Home Cooked Meal Questions

[JLSOhio51]

(1). Many posters have mentioned that they have used the home prepared doggy diets (such as chicken and rice) when their puppies are experiencing some sort of stomach distress. Would these same diets be OK offered as the dog's regular diet? If so, would a normal course of supplements be necessary or would chicken, rice and veggies provide all the nutrients necessary?

(2). If a puppy were being transitioned from a commercial diet to the homemade (chicken, rice, etc.), would it still be necessary to slowly transition by decreasing the commercial food and increasing the homemade amount over a 2-3 week period?

 

[Lynnel]

Funk

Jlsohio, I feed max chicken, fish and beans with kale, because he has pancreatic and gall bladder issues but my vet also has him on vitamins to supplement. I use probiotics and few other supplements. So you should have him on something when feeding people food. It just makes sense, yet the specialist said nothing to me about it!!!

 

[JLSOhio51]

Jlsohio, I feed max chicken, fish and beans with kale, because he has pancreatic and gall bladder issues but my vet also has him on vitamins to supplement. I use probiotics and few other supplements. So you should have him on something when feeding people food. It just makes sense, yet the specialist said nothing to me about it!!!

Lynnel:

Thanks for the response. I am still searching for my companion and I hope I can nail down a lot of things that many of you have learned by trial and error before I bring my charge home. (Sort of attempting to hit the ground running when the time comes).

I have a follow-up question: Have you found a book or website that addresses specifically what particular supplements and/or vitamins to add for certain homemade diets or is that also something that comes through trial and error and paying attention to your pup?

 

[ClantyreSheltie]

One protein source, and non-digestible carb sources are not enough for an otherwise healthy dog. The whole idea is to vary the protein to get the whole spread of what they need. Chicken, pork, beef, etc should be worked into the diet. In my dogs diets, there isn't room for veggies, because I need them to have useable calories, not something they just poop out.

Lew Olson's book "Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs" is an awesome resource for raw and homecooked meals.

As to transitioning, I've never found it to be an issue having them go cold turkey, but I've only transitioned adult dogs. My puppies started a varied diet from birth, so there was no "transition".

 

[take4roll10]

I also recommend you read Lew Olson's canine nutrition book if you plan on feeding your puppy home cooked meals. She discuss nutrients, supplement, raw, home cooked and more. Here is the link to the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Natural-N...UTF8&qid=1368712937&sr=1-1&keywords=lew+olson

When a dog has a stomach ache, it's fine to feed rice and boiled chicken for a week or two, but that is not the proper nutrients to feed over a lifetime. Especially with a growing puppy, you have to make sure your puppy is fed the proper nutrients to develop correctly.

And be careful with recipes and supplement advice written on the internet. Remember, anyone can just make a claim or create website. You don't want to risk your puppy developing health issues because of nutrient deficiencies.

There are certified canine nutritionists, maybe you can find one in your area? S/he can make you a diet plan for your puppy.