogwise.com the web's #1 Dog Store!

Vitamins Please go thru all the posts in this thread!

German Shepherd Pup In Pain, Help In this thread just go to post #7 (I think)--the one on Vitamin C.

http://www.i-love-dogs.com/forums/do...yone-feed.html ---MIne is Post #4!

About Food combinations--Also about Feeding Grains

This thread has nutritional info as well as a lot of other good things vinegar does: What About Vinegar!!

[CorkyMax]

The following is an article from a newsletter I receive. It mentions certain brands of food---I am not promoting any brands-I don't even use boughten dog foods--my dogs get raw and some home-cooked meals. (I do the raw myself--not boughten). I just like the information about feeding and figure it is good info for others to see.

What You Need to Know About Your Pet's Food


by Dr. Larry Siegler

Your Companion's Diet

Nutrition is the foundation of good health for people and the same is true for our animal companions. Diet is the most important component of your pet's health care. The best diet for your dog or cat is not dissimilar to the best diet for you - it consists of a variety of whole foods, and when necessary, enhanced with vitamins and minerals, enzymes and supplements to promote optimal health, prevent disease or to address health issues.

Our animal companions are natural hunters and carnivores; just look at their ancestry. The dog at your feet (or on your sofa) has evolved from the wolf, and it's digestive system is virtually the same despite thousands of years of domestication. They have very short intestinal tracts geared to the consumption and digestion of raw foods. The cat on your lap is a true or "obligate" carnivore (meat only diet) and is specially designed by nature to hunt small rodents and birds. Her digestive tract, as well, is intended to assimilate raw meat best.

Commercially prepared kibble has become the standard diet for most pets in our culture. It is relatively cheap and quite convenient. Knowledgeable guardians and many veterinarians, however, are becoming increasingly aware of the true nutritional needs of companion animals and are taking a proactive approach to nutrition by choosing quality of ingredients and carefully controlled preparation over cost and convenience. For most dogs and cats, a home-prepared raw food diet is best. This is not always feasible, however, so at Only Natural Pet Store we do our best to offer the healthiest options available for all life-styles and feeding choices. Whatever food you choose to offer your pet, putting some thought into your decision now can produce big rewards over his or her lifetime and very probably help him/her avoid serious and costly illnesses caused by poor nutrition and feeding practices.

Freshness

When trying to determine the best diet for your companion, there are two things to keep in mind: The fresher, the better, and rotation is optimal. First let's discuss freshness.

Fresh food is teaming with life. It contains natural enzymes, probiotics, antioxidants and vitamins and minerals in their most natural state making them more digestible and more easily assimilated. Heat is the number one enemy of nutrients in food. The fresher the food, the more bioavailable the nutrients in that food will be. This means that the antioxidants in the fruits and vegetables listed in the ingredients will be far more likely to be intact and digestible in raw food than dry kibble or canned food, (which are processed at high temperatures). This holds true for natural enzymes, probiotics, amino acids and vitamins and minerals as well.

The less heat processed the food, the more likely the nutrients are preserved in their natural state by the time you feed it to your companion, and the more digestible those nutrients will be. So, even if dry kibble is a part of your companion's diet, adding fresher foods like fresh or frozen raw food & bones or fresh cooked meat, healthy table scraps, freeze dried or dehydrated diets, and even canned food can enhance the quality of his or her overall diet.

The freshness scale:

Home prepared raw food diet
Frozen raw food diets
Freeze dried & dehydrated foods
Canned foods
Dry kibble
We'll talk more about each type of food later on in the article.

Rotation

In addition to freshness, variety is important in your companion's diet. A more diverse diet is far more likely to provide complete nutrition than a "formulated" diet fed over and over again. While all pet foods on the market meet the AAFCO (Associatation of American Feed Control Officials) standards for "nutrition" for dogs and cats, that does not mean that any one of them are the ideal food for the life of your companion.

A good meal is a pleasurable experience for you, and the same should be true for your companion. However, even a good meal served over and over can become tiresome. You wouldn't eat Corn Flakes at every meal for years at a time, why ask your companion to eat cereal, the SAME cereal every meal, every day for months or years at a time? It is detrimental to both your health and your companion's to eat the same thing for months or years at every meal. Consuming the same food repeatedly over long periods of time can contribute to the development of food sensitivities and allergies.

More recently, some veterinarians specializing in feline medicine have stated that inflammatory bowel disease may develop, in part, because of food sensitivities caused by feeding one diet for over a year or two at a time. Feeding cats, who are obligate carnivores, a grain based diet has also been shown to contribute to the incidence of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUT), (Also known as Feline Urological Syndrome or FUS). The resulting dehydration over a long period of time contributes stress on the kidneys and lining of the urinary tract.

We recommend varying your companion's diet regularly. If feeding a raw diet, you do not need to "transition" from one type of food to the next. Animals eating kibble, however, should be transitioned gradually over a week or two from one to the other. Cats should not eat dry kibble as a main portion of their diet.

Optimizing Freshness and Rotation

While the ideal diet would be a continual rotation of fresh, raw foods, most guardians do not have the time and resources to carefully formulate and make their pet's food. So if you can't meet the ideal, just get as close as you can with what you can afford. The next best thing would be to feed raw food as at least 50% of the diet. You can feed one meal a day raw or mix raw in with processed foods. Here are some ways to get raw food into your pet's diet:

1. Frozen raw foods generally come either in a formula of raw meat, grains, and fresh vegetables designed to provide complete nutrition, or as pure raw meat designed to be added as a supplement to other types of food. For more information about transitioning to and feeding a raw diet, please see our article All About Raw Food.

2. Only Natural Pet Store offers vegetable and/or grain based mixes by Sojos and Honest Kitchen - Preference that are designed to be added to raw or cooked meat. You simply re-hydrate the mixture and add the meat. The Honest Kitchen Verve Formula can be used this way as well.

3. Adding freeze dried or dehydrated foods is another way to enhance the freshness and variety in your companion's diet. The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Diets for dogs and cats and the Nature's Variety Prairie Freeze Dried Diets are convenient and easy to feed. Again, this can be for one meal a day or every other day. Alternatively, top dressing dry kibble with freeze dried food adds more bioavailable nutrients, amino acids and enzymes that kibble lacks.

4. If you include dry kibble in the diet, rotate the kibble you use every month or every other month (gradually transition over a week or more). Mix a variety of different high quality canned foods into the diet as a meal or mixed with kibble. If possible, mix raw meat and, for dogs, lightly steamed vegetables and fresh fruits into their food. And YES - you CAN feed your dog or cat healthy table scraps. If you are cooking a nice meal of pot roast and vegetables for the family, save some trimmings for your companion - it's a great way to add variety and fresher food into his or her diet. Always remember, however, that to prevent weight gain you must use proportionately less of the kibble when adding canned, freeze dried, or dehydrated food, raw meat, or table scraps.

Keep in mind, the less complicated you make your pet's diet plan, the more likely you are to do it. If it is easiest for you to just reach into the freezer and take out an already prepared and balanced meal, consider stocking up on a frozen raw food formula. If using a premix like Sojos with raw meat sounds doable, by all means try it. Or try feeding your dog raw turkey necks or chicken necks, backs or wings for breakfast 2-3 times per week. You can buy them at the grocery store or from our raw food section. If you can't manage the raw food, but cooking a little extra at each meal is easy for you, then add a bit of your breakfast or dinner to your pet's diet. Make it easy and your companion will reap the benefits through a healthier and more interesting diet.

[CorkyMax]

About Feeding Fruits & Vegetables

About Fish Oil!

About Yogurt

About Supplements

This link is not just about treats--There are some meals and other good info! Homemade Treats

[maquignon]

I have come to the conclusion that there are no picky eaters, just over fed dogs. I say this because every time someone has told me that his dog was a picky eater, upon further investigation, in every case, they were feeding too much. In this case the frequent upset stomach is another almost sure sign. The trying every brand is another indication.

How much does the dog weigh? How old?

[Lara's mom]

I've been home cooking for my dogs for years and they are both incredibly healthy. You need to do a little research or ask one of the members who cook for their dogs. We all have a load of good and tasty recipes that are high in nutrients and don't contain the garbage found in commercial dog food.

[masini]

Dogs are like humans. They eat all stuff. Important it is not est too much.

[Baxter]

I am kinda new to this forum (although I have been reading tons of great posts for a while), and I could not help but post under this great conversation about our recent experiences with what I believe to be the best dog food we have ever encountered for our whole family! It's pawsome because it truly offers all of the variety that Dr. Larry Siegler's article touches upon, "What You Need to Know About Your Pet's Food" posted by Corky & Max (thanks for all the info!!) as well as articles I encountered when researching about rotating dog food (I love Susan Wynn’s article too, “The Pet Food Primer” by Susan Wynn, DVM Complementary, Alternative, and Holistic Veterinary Medicine (AltVetMed) Pet Food Primer

I love Dr. Siegler’s sentence about “Variety is important in your companion's diet. A more diverse diet is far more likely to provide complete nutrition than a "formulated" diet fed over and over again” because I have been learning more about food allergies and where they come from: over exposure!

The food our dogs absolutely LOVE is called Rotations dog food and it has finally been the answer to our problematic and complicated dog food saga! We have 3 dogs in our house, two older Siberian husky's (13 and 15yrs.) and one very large young adult male German Sheppard mix (Baxter is 107lbs!). We have had several different issues over the years, especially with Baxter's allergies, making him itch, scratch, lick, rub, scrape, chew, and whine because his affected areas are raw. We've tried Baxter on several different (and expensive!!!) allergy medications our vet recommended and none of them even made a dent into his problematic and miserable behaviors.

We've also gently switched foods over the years that were recommended online or by our vets (no fun, Baxter makes huge backyard messes despite careful transitions!) from Natural Balance, Canidae, TOTW, Artemis, Solid Gold, and Wellness and none of them worked with alleviating any of his symptoms. Not to mention, my oldest Siberian husky almost died a year ago because her liver enzymes were elevated way to high due to excessive protein in her diet!!! Ahhhhh!

We were jumbled into the crazy dog food saga (which it sounds like so many are too!) and started making brown rice, veggie, chicken home-style recommended foods and we were sort of happy except that it was way too much work for me to keep making huge amounts of food (and no cheaper) to feed 3 large dogs twice daily. Plus, it didn’t really offer the variety I know they really needed.

Our quest continued until I found Rotations pet food and brought it home to try, as it seemed like our last hope for all involved if I wanted to keep my sanity and find the right dog food. Rotations offers 3 totally unique recipes in one box, and they claim to not cause any upset tummies when switching between their 3 special recipes. This I had to try, since if they were truly correct, my dogs would get the variety and the nutrients they all need, plus, it was supposed to help with food allergies, since no one food ingredient would be over-exposed to my dogs.

We tried Rotations with blending it in to our existing food, and went totally to Rotations in only 3 days, and all the dogs loved it, and all had healthy backyard reminders to show for it! I was happy and convinced in two weeks that I had finally found the right solution to our dog food saga, *thanks Rotations!* and now that about 9 weeks have gone by, I am seeing a huge reduction in Baxter’s problematic behaviors associated with allergies!!! My older huskies are really happy, and they don’t even need to be coaxed to eat their food with treats anymore! Success for our whole family!!! I know they are all getting the right foods now, and I can relax because I actually have time to share our story since I am no longer in the kitchen hours each week! Yay!

P.S. Why I truly believe in this “new” food: the company really offers all their recipe ingredient lists online so I feel like they are totally committed to transparency with what they offer, and Rotations has already changed all our lives for the better! Go and see for yourself, they list everything on their website! www.rotationspetfood.com

[Lara's mom]

Sounds interesting. My senior border collie also has a problem with liver enzymes. Is it available in Canada?

[Baxter]

I don’t know if Rotations is available in Canada, but one of my friends bought it online at www.k9cuisine.com because there wasn’t a store near her yet. She said she got free shipping too. I use the Adult formula for all my dogs, but they have a great looking senior food as well. Let me know if you like it too! I know my dogs love it and can't wait until mealtime! I really like their packaging as well - the bags are resealable so it keeps it really fresh. So happy to finally be settled into a routine that works for us all!